The first round for the 2013 Rebels had the club travelling down the QEW to meet up with their rivals in Hamilton. Over the years, these games against the Wildcats have always been tough, physical battles and the Rebels were expecting no different this time around.

The Rebels have been hard at work throughout the entire offseason, wanting to improve upon their 7-6 record from last year and 6th place finish in the standings. This task was made even more challenging with the departure of several key players over the winter, including 2012 Best-and-Fairest winner Cam Stark, Best-and-Fairest runner up Hamish Crouch, Coach's Trophy winner Scotty Donaldson, and other valuable contributors such as Anthony Butler and James Theis. The club executive worked diligently recruiting new members into the club, and the leadership group had the boys working hard throughout the fall and winter on improving fitness through Cross-Fit sessions, Spin classes, and indoor trainings.

For the last 8 weeks, coach Morgan King, and new assistant coach Kon Karavias have really been putting the boys through their paces, not just with respect to their skills and fitness, but also introducing a new focus on offensive and defensive structure and philosophy. By the time Round 1 approached, the club was itching to have a crack at putting these to the test against an opposing side.

Right from the first bounce, the Rebels started quickly and were sending the message that they were going to make it a long afternoon for the Hamilton Wildcats. With Drago in the ruck, along with the new midfield combination of Kon and Trevor rotating with Matty and Behie, the athleticism of this group was clearly evident. Winning the ball through the middle and sending it down to the forwards helped the Rebels to jump out to an early lead. At the end of the first quarter: Rebels 5.4.34 to Wildcats 1.2.8

The second quarter saw more of the same ball control from the Rebels as they really starting to dominate the possessions. Even though some of the rust was evident in this first round match with the odd dropped mark and disposals that were not as clean as the coaches would have liked, the endeavour by the Rebels was superior. Through the centre, Joshy lead the way, playing inspired football all day long. With supports from the "Irish Connection" -- Bryan and Seany, and Goldy on the wings, the Rebels kept pumping the ball forward. By the end of the second quarter the Rebels were beginning to dominate the scoreboard: Rebels 9.8.64 to Wildcats 2.4.16.

Through the pre-season training, the focus of the Rebels had been on becoming a top-rated defensive team. After stifling the Hamilton attack through 2 quarters, the defensive unit for the Rebels really stepped it up for the second half. The half-back line of Fabs, Danno, and Winksy, rotating with Chooka and DJ, really frustrated the Hamilton team spoiling any probing attacks and transitioning the ball skillfully to fuel the Rebels counter-attack. Whenever Hamilton was able to get the ball beyond the half-back line, the full-backs stepped up to make the defensive 50 impenetrable. Alex, Sean Duffy, Wade, and Screech were very strong in defence. Spoiling attacks, playing physically and winning battles, these backmen played a virtually perfect game. Working together, the defensive group closed the door on the Hamilton side and did not allow a point through the third quarter (and only a single goal in the fourth quarter): Rebels 11.10.76 to Wildcats 2.4.16.

With the strong play from the defensive group and the mids, the Rebels moved the ball forward well, all day long. With Morgs, Bodz, and Kevin Duffy presenting big targets, the Rebels did a good job at keeping the field open for these key players and using the speed of Jovan, and the experience of Monty, Foss and Paps to convert on crumbing opportunities. As mentioned previously, although a little rust was apparent with this group, the forwards capitalized on most of their chances and put some good numbers on the scoreboard. Final score: Rebels 14.14.98 to Wildcats 3.4.22

It was a good win for the club and helped to get the season started on a positive note. After a lot of hard work for the last few months, the club was rewarded with a victory and 4 points in the standings. The Rebels will hit the training track this week in preparation for the Central Blues and to continue the work on reinforcing the team's offensive and defensive philosophy and reducing some of the skill errors that were evident in this opening round. The Rebels are excited about this years' club and are looking for more positive results in the weeks ahead.

Goalkickers: Peter Bormann 3, Kevin Duffy 3, Kon Karavias 2, Daimin Bodnar 2, Jovan Love 1, Bryan Campbell 1, Rick Burns 1, Nik Papaioannou 1