Team Australia Open “Dingos”

"D" attempt against Electric Pig, Washington, D.C., USA. Photo by Alex Siegal.

Profile

Pulling mostly from Australian club teams Feral and King Brown, the Dingos have lots of height, speed and dependable throwers.  Open club ultimate in Australia consists of about 21 teams, the majority of which are clustered along the south-eastern coast of the continent. Australia is ranked 6th for this World Ultimate Championships, and will open Worlds competition with a showcase night game against host Finland following the opening ceremonies.

“This is the first time that Australia has gone to Worlds with the aim of winning the tournament,” says Australian Flying Disc Association president, Jonathan Potts. “Admittedly, we will need to be at our best, but it is the strongest, most experienced, best prepared team we have ever sent.” 

The Aussies have backed up these assertions on a recent US tour, criss-crossing the North American continent on their way to Turku.  They have defeated US club teams Sockeye, Axe, Electric Pig, Rage, Pike, and Boston’s Death or Glory. Their lone loss was by 2 points against current UPA & Canadian Nationals champion, Furious George, who will represent Canada in Turku.

“We wanted to taste the best competition possible before worlds – where else to go besides the US,” stated Dingos player Tom Rogaki.  Of the teams he and his teammates most look forward to facing in Turku, Great Britain tops the list: “It’s very exciting, as Australia is a former colony. There’s huge amount of pride involved. Not even just with Ultimate, but with the Rugby World Cup, as well.  There’s a lot of history between us.”

The Dingos have participated in international competition since 1988, placing 7th overall in 1998 and 6th in 2000.  Australia will host the 2006 World Ultimate Club Championships in Perth, Western Australia.

Dingos on Defense

Australian ultimate has been synonymous with strong team defense for quite some time; critics point to offense as the source of past troubles.  Recently, they have shown a lot of zone defense with switching marks and several players taking away the middle of the field.

Look for these players when the opponent has the disc:

Pete Gardner (#15)- rookie with the ability to sneak blocks in almost any situation; has an eye tuned for disrupting flow in opponents’ zone “O.”

Dingos on Offense

Australia’s height and athleticism will prove a challenge to every team at Worlds.

Dingos Tom Rogacki and the Dowle twins are all over 6'4'' (190 cm) tall.  In addition, the Aussies have illustrated their endurance on an exhausting 2-week tour across the US.  Hoping not to peak too early, they have planned in a half-week of rest and time change acclimation before Turku.

On the US tour, they changed their offense often from a flat to vertical stack, working periodically with an isolation cutter and sometimes a 3- to 4-handler set.

Look for these players when Australia has the disc:

Tom Rogacki (#42) – this is his first trip overseas since being the talk of the tournament at worlds 98 and 99. His height allows him almost endless breakmarks, but it’s the long throw that most should fear here.

Matt Dowle (#9)– of the famed ‘Dowle twins’ is only person who can stop the “Gack” (Rogacki) in the air.  Dowle will come down with the disc in a crowd, and he’s even more trouble to guard one-on-one anywhere near the endzone.

Noted

The Aussies are feared the world over for their post-game cheers, which include telling extremely long and obscure stories and singing bush songs that nobody else can understand.  They’ve promised that more is in store in 2004.  Open team King Brown placed first in the team Spirit competition at WUCC 2002.

Team Colors:
Green & Gold

Roster:
21 players

Captain / Vice-Captain:
Jonathan Potts / Chris Warris

Website:

http://www.afda.com/nationalteams/

Profile compiled by Michael Iacovella