The Orange County Bombers won the inaugural Wild West Shootout tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday with a two point victory over National Champions the Denver Bulldogs in the Grand Final.

The tournament was played in one day meaning 4 games for the finalists, and with temps in the 90’s it was always going to be a tough day at the office. The format was 9 a side with a 3 man bench, played on a smaller field with modified rules including a 9 point “supergoal” for goals kicked on the full from outside a 40 meter arc, and 3 point rushed behinds.

Against the backdrop of the Vegas Strip the Bombers lined up for their first match against the Philadelphia Hawks, and they hit the ground running. The Hawks were mostly inexperienced and struggled against the hungry Bombers still hurting from a loss to San Diego the previous week, and eager to play some good footy. The Bombers backline was particularly strong, keeping the Hawks goalless. The match proved to be a good warm up for the team and restored some confidence before the next big match against the Lions. Final score Bombers 61, Hawks 5.

The Bombers had something to prove against the Lions after fading badly in the last quarter the previous week. They’d shown they could match it with them, but ran out of steam in the end and were determined not to go down easily this time. The Lions came to win with a stacked team of 10 Aussies and 2 Americans, and all of their best players were available. The Bombers had only 4 Aussies, so once again the American players were to be heavily relied upon, and once again they delivered. The Lions jumped to an early lead as they are want to do, and were looking dangerous with all their guns firing. As usual Bombers Coach Paul “Peachy” Pietsch had the job on the Lions key player Cameron O’Brien, and as usual frustrated him to the point where Cammo eventually was moved into the ruck to escape. Still, the Lions had a lot of options and generally had the better of the first half, until in the last minute when KB found Macca with a beautiful pass from half back which resulted in a 9 pointer to level the scores going into the break. This was a good comeback from earlier in the half when the Bombers trailed by some 15 points, and the comeback was sparked by two huge plays. The first was from ruckman Andy “Country” Lindsay who roved his own tap-out, scooped the ball up and slammed home a supergoal at a crucial moment. Next was Mark “Larso” Larson, who went nuts in the forward zone and simply refused to let the Lions defenders clear the ball. With second, third and fourth efforts, Larso repeatedly blocked the Lions attempts to clear and eventually broke through with a goal to break the Lions spirit. The midfield of Country, Marty Curry (who won the tournament MVP award) and Captain Donnie Lucero started winning the center breaks, and the backline took control with Vice Captains KB Nelson and Steve Cassity working alongside Peachy to shut down the Lions forwards. The bench rotated regularly with Joel ”Billy” Hardy, Dazza Olsen, Corey Irwin and Mike “Hershy” Hertstein all chipping in with valuable contributions at the perfect time. Final Score Bombers 68, Lions 49.

The next match loomed as a danger, with the Bombers facing an unknown quantity in the Chandler Outlaws from Arizona. The Outlaws were young and full of running, and while they lack some experience they are very familiar with the 9 a side format due to their big Metro competition back home, and they were used to the desert conditions. The Bombers meanwhile were perhaps a bit complacent, and the Outlaws took full advantage and jumped to an early lead and didn’t let go until overwhelmed in the last 10 minutes by a suddenly switched on Bombers side. This time the spark came from Hershy, who moved to full forward and kicked 2 goals in a few minutes to swing the game the Bombers way. Billy chased down an opponent and scored from the resultant free kick, and the whole side lifted to finally win comfortably. Final Score Bombers 87, Outlaws 57.

And so to the Final, which saw the Bombers face the Bulldogs on percentage over the Lions. The Dogs had a slight breeze in the first half and took advantage, slamming on 3 goals to nothing in the opening minutes. They held sway for most of the term and went into half time looking comfortable with a 22 point lead. The Bombers were tired and looking forward to the end, but the leadership group of Peachy, Donnie, Steve and KB had other ideas. Peachy took certain players aside while the others got the team fired up with strong words of encouragement. Peachy then addressed the side in the most heated manner yet seen by this coach, and from the first bounce of the second half the Bombers were a different side. The leadership group led by example with Donnie dominating the midfield, and Steve and KB holding down the backline despite the injuries they carry. Peachy meanwhile, had the job of covering Jeddi at full back, another of the country’s best players.

Despite all this, the Bombers needed something up forward and it came in the form of their youngest player Corey Irwin, who in only his second year of footy hadn’t had a lot of game time to this point. Early in the second quarter when the Bombers were trailing by 22 points, Corey swooped on the ball out on the flank, turned and drilled a 9 point supergoal to close the gap. Soon after he was heading into an oncoming pack of Bulldogs but didn’t flinch and went for the ball. He heard the voice of his captain and cleverly tapped the ball out to Donnie who took it and kicked another 9 pointer to make the difference only 4 points. From there it was an arm wrestle, with exhausted players giving everything until the final siren which had the scoreboard showing the Dogs as winners. A quick check by the goal umpires soon righted the situation and declared the Bombers victors, 61 to 59. The boys then erupted into celebrations and a much needed singing of the club song.
It was a great effort from the players who showed that they like to come back from seemingly impossible odds to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and while it may be stressful for the supporters, it is fun to watch.
Also involved in the victory were the guys who played in the Bombers/Greens/Tuscon side, Yabbi, Jed, Jon and Zac. These guys were unlucky not to play in the first team, but showed up and played hard for their side, in fact they were clearly standouts. Jon “Mayor” Quimby even managed to follow Jed’s lead and score a goal with his first kick in a game.

Big thanks to all the crew that turned out to help as well, Cowlesy was out with a hamstring injury but still showed up to run water, goal umpire and give encouragement all day. The Bombers Girls were once again out in force, doing everything from driving out to get water and a shade tent, to screaming their lungs out every game. Hearing that kind of support from the sidelines is what lifts the players and ultimately makes a result like this happen. The Bombers are a family, and together we can hopefully bring a few more results like this home.

View the pictures from this event here.