2017 NL Canada Games Team
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Let's Meet The Team
Coaching Staff
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Head Coach : Andrew Murphy - Mount Pearl Coach
Assistant Coach : Shane Dunphy : BPSA President
Assistant Coach : John Douglas : Laurentians Goalie
Gonzo Bennett : Team Manager : Mount Pearl
Meet the team'sRoster
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Goalies
Sam Hawco
Jack Hayward
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Fullbacks
Riley Bennett
Jonathon Quirke
Matthew Crewe
Harry Carter
Thomas Osmond
David Goulding
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Midfielders
Felly Elanda
Ryan Dunphy
Gary McKewon
Caesar Figuero
Jonathan Leckie
Eric Knight
Evan Knight
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Strikers
Emmanuel Dolo
Mitchel Barry
Jacob Grant
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Games Team Current Record
Games Played : 9
Wins : 4 --- Corner Brook (1), St. Lawrence (1) , CBS (1), Mount Pearl (1).
Ties : 2 --- Feildians (1), Mount Pearl (1).
Loses : 3 --- St. Lawrence (2), CBS (1).
Total Points : 14
Teams top scorer : Emmanuel Dolo : 5 Goals
Emmanuel Dolo
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The 2017 NLSA Male Canada Games Team Are Solid
To have a successful soccer team, I personally feel you need the right guys behind the bench. No longer do I feel this is a one man job, it's a job for a good three-some. The NLSA have done a superb job in it's selection of coaches for the NLSA 2017 Male Canada Games Team. First I'll start with Andrew Murphy who is the team's head coach. He has been a Challenge Cup All-Star for the past decade. Andrew knows the game very well. He also has been selected as NLSA Challenge Cup All-Star Coach while playing with the Mount Pearl Sr. Men's team. Although he is rather reserved, he still brings a professional like direction to this youth team. Next comes my brother Shane who is an assistant coach with the team. Shane has spent a life time around the game, starting with his minor days as an all-star goalie. He followed up as a very good midfield player in his senior playing days. His thirty years of coaching, starting at the minor 4A high school level, has been nothing but fabulous, he's a proven winner. His four 4-A High School championships alone can attest for this. This, combined with his BPSA and NLSA All-Star coaching years have given him a wealth of knowledge of coaching the game. Next we have John Douglas, the St. Lawrence Laurentians star goalie and a future Hall of Famer. I always felt that goal-tending was an area in which the NLSA needed more development. For me to see John Douglas perform this role , I say kudos to him and to the NLSA. I would also like to acknowledge the team's manager Ganzo Bennett. He has great organizational skills and is a perfectionist. Probably those are some of the reasons Gonzo Bennett has been named as a former Executive of the Year in NL hockey.
A Look at the Games Players
Overall I look at this team as a "group who plays as a team" rather than a team of individual all-stars. Although there are players on this team who do have some superb individual talent. The Games Team are solid in goal. Both keepers, Hawco and Hayward, have good size and are capable of making a great save. The key for both of these two goalies are to remain focused at all times. The NLSA Games Team have a great defense. Riley Bennett, the teams center back is the shining of this group. I feel he is the teams leader on the field. His partner, Jono Quirke, and wing-backs Harry Carter, Matt Crewe, David Goulding and Tomas Osmond are capable of complimenting Bennett nicely. The key for these players will be the support they show for each other while defending. The teams mid-field which consist of Felly Elando, Ryan Dunphy, Gary McKewon, Caesar Figuero, Jonathan Leckie, Eric Knight and Evan Knight are skillful with good vision but I feel there is a need for a greater physical presence here. The players need to use their bodies more. This is the area of the field where the game can be won or lost. I would say that the team who wins the majority of the physical battles, the team who wins those 50/50 balls and dishes out the most bruises to their opponent, are generally the winner of the match. The midfield are generally the players who are going to feed the ball to the Games teams strikers. In this case it's Emmanuel Dolo, Mitchell Barry and Jacob Grant. Hey, I like all three of these players. When these players decide to get engaged, they can be dynamite, they have talent , they have the ability to beat an opponent,and above all they know where the net is and have the ability to finish.
The Canada Games Team are currently in Corner Brook
I know before the season started I put my neck on the line by saying the Canada Games Team would finish with a 500 record. Well folks, I stick with that prediction. Last night ( Friday Night - July 30 ) the NL Canada Games Team defeated Corner Brook 3-1. The Games Team will again play Corner Brook on Saturday July 1st at 6 PM and on Sunday at 1PM.
Dunphy's Details: I should add that my favorite player on the Games Team is my nephew Ryan Dunphy and I am so proud to see his dad as part of the coaching staff. I am also very proud that Ryan has signed on with the St. Lawrence Laurentians after the completion of the National Games competition in August.
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