Friday 16 April 2010

"So, nice to finally win a game eh?

Special guest blogger Simon Statham - 4 times Moreton Bay Bugger and current defending BPL champion - shares his thoughts on this week's game.

"Two draws in a row don’t look great on the stats but it hides two very hard fought games that we deserved to get something from. Last night was a different sort of game. A ‘potential banana skin’ (to paraphrase English football managers). We probably always thought that we could win but to manage that complacency and to come out with a very controlled game where we worked hard to get turnovers and took our opportunities was very satisfying.

We put a lot of things in place last night that we have been talking about and trying to achieve all season. Our man-D certainly seemed to shut down the pitch very effectively against a team of (for the most part) younger and fitter guys. This was particularly effective in marking the ‘under’ cuts, but we did get mismatched on speed a couple of times for the ones over the top so we should continue to watch that. If there was one thing that might have put even more pressure on it was they often had a dump pass to get out of trouble – but they rarely moved forward.

O was very patient. The poor shot selection that characterised the crazy 10 minutes against Dojo, when they scored 6 or 7 points in a row, seemed to have been rectified. Sometimes we didn’t get very far very quickly but (aside from the last 5 mins) we turned over pretty rarely. For me that was probably the biggest plus. We dramatically cut down on the unforced turnovers, which will put us in good stead against better teams.

I thought the new Bugger buddy system was good. I for one found it useful at the end to talk openly about the mistakes I’d made – helps me to put them at the front of my mind so I can learn from them and not gloss over it.

Finally, it was nice to see Tony going long for some scores! When was the last time we saw that happening?!

Cobras beating Passion was very good news for us. The league has closed up and it proves that anyone can beat anyone else in this league. We’ve got to believe that we can win the thing again this season – C’mon the Bugs!

Si"

Sunday 11 April 2010

Good news for the bugs

Round 6 saw the Moreton Bay Buggers play in their second draw in a row. These results came on the back of a single point victory over the UQ Lovers, which was preceded by a pounding from the league leading UQ Passion team.

Its been a strange run of games for us. While the outcomes have not been ideal, at this early stage of our team building project we are happy to focus on the process and hope that desirable outcomes follow.

We feel like we have turned a corner recently with how we are playing. The lesson for us has been persistence and experimentation. We have tried a number of different adjustments over the last month of frisbee and its because we have kept working at our issues that we feel like we've made a break through.

Time will tell whether we have found the right mixture of tactics and utilisation of player skills for us to continue to play good ultimate. At this stage however we are feeling happy about the progress evident in the team over the last couple of games.

Unlike previous Buggers teams that have been quickly successful based on high quality athletes and simple tactics. This season's team has required a change in direction and a different focus for us to find our rhythm.

The team is excited about the progress we are making and look forward to continuing to test ourselves in the very competitive environment that we find ourselves in.

Sunday 4 April 2010

Buggers teams from previous leagues

The Moreton Bay Buggers have been a part of the Frisbee landscape in Brisbane for a decade.

As a Brisbane Premier League team the Buggers are now in their 5th year of existence. In those five years many players have proudly and enthusiastically worn the Bugger black, blue and red.

I've dug into the vault and found the team lists from the last five years. I'm missing the original team list as Rueben Berg was the captain and mastermind behind the Bugs entrance into the competition. The lists and number of season played by each Bugger can be found on the right side of the page.

Many players have come and gone from the Bugger teams. Some have moved away from the competition and play in other leagues. Some have thrown their last disc in anger and now only participate through the email list. Young men who learned their frisbee craft with the big bug on their chest are spread across the BPL teams including 2 other club captains.

The MBB club has always been active in bringing new players to the competition. Over 30 genuine new-to-frisbee rookies have had their first taste of organised competitive ultimate at the club.

It is worth mentioning the following long serving sons of the Moreton Bay Buggers for their efforts over the years.

13 seasons
Mike Neild

12 seasons
Nandor Locher

11 seasons
Adam Beu
James Larkin
Jason Ray

10 seasons
Alex Chadwick
Liam Gillions

9 seasons
Nich Coote
Mat Ryan

It is a proud history full of excellent players, great teams and good frisbee times. I'm hopeful for many more.

Up the Buggers.