You'll see the only missing is one from Dojo... Sensei!
Heroes - Silent George
Heroes have done some recruiting in the off season and
this first game was a bit of a test to see how this new look team performed.
Slamtown started out with their customary zone D, which didn't prove to be too
much trouble for us to work through the middle. We traded more or less to 5
all, then went on a three point run to take half 8-5. Slamtown came out fired
up in the second half and brought it back a little but in the end we kept the
pressure on and took it out 15-12. The Heroes long game was working well with
Paul, Chris, and Seb putting up some great shots, with Myall pulling down many
of these, and their long options were consistently under a lot of pressure by
one of the boys in green. Slamtown seemed a bit flat and I'm sure they'll
be fired up next time we meet.
Blitz - Myles
Round 1 saw the Northside Cobras take on Blitz, in what was
expected to be a mystery match. With Cobras rumoured to be playing savage and
the Blitz roster having a few new faces, it was difficult to predict what would
happen. Unfortunately for Blitz, the rumours were false and Cobras turned up
with a team, so hopes of a repeat of last season’s game down on the Gold Coast
were dashed. Despite this, Blitz came out strong with some new plays courtesy
of gimpy Cunliffe and managed to take half 8-6.
In the second half, the talent of the full strength Cobras
shone through, with some great connections and bids putting them on a five
point run. Blitz was unable to respond in kind, and so the score was 15-11 to
Cobras. In the spirit circle after, there was a sort of consolation prize for
the defeated Blitz team: an MVP award. Reece had found a Piping Hot cap (with
the sticker still on) prior to the game in a trash can (so I’ve heard), and now
I don’t know what to do with it.
Cobras pull out a gutsy win after losing half, and give
Blitz a lot to think about.
Bugs - Mat
A tough game to open the season for the Buggers against
the carryover champs and certainly the strongest team of the current BPL
era. The Moreton Bay Buggers welcome
back the same roster as S1, with the equally welcome return of Graham Prickett
to the lineup. We knew it would be a
competitive game and with the Dojo down one of their key players for the week
(Fatty) we felt this was a good chance to kick off the season with an upset.
On a still night with perfect playing conditions, Offence
prevailed with both teams scoring almost error free for the first half. With too much height on the Dojo line, Bugs
had to work it up through the field through the poppers. We did this easily enough and almost all our
goals came from <10m passes. It
proved relatively easy to move the disc through the Dojo junk and it's clear
that this is probably the best strategy to expose the Dojo weakness, which is
sluggish acceleration in their ageing legs ... with a couple of obvious
exceptions.
But what they lack in leg-speed they make up for with
clean hands, good throws, height and experience. It was that experience that would prove the
major difference at the end of the game.
The game went point for point with a couple of changes of
lead, and as it approached Time-Cap the intensity and physicality of the
contest rose.
There were a number of contact fouls called and some hot
debate between the involved players, but some credit must be given to both
teams for the restraint shown by their sideline and their un-involved players to
stay out of the incidents and not pour any fuel on the flare-ups.
Time was called at 11-12 to Dojo, who gave up the disc,
but the Bugs gave it right back and ended up with a 2pt loss. We were pretty gutted to have lost a game
which we felt was well within our grasp ... but there were plenty of positives
in it for us, and the team should feel like it has the weapons and the
athleticism to match it with any other team this season.
Slamtown - Stef
The first Thursday night of the season was a big wake up call for the Town of Slam.
We casually strolled over to the dark field ready to take a routine win from our brothers in expansion, the Heroes.
I mean we had never lost to them, and recently, we've won quite decidedly.
Our warm up was lackluster, and that carried over to our play.
The Stone brothers shared a pair of cleats, our handlers couldn't find form, and out receivers couldn't catch a cold.
Righto... excuses, excuses, excuses.... well... all that is true, but I must give credit where credit is due... the Heroes, were... very unHero-like.
How's that for a backhanded compliment?
The Heroes have been classic underachievers by many estimations, a team full of developing talent, that was expected to have developed by now. They have always seemed to be a few clutch plays away, and even when in front, they were good at finding ways to let opponents back in.
Well not this Thurs night... Their key players stepped up, and their role players did their jobs. George, Myall, and Seb were excellent, and the team didn't quit, even when we mounted a few early surges... in fact that helped them put the foot down on us.
We were very humbled, and will remember the thought of letting this one get away to fuel us back up the hill as we pursuit greatness and redemption as the season kicks on.
Good game Heroes.
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