Sometimes it just feels right

The first game of the second round, our first game against the Frisbee Dojo in season 2, the first point of the game:
The Bugs scored the goal with a 3 pass offense that could have come directly from page 1 of the Moreton Bay Buggers 2000-2005 nationals offensive play book. Safe, controlled, aggressive and purposeful - everything you want from your first point in a big game.

After the first point the Bugger's improved defensive mindset and structure generated some stops and the score quickly reached 4 to 1 to the boys in white. The Dojo dug themselves in and the score traded up to 8 to 5 at half.

All was working nicely for both teams on offense with man and zone defenses being tested out. This was the highest energy half of frisbee that we have been involved in so far this season. The defense from both teams was tight, and offense had to be played with control.

During this first half there were some unusual events. A pull hit the middle of the away sideline light pole half way up and came bouncing right back. Lankowski ripped out a sweet mid field 2 handed rugby pass style Greatest. Next point while fielding a wayward swing pass Andy balanced his ledger by ground stripping himself inside the endzone. Bugger Neild attempted to block a cross field swing however due to the sticky ground conditions the knees then hips and finally chest and arms all ended up on the ground well before the frisbee gently touched down 2 meters away. All a bit 'special'.

To start the second half the Dojo scored a few points in a row and forced the Bugs into a time out and an offensive recap. The trend did not continue however and once the Buggers got back onto defense momentum swung back in favour of a determined Bug team.

The Bugs outscored in the second half to the tune of 7 to 5 for a final score of 15 to 10. The Dojo suffered without frisbee weapons Leon Mac and Ryan Black, and they failed to capitalise
on the last minute inclusion of former BPL regular Chris Cunliffe. An almost complete MBB attendance lead directly to lots of enthusiasm for game time and a high work rate out in the mix.

The positive steps taken last week continued into this weeks game for the Buggers. Blocks were generated and the frisbee was controlled rather than risked. A trait that may become more and more important for all premiership hopeful teams as this league continues to be the most competitive yet.

The best game of the season, and maybe even the year for the Moreton Bay Buggers. It just felt right.

Release the Bug!

Alright, so we might be back.

It will take a couple of weeks to tell for sure however good things are happening down the bottom of the pond.

Our slow start to season 2 is reminiscent of our slow start to season 1. It will be interesting to see if our competitiveness holds up against the competition leaders. Although this season the competition leader is a fairly fluid term with many teams 'leading' the competition at different stages.

Tonight's game showcased how we can play when things click. The Hero boys struggled to get into the contest after putting in the first point of the game from offense after a double turn. From there the Bugs locked things down in the tricky wind and scored 8 consecutive to get to half.

In the second half the Heroes put in 3 goals to the Bugs 7 for a final score of 15 to 4. The game involved plenty of junk defense with hammer throws being popular despite their questionable value and conversion rate.

There were some really bright spots in the Heroes night, however they were not frequent enough and skill errors regularly derailed some quality momentum. They have some good elements in the team and it really does just seem like a mater of time and exposure to quality training before they become consistently competitive. The question is do they have the fortitude and passion to last the long journey from beginner team to BPL champions that they are on? I hope they do.

So the bugs are back to basics, we are starting to learn how to use our weapons, and we might have found our belief and passion. The big Bug is out, and we're pumped to see what happens next.

Honey i'm home.

After a few weeks of returning home on Thursday night with our fresh white shorts tucked between our legs, this week was a positive change.

That being said only 3 blokes on the team are involved with frisbee girls so i'm not sure exactly how much concern there has been at home.

This week the bugs managed to find a way to create some turnovers on defense, and we also managed to hang onto the frisbee for long enough to score a few points. Slightly more than a few points in fact, we got up to 14. The impressive Gold Coast team also produced 14 points and the first draw of season 2 has been recorded. We have 2 more to go in order to equal last seasons effort.

The game was tight the whole way through with the Gold Coast generating the first up wind break to push the margin out to its largest of the game at 10 - 7. After a short field turn over the bugs manged to punch in an up wind break of their own to bring the game back to even.

Both teams completed many unbroken offensive points during the game in what feels like the new standard in the BPL. If you can't put the frisbee in consistently on offense then you are not up to scratch in the 2010 version of our competition.

The final two points of the game last night were clear examples of this. With the score locked up and time running down both teams had opportunities to break and score for the win. First the Gold Coast worked the frisbee down field with a lot of short and controlled passes. The bugger zone applied some pressure at the pointy end of the game however the Slamtown boys held their nerve and stuck it in to go up 14 - 13.

It was then the Bugs turn to produce and with a short pass from the brick followed by a long bomb the point and the game was over.

In the new and increasingly competitive BPL, teams need to find their way to score despite defensive pressure. It will be interesting to see how all the teams respond to the challenges of our competition.

As for us, we are just happy to be able to report something closer to a win to the girls at home this week.

Well Buzz and Ben are back....

..that was good. Most other things were not so good.

Lots of hard work to come. We'll be back.