Tempo Ray Mutineers 0-2 KoPite MuGaz

Weather: Rain

Gate: 46k

Contoversy dogged the build-up to the innaugural AD Blood Bowl Championship Final. The Head Coach of the Mugaz was attacked in the street just a couple of days before the game. Many within the game suggest this may well have been an attack orchestrated by the Mutineers who, it is claimed, will stop at nothing in the quest for victory. Others argued that the attack was staged by the Mugaz management to draw sympathy and a larger share of the crowd at the AD Blood Bowl Arena. That crowd was indeed large with 46,000 expectant Blood Bowl devotees bellowing out their approval. Conditions for the fans and players were reasonable but the rain that had been falling all week failed to abate, making the handling conditions a little tricky. Rain would not be an excuse for either side, the champions of the East and the top team in the West made a fitting match-up for the grand final, the Blood Bowl.

The Mutineers went into the game as slight favourites having lost only once in the regular season, against the All-Stars but having reversed that loss in the semi finals. The Mugaz had only just managed to win the West, one point clear of the All-Stars and just two points clear of the Wildmen who failed to make the post-season. Blood Bowl is not a game played on paper and it is well established that anything can happen but the pre-match build-up saw pundits predicting that it would be close, as evidenced by the number of blocks thrown by each side in the regular season. The Mugaz recorded 293 Blocks, the Mutineers also threw 293. The two teams were ranked 1 and 2 in defense during 2003 so it was never likely to be a high scoring affair. The most widely held school of thought suggested that a single touchdown could be enough to win the game.

Savogand Thrall continued to orchestrate the slowly building drive, pressing further down the field straight through the middle of the Mugaz defence. The High Elf team captain was flanked by a posse of blockers who each took it in turns to push defenders back. The Funeral March procession slowly began to trundle into Mugaz territory. While the lead blockers could not put in big enough hits to put defenders out of action, a channel was opening up in front of Savogand Thrall. The defence was becoming tied up at all points, those sucked into tackle zones could not evade them and the Mugaz were having difficulty putting any Mutineers on the floor. The progress was slow and methodical, the Funeral March down the center was complemented by a runner down each flank as Amazon Blitzer Boa Dicea and Dwarf Runner Gunnar Gunnarsson provided options for an alternative scoring threat. It seemed as if everything was going perfectly to plan but a failed block from Chaos Dwarf Zzharg Zzhargon was an auspicious moment. Zzhargson was by far the most efficient blocker with an astonishing knockdown ratio of 88.372 during the regular season so a failed block was a rare event.

In itself, the failed block did little to alter the shape of the drive but it signalled the start of a dramatic reversal of fortune. The Mutineers got a little over-enthusastic and piled into the Mugaz, aiming to widen the corridor that had been created in the defence. This proved to be a mistake because the team from the East had not accounted for the Mugaz most dangerous weapon on defence, Norse Thrower Aaaarne "The Launcher". The Norseman recorded a league-high 9 tackles during the 2003 season and he had slipped un-noticed around the side of the offense to position himself for a 10th tackle of his career. Aaaarne picked his moment perfectly, the support around the back Savogand was weakened by the Mutineers desire to press forward and a determined block by Dwarf Longbeard Klein allowed the tackling machine to strike at the High Elf's blindside. The tackle was flawless, Savogand was clearly not aware of Aaaarne racing in behind him. The shock was evident when the hit came in. Aaaarne pushed the Mutineers captain with his right hand and raked the ball out of the Elf's grasp with his left. The blitz was arguably the tackle of the entire season as the ball was wrenched free in such a way that it bounced perfectly into Aaaarne's hands. Neither the momentum of the blitz nor the rain that continued to fall were enough to prevent Aaaarne "The Launcher" completing one of the plays of the season and single-handedly changing the shape of the match.

Savogand Thrall tried desperately to rectify the situation by blitzing Aaaarne but it was to no avail. The Norseman sped through the Mutineers backfield as fast as he could. Inevitably, there was no real support for him as almost all of the defence was sucked in to stop the Mutineers attack but it didn't matter as the Mutineers could not get enough players back to try and halt Aaaarne's progress. A moment of stalling nearly cost the Western Conference Champions but Aaaarne was fully capable of slipping a blitz from Mutineers Goblin Fester Rustblade and it was 1-0 somewhat against the run of play but mostly due to a truly remarkable piece of individual skill from one of the most underrated players of the season.

The rain began to relent and it everything seemed to be going the Mugaz way. The restart gave no time for a Mutineers response but a slight blemish on the Mugaz record came when Pierluigi Baldinio imposed himself on the game for the first time in sending off Lineman Fookalite. At 1-0 up at the half and having kicked off to start the game, the Mugaz fans were delirious. At best, they were rated as third favourites in the West pre-season and now they were in touching distance of the championship.

At 1-0 down, the Mutineers did not change their gameplan, they still went with a deep defence aimed at containment. With rain falling harder once more, the ball proved more tricky to handle than was the case in the first half. Dark Elf Thrower Arda opened up the Mugaz drive with two consecutive fumbles. Perhaps nerves had afflicted the normally ice cool Golden Arm award winner. The blocking unit was equally ineffective with a series of weak hits which failed to maneouver the Mutineers out of position at all. Unfortunately for the Mutineers, their defensive positions did not allow for an easy exploitation of these errors. The defence could not move up to pressure the ball without leaving gaps for the Mugaz to take advantage of so it was left to Beastman Kotek Gorefest to raid down the field by himself while the rest of the team showed the effectiveness of the Mutineers ability to contain.

Despite being the one loan Mutineers player attacking the ball, Kotek Gorefest used his natural gifts of horns on the top of his head to perform a dramatic tackle. Arda had finally managed to collect the ball and was protected by blockers but he did not account for Kotek Gorefest launching himself headfirst from a prone position right into the space that was being occupied by the Dark Elf. Such was the force of the blow that it stunned Arda and forced the ball free. Kotek could not turn his tackle into a turnover of possession as the Beastman was unable to free himself from the surrounding blockers and was tripped up while trying to dodge away. While the Mutineers had contained any scoring threat from the Mugaz, the Mugaz had equally contained any threat to steal the ball by the Mutineers. As they were leading, it was clear that the Mugaz were perfectly happy to simply retain possession and hold on for the win. With this in mind, they consolidated around Arda and waited for him to recover his senses to once again take control of the ball.

Stalling inside the attacking team's own half is seldom seen but the Mutineers had brought the momentum of the drive to a complete standstill. The Mugaz were staying in their own half and had no need to venture forward. The containment that the Mutineers had achieved became a constraint on their ability to get upfield and sack the ball carrier. Steadily more and more defenders broke from their positions to try and get through to Arda but it was to no avail. The Mugaz had positioned themselves so well that not a single player could lay another hand on their ball carrier. At just over the half way point of the second half, Arda made a decisive move. Flanked by blockers on either side, the Dark Elf took off and ran into Mutineers territory. The defence had been forced to chase up the field to try and retrieve the ball and this had led to gaps at the back, one of which was found by the Mugaz. Arda had taken a bold move as he was now more exposed than previously as not all of the blockers could keep pace. However, he was now within striking distance of a touchdown that would effectively end the game and see the Mugaz crowned champions.

With many players over-committed downfield, only Orc Rip Sorepain could mount a blitz on the ball carrier. Sorepain lined up his target, took aim and hurtled into Arda. The Dark Elf was completely un-moved. A forearm to the onrushing Orc downed the blitzer and the field was free for the final score of the 2003 season to confirm the KoPite MuGaz as champions of the innaugural 2003 season. The Mugaz have grown in ability throughout the season and it has culminated in a glorious victory over the much favoured Tempo Ray Mutineers. The Western Conference can also bask in reflected glory having a champion from its ranks even if it was not the team that was most expected to challenge for honours. No-one can begrudge the Mugaz their moment of unadulterated glory. They are worthy champions and will the benchmark for everyone in 2004.

Injuries: None

Key Stats

Team	CAS	Rush	Blocks	Downs	Fumbles
Mutineers	0	7	54	19	1
Mugaz	1	24	41	16	5

MVPS: "Slim" Zeke McDead, Shrimp

Best Players

Aaaarne "The Launcher": 1 TD, 1 Rush for 2 yards, 5 Blocks, 2 Downs, 1 Tackles
Arda: 1 TD, 2 Rushes for 16 yards, 1 Dodge, 1 Stand, 4 Fumbles
Kotek Gorefest: 6 Blocks, 1 Down, 1 Tackle, 2 Dodges, 1 Fall, 4 Stands