Superbowl Party

The Club is holding its Superbowl Party at its sponsor - The Alexandria Hotel, Cnr. Henderson Rd & Garden St, Alexandria - on Monday, 4 February 2008 from 10 am.  All Old Boys are encouraged to take a sickie and support our sponsor by coming out to see the game with the Lions.  Family and friends are welcome.  The game will be shown live on the big screen with beer on tap and hotdogs on offer.  There is no entry fee or cover charge. 

Homecoming Game

The Lions are holding their 2007 Homecoming Game against the Sutherland Seahawks at 7pm on Saturday, 1 December 2007 at St George Hockey Centre, Mutch Ave, Kyeemagh.  A map of the venue is posted on the Contacts page.  This is the one game of the year where we encourage all Old Boys to come out to cheer for the team.  After the game, Old Boys, family and friends are invited back to our sponsor pub, the Gladstone Hotel at 115 Regent Street, Chippendale, to catch up with the team and engage in endless post-match analysis. 

Lions All-time Roster

A Lions All-time Roster has been posted to the website.  Go to the Lions page, then click on the "History" link and then click on the "Lions All-time Roster" link.  The roster lists all players who have played a game for the Lions in alphabetical order.  If you have any alterations or additions to make to the roster, please contact Andrew Ogborne on americanfootball@susport.usyd.edu.au.    

Reunion Dinner

The Club is holding its Annual Dinner on Friday, 31 August 2007 from 7pm at the Grandstand Sports Bar, Sydney Uni.  The dinner doubles as the Old Boys Reunion dinner and, this year, the spotlight is on the 1987 and 1997 Lions teams.  We are particularly interested in tracking down all Old Boys who started with the Lions in 1987 and 1997 so that they can come and celebrate their 20 and 10 year reunions.  The Club's records show the following players joining the team in 1987 and 1997.  If you have contact details for any of these players, then please send them through to the Club on americanfootball@susport.usyd.edu.au.  If you are one of these players or played on the 1987 or 1997 teams, then join us at the dinner for a night of sharing old war stories and meeting the current crop of Lions who are carrying on the winning tradition of the Club.  

Superbowl Party

The Club is holding its Superbowl Party at its sponsor - The Royal Exchange Hotel, 203 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville - on Monday, 5 February 2007 from 10 am.  All Old Boys are encouraged to take a sickie and support our sponsor by coming out to see the game with the Lions.  Family and friends are welcome.  The game will be shown live on the big screen with beer on tap and hotdogs on offer.  There is no entry fee or cover charge. 

Homecoming Game (28 October 2006)

The Club is holding its 2006 Homecoming Game this Saturday, 28 October 2006, against the West Sydney Pirates at UWS Hockey Fields, Second Avenue, Kingswood, with kick-off at 3pm.  The Pirates knocked off the Lions earlier this year 28-21, ending the team's 33 game winning streak, so the team is keen to square the ledger.  The Club is trying to build up the Homecoming Game as the one game in the year where the old boys, friends and family will come out to support the team and then join the team to celebrate the Club at a post game function.  This year, the team will head to the Royal Exchange Hotel, our pub sponsor, after the game from 7pm.  Please see if you can get out to the game or join the team afterwards at the Royal Exchange Hotel.  We look forward to seeing you there. 

Bondi Rematch (26 August 2006)

The Lions and Raiders veterans faced off again on the flag football field on Saturday, 26 August 2006, at the Square, Sydney Uni.  This time the game was part of a week-end staged in honour of Jim Minogue, a Raiders player from the early 1990s who is fighting a serious battle against cancer.  A number of last minute withdrawals saw the Lions old boys turn out with the bare minimum of five players: Andrew Ogborne, Salim Gundoganli, David Allen, Michael Dennis and Ron Dumas.  Luckily Michael Dennis had left his boots behind at the last flag day so that he had to turn up to get them back!  The Raiders had sufficient numbers to play two platoon football, with Con Boutsikakis, Jim Minogue, Paul Kohn, Michael Vrceli, Harry Pavlidis, Steve Nusco, Gary Price, Safwat Rafail and others sharing it around on offence; and Andrew Brundu, Paul Manera, Mark Mullins, Roy Stonehill, Michael Vardavas, Joe Desmid and others taking over on defence.  Pete Tos Snr kept to the safety of the sideline. 

As in the previous match-up at the Lions Flag Day, the Raiders got on the scoreboard first.  Paul Kohn directed a well-constructed drive the length of the field for a 6-0 lead.  An interception by Michael Dennis got the Lions going, and Ogborne answered with a touchdown and a successful PAT.  Despite the demands on their fitness, the Lions found success in mixing their coverages and getting pressure on the quarterback from Ogborne and Allen.  On offence, Allen had a field day, finding holes in the zone coverage and holding two further touchdowns.   The Lions were still going strong when the game was called at 21-6. 

The Raiders then put on a barbeque and many yarns were spun and a little amber fluid imbibed.  Everyone then turned out for a mass offence v defence game before the Raiders headed off into the evening with Jim Minogue at their head  to continue the revelry into the wee small hours.  Everyone agreed that the teams should get together again, with one suggestion being that we stage a flag game/barbeque to coincide with the Lions v Raiders game in the NSWGFL each year.  We will keep you posted.   

The Old Boys took to the field in the Club's Flag Football tournament held on Sunday, 7 May 2006 at the Square, Sydney Uni.  The Old Boys - playing as the "Throwbacks" - wore the Lions Throwback jerseys in an effort to make it difficult for the opposition to "cover number 84".  The Lions Old Boys were not alone in trying to re-kindle past glories, as Paul Manera had sportingly assembled a Bondi Raiders team - playing as "BOBs" - made up of Bondi greats of old.  The two teams were smart enough to demand that they meet each other in the first round before (lack of) fitness took its toll and before the reality of facing the young whippersnappers of the current generation had a chance to tarnish their hard-won reputations.  Players caught up, team photos were taken and then it was on!

Both teams threw early interceptions, but it was BOBs who drew first blood - Steve Nusco evading the coverage on the end of a Paul Kohn pass.  Andrew Ogborne then started finding his receivers and the Throwbacks surged into the lead.  Gundoganli, Dennis, Cutts and Gordon Ogborne all made their QB  look good with some great grabs.  As the game wore on, BOBs were able to call on an expanding bench as further Bondi Old Boys answered the call, including two more of the original Buccaneers in Mark Dicalfas and Joe Desmid.  When the full-time whistle finally sounded the score was: Throwbacks 26 - BOBs 6.  Immediately all sorts of plans were being hatched for re-matches involving various combinations of player numbers and equipment.  Some involved meeting afterwards in the carpark.  Eventually, everyone decided that lunch was the better option.  The Lions Old Boys thank Paul Manera and the Bondi Old Boys for organising a team on short notice and being part of a great day. 

However, the day was not over for the Throwbacks.  Although the most important challenge had been met, the Throwbacks were pitched into the main draw against the young, fit kids.  Their next match was against Prison Break, a team lead by last year's Lions quarterback Kiernan Dorney.  Prison Break had demolished the Angry Young Men 39-18 in the first round and started the proceedings against the Throwbacks with a long bomb touchdown to James Gifford.  Matters were not helped when Andrew Ogborne tore his hamstring on an ill-advised scramble.  Nevertheless, the Throwbacks played solid defence and controlled offence to comeback for the win 12-8. 

The news was getting worse for the Throwbacks.  This meant that the team had qualified as first seed in the Semi-finals.  Dreams of a well-earned ale with the feet up in front of the telly were dashed.  The team was now playing on pride or ego or something - but it wasn't fitness.

The Semi-Final match-up was against Can't Throw, Can't Run.  Current Lions stalwarts Anthony Sinton, Mathew Freeman, Joe Lim and Tau Saipaia had teamed up with new recruit, Daniel Buechl, and Cub, Phil Reisacher, to form a dangerous outfit.  By this stage, the Throwbacks had lost Petar Lackovic to Star Funk Deluxe as quarterback, but gained Craig Morgan.  The game was a classic see-saw affair.  Veteran Tau Saipaia scored the touchdown of the day with a huge catch and run.  Gordon Ogborne held a diving grab with his body draped over the sideline of the endzone for a crucial score.  With no time on the clock, Andrew Ogborne fired a touchdown pass to level the scores, but was sacked on the point after try.  The bad news continued - Overtime.  Sinton directed a drive in for the score, but the Throwbacks batted away the point after try.  The Throwbacks drove into the endzone on their answering possession to tie up the score.  Making sure there would be no double overtime, Ogborne hooked up with his brother for the game-winning PAT.  Throwbacks 25 - Can't Throw, Can't Run 24. 

The organisers then struck a cruel blow, deciding that the Grandfinal would be played over an extra 10 minutes.  The reigning champions, Star Funk Deluxe, had been bolstered with a couple of UTS ring-ins, but still retained the true Funk in Chris Snagg, Leigh Louey-Gung and Joey Brown.  Petar Lackovic, playing on only one good leg, was reminding everyone why he is the only Lions player in Club history to have lead the team in passing touchdowns and receiving touchdowns in different seasons.  The game was fast and furious.  Star Funk Deluxe scored first, but the Throwbacks answered back with two unconverted TDs for a 12-7 lead.  Gundoganli raced all the way up the sideline only to be ruled to have stepped on the line.  Lackovic found Joey Brown deep behind the coverage only to be ruled to have stepped over the line of scrimmage.  On the last play of the game, Ogborne threw long into the end-zone for all-time Lions rushing leader Salim Gundoganli, but current Lions rushing leader Chris Snagg was there to bat the ball down and preserve a 20-18 win for Star Funk Deluxe.  It was a fitting end to a great game. 

Many thanks to David Allen, Salim Gundoganli, Michael Dennis, Cameron Cutts, Gordon Ogborne and Craig Morgan for giving their all (and more) for the Throwbacks. Other Old Boys present included Jeff Bramon, Todd Milner (with young Nixon) and current Lions Head Coach, Stephen Dunne.   You can be sure the Club will be holding the same event next year, so mark the date in your calendar.  I just hope we have recovered by then.