Munich Kangaroos 8-13-61 versus Stuttgart Emus 9-11-65

Not many games of footy are won in the first quarter. But looking back on the most sensational victory in the short history of the Stuttgart Emus football team, you’d have to rate the first 20 minutes of the Grand Final day playoff game for third place in the 2011 AFLG season between the more favoured Munich Roos and the Stuttgart Emus as the best team performance Stuttgart has ever produced.

It was not finesse footy – Stuttgart converted only three of its nine scoring shots in the first quarter into goals – rather, it was robust, tough, determined footy that got the Emus to the first break 17 points ahead of their rivals.

The Roos were stunned, and came out more determined in the second quarter. By half time they’d shaved the Emus lead back to six points. Coach Chris Robertson demanded concentration, continued hard tackling and running, and more talk from his players. In the end, it could have gone either way. Munich had opportunities to put themselves into the lead in the final quarter but buckled under pressure.

Crucial to the Emus win was good ball distribution from the centre square, determined contestation for the ball up and down the park, and quick release into the forward line to create scoring opportunities. Aaron Wedge and Flo Walz did well to hold their nerves in front of goal when it counted. Solid work in defence by Jake Quintel and Matt Book was matched by excellent displays of running, kicking and marking in the midfield by Jakob Jung and Glen Smith (Man of the Match). But other wonderful moments – such as the sight of Michael Räumschüssel breaking free from the pack, ball in hand, charging for goal, in the first quarter or the grit and skill shown by small-statured Jan Plank, standing firm to take a crucial mark in the midfield with just a minute to go in the game – will remain in the minds of Emus players well into the new season in 2012.

The magnitude of this victory deserves to be savoured: Munich had thrashed the Emus by around a hundred points in each of the two league games in the 2011 season. But in the game that counted most, the Emus found a way to capitalise on a fired-up start and maintain a lead to the end of the game. Congratulations to all who contributed to a great game and a wonderfully hosted Grand Final day. Bring on 2012!

Match Report: Geoff Rodoreda

It’s difficult for a club to award individual performaces in such a team environment, this year was particularly tough as there were so many consistant contributions.
Both Robbo and Hanno put their heads together, important factors in the selection included the performance, commitment, reliability teamwork. The one percenters, shepparding, tackeling talk & support and effort both in the games and at training are noticed by the coaches.
Chris Robbo then presented the players awards for 2011
Congratualtions 2011 Best & Fairest (joint award) Jakob Jung and Jake Quintel
Congratualtions 2011 Best Midfield player Nico Schwan
Congratualtions 2011 Best Defender Matt Book
Congratualtions 2011 Best Forward Flo Walz
Congratualtions 2011 Coach’s award Michael Raeumschuessel

Encouragement awards for best up and coming players;
Timo, Sören, Phil, Jan and Matze

For a full report, look at this weeks update.

Thanks to all Players, supporters and sponsors for a solid team building year.. 2012 ….. can’t wait !

After a boisterous Friday night tasting the local dark beers (11% alcohol for those brave enough to try), we headed out to the Rugby Club by local transport. The Prague players met us excitedly and were very gracious hosts organising the field, umpires, water and change rooms for us.

Five players on the bench in the beginning

We began the game with 5 on the bench, which initially seemed plenty for a nine-a-side game. However, when Martin came off injured early in the game and with the inclusion of first game players, we realised that we were in for a tough afternoon of footy.
Prague began very strongly, kicking the first two goals of the game. However, the Emus steadied and managed to fight out the first quarter well. We were approximately two goals down at ¼ time. Once again Prague came out hard in the second quarter but we were able to hold our own, with strong performances from Manu, Jake, Matt Book, his Aussie mate Paul, Flo and the borrowed player from Prague, Sam.

Turnaround after halftime

After half time, we managed to organise our team structure a bit better and we attacked strongly throughout the quarter. In fact, in this the premiership quarter we piled the pressure on the younger Prague team and with many good, clean passages of play managed to turnaround our half time deficit to a 16 point lead at the ¾ time break.

“One of the best wins the club has had”

Coach Hansen asked the boys for a big effort at the ¾ time huddle. Even though we had many old legs we managed to fight the game right out to the end and hold onto an 8 point win (thanks to a great goal from the boundary line on the siren by Jake).
It was one of the best wins the club has had. We were strongly challenged throughout the game and came from behind to score a great win. It was a great occasion for the Stuttgart Emus. What was also great is that every player contributed in some way to the victory.

For Stuttgart, we need to use this win as a stepping stone for the rest of the season. We have three very important games ahead. Two against teams below us, which we need to win to show that we belong as the main challengers to Munich for third place. In order for this to happen we need commitment from players to training and to play the away games. The great win and weekend in Prague showed that it is well worth the effort.

Thanks to…

I must mention again the hospitality of Prague. They organised medals for all players, and gave us all free beers at the bar afterwards. They also played the game in great-spirit.

On finishing, I would like to give a special mention to Guy Canino for organising the trip. He spent many hours organising trains, buses and people. He needs to be commended for this as these trips are not possible without someone willing to do the work to organise them. Thanks Guy! Also to Simon for organising the great accommodation, which was right in the heart of the city and he organised a great deal for us.

It was a great weekend for all those who attended, and also provided a great chance for further team bonding.
Now, let’s get ready for Frankfurt!

by Chris Hansen

Größere Kartenansicht

Eberhard-Bauer-Stadion
Weilstraße 201
73733 Esslingen

It was a big ask for the first game of the year. Here was a new-look Emus team playing last year’s premiers in the first game of the season on their home turf. Still, the embarrassing score line – from an Emus perspective – does not reflect the intensity, commitment and emerging self-confidence with which the Emus played the Kangaroos on Saturday.

Round 1 – AFLG 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011

It was a big ask for the first game of the year. Here was a new-look Emus team playing last year’s premiers in the first game of the season on their home turf. Still, the embarrassing score line – from an Emus perspective – does not reflect the intensity, commitment and emerging self-confidence with which the Emus played the Kangaroos on Saturday. “It was a great learning curve for us,” said Emus new coach Chris Hansen after the game. “We’ll definitely do better when we face the Roos in a few months in Stuttgart.”

While the Roos victory was never in danger they didn’t dominate from start to finish. Most of the first quarter belonged to the Emus. They came out firing, surprising the champions with good ball disposal and teamwork in the mid-field and tenacious defending at the back. They were rewarded up front with an excellent tackle by newcomer Jan on a Roos defender, and a quick snap at goal by Flo for his first six-pointer of the season. The second quarter dealt the Emus a devastating blow: one of our midfield stars, ruckman Andy Miller (last season’s Most Valuable Player), had to leave the field after breaking his collar bone. The Roos made some tactical changes and turned it up a notch, racking up a good handful of unanswered goals as their attacking players fell into routine. The Emus had their chances to put more points on the board but in the end their fitness – or lack thereof – was no match for the forever running Roos. In the third and fourth quarters coach Hanno moved some of the more experienced players into new positions in order to thwart the Roos forward line and mid-field but the home side continued to dominate.

Why such optimism then? Because the Roos had to fight for all of their goals. At no point in the match did the Emus hang their heads in resignation. From fullback to full- forward they contested marks, fought hard for the ball on the ground and, under the insistence of Hanno, used their voices much better than any previous game to call for the ball and warn or urge on teammates. A team comprised mainly of new bloods or players with only one or two match games performed with great heart and, at times, great skill. Congratulations to hard running, big-booted centre-back Martin, who earned one point in the official AFLG umpires award for the best Emu on ground.

The season’s first game started with the announcement of the team Captain and Vice-Captain for the year: Fabs (who was unfortunately at home sick in Stuttgart for this first game) will lead the Emus on the field this year; Flo will be his deputy. The next round will see the Emus clash at home against last year’s runner-up, the Rheinland Lions on May 7.

by Geoff Rodoreda

Big Raffle / Tombola with typical australian prices

Event bei Facebook

Wir freuen uns auf Euch!

The venue will be:

Champions

Eberhardstr. 63 Stuttgart, opposite Galeria Kaufhof

Please email me at stuttgartemus@gmx.de with any questions.

See you there,

Guy