The sun finally came out on a Saturday afternoon, after a week that nearly drowned Toronto. The pitch, having ample waterage, was lush and thick, making the perfect stage for a match up that was highly anticipated all over the league. And oh boy did the boys deliver!

The McMillan Shaw Memorial Round saw both sides bring a little extra emotion and physicality to the game, along with some amazing skills and goal kicking. the first quarter saw the Dingos draw first blood with two quick goals. As the nerves got shook out, and the now well established mids, Mahi, Jedi, Alex and Cowboy took control of the center bounces, the rebels clawed back with 2 goals of our own to end the quarter.

Goals were hard to come by on both ends, as the Rebels and Dingos exchanged blows and the lead. The Rebels lead the way with red hot tackles, not giving up anything easy. Captain Rob the Kid was playing an inspired game on the wing, taking a high flying mark in front of the home stand to the delight of the all the spectators present. Stokesy aka Smokesy, not to be outshined, left nothing in the tank and seemed to be in five different places at the same time, getting involved in interceptions, tackles, kicks and marks. Nothing separated the two teams going into half time.

The margin between the two teams stayed less than a goal till the very last minute of the game. Browny and Dreamboat Will presented beautifully over and over again, giving the Rebels a lot of opportunities to score from set shots. Hunter kept the pressure red hot and made it very difficult for the Dingos to exit their Defence. Taking a slim lead of only 1 point going into the last few minutes of the game, our defenders stood tall, with both Pete and Woz winning crucial one-on-one contests and being backed up by some tall reinforcements in Spencer and Sammy! Woz takes an intercept mark, kicks out to the wing to Dreamy. Dreamy backs up, and finds Kid. The whole sideline screaming! THREE MINUTES LEFT! Kid bombs a long one into the forward 50 and emerges a Brown Dog amongst a pack of Dingos! MARK! "TAKE YOUR WHOLE 30 SECONDS BROWNY!" screams Fabsy from the side. Browny lines up, kicks, both feet airborn as he often is, GOAL!

Rebels go up by one goal and one point with less than two minutes remaining as the ball is brought back to the center. The Dingos make one last push, winning the clearance, scrapping the ball forward. The ball goes deep in front of the goals, as Kid and Woz both dive at it, getting desperate fingertips on leather to save a goal at the siren. The whistle blows, and the final score stands 10.8 to 9.7, REBELS WIN!

The game was followed up with a heartfelt presentation by representatives on both sides. Rebels Legend and Alumni Damin Bodnar gave a beautiful tribute to Joshy, and encouraged everyone to lean on each other and look after their mental health. A wonderful message to take into the weekend and the Alumni game that followed in wonderful spirit.

Best on Ground: Rebels: Andrew Brown, Dingos: Keegan Hogarth