MIXED
Thanks to Col Phink for generously sharing these great insights once again today!
Game 1: Australia 15 - Chinese Taipei 3
Day three for the Mundis began with a high stakes crossover game, the winner of which would proceed into the quarter finals to play against ultimate powerhouse, Japan. It was a clinical start for the Aussies with a clean hold and two breaks to start the game: the first break coming after a big small-space layout block from Dennis Tran who has been threatening in this way all tournament long. What a way to set the tone for the game and fire your teammates up! I am told that some very intense match defense throughout the whole game created turnovers both as a result of pressured errors and big blocks which is no surprise for a team filled with some ridiculous levels of athleticism.
After a few missed break opportunities yesterday against the Philippines, some defensive-offense tweaks were implemented and the conversion rate was much higher. John McNaughton and Andrew Jackson both played huge games, and Michaela Dunmall was also extremely dominant both shutting down looks defensively, before taking charge of the disc going the other way. For the relatively small number of offense points they played, Chris Stoddard and Clare Barcham both dominated the open spaces; Adrienne Fleming and Maddie Owens snuck around and took advantage of the smaller spaces; and the whole offensive unit looked smooth and structured. I am also told that some impressive layout blocks from TimoclesCopland and Ben Powlay had the team up and about. All of this together led to a very convincing win for the Mundis, well done team!
Game 2: Australia 13 - Japan 9
What a game this one must have been! Going up against team Japan who were silver medalists at AOUGC in 2019 is no easy task, mentally or physically. Prior to the game the Japanese team had expressed surprise to meet the Australians so early in the bracket (a function of ourseeding from 2019 and loss yesterday, supposedly).
The Mundis came out strong again with a break to start the game after some exemplary team pressure created an error, allowing the Aussies to march the disc up the field through the women before John McNaughton threw a surprise cross-field lefty scoober (if you’ve ever tried marking JMac you will completely understand just how surprising these throws are) to Timo Copland to give them the perfect start. A couple of points later, and a mega layout block from Dennis Tran, your friendly neighbourhood horizontal man, led to another break for the Aussies.
Kaede Yoshida was instrumental again, using her knowledge of Japanese ultimate to her advantage to get a massive layout poach block. And with the whole team playing excellent match D, the Mundis were able to pile on the pressure and take half 8-5 *insert joke about this being the most dangerous score in ultimate here*.
Clare Barcham was clinical again in this game, toeing the line in the back corner of the endzone at one point to stop a disc sailing out of bounds to produce a score. Credit must also be given to Zac Chodos, Kevin Dang and Holly Reeve who, despite facing some of the most elite zones and switching in the world, were able to reliably keep the disc cycling. The final point of the game was finished after Maddie Owens threw a fearless inside shot across the front of the stack to Chris Stoddard who got up huge to take the game. A sensational result for the Barramundis!
WOMENS
The Firetails had an action-packed day today with two big games against some class opposition in Chinese Taipei and Japan, latter being a streamed game.
Thanks to Kat Smith for sharing the information to help write this recap.
Game 1: Australia 15 - Chinese Taipei 7
It was a fiery, might I say, start to day three for the Australian women with the Chinese Taipei women coming out of the blocks strong. I am told that they showed no fear on the field and weren't afraid to throw cross field hammers to escape the Firetails’ various zones. Key plays included Jess Parkes’ nice upline cut to flick soot for a goal and Lyra Meehan’s layout D on the endzone line to stop a score. Dani Alexander is also said to have revved up the team with an epic huddle speech: "There are no Ruths here, We are ruthless!!”. My goodness, even writing that out was cause for chills.
With the relentless heat not laying off, extra heat stoppages were a blessing for all teams today. I can only imagine this helped the O-line stay composed as they were unable to be broken and saw out the game comfortably. Very nice, girls!
Game 2: Australia 13 - Japan 15
What a nailbiter this was! After being down in the first half, the Firetails displayed great determination and resilience to take half 8-7. New South Wales weapons were on show with Angela Pidgeon back at it again getting big blocks while Dani ‘The Ruth-less Queen’ Alexander was racking up scores. Likewise, Ellipsis trio (hah, unintentional play on words but I don’t even care (if you know, you know)) Jess Parkes, Eva Weatherall and Pania Preston were also getting their names on the scoresheet.
The Firetails’ patient handler movement was brilliant, but Japan was not without their own bag of highlight plays with some big layouts leading to a key interception. Despite unending defensive pressure from Caitlin Grange, a big endzone D from Sally Yu and a “game changing” block by Laura Forbes, the girls were not quite able to get it done on the scoreboard. The final points of the game saw our brave Aussie’s battling with everything they had to try and flip the score. It was inspiring to watch them play with their hearts on their sleeves. But no matter, they are sitting second on the table at the moment and with the top two teams playing off for gold on the last day, it is quite possible that they will go up again against Japan for a revenge match.
Also, not relevant to any of the above, but I’ve been asked to mention that the Firetails also have their own cafe. It is called 'The Love Cafe' on Level 1011 of their hotel. The cafe manager is Pania Preston and the Head Barristers are Eva, Georgia Egan-Griffiths and Ali Lim. The loyalty cards are hotly attended to and reviews are always welcome. If you happen to be heading to the Philippines this week, go and check it out.
We wish you all the best tomorrow team, keep building towards greatness!
OPENS
Thank you, Alex Gan, for your comments from today!
Game 1: Australia 15 - Republic of Korea 2
Game 2: Australia 15 - Chinese Taipei 7
Game 3: Australia 15 - Binata Ultimate 4
I am going to summarise the Dingoes assignments for today as they were fairly stock-standard. Not to take anything away from any incredible plays being made or to discredit any players, but the boys are really setting fire to this tournament and unfortunately we haven’t had any streamed games to watch yet.
So, moving on, in their first of three games today, the Dingoes went up against the Republic of Korea. Thanks to some nice Facebook live videos, we have been able to see just how punishing these boys are on the field. And, parading some new(?) umbrellas today, we can also see that they are looking classy off the field as well! Perhaps one moment from this game that best captures the essence of the Dingoes so far, was when Peter Eley sold a player so hard on a fake that the guy ended up in a new postcode. My guy was in the air flying past for so long that he could have been operating as his own airline.
Speaking of people flying around, Scott Perry is said to have launched himself shoulder high for an outrageous layout block in the Dingoes second game of the day: what a man. Other great defensive plays came from Tony Castrignano and Bill Foreman who were out on the hunt again.
Flipping to the offensive side of things, we have talked consistently about how unstoppable the Dingoes have been, but did you know: their O-line has not been broken once this entire time. What an unbelievable effort. Spearheading this success I’m sure is none other than international star Tom Tullet who has allegedly been stopped multiple times for photos at the fields: must be nice. Penultimately, to cap off the on-field activities for the day, a shoutout must also be given to Nic Lelli who got an incredible catch hand block against Binata in the Aussie’s final game of the day.
And lastly, some final goss from Alex Gan who has been generous in sharing his time once more. The Dingoes had a bodybuilding contest against the Korean team after their game, they sat in some “pretty festy” ice-baths between games that had algae growing, and an unnamed player on the team has also been sanctioned for having their shirt off for too long. Perhaps IOU can offer something to the person who guesses this first? A *cough* Fractel *cough* hat, perhaps? Sponsorship pending, of course.
And that is all, folks. Another rampant day of ultimate complete and some great successes for the Australians. Tomorrow (TODAY, sorry), the Dingoes will begin by playing their first game in the bracket stage against the People’s Republic of China. The Firetails are taking on the Republic of Korea and the Philippines. And the Mundis have earned themselves a game against Team India in the Semi-Finals - possibly being streamed here or on Ultiworld.
Good luck to all, be sure to check in with the teams’ socials to keep up to date!