• NATIONALS
  

The Las Vegas Gamblers Australian Rules Football Club capped off its
inaugural year in the USAFL with a division III national championship. In
an unprecedented wave of events, the Gamblers stormed on to the
footy scene this year with an 8-4 record. Some of the team’s major
accomplishments this year include winning the Western Regionals 9a-
side tournament, hanging tough with the division I squads at the
second Western Regionals tournament and winning the Div III USAFL
nationals championship.
       Here are the highlights of the national tournament.
Game one pitted Las Vegas against Kansas City. It was already hot so
staying hydrated in this game was key. Kansas City came out, put a lot
of pressure on our defense and scored a quick goal but Jamie, Nick
and Kurt minimized the damage. The Gamblers calmed down
afterwards and began to move the ball around soundly. Exemplifying
the grit of the team, Yabi took a monster mark at the end of the first
half at the expense of suffering a concussion. Mic calmly buried the
goal for him. The Vegas forwards and centers were just too much for
Kansas City. In the second half Brett won the ball with three guys on
him and kicked on. At another point, Kurt caught a KC defender,
tackled him and then kicked a goal. The best sequence of the game
though came in the last minute when Mic caught a mark in the goal
square and kicked out to Marty. Marty then rumbled up the field
dribbling a couple times before being pressured. At that point he hand
balled to Chad who gave it right back to Marty who proceeded to kick
downfield to Cam. Cam took the mark and kicked for points at the
buzzer. LV 9.6.60 to KC 2.3.15
       In game two Las Vegas took on Atlanta. At five in the afternoon,
this game put new meaning into the phrase “sun in your face.” The
inaccurate bug bit us this game especially in the first half. Bridgo’s
boots were a fair bit too small and he couldn’t feel his feet making it
difficult to hit a goal. That was probably a blessing in disguise because
it allowed us to get plenty of work perfecting the zone defense that we
had not had much practice on. Atlanta was only able to clear the zone
a few times. Vegas pulled away in the second half once we got bigger
boots on Bridgo. This game was Mitchell’s coming out party. He
seemed to be all over the field rucking, catching marks and kicking
goals.

         LV 9.9.63 to Atlanta 2.0.12

       Game three was bright and early on the second day as Las
Vegas squared off against Golden Gate. Eight ‘o’ clock games are the
worst, especially if you are not the home team. Bridgo and Shorty
wreaked havoc up front on the young Roos. Even more of a problem
for the Roos, were the Vegas “Bigs” coming alive. Matty and Geoff
owned the ruck. In the first half Matty took a couple great marks up
front and kicked goals. In one play, Geoff scooped the ball ran up field
for a stretch and kicked a goal untouched. In another he shielded a
man with his body, caught the ball and kicked the goal. The Gambler’s
zone defense caused problems as the Roos couldn’t clear it and Vegas
often recovered. Credit in this game goes to the Vegas bench players
who came in and maintained the same level of play as the starters. LV
12.9.81 to GG 1.0.6
       Championship Game: After going undefeated in pool B, we went
on to face a very good Baton Rouge team who barely fell short of
winning the division III title last year. We knew they would be hungry.
Vegas started quick as Mic recovered the first ball out of the middle
and booted it to Shorty who then proceeded to kick a behind. Baton
Rouge was not shaken though and they came back, hit us in the
mouth, played physical and always ran numbers to the ball. Their ruck
was dominating, very athletic, and always on the move creating
matchup problems for Vegas. In the first half, the defense of Nick and
Kurt kept Vegas in the game. Their second and third efforts often won
back the ball despite being outnumbered. Then Vegas suffered a big
blow as Marty knocked heads with one of the Tigers and went down
just before the half. Little did he know that he would signal the rally cry
of the team at the half.
       In the huddle we were challenged to use what had brought us this
far all season; our heart. We knew the second half would not be won by
our bodies because they were spent. We would just have to will
ourselves to win. Kurt asserted the rally cry at the start of the second
half by catching and holding on to a mark as a Tiger defender slammed
into and knocked the wind out of him. If a 53 yr old man would put
himself out there like that, what excuse could the rest of our team
have? At that point, Payner put the freshest ball handlers in the middle
at the risk of moving some of the starters out. That move paid
dividends as Mitchell was free to roam to the ball, Ryan took several
handballs, and Shorty’s stature made him tough to tackle. Mitchell was
all over the field making plays. Mic was moved up front to rest and to
be used to catch clutch marks and hit big kicks. He would not
disappoint.
       Vegas immediately kicked a goal after the move and pulled to
within four. The momentum began shifting. After setting up in middle,
Shorty took the ball cleanly out of the ruck and booted forward where
the forward line kicked goal. With the lead back, the momentum was
clearly on our side and the boys came to life. Miah cleared a ball to
Ryan who found a few more breaths and booted to the forward line. Mic
recovered the ball and was driven into the ground. In doing so, he was
awarded the kick from twenty out straight on which he calmly buried. In
the next sequence, with the chance to put the game away, Vegas was
again able to get the ball into Mic’s hands who again lived up to his
name and kicked a goal. Another unsung hero of the finals was Roger
who’s excellent decision making created numbers for us and turned
back attacks at critical times. LV 47 to BTR 31

       Congratulations to Mitchell for winning the MVP of the finals
and to Mic for winning Best and Fairest of division III.

       Thanks to all of our supporters who contributed to the team this
year included our photographers, water runners and assistant
coaches. Thanks to the clubs that encouraged, supported and played
alongside us this year including OC, San Diego and Seattle. Thanks
USAFL, Tom Ellis and Greg Everett for their guidance. Our division III
title is a result of all of your efforts.
       
       The team now turns it attention this offseason to building on this
year’s success and becoming a yearly consistent competitor
representing Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.vegasfooty.
com.

Submitted by Jeremiah Cain 10/11/06,
President of the Las Vegas Gamblers Australian Football Club