Tiptoe Game reports.

[Princelucianus]

On saturday, we'll print the results online after each round is finished.
So keep checking
http://bloodbowl.denes.nl/tournooi/all.teams.pl on saturday and sunday. All matchresults and scores are visible online, half an hour after the last game of a round is played......

Lucy


Edit: Just tidying this up and moving it to Archive to keep the tiptoe game reports.
-Woody

[Princelucianus]

Round three finished.

My first report.....
1st game against Longshot's highelf should have ended 1-1 in the first half, but the fans threw the ball out of range, so the lack of rerolls made it hard for the highelves. The casualties and knockouts made it difficult to penetrate the undead defence who scored a 6th turn TD to finish 2-0.

2nd game against Spyke's Dykes ended in a pyrhus first half victory for the amazons, with three blitzers injured. He could have gone 2-0 up after making a 6+ pick up , but dodging became the problem. The second half showed that the lack of blitzers and speed made it to easy for the undead who scored three times to take the win.

3rd game against Longfans humans showed the opposite result. Comfortable 1-0 lead early on but a ghoul and wight casualty decreased the undead strength. Fairly quick Longfang equalised and an 8 turn TD failed on 1 go for it by the undead ghoul. The second half showed two catchers who were desperate to get through and a catcher who didn't see an opening. 5 KO'd palyers on the human side made things look grim, but another 6+ pick up and some go for it's gave him an 8th turn scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, The catcher failed his dodge roll twice, therefore leaving both players without the needed 5 victory points.

See more tomorrow........

Lucy

[Longshot]

Hi all:

First game against Lucy and his Undead legion.
weather: Pouring Rain
I felt the 1/1 on first half , and the rain has made me fail catch rolls that could have change the roll but anyway, it was a great game and i hope i can play against you an other time later..0/2
Second Game against Davin and his brutal Orc
weather: Blizzard
i succed in breaking his defence and take the ball in his hands to score before the half time.After a riot of 5 turn i score in 2 turns. 2/0
Cool game too but ;my players always suffering from casualties.
Third game against those little but strong legs from Norse Dwarves.
weather:Swealthering heat.
strange game and tuff one. A lot of casualties against me but i finally thrown the ball in his backfield and run to pick it up for a TD (Kick and Rush...) Hard one but fine.2/2

Finally we drank a little with Thadrin,DW and Longfang(Very Cool Mates)
But the day wasnt finished yet....
When we came back to the hotel , our door was open....we check everything and my digital camera have been stolen...
So we went to the police , and now we are able to go to sleep soon.
hoping that tomorrow will be better.
c ya all

[Princelucianus]

final results online

1st prize: Sydney
best comeback: Ulthuan
Best painted team: Spyke
Nice guy award: Longfang
Most cas: Trans Leich.
Most TD's: Thunderv. (dwarves????)
Last: Naggarond.

That concludes our blabering for 1/2 a year,,,

Lucy

[Princelucianus]

On day two....

Had to play Marcus' Undead. After a beautifull beginning (two cas' after two blocks) I was able to make a 4th turn TD. After that, Marcus undead started to rule the place and he made an equalizer in the first half. His second TD was at a moment when most of my players were in the KO/Inj box.... I got a lucky break and some fortunate dice to get an equalizer in the 8th turn which wasn't deserved. Marcus definetely deserved to win the tourney!!

Last game against Thadrin's Dwarves. This game was simply nog my game. Thadrin's dwarves were always in the way and I could run around them but never got them out.... Mummies just wanted to play something else I guess. The dwarves kicked ass and only my 8th turn cas. made sure I remained on second place with Thadrin.

[Marcus]

Match Report.

Great tournament. Props to Lucy, Norse and the Amsterdam players for getting it all together. Great locale at Cafe Legendz gave the whole tournament the feel of an ECBBL match. A far cry from the usual scout-hall fare.

Game 1: Longfang's Humans.

Del introduced the game with "Bollocks, I was hoping I wouldn't have to play you". I will find out who's been talking and they will be dealt with. For myself I was just thinking I'd be lucky to salvage a touchdown given I was up against a bone-fide champion and I hadn't coached a single undead game in about 3-4 years.

Well, I was lucky, and I did salvage a touchdown. For the rest the game it was all Longfang. His humans dominated the pitch, shutting down every angle and every play and never really let me into the game. I can take minor solace in the fact that Lonfang played conservatively in the second half, just playing for the 2-1 win and not running away with the score.

Game 2: Norse's Dwarves.

Displeased with S.I.N's performance in the previous match the fans decided to even up the score in the second match. First kickoff result was a pitch invasion - 5 players. Having been on the recieving end of a couple of these in my last tournament I know what a devastating effect they can have on a team. Especially for Dwarves.

Norse never had enough stunties on the pitch to control the match. Add to this the fact that the deadies were knocking out dwarves left right and centre - thick skull be damned - and you have the eventual 4-0 scoreline.

Game 3: Davin's Orcs.

Having given kick to a skeleton after the first game we were able to keep the play deep in the Orc half for most of the match. The All Greens were continually outpaced in the backfield by SIN's charging ghouls and never quite managed to regain their footing. Davin's blocks didn't ever really come off which left us with the initiative for most of the match. End result: 4-0 to SIN

Day 2 was a tough draw. Lucy and Bem were right up in 2nd and 3rd place coming in to the last two matches and I had to play both of them. I didn't fancy my chances.

Game 4: Lucy's Undead.

I had been forewarned that Lucy was a fearsome undead coach and the warnings were not exaggerated. With his first two blocks Lucy inflicted 2 casualties and immediately took control. We desperately blitzed his proto cage trying for the quick turnover but Lucy deftly sidestepped the play and waltzed in for an easy touchdown.

We managed a hard-fought touchdown to bring it to 1-1 in the first half and were looking good for numbers with a few knockouts and one dirty player sent off for doing what she does best. Recieving in the 2nd half we managed a relatively comfortable touchdown and had numerical superiority for the next kickoff. 1 minor tactical error on my part left a chink that Lucy masterfully exploited into a gaping breach through which he threaded a risky but well executed play that we were unable to stop. Final score, a nerve-wracking 2-2 draw.

Game 5: Bem's Amazons.

From a quick assessment of the standings it was apparent I had to win this game by a comfortable margin if I was to stand any chance of coming away with a place. Bem's 'Zons were loaded with Blodge and I had precious little tackle to counter it. Recieving the first kick we marched downfield and were stymied at every step by dangerous looking nuns. Bem's play was obviously to keep the strong pressure up and force me to fail dice rolls.

Nuffle, however, saw it differently. Rolling more than my fair share of Pows we managed to get a respectable number of the nuns on the deck forcing Bem to gamble with 1-die blocks against the mummies. The gamble did not pay off. Bem rolled as many skulls as I had rolled pows and we steadily won the war of attrition as SIN's players shook off their knockouts and regenerated their broken limbs while the nuns stayed out cold.

Sheer weight of numbers left it difficult for Bem to reply and we steadily marched in the touchdowns for a 4-0 win.

Overall, I have to say it was the best tournament I have attended. Great atmosphere. Skillful, friendly and sportsmanlike opposition - even in the face of some obscene dice results. Thanks again to the Amsterdam boys and everyone else who attended for making it a memorable tournament.

Marcus

[Thadrin]

A little tiptoe through the aftermath.

My line up:
1 Slayer, 2 Runners, 2 Blitzers, 5 Longbeards, 1 Apoth, 2 rerolls, 4 FF.

First game: Norse's Dwarfs

Opening match on the saturday...dwarf versus dwarf. I can remember few times when Nuffle has been quite so against me. Seriously. I recieved to start, and Norse proceeded to put the boot into my boys while my guys couldn't put a dent on his. Managed to score first, but Norse got an equaliser just before halftime. The second half saw the game divided into two rucks, with all but one of the Longbeards over on one side taking turns to knock each other over, and the position players squabbling over the ball. I don't remember how the Longbeard on that side ended up with the ball and he pulled off a pretty unlikely play to spring one of Norse's runners to steal victory from the jaws of equality. Played alright, but the dice just weren't rolling my way. Picked up Mighty Blow on my Slayer and Block on one of my Runners

Second Game: Deathwing's Orcs

Every bit of bad luck I'd had in my first game got translated over to Woody for the second game. Maybe karma for that cheesey Ressurection team? who knows, but it just was not his day. My luck wasn't anything special, but when Nuffle gives you oppurtunities like DW saying "I'll go for it...it's OK cos I've got a reroll." and then rolling a pair of 1s to spill the ball in easy range of your Runner, and Ogres who go Bonehead at precisely the wrong/right (depending on your point of view) moment, plus Black orcs who have a knack of rolling SKull/Powskull against Longbeards its hard not to score. The game was effectively over when I cas'd one of his Black Orcs and went 2-0 up. He got a consolation score when I got lax in defence, but it was too little too late. 2-1 win. A blitzer got Strip Ball and a Longbeard got Guard.

Third Game: Niels' Wood Elves.

My only game against one of the non-TBB Dutch guys - who were all really good guys, and good players - was against my personal nemesis team. I hate Woodies with a PASSION. It was very rewarding to punch in a score off the first kick off, but then I got reminded why I hate Wood Elves so much. The "make a tiny hole in your otherwise fine defence and send half a battallion through it on 2+ dodges" play. 1-1 with two turns left. Dwarfs can obviously not score in two turns....or can they? The kick landed right, the runner grabbed it cleanly and tossed it forward to my other Runner, who ran up the pitch. Next turn the slayer clears away the tackle zones and a GFi puts me 2-1 up. Second half I defended better, but Niels still managed to break through - only to see his lineelf fumble the pass. My Runner grabbed the ball and I surrounded him with players to prevent his leaper getting at the ball carrier. It was a bit cheesy to run out the clock like that but he didn't attack my guys, so I'm not going to feel bad.
the runners got a skill each. Block on the one who didn't already have it, pass on the other.

Fourth game - Spyke's Amazons

The word that sprang to mind was "mmmmm....crunchy." I'd been looking forward to this one, having never played against Amazons before. I got plenty of knock downs of course, but would the damn injuries come? would they hell. Still, recieving again, punched the ball in on about turn five. Runner again.
Spyke got a pretty good attack going, but on his seventh turn he declared a pass action when he should have declared a hand off and the air went out of him a bit. His catcher did at least avoid being pushed into the crowd while waiting for the pass that never came.
Second half kick went close to the half way line where one of his line players caught it. Massive ruck developed in the middle, with a pair of guarded up players in the middle to confuse the assists and pushbacks. He tried to break out a couple of guys, and I finally got my injury dice to work, KOing athem and thena couple more for good measure. Finished 1-0. Not the result I wanted, but a win's a win. Thanks to my abject inability to cause carnage I was well out of the title race though. final skills were my Strip Ball Blitzer getting Piling On (because I've never used it before) and one Longbeard getting Stand Firm.

Fifth match - Prince Lucy's Undead

This one turned into one of the more enjoyable games I've played. Recieved AGAIN. Lucy's mummies struggled thanks to lack of block and were forced to push back rather than knock over. Strangely my memories of this game are hazier than the others, though I know I managed to pretty much control the line thanks in great part to my Guarding Longbeard. I can't remember if it was 1-0 at half time or 2-0, but go two up I did and I managed to hold lucy's attack out, at least partially because I'd established a manpower advantage with a KOd skeleton who never returned and a BH'd skeleton. Held out for a 2-0 win, and even got another casualty. Lucy also knocked off one of my boys, leaving us dead level when all was said and done.

and that was that....I'd risen most places on the second day but lost out onthat award because Longshot's 4-0 demolition of the fancied Dutch Human team and impressive showing against Longfang was thought more impressive, (and I can't argue with that). One of my runners was the third best scorer in the tournament, behind Marcus' ghouls - so I got the award. Only player with 4 wins (though, as he will certainly point out, only Longfang went undefeated.)

Big thanx to Lucy and Norse for putting it together, Longfang and Deathwing for putting up with sharing a room with me, and all the other TBB and Dutch boys for a cracking weekend. Lets do it again next year. Tramplin' on the tulips 2003.

[longfang]

Well done Marcus. DW and I had you as our pre tourney favorite and we weren't proved wrong! I'm also sure that you would kick my ass nine times out of ten, so I'll avoid (playing) you like the plague!

My tourney report will be brief. (hey I was stoned for most of it!), but I will just say that the standard of play was very good and every game was tough. Yea I was undefeated, but I could have easily lost all five games, my luck held out, but you need a bit of luck.


Game 1. Marcus, Undead.

God dammmit, Marcus and Undead, thought I was going to get creamed. Tough tight chain smoker of a game, that saw my Humans armour hold out, enableing me to control the pace of the game and frustrate Marcus with a few too many Dodge rolls.

Game 2. Niels, Woodelf.

I thought this would be a good chance to chalk up points with casualties, so control football was the tactic. If only there were points for KO's!
Enjoyed this one, Niels was good company and our Bloodbowl was on a par with each other.

Game 3. Lucy's Undead.

Read Lucy's report for the details. This was loads of fun and I should have lost as I ran out of players deep in the 2nd half. I was only able to hold onto a draw through Lucy's 1's and a really really spawney 6 from me to gain possesion of the ball, preventing Lucy from scoring in his turn 8. My turn 8 had the smell of victory in the air as my catcher was still standing and holding the ball only to fail his Dodge roll and reroll.

Andre` I hope you remember how you head butted the table during the game.


Game 4. Longshot, High Elf.

Tough and enjoyable. Again this game could have gone either way, I got lucky again and scraped a 2-1 in the last few turns. The key moment... A deep kick off and a ball lying in the end zone, meant that Longshot had to go for a long Bomb to score, which failed

See you again soon I hope, Longshot and Trambi.


Game 5. Daam, Skaven

Needed to crunch a few Skaven to haul in a load of points. They crunched me. At the end of the 1st half I had 8 guys on the pitch but stopped the rats from scoring. For the second half, I was looking to be down on players, except the first half had been played in Swealtering heat. This resulted in an 8 a side game, which was a real bitch but funny. Their were holes in my offence and Daams defence but neither of us could hold the ball long enough to score. Well played Daam.





Ok, very lucky on day 1 and I was in the running. Needed laods of points to stay within the hunt but day 2 proved to be just as tough as day 1 just not as rewarding. Before the tournament my plan was just to trade TD's and chalk up more points than Bashy teams. It didn't matter if my opponant scored, in fact the quicker they scored the better as it would mean loads of points from a high scoring game (Norse, Lucy, you should watch out for high scoring games in this format, they could easily be rigged if two coaches wanted to be as low as a snakes belly.) My trouble is (as is most BB players) that I want that ball and I don't like letting someone score against me, so as soon as I kicked my plans went out the window and I played, or rather participated in 5 great games. Doing it again next year guys?

[Longshot]

Hey everybody!

This is my report of the Second day: Comeback day!

4th Game against Longfang and his Human Bast...
Weather: nice (incredible!!)
He receives the ball, and weather has changed at the kickoff (Verry Sunny!!!, I told him)
So, a big pressure of my Elves make him score at the turn 6 (he manages very well). I tryed a long Pass in last turn of first half to get back at the score (i needed a 3) but i fumble this one (2,1).
Second half with a Pass down in his left defence. He stops me well so I had to go a little back, hand off and go throught the center to get the 1/1.
After that he made a very good protection of the ball, and even if i succed in blitzing his carrier, he scores at the end of the half time . 2/1 for Longfang.

5th Game against the so called 'best dutch player' Daryl and his Cold Logic humans.
Weather : nice for the first half and pourring rain (again) for the second half.

I scored on turn 2. And for once i used my kick skill. Putting the ball in deep right as he was attacking on my left. His thrower made a big mistake by throwing the ball to a lonely lineman who didn't succed in catch.
My High elves put some pressure on the ball. I got the ball again for the break and scored the 2/0 for the half time. At this time ,i could never believed that i will own the 'Comeback' Price.
Second half start with weather change and my players were still on his field near the ball carrier, he succed to go throught but my linebacker stop them and the ball was mine again. I ran on the deep right, he stops me for this time but i go the ball again in my hands and i scored for the 3/0.
On the last 2 turns, Cold logic still tryed to get a TD but pourring rain was still here, and he failed his catch. My catcher went in the TD Zone...waiting under the water...My Thrower dodged..picked up the ball under rain...Saw his mate waiting...and lauched a long pass...the ball was wet put i scored the 4 TD at the very end of the game. This TD gave me the best Comeback price.

PS to Norse: It was my camera, not Trambi's.

[Norse]

Well, I'll keep it short and sweet, but here's my take on my 5 games...

1) v Thadrin's Dwarves

A crunching game where I had the majority of the luck and, somehow, my guys picked up a win and 3 unanswered casualties. A good game, but I don't like Dwarf - Dwarf games and was pleased to come out on top. My luck was about to change though....

2) v Marcus' Undead (my models!

A first half, first turn pitch invasion ended the game for me before it had begun (congrats Marcus on having the balls to take FF9! A huge gamble, but it really paid off!). I had 6 players left for the rest of the half and focused on picking up casualties. Never had a chance, but the first helping hand to Marcus on his path to glory..

3) v Longshot's High Elves (in sweltering heat!)

I regarded this as my best chance to get back in the tourney, and was 2-1 up against 7 Elves when Longshot threw the ball to the endzone and then ran there quicker than my Dwarves to pick it up! A game I maybe should have won, but all credit to Longshot, he played brilliantly despite really suffering in the heat, and he picked up my 'nicest opponent' vote...

4) v Deathwings Orcs

What a game! Both had good chances to score and the dice let us down. I had a chance to score very late in the game (after a Longbeard threw a 6 to catch a bouncing ball!) but I then rolled a 1 while GFI! (much to DWs pleasure ...).. A real humdinger of a swinger, but it put an end to my chances as I only picked up 2 points for 1 casualty..

5) v Davin's Orcs

2 Orc teams in succession had convinced me I was in trouble long before I got here, and good play by Davin saw me 2-0 down with 5 turns left and no RRs (not good when you play Dwarves!).. Then Nuffle inspired me to greatness and I scored twice in 5 turns to pull off a draw, easily the best 5 turns of the tourney for me and absolutely terrifying when every dice roll could mean defeat!

My overall take - a fantastic weekend with some really great guys and some genuinely excellent play..

Personally, I thought I played well and deserved a top half finish. I think the final placings is not really indicative of just the coaches skill, but also the teams they took (no question for me that the teams which start with the most skills perform well at tourneys compared to elves for instance).. Anyone asking which team gives them a good start in BB should look at Undead, Dwarf and Human I think!

Disappointments? None at all. Next year, and there WILL be a next year, we may review the scoring a bit to give more kudos to draws etc..

Actually, I was thinking of this:

Win = 3 points
Draw = 1 points

Score 2 TDs or more = 1 point
Score 2 Cas or more = 1 point

This way a loss is still crap unless you score well and get a few kills, but an entertaining draw gets as many points as a poor win..

Whaddya think, would this format be fairer? DW, I don't suppose you have the time to put this format into this years results to see what it throws up do you? I think you're the Excel guru around here mate...

OK, who's coming next year then?

[Trambi]

The result of the A'Dam tournament:
5 lost games , a beautifull fig and a new nickname to find .
It was pretty fun, I learn a lot of thing about playing Dark Elves .
Moreover I learn to appreciate the 2k1 edition .

Next tournament i will play again my Naggarond Corsairs (DE) but a slightly different way.

Norse : Why not ! Have you made the calcul for this tournament with your way ?

[Deathwing]

Ok, first of all big thanks to Norse and Lucy. Blinding weekend, great to meet everybody. Unmissable in future, wild horses wouldn't keep me away next year!


Game 1 vs. Bem (Amazons)
Bem's using the Shadowforge Nun figs, I haven't seen them 'in the metal' before, so I take a look before we get underway. (Lucien will be pleased to hear that the bases were colour coded a la 2e).
I suffer from some horrendous dice rolls, and I'm never really in the game. Has to be said that I make a couple of rookie errors, and I'm far from on top of my game. Bem's a quality coach, and I've got the feeling that I'd of had to have played near my best to make it a competitive game.
I go down 0-2 after failing to score a consolation TD, and come away thinking "F**k, if Bem's a yardstick, these Dutch boys play to a very good standard!". Bem goes on to win his other 2 games on Sat.
The random players for skills are my Thrower (who gains Accurate) and Edbiter the Blitzer (who gains a very sexy +1MA).

Game 2 vs. Thadrin (Dwarf)
I recieve, and again the dice are not going my way. I burn a reroll early, and do my level best to take his Trollslayer out, with a Blitz Action from my Ogre, followed by a Foul which results in a stun.
I set up the screen down the right flank, Accurate thrower to MA7 Blitzer, and decide to gfi to bring it down a range band. With a reroll in hand, I come up with the double 1's, Thrower's down, ball loose within range of a Runner. Dave grabs the ball, and when my first Block next turn comes up double skulls (no TRR), he waltzes the ball home.
From the kick off, the ball ends deep in my endzone (for the third time of the day!), and the only player within range (my Thrower) is stunned by a thrown rock. I end up trailing by 2 until I score a late consolation to at least get a few more points on the board.
I think I played a little better than against Bem, but it was just one of those games. The Trollslayer who'd I'd targeted repeatedly dusted himself off and killed a Black Orc. By that stage, I was pretty despondent, and somebody grabbed a photo of me with my head on the table in despair!
A Blitzer gains Guard, and the Thrower comes out again. I look at the options, and decide to go with Kick.

Game 3 vs. Darryl (Human)
Darryl's won his first 2, I've lost my first 2, and I feel like I'm staring down the barrel of a disasterous first day, and wistfully mourn a Swiss style tourney.
Darryl recieves, scores quickly, and it's clock time. I take it in at the end of the half, recieve 2nd half and take all half to score, despite valiant opposition from Darryl who nevertheless puts me under pressure and pops the ball loose at least once.
Strong opponent, and I'm glad to get a win under my belt to finish the day.
A third Blitzer is a random player (Mighty Blow), and my Gobbo gains Sprint.

Game 4 vs. Norse (Dwarf)
Lots of pride and gloating rights at stake here, and it turns out to be my most enjoyable game of the weekend.
I recieve, and the comedy of errors begins. Skulls and 1's everywhere for both of us, and the first half comes down to a single 3+ Dodge roll for Rams. to take the lead. It fails, and it's still 0-0 at the half.
I get the Blitz on the second half KO, have to use a reroll, but get some Orcs deep into the backfield. The ball's gathered by a runner, and I manage to knock him down and the ball's loose.
Luck for both of us continues to be appalling, and in short order there's a long time to go and no TRRs left on either side.
At some point (Double Skulls again?), Norse exclaims " Oh you f**king f*ck f*ck!" which brings much amusement to the other tables in the basement. I get the chance to score with a Blitzer, but fail the required 3+ pick up, and it stays level.
I get one more chance to score, need 2 gfi's and a 4+ pick up with Sure Hands. The first gfi comes up 1, and down goes the Thrower. I have a little chuckle, and Norse remarks that he's glad I can laugh about it.
Norse's turn 8, and (with no TRR) he dodges with a Runner, makes the pick up, slips around the back and throws to a Longbeard. The pass is inaccurate, it scatters around, bounces off a couple of prone players before ending up in the arms of the intended Longbeard reciever, who grabs it with a 6! He declares a hand-off, moves down the field and hands it off sucessfully to another Longbeard. The short-arsed little git is within range of the winning score with a couple of gfis! At this point I get up from the table and walk away in disbelief, muttering under my breath. A couple of deep breaths later, I resume my seat. The first gfi comes up 1..."GET DOWN YOU SONOFABITCH!" I exclaim gleefully!
A great and highly entertaining game, played in the best BB spirit (cheers dude!).
Thrower gained +1AG (oh why not first game?), and another Blitzer gets Guard.

Game 5 vs. Niells (Wood Elf)
Neills is a fun opponent, keeps making ridiculous amounts of Dodge rolls, runs through my defence like water through a sieve! Then Bert the Ogre finally picks up a couple of cas, and I just run the clock.
0-1 down, 1-1 HT, and 2nd half I have to apologise for holding the ball in the corner before scoring the winner, didn't want to leave Welfs 2 turns to level it.
I felt guilty about doing it in such a friendly and laid back enviroment, but Neills said not a problem, and he'd have done the same. I know it shouldn't matter, but I wanted the W2 D1 L2 record after my appalling start. After much deliberation (having to choose 1 of 5 great opponents was tough) I gave Niells my 'Most Entertaining Opponent' vote, purely because of the manner he accepted my delaying tactics. I simply couldn't think of any other criteria to split such a great bunch of opponents.

A great tourney, high coaching standards and very cool venue and people.
Ah...Amsterdam...missing it already.

[Marcus]

Del stalled some time off the clock in our first game to get his 2-1 win. I think the play was fair enough. He had gained some solid initiative on me and needed to maximise value on that initiative. Had he kicked back to me I'd have had regen and knockout rolls and would have had every chance to score. The payoff was that it was only a 2-1 scoreline.

Compare that with my game against Lucy. 2nd half as I was walking in to make it 2-1 up I had most of Lucy's players down or out. I had most of the pitch to play with and could easily have waited out 3 turns going hunter-killer, racking up casualties and securing the 2-1 win.

Thing is, I didn't want to. I had to have confidence in my ability to turn Lucy over and get the 3-1 win. Partly because it netted me more tournament points, partly because it's more my style and partly because playing stalling/defensive has an affect on your confidence as a coach. Well, at least it does me.

Nearly worked too, put Lucy under pressure for the turnover but he's just too damn good.

Turned out to be my favourite game of the tournament. I couldn't say I'd have felt the same had I stalled it down for the 2-1 win.

Marcus