Christina Licata, Myles Walkington and Brett Smiley from the New York Magpies have provided collingwoodfc.com.au with an update on how Collingwood's affiliate team has been performing during 2012.

Mens 2012 Season Update (three regular season games remain: currently six wins and one loss)
After taking out their first two games of the season over the Boston Demons and Chicago Swans, the New York Magpies continued their daunting stretch of six consecutive away games with a trip to play the Baltimore-Washington Eagles on 12 May.

Despite the loss of two key players in Alex Kwiatkowski and Jeremy Spiteri early in the game, the Magpies managed to share momentum with the Eagles in the first half and keep scores close. The Magpies pulled away in the third quarter as Tom Burke kicked three goals in five minutes which set up a five point win in the face of a determined Eagles side, 10.9 69 to 9.10 64.

The following weekend saw the Magpies participate in a tournament in Philadelphia that also involved the Philadelphia Hawks, Baltimore-Washington and a representative side from Toronto, Canada.

Find out more about the New York Magpies and their affiliation with Collingwood.

First up New York faced Baltimore-Washington for the second week in a row, and obviously we learned something from the week prior, with the Magpies recording a more comfortable win in the game of two halves: 7.5 47 to 2.1 13. Brett Felsenthal, Todd Smith and Adam Mantzaris were prominent for the Pies.

The second game of the tournament gave New York a rare chance to match up against the international Toronto side (made up of the best in Ontario). After an even first half the Magpies only had themselves to blame in the end, missing several chances in the second half and went down to the Canadian’s by two points in the Magpies first loss for the season, 4.4 28 to 3.8 26.

Scott McMaster, Jack Taylor and David Rattenbury were the best for New York, and it was a good wake up call for the season finale in Mason where the Magpies will undoubtedly get another chance.

The New York Magpies then travelled to Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia Hawks in an Eastern AFL clash. The Pies were fired up for the game having lost to the Hawks for the first time in the club’s history in the corresponding fixture in 2011. Despite an emotional pre-game address from coach Glenn Ormsby, the Hawks came out the stronger in the first quarter and led by a goal at the first change, despite solid work from Magpies, Sam Mitchell and David Kyle.



With the midfield gaining the edge, thanks to some nice taps from Smiley and Mantzaris against a Philly goliath they call “Alex”, it was all the Magpies from then on. The Pies outscored the Hawks 13 goals to six to record a 16.9 105 to 10.5 65 win with David Rattenbury, David Kyle and Joe Hocking getting the votes.

June and July saw the Magpies compete against each other in the annual intra-club series played on the banks of the Hudson River in Hoboken, known as the New York City AFL (NYCAFL).  After three weeks in a round robin format, the Hudson River Rats (The Rats) went into the NYCAFL final against Suburban Tollmen Trash (The Trash) as hot favourites. The game was hard fought but they just couldn’t contain the Trash’s version of Nick Maxwell, Jason Clifford, who was best on ground as the Trash won the NYCAFL title in an upset.

Third place playoff for the No. 1 draft pick in season 2013 saw the Village Bohemians (The Bohos) take out a close one over the Times Square Tourists (The Tourists) to give them the drafting honors. Around the NYCAFL competition, the schedule allowed for several Americans getting involved with the Lady Pies in a mixed AFL 9s game that was very well received, allowing players to hone their skills, build on their fitness, and introduce new players to our great game!

Before the customary mid-season break, there was one more test for the New York Magpies, as a combined team from North Carolina, Florida, and Philadelphia travelled to New York to take on the Pies. In humid and wet conditions the Magpies were the stronger team over the first three quarters before the combined team mounted a fight-back in the final term.

The Magpies dug deep and held on to win 8.9 56 to 6.6 42, improving their record to 6-1. Rugby convert Hamish Keith, the returning Alex Kwiatkowski and Magpies veteran Ojas ‘Juice’ Desai were prominent.

Lady’s 2012 Season Update
The Lady Pies were also in action in Baltimore in May, taking on the Baltimore-Washington Lady Eagles. With several rookies making their debut the Lady Pies competed gallantly against the more experienced Lady Eagles but ultimately went down 12.9 81 to 1.0 6. Siobhan McHale, Christina Licata, Autumn Ervin and first gamer Alison Vorsatz were judged the Lady Pies best.

Although the Lady Pies haven’t put a win on the board this season, their time on the field has provided valuable game experience to new recruits. With games against Baltimore-Washington, Boston, and Montreal, the Lady Pies have showed increased cohesion as a team.

The challenge for the Lady Pies as in years past is their ability to capitalize in the forward line, which will no doubt be the area of focus as the ladies focus on the Nationals.

Lady Pies Captain, Andrea Casillas, surmised the season so far by saying: “We've had the challenge of recruiting an entirely new team this year. Amazingly, we succeeded our expectations and our new recruits have become integral players on the field in just months. This has allowed us to take on a more sophisticated game strategy and take a team of seasoned players to Ohio.”



Midsummer Season Break
August is a summer break for the Magpies in on-field commitments and as the temperature and humidity rose in New York City to over 40 degrees Celsius, the players got out of town to the beaches.

The Magpies and Lady Pies remained active off-field though, with the Lady Pies recognized as the ‘top fundraiser’ for the Center for Anti-Violence Education Punch-a-thon, raising over $2000 for the charity that teaches self-defense and martial arts to victims of violence.

Nine Magpies also represented the United States as part of the 49th Parallel Cup games against Canada in August. Leadership group members, Michael Murphy and Bryan Caine, took the field for the USA in the Revolution Development squad, while seven Lady Pies - Emily Bennett, Andrea Casillas, Autumn Ervin, Kim Hemenway, Christina Licata, Siobhan McHale, and Alison Vorsatz - dressed for USA Freedom and Freedom Development squads.

After a day of grueling matches in scorching conditions, the United States came away victorious with wins in three out of four games against the Canadian sides.



With a surname and a jumper like that, New York Magpie Brad Davis would make a fine international recruit!

2012 Nationals (October 12-15: Mason, OH)
With the break now over and training back in full swing, the Magpies and Lady Pies prepare for their final regular season games against the Boston Demons/Lady Demons, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Baltimore-Washington Eagles/ Lady Eagles.

The Demons have had a winless season to date but always lift for the traditional rivalry against the Magpies while the Hawks and the Eagles have faced many quality teams over the 2012 season, and will have their sights set on the Magpies as a yardstick of the 2012 competition going into Ohio.  We will need to be on for both games to take the points.

For the Lady Pies, their tough season continues with both opponents undefeated, however the Lady Pies have improved in leaps and bounds this year and have been building to an October crescendo.

New York is determined to win the USAFL National Championships which will take place on October 13th and 14th in Mason, Ohio. The Magpies will field two mens teams and one lady’s team at the championships and are destined to improve on the club’s 2011 performance which saw the two mens teams miss out on the finals in Division 1 and Division 3.



The Lady Pies had their best performance in 2011, making the final, but going down to a strong Denver Bulldogs team.  This year, they hope to go one better!

2012 Nationals Preview
The mens competition is sure to be fierce with the Nashville Kangaroos, Columbus Jackaroos, Dallas Magpies, Minnesota Freeze and Seattle Grizzles having had strong seasons to date. Traditional powers the Denver Bulldogs and the visiting Calgary Kangaroos can also never be counted out at Nationals.  For the Ladies, Denver remains the team to beat with Boston and Sacramento also fielding strong teams.

New York heads into the National Championships confident and in form, rated as one of the favourites in the competition.  The addition of several new and exciting players this year, a slight tinker in the game plan, and the loss from last year still burning in the playing squad, sees the Magpies hungry for the title!

Let’s hope the Magpies can add another premiership cup to the trophy cabinet.

Join the 'Global Magpie Army' overseas and follow the New York Magpies' progress towards winning the 2012 USAFL National Championship with match reports, photos and event information available on our website, Facebook and Twitter

If you’re in New York and want to come and watch a game, we’d love you to attend our social events or hang out with the team. Please contact events@nyfooty.com for more info.