Chichester Tournament Review

In case anyone didn’t notice Sunday, it rained a bit.

And it was bloody cold.

But who the hell cares?! The Sharks are back with a vengence!

After a slow start to the 2006 campaign (4-4), the Sharks bit back, going undefeated on the day, posting a tournament best record of 3-0-1. The results now move the Sharks back into Final Four contention for the league title at years end.

The death of the Sharks was greatly exaggerated as we not only topped the table on the day but we were able to enter two teams due to expanding numbers. And thus the Thespians were reborn!

The Thespians

Considering the rookies had only trained for 2 or 3 weeks they did a bloody good job. They may have gone winless on their debut but they showed guts to not only take part but to go up against some of the toughest teams in the league. And did I mention it was raining a bit too?

Full credit to Gran’pappy Shark Andy Ifould for volunteering to lead the Thespians at QB too. It was helluva day for Andy and I know the new guys appreciated his experience, leadership and patience. (I hope the black fingers haven’t fallen off Andy)

The Final

After recent events, it was almost inevitable the Sharks were to meet the Babarians in the final and I was happy to see the play on the field was trouble free (let’s not get into the issues with the side judge dispute, though it was disappointing to see happen).

Even with 3 former Sharks on the pitch and 1 on the sideline, it was satisfying and encouraging to see the Sharks hold their own against a good Babarians side. We can all take a lot from this result – we’ve proved that we can compete with the better teams with the squad we have in place. Then when you consider the re-emergence of the Thespians it just goes to show how things are on the up for the Chichester Sharks.

Highlights of the Tournament

Please feel free to add your own in the comment section but here are the highlights for me on Sunday:

Felix the Freak – the man was a Warrior out there. Playing Iron-Man all day, he didn’t take a single snap off on either O or D. He was all over the place – blitzing the QB, deflecting passes, catching balls and scoring a TD. In the words of the man himself ‘Warriors never tire’.

The Man of Steel – The highlight reel continues to roll with the most ridiculously impressive one-handed catch on the sideline to keep a crucial drive alive. Great catches all day long Pete.

The Great Wall of Chichester – the D was outstanding Sunday, conceding on average only 1 TD a game. All the more impressive coming against Leicester and the Babarians. Great play all round. Special mention on Adam’s playcalling – it was spot on – ignore the ‘helpful’ instruction from us O on the sidelines – what do we know?! Nice pick, Matt, too.

Neil – good choices Sunday. We moved the ball well for an average of 2 scores a game against some difficult Defenses.

Best Blow to the Head (Received not Given) – Jonny Pump took an elbow to the face during a jump ball with the tall dude from the Crusaders. No idea who came down with the ball – too busy looking a the blood trickling down his nose and the red mist in his eyes! It may have taken a while for the mist to clear but its now been replaced with a swollen nose and TWO black eyes.

At least in my head, my personal highlight was the ‘step ladder’ catch against the Babarians. It may have taken a while to go up and bring it down but it was satifying to do it against the Black & Gold and to pick up some yardage afterwards.

Rookie Heart – guys on the Thespians I think it said a lot about you on how you played Sunday. Whatever the scoreline, you kept on going and didn’t give up. I hope you all enjoyed the day and were proud of what you achieved. Oh and great pick Billy. Next time you’ll take it back for the score.

Scores

So here are the scores from Sunday:

Group A

Thespians 0 – 19 Voodoo
North Devon 6 – 6 Babarians
Thespians 0 – 15 North Devon
Voodoo 12 – 19 Babarians
Thespians 0 – 42 Babarians
Voodoo 6 – 14 North Devon

Group B

Eagles 25 – 13 Bournemouth
Eastbourne 12 – 26 Sharks
Eagles 6 – 0 Eastbourne
Bournemouth 6 – 13 Sharks
Eagles 6 – 12 Sharks
Bournemouth 13 – 12 Eastbourne

Championship Game

Babarians 6 – 6 Sharks

3rd/4th Playoff

North Devon 6 – 7 Eagles

Final results for the league tables:

Sharks 3-0-1 57 30 +27
Babarians 2-0-2 73 24 +49
Eagles 3-1-0 44 31 +13
North Devon 2-1-1 41 19 +22
Voodoo 1-2-0 37 33 +4
Bournemouth 1-2-0 32 50 -18
Eastbourne 0-3-0 24 45 -21
Thespians 0-3-0 0 76 -76

Well done to all that took part Sunday – it was a great day despite the weather. I look forward to seeing you all back at training Sunday.

And remember…

SHARKS DON’T QUIT!

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The chain crew came on to measure the spot.

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