The South Dublin Swans were beaten in the Grand final of the ARFLI by a talented and committed Dublin Demons at St. David’s College on Saturday afternoon. On a beautifully sunny day the Demons successfully defended their title with a tremendous first quarter display that saw them open up a 5 goal lead that they never relinquished. The Swans put up a spirited performance, especially in the final quarter, but it turned out to be too little too late.

The South Dublin Swans booked their place in the Grand final against the Dublin Demons following a tremendous team performance against a spirited Midland Tigers. In a competitive and close encounter the Swans managed the win despite being behind at half-time and will go into the final with increased confidence having beaten such a difficult opponent. 

The match was played at our temporary home of Bushy Park in front of by far our biggest crowd of the season. Right from the first ball up the Swans showed the intensity and desire that was required with Big Paul hitting tackles like a freight train to leave some Tigers in a daze. This led to us opening up a lead with early goals from Chucky, Ed and Bryce. Paul scored an excellent goal on the turn off his left foot. Great play in the back line from Crazy limited the Tigers to only 1 goal for the quarter to see us lead by 26 to 7 at the break. 

However the Tigers reminded us in the second quarter what a good team they are. Using the sizeable hill to their advantage they put huge pressure on our defence and began to find the space that we had denied them at the start. After a few behinds the Tigers scored 5 unanswered goals towards the end of the quarter to open up a 15 point advantage, 4.3 (27) to 6.6 (42). 

We knew that we had to up our performance considerably if we wanted our season to continue and to a man the team responded to answer the call. In probably our best quarter of footy all year we roared back into the contest scoring 6.2 to no score. Rhino began to dominate the centre and with Macca coming more into the contest the Tigers had no answer to the onslaught. Any time the ball reach our back line Lewis and the superb Malcom X were there to quell any danger. The goals flowed freely to Jimmy the Lips, Bryce, Ed, Rhino, Chucky and Paul to see us take a 65 to 42 lead into the last change. 

The key to this turn around was our ability to deny the opponent space and time on the ball with tackles coming from everywhere and this continued into the final quarter. Nate (showing disregard for airport check-in advice), Noel and Rambo (in his come back game) were suffocating the opposition. But the Tigers were not done yet and kept coming, Big Cliff kicking 3 quick goals to keep the contest alive. Goals from Chad and a clincher from Macca finally put the game to bed and we could look forward to the Grand Final in two weeks time. 

In such a close encounter the intensity and hunger showed will stand us in great stead for the Grand final where we will have a few more guys coming back into consideration for the squad. The Tigers will feel a bit unlucky as they actually won 2 quarters and their lack of a bench proved a major disadvantage towards the end. Thanks to them for a firm but fair encounter as always played in the right spirit; also a big thank you to Dee and John Enright from the Demons for umpiring. Bring on the Final!! 

The South Dublin Swans secured 2nd place on the ladder and a home semi-final with a close and always competitive victory against the West Dublin Saints. Despite going into quarter time behind the Swans roared back with a brilliant team performance to win by 21 points and gain revenge for losing to Saints earlier in the year. 

In the surrounds of Chanel College a stiff breeze dictated matters throughout and made accurate kicking very difficult. The Saints with the wind at their backs came out strong from the off kicking the first two goals. With our defence under pressure Lewis and Macca were brilliant in keeping us in touch and we got a reward when Rhino kicked a goal to give us a foothold going into quarter time only 12 points down. 

The Swans came out firing and put in a great second quarter with Dono excellent at half forward, helping setting up goals for Nick and the superb Darren. We were beginning to dominate and had our kicking accuracy been better we might have gone out of sight. Rhino finished off the scoring with a brilliant long range effort to see us take a 10 points lead into the main break. 

After the match we all agreed that the third quarter was our best team performance of the season. Against the wind we knew the pressure was on but we responded magnificently. Nate had without doubt his best game for the Swans, taking marks, finding teammates, blocking opposition kicks and a tackle count well into double figures. We managed 3 goals in the final 5 minutes which on reflection won us the game. Eoin got the first with a snap shot from distance, followed quickly by Bryce setting up Nick and then Jimmy the lips scoring from close range. 

We moved Nick and Lewis to the ruck for the final term with Paul moving to full forward who had an immediate effect kicking a goal. The physicality continued with our coach giving blood to the cause and Bryce getting knocked out cold for a few seconds before bravely continuing. Brendan kicked our last goal of the game before we dropped our guard for the final few minutes thinking the game was up. The Saints did not make the same mistake and kicked two goals to give us a late fright. We managed to hang on for a moral boosting win going into the finals campaign. 

Overall it was a great team performance with our constant pressure and tackles not giving our opponents any time or space. The last few weeks of training has given us an edge that was not there at the start of the year and we will go into the finals with renewed confidence. A big thank you to the Saints for hosting the game, always played in good spirit, and making us feel welcome at the club house for a few beers after the game. 

The Swans beat a dogged and determined Tigers side in a desperately close encounter in Mullingar on Saturday afternoon. In an extremely nervous last quarter the lead changed hands twice in the final five minutes but the Swans managed to hang on for a crucial victory thanks to some desperate defence. 

We started the match well by getting the first score; Brendan taking an excellent mark and kicking the goal. However the rest of the play was very tight with no team on top and despite excellent play from Enda and Scotty in midfield we managed no more scores for the quarter. The Tigers managed two late goals to take a 6 point lead into quarter time. 

After some stern words the Swans came out firing in the second period. Rhino came off the bench and delivered a superb performance, taking marks, crashing into tackles and picking out team mates at will. But this was a great all round team effort and our dominance began to tell on the score board; Brendon again getting the first score of the quarter with a snap shot. Our two wing men Martin and Darren began to find space and play in the forward line. Chad came on to telling effect, kicking one goal and setting up another for Eddie. Rhino finished up the quarter by kicking a long range effort from near the boundary line. Unfortunately Brendan got a serious bang to the head and as he was seeing stars he wisely played no further part in the game. With 4 goals to 1 for the quarter we took a good lead into the second half. 

We were looking to further extend our advantage and put the game to bed but the Tigers upped their intensity and came right back at us. There was one vital piece of play that could be the turning point of our season. The Tigers broke up-field and we were outnumbered 4-3; just when a goal looked assured Chucky put in a huge tackle, taking man and ball and somehow cleared his lines. Within 20 seconds Eddie kicked the freak goal of the year- an amazing Messi like goal from a 45 degree angle off the ground for a 12 point turn around. We began to struggle on the huge pitch and the Tigers took advantage to kick a few goals and reduce the gap to just nine points entering the final quarter. 

The Tigers kept up the pressure in the final quarter with their running game to the fore. Chad showed again what brilliant mark he is to keep us in front with his second goal. Despite Paul winning every ball in the ruck the Tigers continued to come away with the ball and 2 further goals put them ahead with only a few minutes left on the clock. It was at this stage that Noel, making his Swans debut made a huge play in stopping a dangerous attack by wrapping up his man in the tackle. We were 3 points down but commeth the hour and all that…… Macca, who had a storming game, won a free kick and despite a difficult cross wind he knocked it over. The Tigers immediately attacked again but we held on for a 2 point victory that sees us (just) remain in finals contention. 

It was the kind of match that could have gone either way and the Tigers will feel that with a bit of luck the result might have been different. It was a tough game but always played in the right spirit and while the Swans won the Tigers were the better team for large phases of the second half. Thanks to them for hosting the game, also thanks to Johnny Enright of the Demons for making the trip down to umpire. A trend from the season continued with the Swans putting out just 6 Aussies, 10 Irish and one Frenchman. 

The South Dublin Swans got their season back on track with a superb all round display to defeat the reigning premiers, the Dublin Demons, by the huge score of 17.23 (125)- 0.6 (6). Although the Demons were severely weakened by missing many of their top players it was without doubt the Swans’ best performance of the year and makes up for the disappointment of losing their last two games. 

The first quarter started with the Swans roaring out of the traps. All the players answered the call to raise the physicality and the intensity of effort and the result was that we were wining all the contested ball. Rhino, playing in his first match as a father, was brilliant, barging through the tackles and with Paul dominating the ruck as always the forward line was getting a constant stream of good ball. Crazy Martin, relishing his new role in the forward line kicked the first goal as we started to make our dominance tell on the score board. Further goals form Bryce, Rambo and Jase in only his second game saw us go into the break with a good lead, 4.5(29)- 0.2(2). 

The Swans continued the second quarter as we had begun, playing man on man and giving the opposition no time on the ball. Tackles were coming from everywhere with Martin X, Jimmy the lips and Tuffy all excelling. Although our kicking wasn’t as accurate as it could have been we stretched our lead again with goals from Bryce, Eddie and a long range effort from Rhino. 7.12(54) - 0.3(3). 

The talk at half time was not to be complacent and to keep the pressure on. The lads responded brilliantly and as the Demons began to tire with no replacement bench the scores came regularly. A whopping 7 goals in the quarter saw us go out of sight with Martin, Jase, Bryce adding to their earlier scores with further scores from Eddie and Macca with his trade mark goals from the back line. The back line put in a tremendous effort to keep a clean sheet with Lester and Chad to the fore. 14.15(99)- 0.3(3). 

With the game all but won we made a few changes for the final quarter with Macca and Lewis moving forward and Rambo coming in for Paul in the ruck. Bryce and Macca continued their personal duel for top goal kicker with 5 and 3 respectively. Martin was on fire getting the goal of the game when he played on from a mark to goal from a tight angle. We were desperate not a concede a goal all day but the Demons looked to be in for a sure thing until GHD Simon produced the tackle of the day to bring down his man and win a free kick. A great team win and as has been the case all season the Irish/ Australian ratio was healthy with only 7 Aussies lining out in contrast to 10 Irish, 1 Scot and 1 Frenchman. The score finished 17(23)- 0.6(6). 

Overall it was an excellent performance from the lads and exactly what we needed to get our season back on track. Credit must go to the Demons as they put in a great effort till the end despite missing up to 12 players for various reasons. The game was played in a great spirit throughout and the Demons keep going hard but fair till the end. A big thank you to Sinbad for umpiring. 

After the match Rhino put on a champion BBQ that was enjoyed by both teams. We then had our fund raising prize draw that saw the 500 Euro won by Jase’s mum. The most competitive game all day was the coin rolling which saw Sinbad win the bottle of whiskey with great skill. A great day all round that went late into the night that bodes well for the rest of the season. 

A bleak windy and rainy day was the setting for the Swans V Saints match at Terenure on Saturday. With both teams fielding strong sides, the contest was going to be a must win for both to stay within the number 3 spot on the ladder. The swans for the 3rd match in a row fielded considerably more non Aussie players than Aussies, which is great for the development of the swans and the league in general. But alas, it was the Swans who again failed to put 4 quarters of football together, only showing some sort of form in the last quarter, going down to the Saints by 10 points.

With the welcoming back of Damo (as umpire) to the swans - The first qtr saw the Saints slam on 2 quick opening goals giving the swans a headache down back. A couple of quick changes stemmed the tide, as it looked like the Saints would run away with the game, however the swans then managed a goal to peg back the lead going into the first break. The swans were working hard but were also failing to man up and the saints found a number of loose men in the midfield who made the swans pay.

The second qtr was all the Saints again as they peppered the fwd line kicking quite a few points as well as a couple of majors. The Saints however did not close the door on the game and the Swans managed to get one back late in the qtr and the went into the major break 3.6 to Saints 5.10. 

The third quarter began somewhat ordinary again for the swans, the Saints found some extra bounce in their step and kicked 2 goals to extend the lead. Some great defensive work from Nick in the back line saw him the main contributor towards the Swans resurgence. Ross stepped in for his first game up fwd got his hands on the ball a good few times. John Dunne as always, was at the bottom of the pack not afraid to throw his weight around. Paul & Darren snapped truly for the swans to give a slight glimmer of hope, but still trailing by about 5 goals into the final break.

After stern words from a few of the Swans boys at the 3 qtr time break, the swans found some heart and came out firing in the last qtr. With Paul getting every tap out in the ruck, and Enda and Darren in the midfield finding some space, the boys bombarded the fwd line several times, catching the Saints defence off guard. Jim O’Byrne was a pivotal target up forward for the midfield and provided a great option. Darren in the midfield was brilliant all day and didn’t seem to have an opponent most of the time. Nate showed some great class and fantastic courage in bursting through the pack several times, diving on the loose ball sending both saints and swans players flying. Jimmy the lips also a great player for the day settling in around the centre picking up many uncontested possessions upon the ball rebounding out of the fwd line & Brendan the pocket dynamo was also racking up the possessions and causing the Saints backmen some pain running loose in the fwd line. However some wayward kicking in the last qtr produced 4 goals 5 points for the swans, not quite enough to get over the line, eventually going down by a very disappointing 10 points.

The Leeside Lions won a hard fought clash at the beautiful surrounds of Cork Institute of Technology on Saturday. It was a cracking day for footy and despite a late comeback from the Swans, the Lions ran out deserved winners. It was an eagerly anticipated game since the Swans beat the Lions both home and away last season before the Lions had their revenge knocking the Swans out in the Semi-final. 

The match started with both teams showing fantastic intensity, both teams refusing to take a backwards step and all playing good hard football. Lewis, playing in his first league match, had a stormer and Nick put in a huge work rate to keep the Lions out. They did however manage a late goal in the last minute to take a 7 point lead. 

For the second quarter, despite having most of the play the Swans couldn’t manage to get a goal, only getting 3 behinds while conceding 1 goal. Bryce made the tackle of the day charging down a Lion twice his size and bringing him to the ground. Nate also put in several huge tackles. 

The game was still very much in the balance at half time but the Lions took charge in the third quarter kicking 3 goals. They launched wave upon wave of attack and despite great play from Macca, Eddie and Darren the pressure told on the score board with the Lions getting 3 goals without reply. The Swans got a boost when Rambo Jim arrived having taken the scenic route down form Limerick. Despite not having a warm up he was excellent throughout the half. 

The game appeared to be up but Swans battled till the end. We finally got our first goal of the game, Paul winning a tap to play in Eddie who found Macca in the forward line who scored from the set shot. What followed next was the goal of the game, Eoin scoring his first Swans goals from an impossibly tight angle. Thanks to more great work from Lewis and Donno, Bryce scored our final goal from about 6 inches to take the lead to only 16. Alas before we could make the final push time as up. There were a lot of positives for the Swans, the intensity and effort was there all day but perhaps our accuracy in picking out men with the boot was a bit lacking at times. All credit goes to the Cork lads who proved again what a good team they are. 

The proposed 2nd edition of the conference didn’t happen on Saturday as the Belfast Redbacks had to pull out and the combined numbers of the Demons and Saints only reached 14. Since the Swans had close to 20 players it was decided that we would play a combined match against the Saints/Demons. Despite the lack of stature of the game the Swans put in a good performance to win 5.18 (48) to 6.5 (41). As the score suggests it should have been a much bigger win but for some errant goal kicking.

The Swans began very well and dominated the opening exchanges with Nate and Darren winning ball. Rambo showed his international class in slotting over the first goal and after great work form Paul in the ruck Nate marked and kicked the second. However despite this dominance the Saints/Demons scored three goals from their only three attacks in the quarter. We finished the quarter with Darren getting his first goal of the season to take a slender 2 point lead.

The Swans stepped up the intensity in the 2nd quarter to take control of the match. Excellent play from Ollie, Martin X and Jason (making his Swans debut) put huge pressure on the opposition leading to goals from Paul and Nick. Great defensive work from Macca and Lewis saw only 2 points conceded.

The Swans continued this superiority into the 3rd quarter with great play from Brendan also making his debut. Despite this the Swans found the wind a hindrance in kicking at goal and we managed a quite remarkable 10 behinds and no goals in 15 minutes of play. One or two were rushed and a few were from tight angles but this wasn’t what you would call impressive.

This continued into the final quarter with the Swans losing the final quarter and kicking a further 4 behinds. We conceded 2 goals but overall victory was never really in any doubt. Paul moved into the forward line to give us more future options and Lewis did very well in the ruck, winning plenty of ball. Overall it was a good run out and provided valuable experience ahead of our pivotal match away to Cork next week.

A very big Thank you must go to Rhino for putting on a superb BBQ after the match. Also to Scotty, Bryce and Jimmy the lips for umpiring and to the numerous goal umpires. Upwards and onwards to Cork next week. 

On Saturday the Swans travelled to Belfast to take part in the first conference competition of the season. The conference is a nine a side comp with matches comprising two 15 minutes halves designed to help some teams make the step up to the premiership.

After the Demons decided to forfeit due to a lack of numbers the day was reduced to just the Belfast Redbacks, The Swans and The Dublin Saints. Only nine Swans travelled up and we took on Belfast in the first game. The Redbacks were part of the Premiership a few years ago and hope to enter it again soon. The way they started the game showed that they have a lot to offer. Despite Chad scoring in the first minute Belfast led at half time thanks to their speed, fitness and good goal kicking. They were finding space too easily but the Swans raised their intensity in the second half with Paul winning all the hit outs and Malcolm X and Nick making big tackles. Bryce kicked two goals and Chad added another but it looked like the not being enough as Belfast scored a goal in the last minute. However Macca won the ball and played it up to Chad who took a great mark. He turned quickly and kicked into an empty goal square. As the final siren went the ball bounced over for a goal winning the match for the Swans by only 2 points.