The OC Bombers hosted their third and final home game of the season on Saturday August 29, with the Arizona Hawks and the Las Vegas Gamblers traveling to SoCal to play the Orange County A and B teams respectively.

 

The games were held at Meadow Park in Irvine on the Southlake School grounds, and the players were greeted with a hot August day with temps in the 90’s. By game time however, a sea breeze kicked in and conditions were quite pleasant for the crowd who sheltered under trees and tents, while the players had it a bit tougher.

 

The Hawks traveled with a pretty full side which was great to see once again, but the mostly American team was facing a tough challenge against OC at home. Arizona showed again that they are one of the leading clubs in the country at blooding new American players, and with precious few Aussies posting up in Phoenix these days they continue to keep the game alive and well in their region. That said, they did have some very handy young Aussie players who are in Phoenix on an exchange program at ASU, with one of them being the brother of AFL St Kilda star Leigh Montagna. The talent obviously runs in the family, as the lesser known Montagna brother and his mates caused a few headaches for the Bombers forwards, and ultimately kept the score from blowing out even more.

 

Although the Hawks were generally outmatched in skills and experience, they made up for it with their tackling pressure, especially in the first half. The Bombers midfielders were under constant attack, and it was a good hit out for them and the rest of the squad as they head towards Nationals. Ultimately, the Bombers had far too much experience and depth for the Hawks and came away with a comfortable win.

 

In the second game of the day, the Las Vegas Gamblers (with some help from SD and AZ) took on the Bombers B side in a good warm up for both teams as they prepare for Div 3 at Nationals. In a close, very entertaining match that saw a late charge from the home side, the Gamblers held on to win by 5 points.

 

Big thanks to the Arizona, Las Vegas and San Diego boys that made the trip and helped contribute to another great day of footy in Southern California. The Bombers now look forward to the big challenge of facing San Diego at home on September 12, before heading to Ohio for the Nationals.

 

Game 1 - OC Bombers vs Arizona Hawks



OC: Q1 - 3.6 Q2 – 11.8 Q3 – 16.11 Q4 – 24.15.159



AZ: Q1 - 0.0 Q2 - 0.0 Q3 - 1.0 Q4 - 1.1. 7





OC Goal Scorers - Chris Stewart (8), Paul Lindley (4), Chris McNeil (3), Leigh Bridges (3), Colter Allison, Qemal Shaholli, Shane Donaldson, RJ Meza, Simon Sweeney, KB Nelson.

 

AZ Goal Scorers – Matt Sovereign.

 

OC Best – Paul Lindley, Leigh Bridges, Chris Stewart, Frederick Schulin, Qemal Shalholi.



AZ Goal Scorers - Matt Sovereign





Game 2 - OC Bombers (B team) vs Las Vegas/Arizona mixed side



LV/AZ - 8.8.56



OC - 7.9.51



LV/AZ Goal Scorers - Ryan Luto (3), Joe ?, Robbie Luto, Kurt Anderson, Jeremiah Cain, Matt Anderson.



OC Goal Scorers - Mark Baird (2), Darrin Olsen (2), Andrew Lowen, Nathaniel Smith, Jason Short.