| Referee | Weather | Gate |
|---|---|---|
Clear |
80k |
Two teams who entered the 2008 season on the back of their most storied player having retired in the off-season drew 80,000 to see how last season's wooden spoonists, the Wildmen would fare against a Mugaz side under new management. The Wildmen's track record against the Mugaz was poor coming into the game, having never managed to defeat the side from Puddle Dock in 10 attempts.
It was the visitors who appeared rusty, perhaps not surprising having seen a series of changes at head coach in the last couple of years and they fell victim to a pretty effective Wildmen pass rush to open the game. The Mugaz were unable to get a great deal of push against the Wildmen line while Randy McRandy was able to break through the offensive barriers and get to the ball carrier, Edorath. Knocking the Wood Elf down and collecting the ball for himself, McRandy was able to beat the covering players to the endzone and open the score.
Things did not get much better on the Mugaz subsequent drive. Edorath's attempts to redeem himself failed when an errant pass found it's way into the hands of Mr Jeffrey. While Jeffrey was unable to capitalise thanks to some quick thinking by Salogel Litefoot halted the counter attack, the interception did end any prospect of a Mugaz equaliser before the break and the half came with the score still 1-0 to the Wildmen.
With fighting on the terraces the backdrop to kick off the second period, the home team began to drive into Mugaz territory straight away. Moving the ball at pace, first overall selection in the 2008 Krush Danny Hero, showed some of the qualities that made him that top pick but he was not able to seal the score. Veteran Salogel Litefoot was able to strip the ball from Hero's grasp. Litefoot was unable to retrieve the ball himself however, and the second wave of Wildmen swept through with Garek Hornskull at the forefront to scoop up the ball and run it in for the second score.
A pitch invasion helped clear out some of the Wildmen defence for the next Mugaz drive and Salogel Litefoot was the player to take advantage, hurtling throught the backfield and across the line for a rapid score. The pressure was on the Wildmen with the prospect of a comeback still very much on the cards especially once Litefoot again had found his way into enemy territory to sack ball carrier No Nads. It was not to be though thanks to Garek Hornskull. The Beastman knocked Litefoot out with a head-to-head hit and continued on down the field while No Nads recovered to pass the ball in his general direction. The full-time whistle was delayed just long enough by a period of injury time for Hornskull to dive across the line for his second TD and a memorable 3-1 win for the Wildmen.
Salogel Litefoot's 3 tackles in the game took him to 30 all-time, only Fabio of the Fabienettes having previously reached that mark. Salogel Litefoot and Arabitol both played their 500th career turns during the match. Fookalite and Arabitol have now been involved in 50 matches in their careers. The Wildmen's victory was the first time they have ever defeated the Mugaz in 11 games stretching back to 2003.
Arda and Klein both missed the match due to their niggling injuries.
GAME STATS |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||