June 9th, 2009
Old Boys game this Saturday at Levey @ 1p.m.  New format this year.  Bring a dish to pass.  Come on out even if you don't plan on playing.  There will be t-shirts for sale, 50-50 raffle, and the usual hilarity and hijinks.
7's training continues each Thursday at Levey @ 6:30p.m.


May 21st, 2009
SWEET 16 AND ELITE 8

   This past weekend the Tradesmen came up just short of making a return trip to the Final 4, only this time in Division 1.  On Saturday the Tradesmen took on Mystic River out of Boston.  Playing in extreme heat the home team found themselves playing defense in their own end most of the 2nd half and held a slim 20-15 lead with 10 minutes to play.  A long scoring play generated by Meat, Muto, and Homeschool pushed the lead to 25-15.  The score stayed the same as the defense stiffened and held Mystic just outside the try line the rest of the way.
   On Sunday the Tradesmen faced off against the Atlanta Renegades with a berth in the Final 4 on the line.  An early 10-0 lead with scores by Benny and Dauser was soon erased as Atlanta scored twice within a minute and were up 12-10.  Our guys bounced back and took the lead back a few minutes later 17-12 with a try by Norm and conversion by Kreger.  Atlanta scored in the final minute of the first half to go up 19-17.  What looked to be a high scoring game turned into a defensive struggle with neither team scoring until Atlanta broke through with 8 minutes left in the match to go up 24-17.  The last 20 minutes of the 2nd half the Tradesmen kept knocking on the door but good defense by Atlanta and a rash of knock-ons by the home team sealed their fate.
Hats off to Atlanta for a well played match.  Congrats also to our guys for going from the D2 Final 4 in 2008 and being oh so close in D1 in 2009.

May 10th, 2009
On Saturday the Tradesmen were looking forward to their final tune-up against Milwaukee before heading to S.C. for the next round of the playoffs.  They came out of it with some head scratching and knowing they have plenty of work to do before taking on Mystic River.   Milwaukee who was knocked out the D2 playoffs wasted little time taking advantage of missed tackles and several penalites.  15 minutes in they were up 12-0.  The Tradesmen answered back and the teams were trading scores.  At the 30 minute mark, #7 Bruce Wihongi made a great tackle, leading to a try by  #3 Ryan "Darts" Koenig, but he had to leave the game.   Where 2008 was the year of the hamstring, 2009 is the year of the broken hand.  Early in the 2nd half reserve wing Kreger put the Tradesmen on top but MRFC wasn't going away as they continued to take advantage of the undisciplined play.  In the end, the Tradesmen held on for the win. 



April 28th, 2009
This past Sat. saw the Tradesmen defeat Naples 36-10.  On a day with temps approaching 90 the home team got off to a slow start and fell behind early 3-0.  The Tradesmen battled back though and moved  in front 17-3.  Naples scored in the final minute of the half to make it 17-10.  The score stayed the same until midway through the 2nd half when back up scrum half Kevin Muto touched one down.  Surprisingly the heat was taking more of a toll on Naples who traveled rather light.  With Naples getting worn down the Tradesmen were able to score two more late tries which took us to the final of 36-10.  The next round of the playoffs will be in Columbia, S.C. where the Tradesmen will take on Mystic River.



April 18th
Today the Tradesmen played away at Indy.  The club came out on top 23-15 in a very physical match.  On a very warm spring afternoon the Tradesmen took a 7-0 lead only to fall behind 12-7 mid-way through the first half.  The team battled back though and fought hard to preserve the road win.  Try scorers were Zach, Tony, and Dauser.

The club will preparing this week to host Naples, Fla. in a Division 1 playoff tilt.  As luck would have it the spring of 2009 has not been injury free, therefore it is imperative for all players to make training this week.  Last week we lost fly-half Steve Nemeckay for the season with a broken thumb.  Yesterday the club lost #9 Mike Metz to a broken hand.  We are confident that those guys filling in will do a good job for the team.


March 14th - April 4th
Well, the season got under way back in March and the Tradesmen kicked off on a very cold and rainy day against the Chicago Lions.  The Lions defeated the Tradesmen 38-12 after being up 4 tries to 0 at the half.
Two weeks later the club headed to Kansas City to take on the Blues.  The Tradesmen came out on top playing under the lights on a Friday night.  A fun weekend was had by all that went.
March 28th saw the Tradesmen host MSU and CMU to a full day of competitive rugby.
The following week the home team hosted a very young but spirited Toledo side.  The Tradesmen came out on top and continued building for the upcoming playoffs.





Nov. 23rd
Fall Michigan Rugby Union Wrap-up

Nov 12th
This past weekend the Tradesmen finished off their first season in Division 1.  Through the regular season the club went 6-0 in league play and had a loss to each of the Midwest Super League clubs.  The boys headed into this past weekend as the #1 seed from the Eastern Conference and first took on Pearl City who was #1 in the Western Conference.  On Saturday, in very cold and windy conditions, we played the Black Bears in a very tough defensive minded match.  At full time we came up just short 11-3. 
On Sunday the match pitted us against Palmer for 2nd in the Midwest.  In similar conditions to Saturday, the Tradesmen came out strong from the start.  Our boys took a 15-13 lead into the half following tries from Kevin Kreger and Eric "Handlebar" Jenks. The other 5 points came off the boot of Adam "PX90" Saad.  The second half saw the relentless Tradesmen pressure really pay off.  A penalty kick from Saad was followed by a try from Troy "Norm" Neuerburg(Saad conversion).  Another try was touched down by Will Faulkner and converted by Saad.  Another penalty kick put our guys up 35-13.  Palmer scored a late try to make the final 35-18 and the Tradesmen walked off the pitch 2nd in the Midwest.  Congrats on your initial season in Division 1.