Sydney Uni American Football Club

After a long preseason working hard on honing their skills, the Lions kicked off their 2011 campaign with a visit to the Outlaws. Both teams have a reputation for hard hitting, physical football, and this match was no different, with both sides swarming and hitting right up until the final whistle.

The new look Outlaws side under Head Coach Gaffey came out swinging, but were clearly outmatched on both sides of the ball by the Lions. On offense, Kiernan Dorney showed why he is the best QB in the country throwing six touchdowns and running for another two, while the Outlaws attack was kept in check by a swarming Lions defence. Penrith’s strong ground game had no room to operate with a dominant performance by the front 7, while the defensive backfield ensured that when the Outlaw’s QB had time to throw, there was nobody open.

The opening drive for the Outlaws proved to be a harbinger of what their day was to be like, with the Lions forcing an incomplete pass, getting a tackle for a loss on a run play (with Mick Rigney and Leigh Louey Gung combining to stop dangerous RB Etcell in the backfield) followed by a diving interception by Mathieu Bertrand.

The offense took the field and continued with the success of the previous year, working with a short field to secure the endzone with a sixteen yard strike from Kiernan Dorney to Marc Biedenkapp. This wouldn’t be the last time these two connected, with Marc and Kiernan hooking up like year nine kids at a train station to the tune of 128 yards and four touchdowns. The Outlaws were obviously wary of the vaunted Lions’ power run game, keeping seven defenders in the box for the majority of the day. The Aerial Assault Team™ didn’t need much more of an invitation, and had their way with the young Outlaws secondary.

Throughout the course of the evening, the Lions front seven spent their time in the Outlaws backfield, forcing numerous tackles for a loss and sacks. Although in the raw stats it may look like the secondary had a quiet day with only one pick, that was more due to the fact that the Outlaw’s QB was desperate to get rid of the ball under the pressure of the Lions’ defense. DB Suren Wickramasinghe in particular had an excellent breakup on one of the few balls that were in the air against the swarming secondary. LB Nicolai Hansen led the tackle count on the evening with eight tackles, and special mention goes to Andreas “Das” Lundin who was an absolute hammer on special teams tackles, as well as causing havoc from his defensive line position.

Highlight video of the game can be found on the multimedia page

Final Stats:

Rushing

Lions – 36 carries for 238 yards @ 6.6 YPC with 4 TDs

Outlaws – 26 carries for 35 yards @ 1.3 YPC with 0 TDs

Passing

Lions – 28 attempts for 21 completions for 310 yards @ 14.7 YPC with 6 TDs (ties a club record for passing TDs)

Outlaws – 18 attempts for 4 completions for 13 yards @  0.3 YPC with 0 TDs and 1 interception.

After a very physical first game (the Outlaws to their credit hit hard right to the final whistle), the Lions travel to the Central Coast to take on the old foe in the Bondi Raiders. These clubs traditionally have been rivals, and regardless of the makeup of the team or standings, always proves to be a physical game. Check out the homepage for details, we hope to see you there.