Atlanta vs Nashville 6/18/2011

Atlanta vs. Nashville

In the annual ‘Bruise-a-thon’ (otherwise known as the Atlanta Kookaburras vs. Nashville Kangaroos) it was the Kookaburras who finished in front on a hot day in Atlanta.

The game was preceded with a minute’s silence in memory of Nashville stalwart Jeff Persson's wife Holly, who passed away recently. Jeff has been involved in many Atlanta vs. Nashville games as both player and umpire and the Kookas wish to extended to Jeff their sincerest condolences.

With Jeff missing from the Nashville lineup and Kookas captain Curtis Jones similarly positioned, it was left to both teams fielding some new players to get it on. And on they did get. It was a closely contested match from the beginning with both defenses being on top. There was no scoring for the first half of the opening quarter and it wasn’t until Big Dave Evans kicked a mighty 40 yard goal in the 11^th, minute that the scorers were troubled. This booming goal gave the Kookas momentum and they finally got their newly-installed running game on track.

Another goal from Chris Moerman late in the quarter gave the Kookas a 9 point lead at the break. Moerman, having played for Nashville in previous years, was having a tough battle against Mischa Nemeth. The Kangaroos knew all about Moerman’s abilities and regularly dropped extra players back to counter the champion forward.

At quarter time, it was Atlanta 2.0 (12) leading Nashville 0.3 (3).

The second quarter played liked the first, with defenses on top and the ball racing from end to end. Tough-tackling was the word for the day and the game was briefly interrupted after a melee in the Nashville forward zone. The umpire was forced to speak to two players before play resumed.

Atlanta moved further ahead with goals to Daniel Searle and Eric Baker, both of whom are relishing Coach Kraska’s rotational scheme where they get a run on the ball, a rest in the forward line and a spell at defense. Nashville finally registered a major but found themselves trailing at the half by 3 goals. In a low scoring game, this deficit would be critical.

At half time, it was Atlanta 4.4 (28) to Nashville 1.4 (10)

They say that games are won or lost in the third quarter; the long break at the half either giving you the break you need or taking the edge off your game. In Atlanta’s case, it was the latter as they came out flat footed and allowed Nashville to uncork their own running game. Nashville easily outscored Atlanta in this stanza and only their inaccuracies in front of goal preventing them from gaining a lead. This inaccuracy was, however, due to tough defending from the likes of Joey Costyn, Carson Olsheski and Robbie Scheirholz. Olsheski had the tough task of guarding Nashville’s experienced Captain-Coach Damian Serong and he did an outstanding job, keeping the Nashville forward to just one goal while providing drive out of the backline. Costyn and Schierholz are the quite achievers of the Kookaburras backline, doing the hard grind and keeping their opponents off the scorer’s sheet.

Nashville kicked 2 goals 6 for the quarter to Atlanta’s miserly 2 points and this meant that the game was poised for a crackerjack finish in the final quarter.

At three quarter time, it was Atlanta still in front, 4.6 (30) to Nashville 3.10 (28).

At the final break, Atlanta Coach Kraska challenged his team to forget about the “rah rah” and to just “get the job done, by backing each other and getting to the ball first”. They must have been listening because the Kookas came out and dominated the opening minutes of the quarter with the on-ballers running everywhere and eventually getting the ball down to Moerman, who kicked his second for the day. The home team scored four more points before Nashville got going again and the game returned to the closely contested game it had been all day. The Kookas held an uneasy 10 point advantage for most of the quarter.

A nasty clash of heads between Nashville’s Luke Nemeth and Atlanta’s Brent Kewley left both players with bloody countenances. When play resumed, a late Nashville goal brought the scores to within the final margin of 3 points, with Atlanta holding on to record a important victory, their second in two weeks against teams that played Division One football at last year’s Nationals. This is not to say that Atlanta is a Division One team, but it certainly helps to achieve their goal of winning games at this year’s Nationals, something they failed to do last year.

The final score was the Atlanta Kookaburras 5.10 (40) to the Nashville Kangaroos 4.13 (37)

With many players playing tough, outstanding football, it was hard to pick the best of them. Benny Crist, playing on the ball and dominating across the half back line, was one of the best. Dave Evans rucking all day against a tall and formidable opponent; Olsheski at full back; Schierholz, Costyn and Kewley in their defensive roles; Davis and Searle on the ball; Kraska holding things together and playing all over the ground; these were the players who stood out in this reporter’s eyes.

The whole Kookaburras team is playing as one and this is more important that individual achievements. With 3 or 4 returning players for next week’s tournament against Baton Rouge and Ft. Lauderdale, Kraska will have a difficult time selecting the best team to put out there on the field.

Goal Scorers:

Moerman 2, Baker 1, Evans 1, Searle 1.

Best Players (because it’s required to name a few for the News Services):

Crist, Evans, Baker, Olsheski, Kraska