Final WARFL Table

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Forfeit	Pts	For	Agst	%
		8	7	1	0	0	29	1084	426	254.5
		8	7	0	0	1	28	1218	466	261.4
		8	3	4	0	1	16	604	690	87.5
		8	2	4	0	2	12	374	761	49.1
		8	1	7	0	0	11	498	1165	42.7

A mixed bag of results, but plenty to take forward! A message from the Captain.

First, I'd like to thank everyone that contributed to this season. Special thanks to Geraint for coaching, Alex for organisation, all the boys that came down and travelled for games and also our admin queen Kim and very helpful Carla.

Despite some heavy losses we've shown that we're a team with great ability and potential. We've given both Grand Final teams reason to worry at times, even if the final score line hasn't always reflected it, with our ability to move the ball and eagerness to attack effectively.

If it wasn't for an injury blight in the middle of the season I feel we could have flourished further and made a Grand Final return that is long overdue. That said, the experience many new players have taken from this season will be invaluable in future as we hope to continue the development of the team in 2013.

So again, thank you. I've enjoyed it, I hope you have too. Good luck to anyone hoping to gain national representative honours this season, and see you all again early in 2013!

Regards
Evan Phillips

Saturdays game

 v

This weekend the Swansea Magpies will play host to the Vale Warriors, who will surely looking for revenge for the loss in the reverse fixture last month. This is the Magpies chance of consolodating 3rd place in the league for this season.

We will be meeting at 12 noon outside Sketty Lane pavillion for a scheduled 1pm kick off. Match fees are £3.

Injury-hit Magpies suffer heavy defeat

An injury-hit Swansea Magpies Aussie Rules team lost 139-48 at home to Cardiff Panthers to deliver a jolt to their hopes of reaching the Grand Final.


The injury problems mean the second-placed Magpies were always up against it as they entered the match with three players making their debuts.


Swansea started the game strongly and for large parts of the first quarter they had the reigning champions on the back foot.


However, inexperience in the backline gifted the opposition a number of easy chances to leave them off the hook and give them a slender lead.


In the second quarter, the Panthers flooded through the midfield and repeatedly left the home defence outnumbered.


Even though the new players were beginning to grow into the game, the pressure was too great and the visitors took control.


Injuries to James Moon and forward Donal Galvin only served to compound the home team's issues.


In the second half the Magpies kept their composure, with some impressive marks and a strong kicking game bringing the home team into promising positions.


But the end product was missing. With the Panthers continuing to push forward and outnumber the Magpies defence, their lead continued to grow.


Barry Cawte produced a sterling performance on his first game this season — with an injury keeping him out for the majority of the campaign — claiming four goals and two behinds and a number of impressive marks.

Updated WARFL Table

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Forfeit	Pts	For	Agst	%
		5	5	0	0	0	20	733	225	325.8
		5	4	0	0	1	16	741	246	301.2
		5	2	3	0	0	11	451	459	98.3
		5	2	3	0	0	11	308	639	48.2
		6	0	6	0	0	6	331	995	33.3

Magpies Scoring Chart

 

Player                  Games       Goals        Behinds          Total

Donal Galvin           4             18                5                 113
Jon Richards            3              9                 8                  62
Dan Gelabert           4              7                 4                  46
Evan Phillips           5              4                  11                 35
Chris Griffiths         3              4                 2                  26
Tim Walkden          1              4                  2                 26
Barry Cawte          1              4                  2                  26

James Moon           4              3                 3                  21
Geraint Havard        5             2                  5                  17
Rob Baker               5              2                 1                  17
Jack Garner             1              1                 1                    7
Paul Flynn               2              1                 0                    6
Eddie Condon         2              0                 4                    4
Sam Martin             1              0                 2                    2
Shaun Fields          1               0                 2                    2
Alex Parry              2              0                 1                    1

Siamak Samavat     3              0                 0                    0

Matthew O'Flanagan   1             0                 0                     0      

Ryan Porter               1             0                 0                     0    

 

Todays Match Result

Swansea Magpies  6.12 (48) – 21.13 (139) Cardiff Panthers

Swansea Magpies:

James Moon  (1.1), Rob Baker (0,1), Evan Phillips (0.3), Donal Galvin (2,0), Shaun Fields (0,2), Barry Cawte (4, 2), Christopher Hann (0,1) Rushed 2.

Other players:     Geraint Havard, Matthew O'Flanagan, Ryan Porter

Cardiff Panthers:

Scott Jones (1.1), Brian Sparkes (4,1), Chris James (3,2), Owain Ryland (4,3), Sam Owen (6,3), Christopher Hann (3.0) Rushed 3.

Other players:     Scott Jeanes, Paul Saunders, Lenny James

Saturdays Game

 Vs

Tommorrow sees the second placed Swansea Magpies take on reigning champions South Cardiff Panthers. A win here would consolidate our second place in the league and would go a long way to taking the Magpies to the grand final.

We will be meeting at Sketty Lane Pavillion at 12 noon, in readiness for a 1pm kick off. All fit available players to turn up with kit in order to (hopefully) beat the Panthers and secure our second place in the WARFL table. Don't forget your £3 match fees.

If you have any queries about the match please contact Geraint on 07824770312 

Updated WARFL Table

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Forfeit	Pts	For	Against	%
		4	4	0	0	0	16	593	206	287.9
		4	2	2	0	0	10	403	320	125.9
		4	2	2	0	0	10	289	499	57.9
		3	2	0	0	1	8	358	155	231.0
		5	0	5	0	0	5	288	751	38.3

Weekends Results: Vale Warriors 2.7 (19) - 19.26 (140) Bristol Dockers

Team Polo Shirts

We are considering ordering some team polo shirts so we can look more like a team post match. The design will be as above but black instead of red, it will have the team logo on the left breast with the option of players initials on the right breast. Printed on the back will be Swansea Magpies Australian Rules Football Club. The polo shirts will cost £15.50 each, but may come down in price depending on how many people order them. Please could you contact Geraint on 07824770312 to declare your interest in buying one of these polo shirts.

WARFL Red Devils win the Brit cup

The Welsh Australian Rules Football League (WARFL) can today claim to have some of the best non-Aussie 'Footy' players in Britain. This weekend saw the AFL England Brit Cup hosted in Reading, and the WARFL Red Devils took home the Gold against 5 other teams representing Aussie Rules Leagues in England.


The tournament was a 12-a-side round robin competition of 20 minute games, with a strict ruling of no Australians allowed. With the coaches of the Great Britain Bulldogs watching, every team had the cream of British talent on display in one of the toughest competitions of the year. The Devils were made up of players from teams in the WARFL as well as Welsh International Players.


The Welsh got off to a fairly poor start as they struggled to a win against the Southern Saxons and then, due to some poor goal-kicking lost to the Northern Warriors 2.2.14 - 1.6.12. Lunch gave the Devils a welcome break to reorganise as they came out to thrash the London Honeybadgers, without conceding a single point. Complacency then kicked in as the kicks started going wayward again, however the Devils were able to see off the host, the Reading Kangaroos.


The Devils then went into their last match, against the unbeaten and pre-tournament favourite, the West Midlands Tigers, knowing that victory would assure them a place in the tournament Grand Final. Despite some intense pressure from the Midlands and some early goals, the Devils held their own and came out 3.5.23 - 3.2.20 winners.


This result placed the Devils and Tigers at the top of the table, but the Devils thrashing of the London Honeybadgers gave them a better score advantage to place them at the top as Minor Champions. The two teams then battled it out again to crown the Champions of the Brit Cup. The Tigers had brought 6 interchanges to the Devils' 1 and were looking for revenge, however the Devils dominated the first half and took a 1.2.8 lead into the break. However, the West Midlands subs started to tell as they took full advantage in the second half and looked to make a comeback. Two behinds made the score 1.2.8 - 0.2.2 to the Devils and it was only through sheer persistance and bravery in defence that the Devils held on to be crowned the 2012 Brit Cup Champtions.

Report courtesy of Joshua Davey.

Unfortunately we didn't have any reprisentatives in this team due to people having other commitments, however I know we have plenty of players in our squad who could have walked into this team and made a real contribution. Hopefully we will see everyone make themselves available for international selection at the end of the season and the Magpies can make a real contribution to future Welsh success.

Updated WARFL table

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Forfeit	Pts	For	Agst	%
		3	3	0	0	0	12	356	143	249.0
		4	2	2	0	0	10	403	320	125.9
		4	2	2	0	0	10	289	499	57.9
		3	2	0	0	1	7	358	155	231.0
		4	0	4	0	0	4	225	514	43.8

Game Called Off!

Tonight's game against Cardiff Panthers has been called off due to weather.


Training should (bar literal monsoon conditions) take place on Thursday at 6.30 pm at Sketty Lane Sports Fields as per usual.

Midweek Game - Cardiff Panthers

Swansea Magpies next game is this Wednesday, 7pm at home against the 3 time WARFL Champions the Cardiff Panthers.

A victory will surely ruffle a few feathers in the league!

Training Tonight!

Training Tonight!

6.30pm, Swansea University rugby fields, Sketty Lane.


Be there!

Magpies cruise home by a 73-point margin

SWANSEA Magpies produced a fine display of Aussie Rules Football to shock Vale Warriors 106-33.

The Magpies travelled to Barry RFC hoping to return to winning ways against the league leaders, despite having a squad depleted by injury.

The first quarter saw Swansea struggle with the dreadful conditions of a rain-soaked pitch and a strong wind.

Time and again, the Magpies coughed up the ball in prime positions, only for Vale to spurn their opportunities, or for desperate Magpies defence to intervene. At quarter time, the Magpies looked rattled and were 12-3 down.

The second quarter saw the Magpies regroup and improved conditions allowed them to stamp their authority on the match. The introduction of Jon Richards to a forward line missing all its big hitters due to injury saw the Magpies dominate the quarter with eight goals and six behinds to leave the half-time score at 57-13.

The third quarter saw the momentum shift back to Vale, who used the wind to their advantage. But Magpies full-back Geraint Havard cut a solid figure at the back, taking a number of impressive marks to halt the Warriors momentum in the final third and using his strength to dominate the loose ball on the floor.

Only an element of luck saw Vale pick up two goals, with the ball being deflected onto Havard's head as he was set to take a mark and rolling through for one of the goals. But Swansea held a strong lead going into a final quarter with the wind on their side.

The Magpies used the wind to see themselves home in the final quarter to eventually end up with a 73-point winning margin. Next they face last season's champions South Cardiff Panthers at Sketty Lane.

WARFL Table after round 5

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Pts	For	Agst	%
		4	2	2	0	10	403        320		125.9
		4	2	2	0	10	289        499		57.9
		2	2	0	0	8	358         65		550.8
		2	2	0	0	8	266        143		186.0
		4	0	4	0	4	225       514		43.8

Magpies Scoring Chart

Player                  Games       Goals        Behinds          Total

Donal Galvin           3             16                5                 101
Jon Richards            3              9                 8                  62
Dan Gelabert           4              7                 4                  46
Evan Phillips           4              4                  8                 32
Chris Griffiths         3              4                 2                  26
Tim Walkden          1              4                  2                 26
Geraint Havard        4             2                  5                  17
Rob Baker               4              2                 4                  16
James Moon           3              2                 2                   14
Jack Garner             1              1                 1                    7
Paul Flynn               2              1                 0                    6
Eddie Condon         2              0                 4                    4
Sam Martin             1              0                 2                    2
Alex Parry              2              0                 1                    1
Siamak Samavat     3              0                 0                    0

Vale Warriors v Swansea Magpies

Vale Warriors 4.9 (33) - 15.16 (106) Swansea Magpies

First quarter:
Vale 1 goal 6 behinds (12): Swansea 3 behinds (3)
Second quarter: 
Vale 1 behind (13): Swansea 8 goals 6 behinds (57)
Third quarter:
Vale 2 goals 1 behind (26): Swansea 2 goals 1 behind (70)
Fourth quarter:
Vale 1 goal 1 behind (33): Swansea 5 goals 6 behinds (106)


Swansea Scorers:
Evan Phillips 1 goal 2 behinds
Rob Baker 1 behind
Jon Richards 5 goals 2 behinds
James Moon 1 goal 1 behind
Dan Gelabert 3 goals 1 behind
Jamie Evans (Double Blues) 4 goals 6 behinds
Rob Fielder (Chippenham) 1 goal 2 behinds


Other Players:
Geraint Havard
Alex Parry
Andy Stevenson (Chippenham)

Bristol Dockers home match report (As evening post didn't publish it)

Magpies Docked by Bristol

Magpies James Moon attempts to kick the ball out of danger

Swansea Magpies 62 - 148 Bristol Dockers

The Swansea Magpies headed into this game against the Dockers keen to avenge the away defeat in Bristol 3 weeks ago. The Magpies were in confident mood going into the game, feeling that they had improved on their weaknesses in the previous fixture and knowing that if they could get parity at the restarts, they possessed the fire power to out gun their opponents.

True to form, the Magpies came out of the blocks flying, dominating the first quarter, scoring 4 goals and 6 behinds to take a 30-21 lead. It appeared that the hard work in training since the previous fixture was paying off for Swansea as they took full advantage of the upper hand at the restarts that they developed.

 
However, what followed was a calamitous error-strewn second


quarter where the visitors took complete control of the fixture,


 scoring 60 points to the home teams’ 14. Unlike in the previous


 fixture, where the Dockers Australian contingent took control and


 strangled the Magpies out of the game, this game saw a comedy


 of errors by the hosts, whereby Swansea gifted easy goal after


 easy goal to the visitors.

A tight 3^rd quarter saw the Magpies regroup and regain control of

the ball and cut out the basic errors and the 6-6 score line for the
quarter was a fair reflection of the tough midfield battle. Having
regrouped in the third quarter, Swansea knew that a dominant
final quarter could see them steal the win and make up for the
disastrous 2^nd quarter. Swansea threw caution to the wind trying

to chase the game, but in doing so, they left themselves
vulnerable to the Dockers counter attack and with tiring bodies
unable to retreat and defend, Bristol took full advantage to score
a further 61 points and put the tie well and truly beyond the
hosts. In the face of the resounding loss, Jon Richards was the
Magpies stand out player, taking some impressive marks and
scoring 3 goals and a behind from half forward, while Dan
Gelabert and Siamak Samavat also battled hard.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Bristol knew that they had been
in a much tougher game than their previous fixture and that the
score line flattered them. However, ultimately, Bristol ran out
worthy winners and will next week hope to make it three from
three against last season’s champions Cardiff Panthers.
Meanwhile Swansea will look to return to winning ways at Barry
RFC against the Vale Warriors. The Magpies know that in order to
return to form and pick up the win, they must cut out the basic
errors that saw this game slip away from them.

Vale Warriors Away saturday

Saturday sees the Magpies facing the Vale Warriors at Barry RFC. Barry RFC will be televising the Wales v Australia game at 11am, so for those who wish to travel down early to watch the game, then meet outside Fulton House at 9:45am. For all those who aren't interested, meet at 10:45am to travel up to Barry.


Please let myself or Evan Phillips know you're availability for this game.


07824770312


The post code for Barry RFC is CF62 9TH

WARFL Table after round 4

Round 4 results:
Swansea Magpies 9.8 (62) - 21.22 (148) Bristol Dockers
Vale Warriors 15.0 (90) - 12.2 (74) Cardiff Double Blues

		Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Pts	For	Agst	%
		3	2	1	0	9	256	393	65.1
		2	2	0	0	8	358	65	550.8
		2	2	0	0	8	266	143	186.0
		3	1	2	0	6	297	287	103.5
		4	0	4	0	4	225	514	43.8

Magpies Scoring Chart

Player                  Games       Goals        Behinds          Total

Donal Galvin           3             16                5                 101
Jon Richards            2              4                 6                  30
Dan Gelabert           3              4                 3                  27
Chris Griffiths         3              4                 2                  26
Tim Walkden          1              4                  2                 26
Evan Phillips           3              3                 6                  24
Geraint Havard        3             2                  5                  17
Rob Baker               3              2                 3                  15
Jack Garner             1              1                 1                    7
James Moon            2              1                 1                    7
Paul Flynn               2              1                 0                    6
Eddie Condon         2              0                 4                    4
Sam Martin             1              0                 2                    2
Alex Parry              1              0                 1                    1
Siamak Samavat     3              0                 0                    0

Bristol Dockers result

Swansea Magpies 9.8 (62) - 21.22 (148) Bristol Dockers

First Quarter: Swansea 4 goals 6 behinds (30); Bristol 3 goals 3 behinds (21)


Second quarter: Swansea 2 goals 2 behinds (14); Bristol 9 goals 6 behinds (60)

Third quarter: Swansea 1 goal (6); Bristol 6 behinds (6)


Fourth quarter: Swansea 2 goals (12); Bristol 9 goals 7 behinds (61)

Swansea Match scorers:
Evan Phillips 4 behinds
Rob Baker 1 behind
Jon Richards 3 goals 1 behind
James Moon 1 behind
Chris Griffiths 2 goals
Dan Gelabert 1 goal
Donal Galvin 3 goals 1 behind

Other players:
Paul Flynn
Eddie Condon
Geraint Havard
Siamak Samavat


Other result: Vale Warriors 90-74 Cardiff Double Blues

Bristol Dockers Home Saturday

Saturday sees our return leg against the Bristol Dockers and I'm sure everyone is gunning for revenge having gone all the way up there to lose 3 weeks ago. If you are available, it's your chance to set the record straight and give them a miserable trip home, like they gave us. We will be meeting outside the Pavillion on Sketty Lane playing fields at 12 noon, with kick off at 1pm. Don't forget the £3 match fees.

If you are unavailable for whatever reason, please contact Geraint on 07824770312

The other fixture taking place this weekend sees a return fixture between Vale Warriors and Cardiff Double Blues.

Magpies Merchandise

We now have some Magpies merchandise available for anyone who wants to show their support, be you players or fans. At the moment we have baseball caps and beanie hats complete with Swansea Magpies logo available at the price of £12 each. If you are interested in one of these bad boys please contact Kim or Alex Parry or let either myself or Evan know next time you see us.

As far as polo shirts are concerned, I am working on getting some polo shirt designs ASAP from our supplier and options will be presented in training soon. Membership T-shirts have been ordered and should be available for collection in the next couple of weeks too.

WARFL Table (After round 3)

Results:
Cardiff Panthers 25.3 (153) - 2.4 (16) Cardiff Double Blues
Bristol Dockers v Vale Warriors (Postponed)

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Pts	For	Agst	%
		2	2	0	0	8	358	65	550.8
		2	1	1	0	5	235	139	169.1
		2	1	1	0	5	166	319	52.0
		1	1	0	0	4	118	81	145.7
		3	0	3	0	3	151	424	35.6