Knights best Jacksonville 24-26
July 28, 2007
(Match report written world famous Australian rugby league journalist Nathan Goolely)

It was a 4am start for the 6am flight to Jacksonville via Atlanta. Boys all arrived safe and sound at the airport which was a little surprising given the hour. We arrived at the hotel in Jacksonville in time for a quick team meeting, a bite of lunch and a well earned nap before heading to the University of North Florida for the big game.

The home field of the Axemen is the standout facility in the country for rugby league. The field was like the 18th fairway at Royal Melbourne, the locker room took me back to the old days at the Sydney Football Stadium, the local press had gathered and a big crowd was on hand to watch some quality rugby league. The boys were relaxed and ready for a huge game in the hot conditions. After the mandatory singing of the Star Spangled Banner and the introduction of the players its was "Business Time".

Some early softening of both forward packs led to a few drop balls by both sides. The knights settled into their game plan a little earlier while the Axeman seemed content in letting their disciple off the ball get in the way of them playing football. The Knights ran in an early try out wide though Ronny O'Gorman with some good hands by Olivier Janzac to score the first points. A great kick by Janzac in the blustery condition made it 6-blot. After this the game dropped into a lull as both sides failed to complete their sets and some poor ball handling by the Knights allowed the Axeman to stay in the game. The game was reignited by Ryan Mulligan who took a great ball out wide and strolled through a yawning gap and weak defence and proceeded to march 50 yards down field to crash over for one of the best try's of the season! Shortly after Janzac showed his class with some tidy footwork to step back inside a few lazy forwards and plant the pigskin under the posts for another 4 pointer. The Knights great play was short lived as the Axemen refused to lay down and kept the scoreboard ticking over to stay with reach.

With 10 mins to go the Axemen scored again to hit the front for the first time in the game. Jason Best was robbed of a try by a poor decision in the video booth after some light footwork and sheer strength to barge over in the corner with three blokes hanging off him. The pressure continued from the Knights and Gareth Baxendale who looked dangerous all second half with the ball in hand, took his opportunity and pushed through some soft defence from dummyhalf to put the Knights back in front. With a screaming crowd ringing in his ears Olivier managed to wind down the clock with one of the slowest conversion attempts in history only to see the ball barely get off the ground, but the Knights were in front 24-26. The last 5 mins proved hectic as the Axemen threw everything at the Knights in a last ditch effort to come back. A great take by Tommy "Whispers" Schienzbach from the resuming kick-off gave the Knights good field position and relieved the pressure. Some inspirational hits by Bart Seemen and Oliver "Mut" Pramil lifted the Knights in the final stages and got the Boys home for a well earning away victory.

The game will be remembered by:

• The 'sniper shot' Joey Hughes took in straining his hamstring while in hot pursuit of a slippery winger.


• The try saving tackle by Chris Martin once he was injected off the bench!


• The missed conversion from right in front by the Axemen.


• Strong running by JC, Rocha and Manny Saez who did a lot of hard yards throughout the game.


• Mike and Angel had powerhouse performances off the bench giving the Knights a much needed lift.

After the win the boys celebrated in style with a few quiet ales at the Axemen's local pub. Man of the Match went to Ronny O'Gorman for some great work with the ball in hand and he has a super hot girlfriend who is a Victoria Secrets model! Great Win, Great Trip!