Dublin Dragons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dublin Dragons are an American Football team from Dublin, Ireland who play in the Irish American Football League and play their home games out of Lucan Community College


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Chairman	John Durrad
Head Coach	Al Burke
Nickname:	Dragons
Colors:	Maroon, Black, Vegas Gold and Old Gold
Mascot:	---
Home Field:	Lucan Community College, Lucan
Training Ground	Lucan Community College, Lucan
Rivals:	DCU Saints Dublin Rebels
Division:	IAFL Victory Conference

1 Early Days
2 2007 season
3 Team Photo
4 Contact Info

[edit] Early Days

The Dublin Dragons were formed 3rd Jan 2000 in a pub on the southside of Dublin city by John Durrad & Alan Burke, who both had experience of 15 years or more, from an already existing 7 man flag team called the Greystones Gladiators.

The team back then consisted of 11 players with only five having previous experience (of which all five had won one or more Shamrock Bowls) playing full kitted football with clubs such as the Dublin Celts, Dublin Tornadoes, Dublin Lightning, Greystones Rebels (now the Dublin Rebels) and Dublin Tigers.

The club as it became, trained in Marlay Park on the south side of the city through the first year with no sign of a league or a friendly game to be found, but picked up some new and experienced players over that year. These were of different nationalities, including American, German, English, Mexican, Australia, South African and French as well as Irish. Some of these are now the core players of this growing team.

By the beginning of 2001 with new teams emerging and existing clubs around the country, the likelihood of a league became a reality. An AGM was held at John Durrad's home consisting of members of the 4 teams and a winter league was established. The club decided to move to a more central location in the Phoenix Park for easy access for new players.

Being a new club with many new players they had a rough season, losing their first five games before winning the final game. But they were competitive throughout thanks to the hard-hitting defense. The offense had a tough time gelling, but started to find their feet in the latter half of the season.

Having learned greatly from that testing year, the Dragons moved on to the 2002 season, which was taken over by the newly formed Irish American Football League (IAFL) which began in the spring of that year. The Dragons struggled offensively at times, but ended the year in 3rd place with a 2 and 4 record, having shown the ability to compete with all opponents.

During the 2003 IAFL season the Dragons were hampered by injuries, retirements, foreign players going back home and the fact many of the younger players were sitting their Leaving Certificate, meaning the year was a learning experience for all involved. But a lot of positives were gained from the year, new recruits from the Lucan area took interest through a new relationship with the Community school which was made that season for holding home games. The coaches also attended a Coaching Convention in England in September 2003, where they met NFLE coaches and other coaches from around England.

The Dragons 2004 season was one of the most successful so far, due to young players who have a strong desire to compete with the best players in Ireland, but especially the coaching ability of Phil DeMonte. The club finished with a 3 - 5 season. In 2004 they moved the whole organisation to the Lucan Community School across from the SuperQuinn in Lucan as the majority of the players were from Lucan and surrounding areas. The team has also attained two proper hitting sleds for training and some of the coaches attended the Coaching Convention again in England in September 2004 where two of the Dragons completed the level 1 coaching certificate.

The 2005 IAFL season was very tough on the Dragons with a lot of changes taking place inside the club, both with players and coaching staff.

The addition of two more Dublin teams, which brought the league up to 8 teams, increased the competition in the league greatly in 2006.

[edit] 2007 season

Overall, 2007 will go down as a mixed year in the Dragons history books. After an encouraging 2006 season, where many rookies came through to play their first IAFL season, big things were expected for 2007. However, a lot of games became a case of “what might have been” as the Dragons fell just short after being in touch for long periods.

The Dragons were faced with a difficult opening trip to Shamrock Bowl XX runners-up UL Vikings, where they acquitted themselves well before succumbing to the eventual 2007 National Champions. The highlight of the game was undoubtedly the Dragons Double Reverse Pass from Quarterback Jeff Schell to Wing Back Seán Power, resulting in a 56 yard Touchdown.

IAFL Central Division rivals DCU Saints were next, and despite the Dragons Offence putting together two 80+ yard drives, the Saints defence held firm on their goal line, denying the Dragons the scores the performance deserved. Nonetheless, the Dragons D held firm, gaining the shut-out, as Jeff Schell once more connected with Seán Power from over 40 yards to come up with the win.

Carrickfergus Knights have been a Perennial Play-Off team in the IAFL, and are considered one of the most difficult places to go looking for a result. Early Offensive difficulties put the Defence in trouble early on. The Dragons managed an 80+ yard drive in the final 2 minutes of the opening half, before being stopped at the 1 yard line. The Knights led by one score with less than 5 minutes to play before pulling away to seal the victory.

The Dragons home campaign started with the visit of the Dublin Rebels. It was a physical game right from the off, as tempers boiled over early in the first half. Despite trailing at the break, the Dragons fought back bravely in the second half, with Schell hitting Tight End Johnny Durrad in the corner of the endzone from 10 yards and a 4 yard Rushing TD from Irish International Wing-Back Robert Popciobobartepelus getting them back into the game.

A depleted Dragons team lined out against the Belfast Trojans on a soaking wet day in Lucan, but gave every bit as good as they got. The Offense was worst hit by personnel, and they struggled to move the ball in the first half. However, the Dragons defence kept them in the game, Linebacker Nick Newby diving on a fumble in the Trojans endzone to register the score that kept them in touch at half time. With the offense starting to make yardage, and Seán Power returning a Kick Off for a Touchdown in the 4th Quarter, the Dragons were within touching distance of the Belfast side before conceding a score in the final two minutes that killed off the game.

Local rivals the Tallaght Outlaws were next to visit Lucan. The game was hotly contested but it soon became clear that the Dragons O Line was gaining the upper hand, as they made good yardage on the ground. Dave Wheeler opened the scoring for the Dragons on a short run after an efficient drive. Robert Popciobobartepelus doubled the advantage after half time on a 5 yard run, with Dermot Noyes converting the 2xpt. Once again, the Dragons Defence was superb in forcing a shutout, leaving the Dragons needing two wins from their final two games to advance to the Play-Offs.

Sadly, it was not to be. The Dragons entered the game against DCU Saints without a recognised Quarterback, Jeff Schell having returned to America and Johnny Durrad unable to attend for family reasons. Without a passing attack, the Saints Defense stacked against the run, with great success and the Offense repaid them with a second quarter score. Controversial calls influenced the game to some degree, but the Saints were worth their win, ending their divisional rivals’ Play-Off aspirations.

The Rebels had already secured the IAFL Central Division title by the time they faced the Dragons in the season finale. The Dragons were hit by injuries for this game, and a lot of the more experienced players found themselves playing Ironman football, while some younger players got their first taste of Gridiron action. Despite some early resistance, the toll of the season showed on the Dragons, and for the first time all season, they found themselves uncompetitive. The floodgates opened in the second half; the Rebels pulled away with the game, going on to secure home field advantage for the IAFL Semi-Final.