24/10 - Another all-HUC affair on the westside

With the forfeit of Wuxi to the indomitable might of the Heroes in Division 1, the only match that would actually be played at the new(ish) Gap SHS fields would be the intra-club trash-talk-off, AKA Agent Orange vs. Discheads.

This would be a much-anticipated affair, for a number of reasons:

1. Both teams, as mentioned, stem from the Heroes Ultimate Club - TRASH TALK GALORE,
2. The previous time this season that these teams played, AO got up by a single point (not at all related to the absence of yours truly),
3. AO were the only undefeated team left in the BUML competition, a single draw marring their otherwise unblemished record,
4. This would be the second-last night of league for 2011., and most importantly
5. The winners would next week be playing in the GRAND FINAL. 

That's right, this was a semi-final!

The game began as one would expect, with both teams keen to show their improvement since the last meeting. Fast running, hard defence, long hucks and longer points eventuated, and the teams traded scores until approximately 3-3.
At this point, AO decided to show what had kept the rest of BUML Division 2 in check all season, and taking the Discheads by surprise, swiftly moved up to a score of 8-3.
The Discheads were in disarray, and with a point left before the Agents would seemingly take half, their fearless leader Sea-bass called a time out.
Some tactics were discussed, some inspirational speeches were made, and some players ignored all of this to practice throwing to spectators (hi Craig).

The Discheads came out of the timeout fired up, with solid ideas for how they were to recover some pride in the fronts of their minds. Moreover, reports soon made it to the grey camp that AO had brought sliced oranges as snacks, and neglected to share them with their fellow club members.
Possibly in response to this, Discheads seemed even more fired up than at the beginning of the match.
They appeared to take the Agents completely by surprise, and closed the gap with a succession of competitive defensive turns, followed by swift conversions. At 8-7 up, it was the Agents' turn to call a time-out.

This time however, the desired effects were not quite achieved for the Agents. After two incredibly long, competitive points (with great displays of athleticism on both sides), the Discheads finally took half and the lead, the score at 8-9.

To the surprise of many, some impartial spectators on the side informed the on-field warriors that time-cap would be reached during the half-time break! Suddenly the teams were playing off to 10, with the winners to go on and represent their club at the Grand Final, and the losers consigned to watching from an assumedly beer-fueled sideline.

The most tense point of the game eventuated, with the Discheads on defense attempting to close out their epic comeback, while the Agents were desperate to even the scores and force the match to a Universe point.
A number of turns were made on both sides, some due to evident nerves (sorry guys), and some thanks to sheer grit and determination on defense.

Eventually, trapped on their own goal line, the Agents faltered and threw the disc into the reach of a player in grey, who wasted no time in knocking it down and running past to look for the easy goal.
The Agents were not about to make it so easy, however, getting two players to the Dischead and shutting them out.
However, as they have intermittently done all season, the cool heads of the Discheads prevented another  turnover and waited until an option appeared - an unmarked Sarah taking the easy pass from her life-saving husband, Alex.

The game was over, history was written, and the Discheads would move on to represent the HUC in yet another Grand Final; hopefully to be cheered on by the disappointed (yet assuredly proud) Agents in Orange, alongside their Division 1 siblings the Heroes.

Final score: Discheads 10 d. Agent Orange 8


Note:This blogger would welcome any comments on inaccuracies, score discrepancies, unfair biases and the like. He was pretty distracted at the time, and may have forgotten, omitted or invented a few details of the night.