Last Saturday, May 10, 2014, the Columbus Jackaroos welcomed the Toronto Central Blues to town for an early-season friendly match.  The two clubs are quickly developing a great relationship both on and off the field.  On the pitch, the Blues brought a far stronger team than they did in 2013 and showed from the first bounce that they were a very skilled team.  The Blues were effectively marking in space and showing that their understanding of how to move around a pack is still ahead of the Jackaroos.  However, the Jackaroos’ hard-hitting style of play and developed handballing/shepherding/communicating skills and tenacious defense proved to be too much for the Blues.  The Jackaroos won a clean-fought contest 9.13.67 to 6.5.41.  Best on Ground for the Jackaroos went to Phil “Sheepdog” Sisia in recognition of his non-stop hitting and shepherding in addition to a couple of very nice runs in space and long kicks forward.  First-year Jackaroos including Rob Adams, Britt Joseph, Casey Wieck, Michael Lutz, Tom Mathew, Tommy Willett, Jay Karutz, and Leo Strawn had great first games as Jackaroos and show promise for a long footy career ahead.

The women opened the day with a 7′s game. Toronto bested the  Jillaroos squad in four quarters of play. Thanks go out to our rookie women who played in their first game.

After the game, the Blues and Jackaroos came together for a very aggressive night of “socializing” down at the Social Room.  Many Jackaroos and their guests were in awe of how well the Blues acquitted themselves at the bar.  There were many well-contested, and occasionally controversial, boat races.  There were several chats from the bouncer requesting that clothing be put back on.  All in all, it was a fantastic night on the town that left the Jackaroos wanting more games against the Blues in the near future.

Next up on the docket is an inter-city metro match this Saturday.  Despite some heavy losses of starting players, the Jackaroos’ goal of another championship season is alive and well.  Get Jacked Up!