In a true test of how Atlanta will travel this year, the Atlanta Kookaburras toppled Cincinnati by 56 points - the Georgian squad recording scoring a win in its first Mid America Australian Rules Football League away game.
Cincinnati provided perfect weather conditions on the day, which in some ways made up for the condition of the field and umpiring that left a lot be desired.
Atlanta captain Brent Bacon won the toss and sent the visitors into attack to the west end of the field.
The Kookaburras showed they were there to take care of business from the start, with Wayne Kraska and David croft both narrowly missing goals in the first minutes of the game before Bjorn Farrugia put the first major of the day on the board.
Atlanta attacked throughout the majority of the quarter, but had trouble converting several times, with Croft again posting a minor score before Kraska finally got another Kookaburra goal on the board.
Cincinnati showed however that they were not going to let the newest MAAFL team run all over them by responding with two goals for the term.
Kraska again steadied the ship and kicked another goal to put Atlanta up 3.3.21 to 2.0.12 at the first break.
The Kookaburras came out hard in the second quarter and through their defensive unit of Ellis, Quigley, Collins, Miller, Mobley and Sheffield held the Dockers scoreless.
The Atlanta forward line warmed up a little with Dave Monsour getting the quarter started right with a quick goal. Farrugia, Kraska and Croft all got involved and posted major scores for the term, putting the visitors up by 36 points at half time.
The third term was an unfortunate display of the need for umpires in the USAFL. With the Cincinnati coach umpiring the game, a move that had already raised eyebrows, the third term turned into a "free kick fest" and left the Atlanta team frustrated by the standard of the decision making.
A tally of free kicks from the quarter time break through to the final siren resulted in 37 Cincinnati frees to 5 Atlanta free kicks.
Scoring proved difficult, with Atlanta not adding to their score, while Cincinnati added a goal after two 50 meter penalties, which put them on the goal line.
Atlanta regrouped at three quarter time and vowed not to let the game slip away due to anything other than their own mistakes.
The Kookas came out and posted three final quarter majors through Justin Biggs, Kraska and Neil Tresize to put the game away.
"We fought hard all day against a very determined Cincinnati team, and at this point we'll take the win no matter what played out during the game" an obviously frustrated Coach Bacon said after the game.
"It was good to see the guys handle a tremendous amount of pressure under less than ideal umpiring decisions, with self discipline prevailing the majority of the game."
"Our backline has been the key to our success this year, with the consistent efforts of Anthony Ellis, Travis Quigley, Alan Mobley, Ronnie Miller and Barry Collins carrying the team through when the forward line has struggled."
Launched in 1998, the Atlanta Kookaburras is one of 42 Australian Rules football clubs based in the United States.
The club trains regularly in Peidmont Park on Tuesday and Thursday nights and competes in both the SEAFL and MAAFL competitions. The club also stages regular Metro-League games to help promote the sport and introduce new plays to the sport.
Atlanta will also play host to the annual East vs West all-star game this weekend as well as the US Nationals in October during 2004.
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