News

May 20, 2011

Round Three Wrap and Cap.

Category: Game Reports

Posted by: eli

The Gnargles	10	vs	60*	The Slythersluts
The Death-Eaters	0	vs	FF	The Vanishing Cabinets
Catch The Snatch…I Mean Snitch	60*	vs	20	The Marauders
The ‘Moaning’ Myrtles	120*	vs	0	The Weasley Jumpers
The Dirigible Plums	80*	vs	30	The Thestrals
The Whomping Willows	0	vs	FF	That’s In Canada!
The Fizzing Whizbees	80*	vs	20	The Marauding Muggles

 

 

	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	+	-	Diff	Points
1	The ‘Moaning’ Myrtles	3	3	0	0	280	70	+210	6
2	The Death-Eaters	3	3*	0	0	190	0	+190	6
3	The Fizzing Whizbees	3	3	0	0	230	40	+190	6
4	The Whomping Willows	3	3*	0	0	160	20	+140	6
5	Catch The Snatch…I Mean Snitch	3	3	0	0	190	60	+130	6
6	The Dirigible Plums	3	3	0	0	210	100	+110	6
7	The Slythersluts	3	1	2	0	140	180	-40	2
8	That’s In Canada!	3	1	2*	0	50	150	-100	2
9	Gnargles	3	0	2	1	90	150	-60	1
10	The Marauders	3	0	2	1	60	210	-150	1
11	Thestrals	3	0	3	0	70	180	-110	0
12	Marauding Muggles	3	0	3	0	50	210	-160	0
13	The Weasley Jumpers	3	0	3	0	10	280	-270	0
14	The Vanishing Cabinets	3	0	3*	0	60	160	-100	0

 

• = Including Forfeit
• Teams who have conceded Forfeit defeat will be automatically lowest of all the teams on that points total, +- irrespective

 

 

 

 

After an entire Polyjuice cycle of down-time, the Hunter Region’s premier sporting athletes returned to the South Eastern Wetlands Quidditch and Planking Stadium on May 19 for a third week of unmitigated frivolity. After much turmoil and general lethargy on the part of a disappointing number of people, play was able to finally get underway in the first and surely most important game of the day.

Game 1: Gnargles vs The Slythersluts

The Gnargles were extremely unlucky in the first two weeks and had failed tot ake advantage of their friendly draw. Their opening game was tied, despite catching the snitch, after a last second Marauders goal extended their lead to 30. In week 2 The Gnargles led 40-20 and were looking impressive but an opportune snitch capture for That’s In Canada stole the game 50-40. The Slythersluts meanwhile needed every bit of a month to recover from their gruelling loss to the ‘Moaning’ Myrtles. Captain Steph Morris had failed to recover from injuries sustained in the titanic struggle and would be sorely missed.

 

The match started slowly as both teams struggled to adapt to a number of guest replacements. In an impressively tight defensive struggle, especially considering the six-on-six game featured only one Beater per team, just four goals were scored. The Gnargles’ Melanie Knight, in the unique situation of being a sole Beater, was impressive but ultimately unable to contain the Slythersluts makeshift Chaser line-up. The Plums’ Megan Rooney and The Death Eaters’ Cameron Mills formed a formidable if unlikely guest pairing and began to take control, taking the Slythersluts to a 30-10 lead. Fahim Shamsudehim was again a veritable jack-in-the-box, with penetrating counter-attacks, but his efforts were not quite enough as the Sluts sealed a 60-10 win.

 

 

Game 2: The Death-Eaters vs The Vanishing Cabinets

The Vanishing Cabinets lived up to their name far more vividly and depressingly than they’d have ever intended, forfeiting a contest against the The Death-Eaters like a group of veritable Lockharts. The Death-Eaters therefore took a welcome but surely unsatisfying victory.

 

 

Game 3: Catch The Snatch…I Mean Snitch vs The Marauders

The happily increasing prevalence of tense and tight encounters in the NQL continued here as The Snatches, led by the all-conquering Chaser/Seeker pair of Lara Field and Cassandra Cox, took on the unlucky and in patches, highly promising Marauders. Lara and Cassie’s leadership would prove to be the vital difference, as they held together a largely unrecognisable team thanks to a spate of withdrawals.

 

The Marauders bounced back well from last week’s big loss, immediately taking advantage of the Snatches disrupted preparation. Nicole Tutton quickly opened the scoring and once again, The Snatches found themselves on the back foot. However this seems to be where they are most comfortable, as Lara Field upped the ante in a stunning Chaser battle with Tutton, the pair trading blows and taking the score to 20-20. Guest Chaser Terry McLeod made it 30-20, taking the Snatches into the lead for the first time, but once again Cassandra Cox was the star. Once again she illustrated how apt the team name was, by overcoming early confusion which saw Marauders Seeker Hannah Smith inches from victory, only to lunge at the last minute and claim yet another spectacular capture.

 

 

 

Game 4: The ‘Moaning’ Myrtles vs The Weasley Jumpers

The Myrtles are fast establishing themselves as the competition’s premier team, and must surely be installed as favourites after a third consecutive crushing display. In the only game all day to feature close to 14 original roster players, the Myrtles dominated on the back of their devastating Chaser attack. There was a kind of bizarre charm about this match-up. Theoretically it shaped as the competition’s biggest match-up yet, between arguably the most endearingly popular team, and the most competitively aggressive and opinion-dividing. But the challenge of taking on The ‘Moaning’ Myrtles, led by the wile and guile of Beater extraordinaire Kate Smithers and goalscoring machine Chris Riley lifted the Jumpers who put in easily their best performance to date.

 

Chris Riley continued where he left off last week, scoring a phenomenal six goals, while Kate Worth and Jasmine Harris combined brilliantly to set up a sensational hat-trick for Jasmine. By the time Brittany Noble snapped up the snitch to take the final score to 120-0, they’d spooked their opposition even worse than Harry in the prefect’s bathroom. For the Weasley Jumpers, it was an unfortunate case of wrong place and wrong time, as they were gallant and much-improved, but unable to contain the most impressive team so far. The sight of the Weasley Jumpers keeled over or on their backs, barely able to breathe, after more than twenty minutes of intense action, spoke volumes for the commitment which many teams could do well to emulate.

 

 

Game 5: The Dirigible Plums vs Thestrals

The Thestrals lifted their game from the scratchy performances of the first two weeks, taking the fight up to the imposingly organised Plums. Terry McLeod scored soon after the start whistle for an early 10-0 lead, but from their Chris Byron and Tim Chaston began punching through the Plum defence, as they struggled to get their bearings, no doubt regretting their lack of fatal experiences. Byron used his height well, clearing the defence and scoring a wonderful hat-trick to take the Thestrals to a 30-20 lead.

 

With an upset on the cards the Plums Chasers stood tall, Megan Rooney leading the way with two superb goals. McLeod and Jessica Roope also got on the scoresheet as their tactical acumen again took charge, running the skeletal horses ragged and establishing a tight 50-30 lead. But there was one final twist, as Matt Ingram went close to snatching a stunning win, before a change of direction by the snitch played into Daniel Aguirre-Zeder’s hands and he secured an 80-30 triumph for the Plums.

 

 

Game 6: The Whomping Willows vs That’s In Canada

It turns out Jesmond is not in Canada, and it would prove to be a costly error as the Whomping Willows were handed a forfeit win, and left to ominously swing their leafy branches at passing seasonal birds and morosely muse over how annoying pointlessly random additions to the movie adaptations really are.

 

 

Game 7: The Fizzing Whizbees vs The Marauding Muggles

Continuing this week’s refreshing trend, The Marauding Muggles stepped it up from a disappointing showing a month earlier; to push the undefeated Whizbees close. In the early stages it looked like business as usual, with Georgia-Lee Rutter and Jarrod Case giving the Whizbees a 20-0 lead in quick time. But a solo effort from Tom Fay put the Muggles on the board and spiced up what was quickly becoming an intriguing contest, with brutal Beater work from both teams.

 

Jarrod Case was the key for the Whizbees, as he scored his second consecutive hat-trick to take his team to a 40-10 lead. But the Muggles wouldn’t be subjugated (yes I know I’ve used it already, it was 6 weeks ago, no-one remembers), adding a second goal before Ryan Stefanovic went within inches of stealing an unlikely 50-40 victory. But like July 31 1981, it was a false dawn. Case added his 4^th goal before an unlucky Stefanovic was beaten to the Snitch by none-other than Cassandra Cox, continuing her Seeking feats as a guest with the Whizbees.

 

 

Play Of The Week

Considerable mention should be devoted to Cassandra Cox for managing to take the day’s first and second most spectacular snitch captures, and to Chris Riley’s unprecedented goalscoring feats, but it is a smaller and decidedly flukier play which was the lease Obliviatable for me this week. During the Thestrals tight loss to the Dirigible Plums, the score had frozen for the best of five minutes on 20-20. With the Plums on a sustained attack, Thestrals Chaser Tim Chaston came away with the Quaffle and was off at a rate of knots. Chaston cleverly manoeuvred his way down the sideline to bypass the defence before angling into goal.

 

Substitute keeper Chris Banks was up to the task however, blocking Chaston effectively at the centre and forcing him towards to the right. When backtracking cover defence took the right hoop out of play and surrounded Chaston, he lobbed the Quaffle aimlessly over his shoulder to nowhere. Yet that nowhere happened to take the shape of a perfectly positioned Chris Byron, who was able to snap up the Quaffle and, with Chaston having drawn the Keeper away, scored the easiest goal of his life. It was a Reverse Pass, Wollongong Shimmy and Porskoff Ploy all in one! Merlin’s Beard!

 

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