11-6 vs. Wild Gnomes …

Wow, 2 game winning streak.. :D .. the full team turned up yesterday, and that meant we had 4 subs… the biggest team we’ve ever had I believe. However, Troy will be leaving the team in week 4 as he won’t be working in North Ryde anymore… he’s not an explosive player, but from what I’ve seen, he is solid. Think of him as the white Big Nick and you should know how he plays!

The Wild Gnomes only had 5 players to start off, and we took full advantage of it, running in 3 quick tries in the first 5 minutes… after that they got some players from the previous game to fill in, so they had a full team. 2 of the non-official players were actually quite good as they were quick and agile.. We were a bit sloppy on the field, both in attack and defense, I believe that’s mainly due to 4 of the guys being newbies .. and this led to the opposition getting 3 tries in the 1st half, but hopefully this will improve over time..

It actually started sprinkling at the start of the game, but luckily it didn’t affect our ball handling as it usually does.. it did effect the opposition’s though, as one of their players who was build like Jonah Lomu kept trying to ran with the ball cupped and must have dropped it 4-5 times…! … I believe most of their team were touch players converting to tag as you can tell from their style of play. Touch players always try and rush the opposition with quick plays of the ball as soon as they’re touched, and that doesn’t translate well to tag as you need to play the ball exactly at the position they are tagged (there will be a marker). So usually touch players would get tagged, and due to their momentum carrying them forward a few more metres, they will try and play it as soon as they stop, which is off the mark, and will result in a penalty to the other side.

At half time the score was 6-3… our 2nd half was pretty much the same as our 1st half, our players weren’t running onto the ball, but luckily the opposition was worse, as we ran away with the game 11-6. Next week’s result is going to be important as we want to stay in division 2 this year and not move up (first 3 weeks is grading weeks). So we’re going to have to play bad and lose somehow … maybe we’ll put on all the newbies + Kris, Louie, Nick, Locky and see how they go…  … if we stay in div2, I guarantee a premiership… and you can quote me on that!!

Comedy moment of the night: In the 2nd half, Newbie Ed made a break and proved that his speed not much better than Nick Ho’s! It was like watching a slow-motion replay, except the players around him were at normal speed! After that run he subbed straight off and he was finished… he said he said dinner before the game, and he almosted chucked up!! Schoolboy errors…  never had a big dinner before the game..

11-3 vs. The Rose & Crown Hotel

I’ve missed playing oztag.. its been over 7 weeks since our last game! .. However we’re playing at Ryde this season, this was due to a stuff up by the organisers, losing our team nomination form. By the time we found out it was too late and the Tuesday night competition was filled up. Nothing we could do about that, so we decided to go play at the Ryde competition.

A few changes to the team, with Mickos (too far to go), Jerrett (work) and Big Nick (uni) out this season meant that we had big gaps to replace as all 3 players solid and reliable… Jerrett was our main play maker so that means someone else will have to step up. Same with Mickos as he is our main dummy-half.

Henry informed me that he will be bringing in 2 players, and Nick H would be bringing in 1 as well. I also recruited 1 player from work, Troy (he is like the white Big Nick, in size and speed), so we should be covered when it came to the number of players, as the final count was 11. Troy is not 100% certain he will be able to play the season as his contract is finishing up so he might be not be working around Ryde area anymore.

First game was on at 7:45pm so I decided to stick around work. Come 7pm it was time to go so Troy and I convoyed it down to the fields. Initially we went to the wrong place as the website hadn’t been update in years, but luckily the real venue was only 2 minutes away…

We only had 8 players for the first game, and out of the 8 only 2 were new, so I knew we would be competitive. As we were walking to our field, we noticed the other team and they had at least 8 subs! ..  woah.. they won’t be short of energy..

I won the toss and chose to kick off. At this comp, we get to kick off on the half way line, which was a surprise as we were used to kicking 10 metres behind it at the city comp. After 2 tags it was evident that we would dominate the game as the other team are a bunch of touch football players, the tactics and rules are different and it would be a struggle for them as they transition to the ozTag way of playing and rules.

Through-out the first half we were dominating them and went into the break up 6-2. Both newbies played very well and it was hard to find too much fault in the team besides the 2 tries we let in. I hammered into our boys to keep up the good work and not to let our guard down. I challenged them to limit the opposition to only 2 more tries. After the break, they answered the call and we continuted where we left off. The final score, 11-3.

The next day I told Mickos about our dominating win and it couldn’t take it anymore, he is now back on the team .. He wouldn’t be able to take it if we win another premiership without him.. hehe.

Went out training with Davos and Mickos last week because Davos thinks he can make an outrageous comeback for next season… we didn’t believe it so we had to put him through some training to see how he holds up! … The training was a few laps around some park that is near Davo’s in-laws.. it reminded me of why I hated cross country running back in high school…!! .. and it also reminded me about how unfit I am! .. a few laps of the park and I was done … haha.

Anyways, Davos looked like he could handle a season, but he has lost a bit of his speed. Although he will be slower, he would be an improvement to the team considering that we’re pretty low on play makers (Jerrett, our primary play maker is out for the next season).

The selectors (me and mickos) felt that Davos has passed the fitness test and it would be up to Davos himself in the end to decide if he wants to play or not. Personally I feel that he should spend one more season on the sidelines to make sure he comes back stronger.

The Finals 2009

Team Nine vs. Terry’s Final Score 7-4

Well, we gave it our best shot, but in the end it wasn’t enough. We had no subs as Big Nick and Louie were both missing in action due Nick having to attend uni and Louie who was still overseas.. come on, this was the biggest OZtag game of our careers and you couldn’t make it…? where are your priorities? .. hehe. Also, Locky and Henry only turned up in the nick of time for the game (and luckily the previous game went to OT or we would have started with 6)…  we need more commitment than that!

Anyway, we put in a massive effort to start the game and we got off to a 2-0 lead, but we conceeded 3 straight tries after that. We finished the half 3-3, which was a pretty stellar effort as they had 4 subs. Their star player, a ozTag referee then started to put together some great moves and just took over the game. We weren’t up to the challenge and got totally shutdown in the 2nd half.. it was a valiant effort, but not enough to take the title. Well played to Terry’s, they deserved it, but we will be back next season… (still without Davos).

Semi Finals - Team Nine vs. The Gumbies 8-7

Team Nine in a epic win …

(I’m so sore today… ugh.. ) Before we start, a glance at the final competition ladder. We missed out on being minor premiers, but it was a blessing in disguise (besides, who cares about being minor premiers anyway?)

*19/5 Terry’s were given no points for using unregistered players

The Oztag gods were shining on us this season.. with out backs against the wall, we seem to pull out our best performances (more on that later). Pure luck gave us the best outcome for our semi-finals matchup as we went head to head with the “easiest” team in the final four. As you can see from the win-loss records,  Terry’s is probably the best team in the division, but they lost points for using unregistered players, and did not get bonus points either. And The Gumbies had no business being in the top 4 judging by their record.. and I have to admit, we mysteriously picked up some phantom wins at the start of the season (not that we would complain about it )

Back to last night’s game.. as I said, we seem to pull out our best performances when we’re down… and last night was no exception. Going into the game we knew we could only field 7 players (Big Nick had uni, Hoa had work and Louie was on holidays) .. so essentially we had 6 players + little Kris haha. Come game time, we did only have 6 (cause little Kris was late as usual) .. so it was vital we win the toss and elect to receive, to give bide our time for Kris to arrive and not to put instant pressure on our 6 man defence.. they had a full team with subs.

Right off the bat we got the start we wanted as Henry went on his trademark runs around the defence to start the scoring, and that gave us great confidence.. but that was a false dawn, as they hit back at us right away to level it 1-1. Again the oztag gods shined on us as we went up 2-1, all due to one of their players not having the correct uniform! .. and it kept shining as one of their players broke our defense, certain to score in the corner and accidentally grounds the ball out of bounds! .. it was unbelievable. Little Kris finally shows up 10 minutes into the 1st half and lets one in .. talk about an instant impact player! haha. After that we were on the back foot for the rest of the half but we managed to hang in the game, going into the half time break 5-4 down. Locky wasn’t looking too good though as he strained his groin in the first half…

We knew we had to score first after the break or this game would get away from us … and that was exactly what we did.. Jerrett was supporting me by running into the gap, and a short ball put him through.. tie game.. next they hit back to take the lead again. The clock was ticking as both teams play good defense for the next 10 minutes to keep each other scoreless, but then we dug deep and Locky pulls off 2 tries in a row, by just running at the defense.. it was all heart.. up-1 … next thing I hear was the words “burn the clock” … I had to put Nick Ho in his place for saying those words, cause its no good having a negative attitude, once we’re on their throats, you finish them! .. you don’t waste any time… and that is what we did, scoring one more to seal our place in the finals! They did get one back at the buzzer, but it was too late… we’re heading to the finals!

Massive massive massive game next week against either Terry’s or Monobrows… both teams are experienced and have a good record against us, but I feel we can do it.. we will have our full team back, and we will take it to them… this is it.. the stakes don’t get any bigger than this..! Special kudos to Mickos for shaking off his T-Mac image and getting past the first round..

28-16 to the blues

Finally… NSW shows some pride… Great game from NSW last night… really gave the Queenslanders a royal beating on their own turf.. Some good biffos late in the game, it really reminded me of the Origins that I used to watch when I was a tacker..

Pity it took the blues 2 games to show up though… … oh well, I guess it’s something to look forward to next year…! Some quick ones:

• Wolf man sucks, he’s not up to it
• Inglis is a monster, he absolutely owned Wolf man
• Bringing back Kimmorley was brilliant (and shows how crap Peter Wallace is)
• Hopefully this is Darren Lockyer’s last series…

Until next year…

Team Nine vs. Terry’s - 7-8

Wow… finally we got a game happening.. woohoo.. unfortunately, we lost a game that was very much winnable. The fields were still wet, even though it hadn’t been raining for the last couple of days… there were patches of puddles right in the middle of the field, and they didn’t make things very easy…

Again, we started horribly.. within a blink of an eye, we were down a try…  We worked hard to pull one back, but our defence and ball handling let us down in the first half.. it was disgusting to watch. It didn’t matter if it was first tackle, we just kept throwing stupid passes in our half and turning over the ball…!! And on defense it was even worse… our guys weren’t covering the right man which led to soo many breaks.. It was so frustrating to say the least… being captain of the team meant I had to scream a lot at everyone.. its tough. Anyway, we were lucky to go into the half time break down “only” 5-1.

We knew we had to start the 2nd half strong.. and that’s exactly what happened, much to my surprise.. we pulled off 4 tries.. I honestly didn’t think we had it in us to pull it level against a team like Terry’s. Terry’s are a very strong team (a little rough/dirty) and I give my team full credit to fight back to this position. Also, Terry’s have a OZTag ref in their team, and I really thought a lot of 50-50 calls went their way…  But from 5-5 onwards, it was back and forth..  and unfortunately we fell short in the end… 8-7 losers.

I just hope we can play the rest of the games the way we played in the 2nd half, because if we do, we would be hard to beat. Until next week.. (here’s hoping the rain holds off every tuesday!)

Play of the Day: Not for us.. more for them.. at one of the restart kick offs, they kicked the ball short and into the puddle.. Big Nick dove into the water to get the ball, but was not successful. It looked good though!

NSW Sucks!

It’s been a bad year for me as a supporter…  first ManU (The Reds were so close, but yet so far to ending their long wait for a EPL premiership), then L.A. Fakers (I support the Suns, but I rather anyone win than L.A. ..  and Spurs .. hehe) .. and now Queensland. The N.S.W. team was hopeless last night.. they just gifted some many tries to the maroons and it was sooo painful to watch as Queensland rolls on to 4 successive victories.. So what’s next, Broncos or Storm win the NRL? ..

I’m not sure how the blues can break the Queensland dominance, but they can start by bringing back Phil Gould .. (I remember him coming to eat at our restaurant back in the 90’s, just after Penrith won the premiership.. it was funny as our cousin Joanne kept pestering him for a few autographs, which he was very nice and accommodating about.. but after that, we never saw him again.. haha!) .. With the exception of Jarryd Hayne, the NSW squad doesn’t have a dangerman who can make something out of nothing. You look at the Queensland team and you see Lockyer, Slater, Inglis, Falou, Thurston, the list goes on and on… Select Preston Campbell for NSW, I’ve seen him play lately, and although he is 32, he still has skills .. and is a better pick than Peter Wallace! .. and last but not least, Wolfman sucks. nuff’ said.

Oh… injury report .. I took a knock to the knee last Sunday from bball, but it took a few days for the bruising to show up … doesn’t really hurt… I’m tough!

Better not show mum or she'll get out the chinese medicine!

OZTag Report

Team Nine vs. The Gumbies - Rained Out (again!)

Another week, another washed out round. That makes it 4 weeks in a row now… To make things worse, it was sunny the whole day today.. and it didn’t rain yesterday either…! But it was raining all last week, up until Sunday, and according to Angela, there might have been some rain during the night. So I don’t think the fields were dry enough to play on… which is good for me, I don’t want to get my new shoes too muddy on my first game.. ! haha

The organisers added 3 weeks onto the regular season, so that should make up for lost games.. they also mentioned on their webpage that after this season, the council will be re-turfing the field, and installing a better drainage system.. so it will delay the start of next season, but hey its a good thing right? My main concern at the moment is when we do get to play again, our team will be out of form due to the lack of games.. but I suppose that goes with most teams. Oh well!

ACBA Report

FORCE vs. Autobots 25-57

Errmmmm… welcome to Division II. I haven’t been totally creamed so bad for a long long time. I kind of knew that it would be a bad idea to move to Div2 since we’re such a new team but I guess last week’s win covered up our weaknesses. Well, they were certainly exposed today. My thoughts on the team… We played hard on defence, but our Offense was definitely lacking. Main issue were too many turnovers. Apart from our PG Thai, I don’t think we’re particularly good at ball handling, and the div 2 guards are always in your face. So we need to protect the ball a lot better than we did. Also, we need quicker, faster passes to open the defence and create open jumpers.

Autobots are a good team, and not taking anything away from their performance, but we did play very poorly, and they definitely ran up the score in the last part of the game when we had already given up. My rating on my own performance… should have played better, but I didn’t turn the ball over, so I was happy with that. 4 points on 50% shooting, and 2 charges taken. But I fouled out with 12 minutes to go.. hehe.

Well, next week I’ll be moving to my more natural SG position, where I will be running the fast break, so we’ll see how we go then.. gggrrrrr…