Slap the turtle: Football in Helsinki

2011 in review

Badgerwolf — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:47:57 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Champions

Badgerwolf — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:14:06 +0000

I’m nervous. I’m genuinely a little nervous. Its certainly not what I was expecting to feel on the countless occasions that I have been over this moment in my mind. For two seasons I have been sharing my life as a football player with you, hoping one day to be sat in the position in which I find myself today, ready to tell you all the story of how the Wolverines won the Maple Bowl. So here I am. We won. Finally, I am sat at my laptop, victory cap sat on the table beside my second cup of coffee, with a two-day-old dazed smirk hung lazily across my face. But I’m strangely nervous. I have so much to say and yet so many horrible clichés to avoid. So many people to thank, without turning this into an over dramatised Oscars acceptance speech. So much of my own personal achievement to regale you with, taking care to emphasise how tiny my part has been in the achievements of everyone associated with the Wolverines.

So here it is. Unplanned, undrafted and unashamed. My post-Maple Bowl victory article. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying the fact that I am able to write it.

Crocodiles 27 – 30 Wolverines

Helsinki Wolverines - Maple Bowl Champions 2011

Last week was without a doubt the most difficult of my career as an athlete. The joy of beating the Butchers had evaporated shortly after the final whistle and had been replaced by a biting anxiety. I read around a hundred pages of my new book last week and I don’t know the name of the main character. I watched two films and I cannot tell you what happened in either of them. I spent a week just waiting to put an entire year’s work into a three hour exam. I do not think I will ever be an accomplished enough writer to articulate quite how I felt, but I do not remember ever being so utterly consumed by an upcoming event.

The game itself must have been fantastic for two thousand spectators in the stands and all those watching on TV across Europe. Our defence was incredible. They held the Crocodiles’ record-breaking offence from the very first minute, allowing our offence to stretch out a thirteen point lead that would ultimately prove unassailable. The loss of Cedric Johnson in the third quarter to a possible ACL tear could have been a fatal blow to our title hopes but for the remarkable courage of our offence. Where many teams would have hung their heads and retreated to the safety of sultry excuses, we stepped up and put together a fourth quarter scoring drive against the odds. I have never seen such belief as I have in that huddle as we marched down the field. Stokes completing a pass to Vili who caught it and scampered for the extra yards and the first down. JD’s huge run to take us into the red zone. The pile of offensive linemen three yards deep into the endzone with Stokes clutching the ball beneath them. A quite astounding sense of collective invincibility that I have rarely had the pleasure of experiencing.

The culmination of that final scoring drive

To say that we deserved the victory is somewhat redundant. Everyone who steps on the field and gives their all deserve the victory. The Crocodiles certainly deserved the victory. As did the Butchers and the Border Knights. I am sure that they have put in as much effort as we have this season. I’m proud to be a football player and I’m proud to play in a league that is so competitive thanks to the efforts of the players and the organisations to which they belong. Almost every single one of the Crocodiles players and coaches were as gracious and magnanimous in defeat as they had been in victory. A fantastic team and a season to be applauded for everything that they have achieved. The messages of congratulations that I received from Brett Rosenbaum, their English linebacker, were pure class and the sign of an excellent sportsman. He’s a great ambassador for the British game.

However, the Wolverines are worthy champions. For the first time in the team’s history, the Maple Bowl belongs to us. What an absolute privilege to be a part of something that so many people have worked so hard for. Ultimately, the biggest congratulations go to the General Manager of the team Peetja Mannila. For years he has poured his heart and soul into the Wolverines in order to build them into the championship team that we now are. This year he took an even more hands-on approach as the defensive coordinator. It is quite simple really, without Peetja there is no championship and probably no Wolverines.

Parading the trophy to our loyal fans

Congratulations also go to Mika Lonnqvist, who after twenty years of football retired from the game with a Maple Bowl. He has been a devoted servant to the Wolverines for longer than most of the current players have been at the club. He’s an exceptional man and an example of what happens when you work hard and persevere. The same goes for Joni Nyholm who has faced so many tough battles in his football career and his life. On Saturday he overcame them all with his friends and his family around him to cheer him on. I’m proud to have met both of them and I’m glad to have been part of something that I know they have longed to achieve.

So now for me to say thank you. This is the part that I have been dwelling on since the final and for the whole season that preceded it. This season has been the most amazing that I have ever been a part of and I would have felt the same way even if we had lost every single game. The championship obviously means so much to me as it is the culmination of so much hard work and twenty years of sporting mediocrity. But this season has been like no other in my life because of the astounding amount of support that I have received from so many people. Again I am in serious danger of dropping into the realm of cliché, but I cannot stress enough how much it has meant to me. My heart is pounding as I write this (though that may be the fourth cup of coffee doing it’s work).

A phenomenal amount of people in the UK have sent me messages of congratulations and kind words. My biggest fans are undoubtedly my sister and Terry Nutkins. I am so happy that both of them were able to fly out and see me play this year. They have made me feel like a star at every step and I am truly thankful. The unconditional support of my parents has gone without saying from the moment I tied my rugby boots twenty years ago. Although your presence at games appears to be a jinx (sorry mum!).

In the week leading up to the final and in the two days since, the messages of good luck and congratulations from so many people have been amazing. You have taken your time to give extra value to something that is so important to me. Many of you took the time to watch the game on the internet and share the link with others so that they could support me too. Others added the Wolverines badge to their profile pictures on Facebook and urged others to do likewise.

Life as an import player is fantastic. I am in the privileged position of being paid to do something I love. But it also has its challenges. For four months of a year, I leave friends, family and home behind me. My purpose becomes only to play football. It is my job, it is my life. I cannot express how much it means to me for so many people to show support and to give so much value to that. I hope that you are able to understand how much it means to me and that in future, I can repay each and every one of you.

Thank you of course to all of the Wolverines. From player to coach to fan to cheerleader, you have helped me to achieve something that I was beginning to think might never happen. You are all fantastic friends and I am grateful to you for allowing me to be part of your first ever championship.

The victors

So now I will sign off. Not for the last time, I am sure. It has been a pleasure to write this post and I hope that I have been able to articulate my thoughts and feelings without gushing too much. Thank you for everything and congratulations to the Wolverines.

Bam

Archive: The Twenty-year Quest for a Championship

Badgerwolf — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 07:48:53 +0000

Later on today I am going to find myself a quiet spot in the corner of my favourite cafe and write a new post on the events of the past 48 hours over a strong cup of bottomless coffee. However, before we come to that, I thought I’d remind people of a little bit of personal context. If you’ve never seen the following entry before, I wrote it last year as we were around halfway through the season.

Enjoy this and I will post again later today…..

The Twenty-year Quest for a Championship

I should probably add a quick note here before I tell you this sorry story. I have to confess that I have a terrible memory. But then I also have a fantastic memory. My problem is that it rarely serves me well to remember the postal code for a hairdresser’s in Cardiff or the colour of the jacket worn by the Jockey on the 1992 Grand National winner ‘Party Politics’ (Purple). My memory for the things which directly impact on my life is another thing altogether and I have more often than I care to remember forgotten something that was agreed in a meeting or to take out the rubbish at my parents’ house. With this in mind, what you are about to read may be utter nonsense as I have played for many sports teams in my life and I am sure that one memory has evaded me despite its soon-to-be-obvious significance. If I am wrong, please let me know.

Anyway, back to the story. The other day we were invited to lunch at someone’s house. As we were sat around the table, the conversation somehow turned to winning championships. We discussed which championships we’d won, how many etc… I racked my brains and for the life of me I could not remember winning anything.

I first started playing organised sport at the age of seven when my dad took me down to Wilmslow Rugby Club on the recommendation of one of his friends who coached the team. Why my dad took me to play Rugby rather than Football, which is his eternal passion in life, could come to some who know him as a bit of a mystery. However those who knew me in the first seven years of my life and observed his futile yet tenacious attempts to have me kick the ball / balloon / cat with my left foot as well as my right will have seen just how useless I am with both. His decision to give up must have been tough, but he had just discovered that my sister Clare had a talent for football so perhaps he was not so worried about his only son’s failure to be the next Johan Cruyff.

I played rugby for the next eleven years of my life. Once I started high school I played two games on most weekends. I was captain of the school team and in my senior year I played every single minute of every game we played and topped the scoring chart for our team. We won many matches but when it came to tournaments / cup competitions we usually fell at the first hurdle. The same was true of my club team. This never bothered me. I loved playing rugby and never considered the implications beyond the game I was playing in. It was just fun.

I did try my hand at other sports in my youth. When I was in primary school I played for the Football team (I’m pretty sure all of the boys in our class did so it wasn’t an achievement to be picked). We went through the entire season of friendly games unbeaten and often tore our opposition to pieces on the scoreboard. Then it came to the end of the year and we attended the competitive tournament against all of the same schools we had beaten that year. Naturally we cruised to the final and then in a cruel twist, with the score at 0-0 and seconds to go, one of our defenders put the ball into his own net from a corner. So close.

Gorsey Bank Primary School Football Team. I am the one wearing a Man City away shirt backwards because someone else forgot to bring their shirt in. Also, my friend Matt is front row on the left.

I also tried a season of Cricket when I was fifteen. Two of my best friends played so I thought I would give it a go too. Unfortunately I am as appalling at Cricket as I am at Football and so spent the whole season fielding in the deep and batting at number ten. The only reason why I didn’t bat at eleven was because Matt, who has been my best friend since we were seven was too nice to let me go last. He saw how terrible I was and let me go ahead of him. I scored four runs that season. They came in the cup final off a thick edge down to third man. When the ball crossed the boundary I received a cheer from the crowd and I waved at them like I’d just hit a test century at Lords. In this season we reached both the league and cup finals. I am sure you can imagine the result…

Then came American Football. I started playing at the age of fifteen down at a local park and very quickly came close to the glory that had proved so elusive through the first years of my sporting career. Following one of the most memorable victories of my career in the semi final of the league, when we scored with two consecutive thirty yard passes in thirty seconds as time expired, we had reached the final of an U19 league with a group of sixteen year olds. Needless to say we were soundly beaten in the final. I think the score was 62-0 but it could have been more.

Losing the final for the Hammerheads. The guy tackling me is now a very good friend. I lived and played with him when I was in Germany with the Cougars.

At University I was an experienced player in an entirely rookie team. We did well in our third season, making the playoffs and falling just short in the first round. In my first year I played in the Annual England v Scotland U19 game, This is the only time I remember being victorious in such a fixture and I ended up receiving MVP honours. But this was a single exhibition game so I will not count it as a championship.

The victorious England team having beaten the Scots.

My professional career has up to now been one of playing for good teams but never going far enough. I believe we finished in second or third place with the Luebeck Cougars. In Tennessee Valley we failed to make the playoffs. Even when I returned to University and lent a hand to my old team at Sheffield Hallam, we reached the final of the plate competition and guess what……?

Losing in the plate final to Bath Killer Bees.

Which leads me to this season. After 19 years of playing organised sport, surely it is about time I won something?

Butchers 36 – 50 Wolverines

Badgerwolf — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:15:02 +0000

We did it! We only went and flippin’ did it. We became the first team to beat the Butchers in the playoffs since 2004. This year will see a new Finnish champion for the first time in seven years and it is all thanks to a Herculean effort by every member of the Wolverines squad yesterday.

I rarely remember what happens in games after they have happened, so I will forego the detailed match report and give you the brief version. I believe we opened the game by going fourteen points down. Then we scored loads of points and gave up three more touchdowns. That is my understanding anyway.

It was a fantastic experience and there was an enormous crowd at the game (I didn’t actually notice that until the final whistle), which included three of our dedicated followers, Ama, Kiirsi and Jomi. I didn’t know that they were going to make the trip to come and support us so to see them striding across the field to congratulate me after the game was fantastically uplifting. I’m looking forward to seeing them in the stands on Saturday for the Maple Bowl.

Huge thanks to Ben too. Unable to attend the game following his surgery, he spent the evening posting updates on my Facebook page for friends and family to follow. Ben and I have played football together for many years now and in the pre-game build up, I was surprised to find myself hauntingly aware of his absence. His dignified and supporting approach in what must be one of the toughest situations to face as an athlete is a perfect demonstration of his excellent character. I look forward to having him back on the sideline along with Aku and Matti, our other casualties for the season. They are on the sidelines at every game, despite their own personal struggles and it lifts us all.

But the celebrations were brief. The elation short-lived. The victory is utterly incomplete. All focus now shifts to the Maple Bowl on Saturday. We have a hard week of preparation for a team that have broken records this year and have beaten us twice already. But the belief is flowing through our team. We truly believe that we can win this Saturday and that the Wolverines can be Finnish champions for the first time in the club’s history.

I will ask of everyone who reads this, the same thing that I have asked of the team. Commit. For one week. Commit. Do whatever you can to drive the Wolverines to victory. For players, we know what we have to do. For Finnish fans, be there and be loud and be proud and cheer us to victory. For Brits and everyone else around the world that I wish could be at the game cheering us on, rally the troops.

This is a call to arms for anyone that I have the pleasure to have met. If you Twitter, #BacktheWolverines. Same on Facebook, on your websites, email your friends, team mates, family. Get on the Wolverines Facebook page and show your support at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Helsinki-Wolverines/43101223021

Whatever you can do, show your support as you have all season. We need you. We need you and we will be eternally grateful for your support come rain or shine.

Thank you,

Bam

Playoffs, Positions and Parents to be

Badgerwolf — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:07:44 +0000

Not me. Don’t worry, there are no little Bams on the way.

Those parents to be are my sister Kayt and her husband Andrew who are expecting their first child in November. They have been huge supporters of me and the Wolverines over the past two years and this weekend they were finally able to fly out and see our game versus the Jaguars.

Its the first time they have seen me play a game at this level and it was a great thrill to have them watching in the stands with my friends who were there cheering us on as usual. Thankfully we were able to come away with a comprehensive victory over the Jaguars to secure our place as the third ranked team for the playoffs. This means that for the second year running, we will face the Butchers for a place in the Maple Bowl. The game will be on Sunday evening at 6:30pm Finnish time (4:30 UK time).

The past couple of weeks have seen a change in position for me as injuries in our receiving corps have left it somewhat depleted. I played against the Trojans and the Jaguars as a receiver and have been largely kept off defensive duties. Our secondary has been doing a fine job without me and it has been a good opportunity to get some more experience under my belt at receiver. In the playoffs I will most likely be used on both sides of the ball.

Receiving for dummies

As a bit of a catch up, here are some stats from final two games of the regular season.

Statistics versus Turku

Statistics versus Jaguars

Apologies for a lack of writing in recent weeks but as we come to the end of the season, naturally my focus has to be on playing football rather than writing about it. I will try to post next week to describe our preparations for the Maple Bowl. Because of course we’re going to win this weekend….

Bam

Guest Blogger: Caroline (Cathy) Richmond

Badgerwolf — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:24:24 +0000

Hello everyone,

Time for something a little different. Last month we had a guest at the apartment in the form of Ben’s girlfriend Caroline. She agreed to write a blog entry for me so you folks can get a visitors’ view of Helsinki Wolverines life. Take it away Cathy….

Suomi: kiitos muistoja!

2 weeks ago today I found myself sitting on a plane headed toward the land of the ridiculously long words, looking forward to an 11 day stay with my boyfriend Ben (Spider to some of you). Knowing very little about Finland, and even less about Helsinki, I knew it was going to be a bit of an adventure, learning as I went about the country, and the culture.

Following my return to the UK, I have reflected on what I have learnt about the Finnish, and to sum up my findings (perhaps slightly stereotypically!) I can say that they like their heavy rock music, they enjoy a naked sauna here and there, they are partial to beer or 2, or 3 or… and they simply LOVE their elongated double vowel words, niicee.

During my stay I was lucky enough to experience both a tourist’s view of Helsinki, as well as a resident’s one. Point in case for the latter, my first full day in Finland was spent watching the Apprentice with Ben and Bam (during which, after just a mere hour of knowing him, Bam roped me into writing for his blog!), visiting the local gym and then heading to the cinema! I did however get my first visit to the infamous Helmi Grill for lunch (4 visits in total, I almost felt like a regular!). I also experienced the novelty of an entire cinema audience clapping a particular scene in the Harry Potter movie (I won’t say which one; you can work it out for yourselves…!). Clapping?! Ok ok, I nearly did myself, but that does not make me a douche bag (Ben!), I was merely trying to fit in….ahem.

The next few days brought some lovely new experiences for me, including a visit to the top of the Torni Hotel to sip over priced drinks on a sunny balcony overlooking Helsinki (I particularly recommend this as a place to visit, if only to experience the panoramic views from the toilets – never before have I been sat on a loo in a room where 2 of the walls are made of glass – a voyeurs dream come true.. well maybe not!).

Next followed a couple of boat trips, the first being a trip to Suomenlinna to see the old fortress ruins. I believe the island was originally under Swedish rule, then taken over by the Russians following the war, and then finally returned to Finland a good few years back. My education in history has truly done me proud for accurately remembering times, dates and facts…

We also took a boat trip to Porvoo, the second oldest town in Helsinki. The old town was particularly interesting, lots of wooden buildings painted in various pastel colours, looking very colonial to me. Each of the buildings along the waterfront is painted a deep shade of red however, apparently to impress a former royal visit. During the return trip home, myself and Ben encountered a heavily inebriated elderly woman, the first of a few drunken Finnish encounters. The most memorable being a lively chap that we met on the metro. Bam, in his best Mancunian accent, delightfully told him that he was in fact Dutch, and that he was in Finland to play in a Badminton tournament, and that he was ranked number 68 in the world! Said with such conviction, there was never a doubt in the drunk mans mind that this wasn’t the God’s honest truth!

My final trip to lands of unknown took me to Seurrasaari, which is a small island not too far from the city centre. (It should be noted that whilst travelling there, we saw a man casually skiing (well, walking in ski’s) down the street in nothing but a pair of hot pink short shorts… Finns!).

(Street Skiing…)

The island boasts an open air museum, public baths (naked of course, although shut the day we visited!) and a small beach. This trip was particularly memorable for the animals we encountered along the way, including the worlds friendliest squirrel, who would literally eat your nuts right out of your hand… if that’s your thing.

Along with the cultural day trips, there also came a few entertaining evenings out, including a lovely dinner with Anssi and Audrina, a fellow Wolverine and his girlfriend (and an amusing debate on the ethics of marriage – don’t get Bam started on this, SERIOUSLY!). We also had a lovely dinner out, which included my first Reindeer tasting experience (tastes like chicken.. ha ha no I jest) followed by a trip to Storyville, a local jazz club that I am informed serves the local politicians, and even the new president of Finland, oh yes, myself and Ben only hob nob with the local notoriety these days.. A few twirls round the dance floor later saw us heading off for a cool (very cool) drink in the ice bar, which was -6 in temperature, a sunny day by most Finns experience I am sure. We also took a trip to a large club, with balconies overlooking the city, which was fun but perhaps a mistake in hindsight, the excessive drinks and late night led to a sleepy bus ride home, resulting in a missed stop and a long walk back to the flat.

(Me and Ben in the Ice Bar)

Obviously my trip included a couple of Wolverines matches to watch, which was great fun, although a little disappointing that I couldn’t see Ben play due to injury. I did however see Bam make his first interception in the Border Knights game, an almighty catch that I am sure he is still smiling about now. Unfortunately (as you have all read) the second match against the Crocs did not go to plan, this together with news that Ben would need an operation on his knee meant that a sombre mood prevailed in the house for my last couple of days.

My final day was spent at Linnanmaki theme park, where myself and Ben rode the roller coasters, got wet on the log flumes and experienced our first 4D cinema film, all in Finnish of course, and with a few sensory surprises thrown in for good measure – if you happen to visit, go and try it out, I don’t want to spoil the surprise…

So, to wrap up this long blog (apologies, once I start talking…you did ask me to write this Bam!) Finland was a new and fresh experience for me, one that I will always remember for the excellent company I kept, the interesting places we visited and not least the intriguing concrete turtles that are sporadically scattered around the city. If someone can let me know why they are there, I’d be grateful. Maybe a (teenage mutant) Ninja Turtle uprising….

Over and out… Caroline

Football, Fans and Finnish Fluency

Badgerwolf — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:56:12 +0000

Hello All,

Its been quite a busy few weeks, which as you know, has really affected the quantity of writing I’ve been doing. Sometimes these things become habit and it is as easy to fall out of the habit of regular updates as it is to fall into it.

Football

As you know, in the past two weeks the results of the Wolverines games have been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. The elation that followed a very strong performance over the Border Knights left confidence high for our clash with the Crocodiles this weekend. Unfortunately we were unable to capitalise on our strong defensive start and finally succumbed to a 33 – 37 loss to leave us 5-3 for the season.

With these results come a bitter-sweet realisation. Over six quarters of football we were able to hold the top two offences in the league to only ten points. This is proof that our defence is more than capable of stopping high powered offences and playing a huge role in our quest for the Maple bowl. However, the fact is that we have also shown that we are capable of giving up points from a very strong position in the game.

Naturally this presents us with either a problem or an opportunity. I think that the team ethic and the belief that has grown in the team over the past season will drive us all to become better players. We have four games left this season and we all intend to keep getting better at what we do until the Maple Bowl has a Wolverine’s claw on it.

Fans

We’ve been really lucky over the past few weeks that amongst the great Wolverines fans who come to watch our games, we’ve had friends and family cheering us on too. Huge thanks to Ben’s girlfriend Caroline (Or Catherine, depending on who you ask) who came to visit for the Border Knights and Crocodiles games. Unfortunately she was unable to see her boy play as he has been ruled out for the season having suffered a torn ACL. He will undergo surgery soon. Get well soon Ben!

An almighty thank you to Emma, Ama, Jomi, Marski, Roope and Mia for coming and cheering us on at the Butchers, Border Knights and Crocodiles games. Its great motivation to have you guys there cheering us on. BIG thumbs-up.

Finally, thanks but no thanks to my parents for flying out again this year to see us play. Thanks for your support. No thanks because I invariably play horribly any time you come to see me. You are not invited to any more games.

In two weeks time my Sister and Brother-in-Law will be coming out for the Jags game. Let’s hope I fare better under their watchful eyes.

Finnish Fluency

I have noted over the past two summers in Finland that there are a number of very good reasons why Finnish is such a difficult language to learn. The most glaringly obvious is that it is ridiculous. No language should have quite so many double letters in a single word, be they vowels, consonants or otherwise. Furthermore, challenges arise when one learns a new word, only to be told upon its first repetition that if the vowel sound is held for 0.3 seconds rather than the prescribed 0.9 seconds then the reaction will be a slap rather than an appreciation of the effort to learn the language.

Fair enough that the language is structured this way. It must be learned that the difference between a tree and urination is the difference between a u and a uu. To add further complexity, one of them also means six.

However it must come as no surprise to the Finns that only five million people speak their language when their method of correction leaves the learner feeling idiotic and belittled. On ninety percent of the occasions that I have tried to speak Finnish, it has been greeted with laughter. For anyone trying to learn, this is not helpful.

You have a difficult language to learn, Finland. I have not made the effort to learn it, but any time I can say something I know, I will. Unfortunately your mocking has restricted this to ‘Kiitos’, which I say with regularity and enthusiasm. I feel sorry for those people who come here and genuinely try to learn. Stokes was mocked by his 5 year old boy last week…..

Moikka?!

Bam

Wolverines 33 – 37 Crocodiles

Badgerwolf — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:02:20 +0000

From elation to exasperation in a week.

Yesterday we managed to give away a 17 point lead to lose to the crocs for the second time this season. Having held their offence to a field goal in the first half, we leaked five touchdowns after the break to fall agonisingly short of a victory.

This guarantees that we will not have home field advantage in the playoffs.

Frustrated.

Bam

Wolverines 41 – 7 Border Knights

Badgerwolf — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:09:05 +0000

Forgive my elation but WHAT A RESULT!
Huge effort by the defence to hold one of the top offences in the league to just 7 points. All the effort that has been going into practice is showing it’s rewards. Let’s keep it up boys!

Two week recap……

Badgerwolf — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 07:46:18 +0000

Hey everyone,

Sorry that it’s been so long since I last posted but . I’m sure that you can understand.

Following that heart-wrenching loss to the Butchers two weeks ago, we once again had a very productive defensive player meeting to address some of the issues that led to the loss. Subsequently, we have seen some changes in practice over the last couple of weeks. The attitude has improved and practice has a great competitive edge to it now.

This was evident in our game last week against the Northern Lights of Oulu. We handled the 25 hour round trip very well and put in a solid performance on defence, conceding 17 points. Stats from each of the games can be found here:

Butchers: http://www.sajl.org/images/tilastot/vl11018.shtml

Northern Lights: http://www.sajl.org/images/tilastot/vl11021.shtml

The Butchers game took quite a toll on our squad. Matti Vaininen has sustained a serious knee injury and will miss the remainder of the season. Ben ‘Spider’ Webb also sustained a knee injury and is awaiting an MRI scan to determine it’s severity.

Conversely, a boost to the team has been the return of Anssi Saari, who has been playing in the UK. Anssi is a student at Loughborough University and has also spent time with the Tamworth Phoenix. Its good to have him back.

This week we face another big challenge in the form of Laaperanta Border Knights. Fresh off a 66-65 overtime victory over the Crocs last week and boasting a high powered offence, they will be brimming with confidence. It should be a great game.

Kick off is 6pm Finnish time on Sunday.

Bam