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A beautiful but warm spring day in Atlanta for this important clash with a stiff breeze blowing to the city end for the first quarter then across the ground after that. Both teams were coming off losses in round 1 of the MAAFL so plenty was on the line. Dallas traveled with barely enough players so did not look confident. Atlanta displaying their new look team with a blend of old but plenty of new with half the team playing their first or second season of footy for the club. They were also missing some big names in Gambaro, Crist & Jones, three players that were amongst their best against St Louis a few weeks ago. The first few minutes Atlanta pressed forward with several opportunities around the half forward line however some sloppy disposal cost them a few chances to get on the board with a score. It wasnt long till Dallas started to settle. Deft passes to forward Russo registered two goals in as many minutes and new comer for the Kookas Warren Ballagh looked to have his hands full. Already in the ruck big Jon Samuelson for Dallas was asserting his authority and giving the Dallas smaller players first chance at the ball. Another goal to Russo who was plainly too agile for the bigger Ballagh meant the Magpies were skipping out to a handy lead. Brent Bacon on his first game back bought some hope for the Kookas with a goal towards the end of the term but it was quickly answered by Cobb of Dallas after some tidy handball set up again by Russo and the visitors had set up a handy lead at the first change. Atlanta 1.1.7 trailing Dallas 4.2.26 The second term wasnt much different than the first. The Kookas struggled to penetrate the Dallas defense while goals for the Magpies were a lot easier to come by. Ballagh had moved forward and left Mobley to take Russo, a plan that worked well for most part but the consistent superior judgement of the Aussie was too great for the Kookas and he picked up two more goals. The Kookas went goaless with only Collins and Kewley showing any resistance through the center where the Kookas were clearly getting beaten. At the half time break the writing was on the wall. Atlanta 1.3.9 trailed Dallas 7.6.48 The third term and the Kookas finally started to be more competitive. Goals to Bacon , Ballagh and then Monsour lifted the Kookas spirits and around the ground things seemed to even out. Dallas answered with a few goals themselves but it was the Kookas quarter. Despite Sameulson still dominating the ruck for Dallas, Collins Mobley and first year player Tankersley all were making solid contributions for the Atlanta team. At three quarter time the Kookas had played themselves back into the game but it was going to take a huge effort to take the game away from Dallas. Scores were Atlanta 4.4.28 to Dallas 9.8.62. The last term was looking interesting after Monsour had goaled early for the Kookas but it was the last we saw of any impact on the margin by the home team. The Dallas team were just too superior in their team work and more so in their fitness. Atlanta looked slow and tired as the visitors piled on 4 more goals in the quarter to put the game out of reach. Schneck, Ellis and Nicholls the culprits for Dallas and long with players like Rackham in the backline and Agulari and Russo they just had too many winners on the day. Final scores Atlanta 5.5.35 defeated by Dallas 13.11.89 In the end an easy win for the former MAAFL champs who were pretty impressive considering they left many good players at home and traveled with the bare 14 and some of those were not fully fit. For Atlanta, its a long year ahead for MAAFL games, they certainly have not solved the problem of finding someone to kick goals for them consistently yet, and their general fitness appears below that of their rivals. They do have plenty of scope for improvement though as some of the new recruits find their way and build some confidence. Perhaps their next hit out versus Baton Rouge away on June 17th will help them set up for the Chicago Swas due in town a week later. Atlanta 1.1 1.3 4.4 5.5 (35) Dallas 4.2 7.6 9.8 13.11 (89) Best Players: ATL: Collins, Kewley, Stern, Mobley, Crawford, Monsour DAL: Samuelson, Russo, Rackham, Agulari, Schneck Goalkickers: ATL: Monsour 2, Bacon, Ballagh & Tankersly 1 each DAL: Russon 6, Cobb 2, Schneck 2, Ellis 2, Nicholls 1
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