Last weekend saw Australia’s national quidditch champion crowned for the 4^th time at QUAFL 2014, held at Macquarie University in Sydney, NSW.

13 teams competed in 42 games over two days, through hot and wet weather and late into the night for the first time in Australian quidditch history. After endless drama, on and off field, the champion was decided in the midst of a torrential late evening rainstorm. The top seeds and favourites UNSW reached the final undefeated, where they faced up to the spectacular form of the powerful and experienced Melbourne Manticores.

An impenetrable defensive and counter-attacking performance from the Manticores saw them take an emphatic 110-40 victory and join UNSW and the Perth Phoenixes as Australian quidditch champions.

Further reflections on different games and aspects of the tournament will be forthcoming throughout the holidays, as the fallout from a magnificent and dramatic tournament is digested and analysed. Here are the full results from the weekend:

POOL A

Pool A Standings

POOL B

Pool B Standings

QUARTER FINALS

SEMI FINALS

FINAL

The Easton Shield saw Victoria’s 7 teams face off in a 14 round battle royale for the title of Easton Shield Premiers 2014. The Victorian Quidditch Association partnered with the Leukaemia Foundation for this charity season of quidditch. The aim of the Easton Shield was to raise funds and awareness for the foundation.

It was a one-off tournament in honour of Nic Easton, an amazing man and cousin to Blackburn Basilisk Caption, Taya Rawson. Nic was passionate, positive and unbelievably strong individual who lost his battle with Leukaemia on January 1^st this year. All of the players tried their hardest to embody these qualities every time they stepped on the pitch.

Photo Credit: Scott Dixon

All 7 teams played each other at least once, with some teams facing off twice. In the end, it only came down to a few important snitch catches, with the Blackburn Basilisks rather poetically taking home the title of Easton Shield champions for 2014. It’s only fitting that Taya Rawson had the honour of captaining her team to victory in the tournament made to remember her cousin and his brave fight.

The Blackburn Basilisks came out on top of the ladder at the Easton shield with 6 wins and 24 points, without even needing to win their final game due to the lead they had already accumulated over the course of the tournament. Because of this, there were no finals for the Easton Shield. The Monash Muggles came in a close second after beating the Basilisks in the final round to finish on 6 wins and 23 points, one point short of the Basilisks. In third were the Melbourne Manticores, also with 6 wins, just one point behind the Muggles on 22. The Wrackspurts were next in fourth, winning 4 of their games on 17 points, closely followed by the Melbourne Unicorns, only one snitch catch behind on 16. The South Melbourne Centaurs and the Northern Direwolves won one game apiece, the Centaurs ending slightly on top with one more snitch catch with their final points total being 6 and 5, respectively.

All the Victorian teams showed vast improvements in their game play throughout the season, with the Direwolves achieving their first ever win. The games were fast and furious, even between the newer teams and many people looked forward to seeing the Direwolves take on the Centaurs on the pitch, as they knew it was going to be an exciting, close fought game. Another highlight for Victorian quidditch was the well-earned Melbourne Mudbash triumph of the Monash Muggles. They managed to hold firm and take the victory out of the hands of the then undefeated and highly favoured ‘Stephen & Friends’ Sydney All-Star team. This victory showed that the Muggles had grown from their maiden QUAFL performance and were very capable of taking on some of the best players their northern neighbours have to offer.

Photo Credit: Scott Dixon

Speaking of QUAFL, four of the seven Victorian teams will make the journey up to Sydney to compete against the rest of Australia for the 4^th QUAFL Cup on the 29^th and 30^th of November 2014. For two of our teams, this will be their first QUAFL Tournament.

The Blackburn Basilisks have shown to be nothing if not consistent since their first matches last year in the VQA’s Winter League. With 3 silver medals under their belts they slithered into the Easton Shield, looks set to kill. Here they secured their first season win. They’re pumped to play QUAFL this year, with many of their players filling the Muggles’ ranks in 2013. The Basilisks are facing some stiff competition, but take comfort in the fact they have 3 of the players from “The Drop Bears”, the Australian National quidditch team, in their line-up. They are a fast and physical team, who are able to work as a seamless unit on the pitch. They are missing a few key players for QUAFL, but have filled some places with some wildcards from the Melbourne Unicorns Quidditch Team.

The Wrackspurts will also be making their QUAFL debut in 2014. They will come up against some stronger and older teams with years of QUAFL experience. With their line up being younger and fresher than their opponents, they could be at a huge disadvantage. They also have a relatively small line-up, lacking the brute force of teams like the Manticores and will be missing a number of their key players, bringing a rather thin squad of 13. That being said, the Wrackspurts still stand a fighting chance with their quick chasers, including Easton Shield MVP Mick Dundee, and a solid defensive team that work well together on the pitch.

Photo Credit: Scott Dixon

Despite their inability to do magic, the Muggles will return to QUAFL after their debut last year. The Monash Muggles have had a very successful year winning the inaugural Victoria Cup in June, in a close battle against the Blackburn Basilisks. The Muggles have played consistently well with their current side, and don’t plan to make too many changes in the lead up to QUAFL. They’re going in feeling rather underprepared as, being uni students, they have been much more focused on their studies than on Quidditch. In the last few months the Muggles have had some spectacular wins against the other Victorian teams and this has given them confidence and momentum going in to QUAFL. The Muggles are pumped for their return and are ready to ’bring it’ to each and every opponent at QUAFL.

The Melbourne Manticores will also return to QUAFL for their third year. The Manticores were the first Victorian team ever formed and have been formidable opponents ever since. They have had a few key changes to their side heading into QUAFL with a number of strong new players, particularly in their chaser line up. They are a very vocal team; you can often hear their substitute box from the other side of Fawkner Park, shouting advice and support to their players on the field. This vocality is probably one of their biggest strengths, allowing them to coordinate players successfully during plays. The Manticores have impressed at the last two QUAFL’s and, if they can escape their inconsistency issues, should be a hard team to beat.

Photo Credit: Scott Dixon

 
Here we are at the end of a solid year of growth, with new teams forming, old teams improving and more teams trekking to New South Wales for the biggest tournament on the AQA calendar. All four of the teams attending are excited to challenge the other states and will bring their very best to Macquarie University. They are representing the Victorian Quidditch Association and are ready to show everyone just what Victoria has to offer. Bring on QUAFL 2014.

Written by Gen Gibson.

All Pictures Courtesy of Scott Dixon

Photo Credit: Matt Hudson

Saying that things are “the same yet different” really is a prominent cliché of mine, amongst many others. Naturally therefore, I will bring it back out here. It’s obviously been a huge year in NSW, full of massive transition for most teams both internally and externally. The Fireballs and Nargles, each months’ farthest visitors to Sydney, have both come back from the near dead with revolutionised and reinvigorated new generation teams. 2013’s raw rookies from the University of Sydney are now as refined as the edifices of their campus, armed with the lessons learned from seeing and facing the best in the world first hand. UNSW’s juggernaut rolls on unabated but defined by the coming of age of their Midwinter Cup-winning humble heroes. UTS have ridden out their early turbulence and might just have come stronger out the other side just in time. UWS and Macquarie have stared resolutely in the face of the changing game, digging their heels with the renewed determination that has always served them well and may be their X factor this coming QUAFL. The “changing game” is the biggest change itself though, for of course, the odd individual in NSW knows how to tackle now!

The 2014 implementation of standardised tackle on a national scale took its time permeating the NSW game in a visible way. Indeed, the beginnings of any kind of polar shift have only just begun to take hold, which is what gives recent Triwizard history that uneasy feel of preparatory incompleteness, leading towards an end game that may follow through at QUAFL. But perhaps the uneasiness is simply the cognitive dissonance that comes from trying to reconcile these supposed notions of change with the fact that results are largely the same as they’ve always been. Look at the facts and numbers involved. As per historical tradition, it’s still UNSW well on top, then UWS, then fresh air. The Snapes and Thestrals remain emphatically clear at the top of the rankings on a state and national level. The game has undeniably changed and continues to shift, but the cream will always rise. The big question is how unobstructed it will find a way to rise to the surface this QUAFL.

The bigger question may just be how buoyant other teams will turn out to be when the anchors of travel, transition and Triwizard in general are lifted. What makes the lurking hint of change most ominous is that QUAFL is where it is mostly likely to come out fully fledged. It happened last year, most notably in the Unspeakables’ unceremoniously unorthodox but clearly concerted deconstructing of the powerhouse UWS unit at its peak. Over the course of the last six months, every NSW team has shown enough evidence of greatness to suggest just how good they could be, but most have reached it all too rarely. QUAFL is where those heights are invariably attained though. Look at the Marauders, much maligned through much of 2013, threatening at October, then the best team of Saturday at QUAFL 2013 and its eventual runners up. Newcastle similarly rose to the occasion, while UNSW and UWS ended a year of total and likely unmatchable dominance by being summarily dumped out before the final four. A single-elimination setup always has an element of chance involved, but it’s no fluke that the chasing pack catches up for this one special time of year.

Entire years before QUAFL are an exercise in misdirection before the true form of QUAFL, when finally each team can both step their fully formed strategies out from the shadows, and pile every oft-absent superstar they can muster back into the fold in one go. UNSW dominate on a month-to-month basis because they are the best team in the country, this is an undeniable fact. But their margin is inflated by the perpetual holes in the collective opposition. It is a deserved and self-inflated margin of course, they benefit from the exemplary attendance they ensure each month without fail. It is a strong and positive culture and for all the deep wells of talent inherent in the rich and powerful Snapes, it will never be a coincidence that Australia’s greatest team is the one which has the greatest stability of attendance within its star players. Through their dedication and professionalism, UNSW also effectively trains and utilises every player of their squad regardless of original ability until each is a well-oiled cog serving a particular role and doing it with inevitable competence. In short, they are the one Australian club whose overall regime is of the American standard, for now.

UWS may lack the depth of UNSW, but they share the total stability within their core, a core which can outrun anyone for pure athleticism and outwit anyone for sheer experience. Ergo, these two teams aren’t just the undeniable best by a medium sized margin, they dominate with such total consistency by minimising monthly fluctuation to such an extent that over a whole year, everyone else is made to look decidedly mediocre. But they aren’t. The Snapes and Thestrals deserve the rewards they’re afforded on the rankings table, but QUAFL is the big one everyone wants and crawls out for. The rankings mean nothing.

Photo Credit: Matt Hudson

As undisputed as UNSW and UWS’s mathematical supremacy is, evidence of others’ ability to match this standard has been there to see for certain fleeting moments. Newcastle showed at May Triwizard and Midwinter Cup that at their very best they have the sheer firepower to match it with UNSW. They haven’t shown this since, but this is the lot of a team for whom Triwizard each month is a journey from comparatively afar. Midwinter was the last time Newcastle were at home and their squad has been well short in both numbers and names every time since. QUAFL should see a line-up reflective of Midwinter’s but with six months extra experience. Wollongong too struggle enough for numbers without the demands of monthly travel. The last time they presented a close to full strength squad was at home in April and they were crisp, a level they have not been able to match subsequently. The question mark over the Warriors at the moment is whether they will be at full strength for QUAFL. It’s looking unlikely, but if they can get close they will without doubt provide an even greater challenge than their always sturdy structure already does.

What about the Nargles? Their travel demands are downright Herculean. At May Triwizard they were quality but not quite there yet, but this makes sense for a new team. At Melbourne Mudbash they were brilliant in patches but lacked depth, as a team of ten from interstate will tend to. Moving on to August then through to September they incrementally improved, only to miss October. This absence could be crucial; such is the pace of development in NSW quidditch at the moment. But at QUAFL they will have a record squad of nineteen and perhaps for the first time ever, certainly in recent history, a truly full strength squad. But they won’t have it easy as they’ve been drawn alongside UTS in Pool A. Less can be said of UTS than any of these teams, so recent and rapid is their rise. At August they reached their relative nadir, with a small and inexperienced squad losing comfortably against beatable opposition, including to the embryonic Macarthur Weasleys. Another four losses from four in September seemed to mark much of the same, but good opposition and bad luck masked what was clear progress. In October they turned the tables on the Weasleys and further developed a cadre of big, strong and quick new recruits. No major scalp resulted, but they were closer than they’d ever been before and with a monster squad, which is the biggest of any of the thirteen teams in the tournament and contains all their important names, the Opaleyes may just make the biggest quality jump from October to QUAFL of any team.

Think too of the Unspeakables, who brought their strongest squad to September and duly annihilated everything in their path. At October they were weaked by injury, exams and general October apathy. Yet they still outplayed UWS, almost came from behind to stun Newcastle again, managed to frustrate and hold out UNSW like few have before this year, and beat a strong Macquarie outfit. Speaking of that strong Macquarie outfit, it didn’t set the world alight in October as it did last year, but the mere addition of one or two X factors still made a big difference. There was still the firepower shortage they’ve had all year as they could only manage a goal each against the top defences of UNSW and Sydney. But they comprehensively put competitive UTS and Wollongong units to bed. More firepower should be available to them at QUAFL, further boosted by the luxury of playing in their own backyard. Macquarie know how to peak for QUAFL, will be playing at home and will have their biggest and strongest squad since last QUAFL, which they were only two deft Katelyn Stubberfield beats away from winning.

So there is every chance UNSW will fire through eight straight and comfortably win QUAFL, invariably beating the otherwise dominant UWS in the final. The Snapes will have something in hand too, no doubt about that. But instead, maybe Newcastle will steamroll all in their path on the way to glory. Maybe the guile and worldliness of Sydney will take them close, or even all the way, to triumph. Perhaps the rapid Nargles will be swiftly into the Semi Finals before anyone has seen what’s hit them, or the criminally undervalued Opaleyes firmly imbedded in the Quarters, with momentum threatening to push either of them even further still. There is of course many worthy interstate teams to deal with which will make every team’s job infinitely harder. No less a threat than the champion Perth Phoenixes themselves will be present, on top of four class Victorian outfits. There is no real way of knowing where they might fit into the grand scheme of things. The only opportunity for observation was Melbourne Mudbash where the Nargles showed promise and where Sydney largely didn’t, but with a skeleton team that was never going to match their usual standard.

So what’s going to happen? In short, you can clearly see by my vapid meandering that I haven’t the faintest idea! That’s what is great about it. But let’s have an even closer look at October Triwizard to try and get even more of an idea.

Photo Credit: Matt Hudson

RESULTS

Italics = Unranked Game

Just like the rankings as a whole, a quick glance at the scores this particular month tells you all you need to know who the best teams are, but nowhere near enough to understand just how much the pack has tightened compared to the sparse days of March. Make no mistake, virtually every game was controlled for the bulk of its duration by one clear front-runner. But no game all day visually looked or felt like the kind of truly one-sided affair that is often seen. The closest anyone came to comprehensively thrashing another side was UWS in the very first game against Wollongong. But even then, they scored only twice in the first eight minutes and inflated the margin late with their superior fitness and unfailing ability to find an extra gear when the mood behoves them. UNSW no doubt could have put up a domineering display aswell but with their Warrior clash unranked, they used the opportunity to give a run to some under-done relief players.

The rest of the day was defined by a consistent pattern, whereby one team would always look the likely winner while the other found methods and fight to keep the contest alive in spite of itself. Sydney fired out of the blocks against Macquarie but could not extend on their early 20-0 lead as the increasingly well-oiled Kieran Richards led Marauder defence buffed up its shiny shields. The Unspeakables found that pace wasn’t doing the job and without backup size behind him, the otherwise stellar Nicholas Albornoz was being left in the lurch. In the end it took the shifting of captain Luke Derrick out of beating to give some muscle to the chaser line-up and for Macquarie to finally be put just about away. They still only won by twenty though thanks to Daniel Commander’s snitch catch. The twin threat of either Commander or the new energy efficient model Leslie Fox to go after snitches, alternating and keeping each other fresh, is no doubt the Marauders’ X Factor. Their challenge will be to keep everyone within thirty points, but if they do, look out.

Newcastle vs UTS followed a similar profile, but without the fast start. A third minute James Mortensen solo burst was the only score for the entire first ten minutes. The Opaleyes rarely had bludger control and never looked the better team, but they just would not go away. It took fifteen minutes and a wholesale tactical shake-up just for the theoretically short priced favourites to get out of snitch range. They drew away from this point but 120-20 in twenty-one minutes, itself a tighter margin than many may have expected, was still wider than UTS deserved.

Nothing through the middle of the day quite so perfectly lived up to the ‘front-runner vs fighter’ profile. UTS didn’t quite have the same fight against Macquarie, though 100-0 was an eye-catching scoreline for the impressive Marauders, particularly the 0 part. UNSW continued to sweep all before them, but with one notable exception. Late in the afternoon, with the very last match, the day’s theme came dramatically full circle. The Snapes dominated early and quickly led 20-0, over the Unspeakables. But recognising the nature of the opposition and of the limitations presented by their own mere ten person squad in its fourth game of the day, Sydney dug their heels in, along with their shins, hips and half of their chest. A more comprehensive and positively Kansastrian slow-balling has not been seen in Australian quidditch. Macquarie had some good results with the strategy way back in April, initially conceding a dozen goals at one per minute before slowing the game down completely and limiting UNSW to just two more over the equivalent second half of the match. To my constant surprise, no team has since taken up this defensive possession tactic, for the best way to stop UNSW beating you at quidditch as they rightfully will is to not let them play it. Perhaps it is the noble morality in Australia’s gorgeous quidditch community that does not allow such negativity to permeate most teams’ game. But the Unspeakables have never been bothered with niceties so had no concern with bringing out the slow-ball. It was highly effective to a certain degree, as it frustrated the Snapes no end and created a period of play where they scored only three times in twenty minutes despite being comfortably the better team. But the Unspeakables recompense was a fat and filthy donut. So 80-0 in a game that did not end notably under-time was certainly an interesting development but perhaps not that meaningful, because it’s still an 80-0 loss. Sydney are also particularly well equipped for such strategies with their size, traditional ability to soak up defensive pressure all day, and all the tactical nous those skills bring. So no-one else is likely to find an avenue to beating UNSW with the strategy, just perhaps a laneway away from total for and against oblivion.

Photo Credit: Matt Hudson

There are three notable clashes from October I have not yet mentioned. This is because not only were they the closest, but they were by far the most revealing. They also have a major bearing on how QUAFL will play out. UWS, Newcastle and Sydney, with their hugely disparate histories and approaches, have rather bottlenecked together just in time for QUAFL where what do you know, they’ve ended up all drawn together. If October is any indication, these will be three of the real classics of the tournament, and UWS may be in some trouble unless they can find another level. Of course they tend to usually do this and were without Christian Barquin at October, an influence that cannot be underestimated.

First up was the clash between UWS and Sydney which will always have spice in the near future thanks to last year’s QUAFL coup. But this year the Unspeakables hadn’t really gotten close to UWS, either in general or in direct combat. But the balance of power had shifted subtly on this occasion. It had not dramatically reversed, but UWS just found themselves unable to gain a firm foothold on what was a thoroughly even-keeled encounter. It was definitely the Unspeakables who looked the more likely early though, matching the UWS speed with their own similar reserves of Cameron Brown and Rob Wells led pace and Hannah Monty-matching nimble forward receivers, particularly the slick Carolyn Themel. But add to this, the X factor of size most notably provided in the form of man of the match Albornoz. By shortly after the ten minute mark Sydney were 40-20 up and with momentum, their lead reaching but crucially not exceeding thirty. With UWS less dominant than usual in the beater department without Barquin, it freed up the Unspeakable chasers to do their worst. Each of Sydney’s chasers were proving more adept at tackling, zoning and ultimate execution in general play, particular the final passes. These are all decidedly American hallmarks further developed since their spell at World Cup, but they’re skills that NSW teams are all increasingly finding necessary as we are immersed in the tackle game.

UWS can never be counted out though and as soon as the match started pushing towards the twenty-five minute mark you could sense there was danger for Sydney. A squad of ten is going to be hard pressed to hang on at the best of times, let alone one that likes to make the most of short bursts and regular rotations. Add the UWS fitness to that and the tables inevitably began to turn. By the time the snitch was back, the Thestrals had fought themselves back to an 80-70 lead and Stephen Butler’s catch sealed a thrilling come from behind 110-70 win.

Sydney had to then back up and face the Fireballs. Where UWS was an occasion that called for stepping up to the plate like they hadn’t so far this year, a grudge match against Newcastle is the opposite, for Sydney remain undefeated against them. After a slow and nervous start, it was Newcastle who took the clear ascendancy though, on the back of the unlikely beater pairing of Dameon Osborn and Desany Phanoraj. This new focus on beater tackle prowess reflects yet another distinct Americanisation permeating select elements of NSW play and is a necessity against the forward pressure of the Sydney beating.

Mitch McMahon was the only player to score over the first five minutes, but he’d powered his way through on three separate occasions. Luke Derrick again felt the need to shift to the quaffle game, to try and go some way to combating Newcastle’s physical dominance, and his goal put Sydney on the board on the sixth minute. It was all Newcastle otherwise though and by the lifting of the seeker floor they were 70-10 up and looked virtually home. But then down went the most experienced of all Fireballs, Desany Phanoraj, who crumpled sickeningly as an ankle gave way. With it, and without their guiding elder, away went Newcastle as a whole. The match was stopped for a whole twelve minutes as Phanoraj was treated, allowing the Unspeakables to fully refresh themselves.

After the restart it was a completely different match. The beater game transformed without Phanoraj’s inexperienced but impactful presence. With control firmly restored to the Sydney beaters, Newcastle had no way of stopping Nicholas Albornoz and Cameron Brown, whose twin hat-tricks turned a sixty point deficit into near parity. After a second stoppage for another key Newcastle injury, to Amy Ey who had taken up the key female beating slack since the first stoppage, finally it was time for the snitch catch. Newcastle’s lead had been wiped down to just ten, they’d lost two players for the day and amidst all the trauma were now totally haggard, but Liam Dawson saved the day with a match winning snitch catch.

In the 110-70 win, Newcastle showed they can put together clutch performances against quality opposition, but they also showed they are as susceptible to unforeseen drama and stress as ever. Sydney showed just how much fight they have to come from so far back and they will be closer to their best at QUAFL. The match showed just how good both teams can be but just how beatable both teams can also be and it showed the intrigue that can come from two progressive teams thinking creatively. But such was the match’s extenuating disruptiveness, there’s probably not much more that can be concluded.

So having lost all but Holly Cairncross from their female stocks, Newcastle were surely left unable to take the field against UWS. But against the odds, still the Fireballs fought on, fronting up against the speed and efficient zoning of UWS, perhaps the worse team to face a player down. Newcastle were decimated, down to seven total players, and still trying to pick up the emotional pieces of the catharsis and trauma that came from the costly Unspeakable win. UWS are always ruthless and were prepared for a presumptive spanking. But it was Newcastle’s playmaker Mortensen who struck first, then Cairncross and then Mitch McMahon. Hannah Monty brought a couple back but the speed merchants just could not stop the hulking power of Mortensen and McMahon, nor keep up with the precision of Cairncross at and behind the hoops. 30-0 became 50-10, then 60-30 in a remarkable and overpowering performance led by the downright heroic Mortensen. But UWS are never put to bed, particularly when you’ve run out of personnel to head them. Mortensen and McMahon continued to alternate strikes and keep Newcastle just clear, but the Thestrals slowly clawed their way back. Finally after twenty minutes they levelled proceedings at 90-90, then hit the front. By now the Fireballs were dead on their feet and with another injury reducing their number further, they had no choice but to concede the match before UWS drew further away.

UWS were credited with a snatch and so 130-90 was the final score, but it could not have escaped any observers who the best team had been early in the contest, back before fatigue took total hold, when Newcastle’s only handicap was the mere shortage of one entire person. But bias can only blind me so far. UWS still won the game, just as they did against Sydney too. The question for Newcastle, not for the first time, will be whether they can reproduce the kind of frenzied energy that the circumstances of this day created at a whim in a more controlled environment. They’ll need to in order to make that extra step up from their current perpetual position at the frustrating top edge of the second tier.

Photo Credit: Matt Hudson

So in conclusion, what can we draw from October and the wider year of Triwizard action as a whole? Well for all my profligate musing, really UNSW should probably still win. They are clearly the best team in the country and no matter how well others peak, it’s not like every team will suddenly be a match for them. Most won’t be, I suspect no more than one or two will be. But everyone will be a bit closer and quidditch is a fickle sport when you don’t have margins to play with.

Meanwhile, Newcastle and Sydney are well and truly on the up. They’re the teams I feel could go closest to upsetting UNSW, and they may just have reached if not overtaken UWS in the grand scheme of things. But that’s a speculative observation rather than a data-supported one, because UWS still keep winning. It’s irrelevant whether they were the best team in either of those two crunch matches (they weren’t), because they still won them. That’s the true strength of UWS, they know how to find ways of winning quidditch games. Can they beat UNSW? I don’t think so. But can they win QUAFL? Without question. You can never count UWS out and they aren’t a clear second in the country by accident.

As for the rest, a QUAFL champion is probably not among them but the nature of knockout quidditch means you can’t quite be sure. Macquarie are QUAFL specialists and for all the hubbub about the mystical dangers of Pool B, they could still easily get out of it, as could UTS from Pool A. Wollongong too will fancy their chances, having gotten the draw they would have hoped for. It will only take two wins for them to advance. They would both be upsets certainly, but they have beaten UTS before this year despite being largely outplayed, and have the spirit and structure to keep themselves in contests for long enough to make it possible. Stepping up from merely possible though, we have the Nargles who really should in all likelihood get out of Pool A relatively unscathed. Once any or all of these four teams can manage advancement, QUAFL glory is only three wins away; a little bit of good fortune, an extra dollop of crisp improvement and some sizeable servings of that addictive fruit momentum.

The finish line that is QUAFL comes at the end of a long and menacing main straight where the pack need only be close enough to slot into the slipstream and let nature do the rest. But how many teams were still close enough by the last turn in October? How quickly will the finish line sneak up on them? Then after all that, what final little power boost might the front-runners have in store to keep them clear and get them over the line?

The NSW State Champion team will be determined by results across the final two rounds of the NSW Triwizard Tournament held in September and October. With the first instalment already played at University of Western Sydney Campbelltown last month, this year’s final round will be hosted at the University of Wollongong on Sunday October 5th. Nine teams from Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Canberra will clash together in this last epic showdown before the Nationals, battling it out for the inaugural NSW Cup. Triwizard Tournaments occur six times a year, in monthly intervals while university is in session.

UNSW Snapes on a Plane are the hot favourites to take out the NSW Cup, proving to be a consistently unstoppable force throughout the 2014 season. UNSW have a history of dominating quidditch both state and nation-wide since competitive play began in 2011, having won two of the last three years’ National titles – the QUAFL Cup. They also took out this year’s Midwinter Cup in Newcastle, despite having five national players missing from their squad on representative duties in Canada’s Global Games.

Their closest challengers may be the second-placed UWS Thestrals, who have been the only team in recent times to consistently gain the upper hand on the Snapes. In their peak form back in early/mid 2013, UWS won the 2013 Midwinter Cup and the Autumn/Winter Sydney Quidditch League. The Newcastle Fireballs (2014 Midwinter runners-up), Sydney Uni Unspeakables (2014 World Cup contenders) and Macquarie Marauders (2013 QUAFL Cup runners-up) could also give the Snapes a run for their money, if they are able to field their full strength squads and find top form.

There is always hope for the Snapes’ opposition; UNSW surprisingly bowed out of last year’s QUAFL Cup in the quarter finals, with the Perth Phoenixes stealing the National title from the two-year reigning champions. It should also be noted that the Macquarie Marauders – who were defeated by Perth in the 2013 final – were the highest finishing NSW team in the QUAFL Cup.

If past NSW champions were to be awarded retroactively, it would be difficult to look beyond UNSW’s domination of national rankings at the conclusion of each year since 2011.

Quidditch New South Wales encourages everyone to come along to watch this great new sport, and sign up to join a team!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN NSW:

NSW Triwizard Tournament

Sunday October 5, 9am – 5pm

University of Wollongong

Sydney Allstars Fantasy Tournament

October 25 & 26

Venue TBC

QWAFL Cup Wheelchair Quidditch Championship

Friday November 28

Macquarie University

QUAFL Cup Oceania Championship

November 29 & 30

Macquarie University

Amidst the madness of each Triwizard, which without fail gets busier and busier month after month, it becomes harder to slow down and get a good read on proceedings. So where do things stand now we’re firmly in the run up to QUAFL?

UNSW are alone at the top and it’s difficult to see anywhere a sustained challenge could come from. The same could have been said last year of course and it didn’t work out for them. Sometimes in quidditch a challenge doesn’t need to be sustained for very long or very substantially to make the difference. But then the Snapes are even stronger than they were last year, and the UWS juggernaut that was their equal last year is not at present.

UNSW had to get by both UWS and Newcastle, who all things being equal are probably their two closest threats in the state. But things rarely are equal. Neither the Thestrals nor the Fireballs were at full strength, UNSW as usual were, and dominant victories ensued.

The other story of the day was Sydney’s form. The Unspeakables have always been a top quality side with the experience and capability to do special things, while also maintaining a gloriously consistent inconsistency. They put it all together here though, clinically taking advantage of what was a relatively friendly draw but not one which pointed towards the impressive margins that eventuated.

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The first pair of games saw one co-host UWS take on Macquarie, while the other in the Weasleys faced UNSW.

The clash between UWS and Macquarie was obviously the feature contest here and it certainly showed why early, in tension and tightness if not in overall quality.

Macquarie coach and now starting keeper Kieran Richards opened the scoring quickly but other than that it was a slow and cautious start. UWS were resting a little on their heels but Macquarie could not emphatically utilise their early possession.

It took five minutes for Hannah Monty to equalise, while Corey Ingold-Dawes had early frustrations to contend with as Macquarie’s defensive attentions deprived him of space and contributed to a tough early yellow. But his first score gave UWS the lead for the first and as it would prove, only time, for the Marauders were never close again.

Chrystal Player was a star for the hosts, tapping into some of her best form of the year with brilliantly burrowing attacks through the centre of the Macquarie defence, buying Monty and Ingold-Dawes space out wide as UWS slowly worked clear to a 50-10 lead after ten minutes. Macquarie debutant Laura Atkins also impressed, going toe to toe with her fellow diminutive warrior and catching the UWS defensive chasers off guard on a number of occasions.

The Marauders were still well in the fight and not allowing UWS easy goals, but they just could not bring the deficit back up the other end. Things only got worse when Bianca Connell and Christian Barquin began to make their impact, having been withheld early. Barquin helped ensure total bludger control for UWS while Connell was brusque in defence as ever but sensational up front as well, scoring four times in the last half of the game.

The rare threshold of half an hour was crossed and with the benefit of time, UWS had eked their lead out beyond the century without the match ever looking overly one-sided. Macquarie’s efforts were strong but points were hard to come by, so no-one would begrudge them their final snitch catch, especially considering the nonchalant ease with which Leslie Fox demurely snatched the tag.

UWS were up and running nevertheless, with a 130-50 win.

Unsurprisingly, matters were distinctly less competitive across the aisle, with UNSW putting the Macarthur Weasleys to bed 210-0. Given enough time to achieve it, a double century score was always on the cards for the No.1 ranked Snapes, but remaining unconquered in defence is always the bigger and rarer challenge. No matter how inevitable a lopsided clash was going to be, anything to nil is always mightily impressive and UNSW showed every sign of being as on their game as always.

James Clarke was the star, scoring four goals of his own and combining well with Phil Vankerkoerle and Michael Thomson. Leigh Morrell waited more than ten minutes and twelve goals for his first run then summarily scored a two minute hat-trick to make up for lost time.

The Weasley chasers again brought size and power to the table and though you suspect they would do even better with a full tackle game, they still caused UNSW vaguely more trouble than some chaser units have managed before. But UNSW were just far too good in every aspect.

Sydney’s first opponent of the day was UTS, who they faced for the first time this season. In so many ways, these two remain the two most mysterious teams who oppositions are most unfamiliar with, so there was much intrigue in this match. The UTS Opaleyes in particular brought a huge squad compared to August, filled with new talent keen to impress.

This match certainly didn’t disappoint as far as eye-catching break-out performances were concerned. Though old hands like Sabeth Kastanias, Poya Heidari and Brittney Watiwat were as crucial as ever in stabilising the inexperienced and overexcitable young Opaleye recruits, it was newer faces doing all the scoring and impressing.

For Sydney too the scoresheet looked a bit different than usual. Cameron Brown was of course magnificent but he did not feature majorly until late, with Kristie Kuhn stepping up to be the experienced leader anchoring the spirited efforts of up and comers like Carolyn Themel and Jeanne Hamman.

Without any question, the breakout star of the match was Nicholas Albornoz, who debuted back at April and showed he had the power and strength to be an impact player, but then rather disappeared off the scene. He was back now though and with a vengeance. He had too much power for the small, quick and nimble but less sizeable and powerful UTS chaser unit. That speed and agility serves UTS well though, with Akash Shah and Rayan Calimlim the new names to pay attention to. But though UTS did well to put four goals on the famously tight Sydney defence, the floodgates were just too open at the other end.

Albornoz alone made the difference on the scoreboard, netting six of Sydney’s first nine goals then duly giving way for Cameron Brown to sweep by the tiring UTS defence and match that tally late in the drawn out contest.

Ajantha Abey became the newest Sydney chaser leader to be tried out seeking at the top level and he didn’t disappoint, making the final catch and putting the bow on an emphatic 220-40 performance.

The other field saw Newcastle and Wollongong open their days’ work against each other, as usual. For two of the least tackle-prepared teams in the heady early days of NSW quidditch, the Fireballs and Warriors sure have become two of the most willing and physical defensive units of the modern day. Defending is never on the mind of Ezekiel Azib though, for all he has eyes for is the face of goal and on this occasion his brand of barely control fury was effective as his strikes led the way in Wollongong’s early supremacy.

For Newcastle, there was the usual problem of inexperience and general failure in ultimate execution despite what in theory should have been all the ingredients for an easy win. Instead, the Warriors led much of the first ten minutes and looked a genuine chance if the snitch could come back early.

Unfortunately, a squad of eight creates this reliance on a short game, a shortfall not helped by Morgan Legg taking a nasty early hit to the jaw.

James Mortensen was clearly hampered by a rib injury but came into his own later in the match as Newcastle overcame their traditionally scratchy start, leading the Fireballs to their first lead of the match after twelve minutes then scoring a quick trio of goals to take them beyond snitch range.

Liam Dawson was the standout chaser for much of the match though, with speed and efficiency that was at times too much for the Warrior defence. It was Dawson who then sealed the eventually clear victory, ending Newcastle’s run of seven straight goals with a snitch catch, salvaging a 40-30 deficit and turning it into a 130-40 win.

The last team to start their September campaign was the Nargles, against a game-hardened UWS. The teething problems of the Macquarie clash were absent and though Gary Hague’s pace at brooms up led to a Nargle opener, UWS quickly went 20-10 up through Ingold-Dawes and Liam O’Callaghan.

But it was O’Callaghan’s work on his goals which UWS would most value as the match wore on. 20-10 remained the score for the duration of the first ten minutes, but it was not through scrambling Nargle defence holding out the merciless UWS attack. Instead it was the unit from Canberra who had the run of play, controlling the majority of the early exchanges.

The Nargle chaser unit was every bit a match for the strength of UWS’ experienced line-up, and made up for its shortfall in match experience with a brilliant cohesion. Gary Hague was the standout, but his charges on goal were consistently thwarted by the heroic O’Callaghan, unusually employed over Daniel Ormshaw as a starting keeper despite Ormshaw starring in portions of the Macquarie game.

It was the first time these two teams had faced off all year and you could tell. The Nargles were naïve in their approach, at times to a fault as they struggled to read the play, but mostly leading to a fresh fearlessness. UWS, at least early on, could firmly be accused of downright complacency, with many of the Nargles’ highly effective support chasers given too much room to move and their constantly underrated beater unit able to somehow wrestle control away.

Threats from the likes of Hague, Zac Neulinger and Harris Law Yee Fat were always going to be present. The quality of new recruit Joseph Bensadon and in particular the fighting spirit of the rapidly improving Clara Barrs and returning veteran Rowelanne Stubbs hadn’t been accounted for though. Barrs was especially eye-catching, playing a rather Hannah Monty-style of game, pushing high and wide then proving slippery with quaffle in hand.

With Danny Fox out injured, Oscar Cozens was skippering the Nargle side and his beating efforts were more than living up to the title of captain as the Nargles added bludger control to their already burgeoning chaser efforts.

Yet still UWS led. For a portion this was clearly down to O’Callaghan who desperately kept things at a stalemate, before Monty and Bianca Connell stepped up to another level as they had against Macquarie. The UWS chasers at their best are impossible to stop and as they finally reached their fullest strength, the Nargles didn’t quite have enough to stay with them, despite a stirring solo strike to Bensadon.

Ingold-Dawes’ second goal made it 60-20 with momentum falling towards UWS. With the immediate pressure off to some extent, Christian Barquin duly pounced and sealed an extremely hard-fought 90-20 victory.

The theme of powerhouse sides potentially underestimating the remarkable efforts of less fancied opposition was not confined to one field at this particular juncture. The Macarthur Weasleys made a serious game of it against the Macquarie Marauders.

Arfy Papadam and Ben Towers combined brilliantly while Craig Cockcroft’s finishing was precise as he and Padadam each scored a pair of early goals as the Weasleys went blow for blow with Macquarie. The Marauders were the obviously sleeker professional unit, but Macarthur had them for size and this counts for something even (or perhaps especially) in a non-tackle game. Aleena Ali’s beating presence was keenly felt too, pressuring the Marauders who in time managed to get away with bludger control thanks to their depth.

The physicality of the Weasleys frustrated the flustered Marauders, who weren’t helped by captain Laura Bailey’s developing ankle ailment. Vice Captain Amber Williams stood up though, outmanoeuvring the Weasley defence together with Allison Hore and Laura Atkins on many occasions. Daniel Commander also utilised his rare opportunity to chase nicely, combining well with Kieran Richards who was the driving force behind Macquarie’s eventual hard-won ascendency.

When general play was tight, Helen Glover’s firm and precise defensive beating kept the Marauders always a step in front and the longer the match wore on the more they controlled it. Even as the Marauders found their goal-scoring mojo, still the Weasleys were there keeping it tight though. For most of the match Macquarie could not get out of snitch range and when Papadam and Cockcroft completed their hat-tricks, Macarthur had seven goals on the board which could be enough to win most games. Macquarie’s overall class and sheer depth shone through though and they managed to pull clear with thirteen goals then a snitch catch of their own, bringing home a 160-70 win.

Though UWS vs Nargles had arguably made a challenge to the title, UNSW vs Newcastle was nevertheless the likely marquee clash of the morning and it was up next. Both teams came off first up wins but Newcastle wasn’t convincing and UNSW wasn’t pushed enough to make any significant reading on their form. Newcastle took an interesting approach to the contest, switching up much of their strategy and line-up, possibly in an attempt to rattle UNSW with something different as one must generally do, or possibly to keep their key players fresh for an important and rather more winnable looking Macquarie showdown after lunch.

UNSW definitely looked a class above from the very first moment here, with Rajtilak Kapoor and Andrew Culf leading the way as they so often do. The first four minutes saw a pair of goals each for the Snapes’ Drop Bear superstars and at 40-0 the game already looked somehow dead, only adding to the Fireballs’ curious reticence to push hard.

Newcastle still had fight even despite being below their best, shutting down many of the UNSW avenues to goal, in no small part thanks to Dameon Osborn’s remarkable point defending. But still the Snapes pushed, mercilessly launching attack after attack as they controlled possession totally and utterly. Newcastle were not so much poor in attack as never afforded the opportunity to attack in the first place, as the all-conquering UNSW side rendered their every position and strategy utterly obsolete.

With virtually no possession to be had, Newcastle could do nothing more than defend gamely and so they did, with great gusto and courage. Only one further goal came over the next ten minutes and even as the short-handed Fireballs faded, UNSW could never find easy goals. Their pure class was enough to chisel out seven goals over twenty minutes and with the Fireballs only managing one counter-attacking response, the result was assured. Chris Rock’s snitch catch confirmed a 100-10 win for UNSW, whose complete dominance in general play deserved an even bigger margin, prevented only by difficulties at the final hurdle.

Meanwhile, Sydney were playing Wollongong. Clashes between these two sides have been relatively competitive by and large this year and the Warriors early efforts against Newcastle suggested they could make an impression on the Sydney defence. This is exactly how it proved initially, with captain Jacob Fleming showing his perennial class with a quick pair of goals to establish an early 20-10 lead. Sydney’s chaser reserves were at their most powerful in recent memory though, with Nicholas Albornoz again standing out in support of Cameron Brown’s central work. Paul Harrison and Luke Derrick make an experienced and formidable beater team and Derrick’s forward pressure limited the effectiveness of arguably Wollongong’s most key asset, Aman Nalli.

By four minutes into the match, Sydney were scoring at a goal a minute and had overcome their early shakiness to establish an increasingly firm lead.

Harrison’s presence also freed up Rob Wells to provide even more chaser firepower. It was Wells who took up the slack after just a few minutes, scoring a quick pair and helping set up more as the Unspeakables drew safely clear.

Wollongong were once again strong early and as ever can manage limited resources better than anyone, but there is only so long eight people can stay with a team with this much forward momentum. As they had been against UTS, Sydney were frenetic, racing the scorekeeper all the way to twenty minutes. Another six goals boosted Cameron Brown’s always growing tally further as they blew clear, making a second straight opponent look deceptively weaker than they actually are.

If there were any doubts from the earlier game, this performance removed them all, with the same muscle matched by a fluid precision in their chaser game.

For Wollongong, Nicole Cabrera was the standout, gamely fighting an increasingly losing battle and consistently threatening on the counter-attack. Her professional finishing finally netted the Warriors a third goal and Ezekiel Azib added further respectability with a fourth. But the Unspeakables managed no less than sixteen goals, plus another thirty points as Shara Longbotham caught the snitch and ended the game 190-40 in Sydney’s favour.

It is never the soundest idea to make conclusions on teams based on limited data without seeing them all play each other in equal conditions. But sometimes timing can really make a statement. Following their twin demolitions of UTS and Wollongong, Sydney were one of the big stories of the day. But the struggles of the other would add further weight to their efforts. The Nargles were a story because of their efforts against UWS where it’s not unreasonable to say they should have won and with more luck on their side would have.

Now the Nargles faced UTS, fresh off being steamed by Sydney. Given these relative early performances, another lopsided score was surely beckoning. But UTS were mighty this time around, much improved from their first performance yes but nevertheless showing off their fundamental competitiveness across the board. The Opaleyes very nearly beat the Nargles, again one prone to soliloquy might even surmise that they really should have. Ten points was not a margin anyone expected and though of course all credit must go to UTS, the contrast in margins said more than anything else could about just how strong the Sydney unit was this time around.

Akash Shah was first to score before usual beater Oscar Cozens equalised. Cozens and now beater Gary Hague found themselves starting in reversed positions and as is so often the case given the complexity of the beating game, it was the unfamiliar chaser who more easily took to his role. Hague was not helped by an early yellow before any points were on the board.

By that point, things were getting panicky for the Nargles, who had yet to hit the front. Arthur Triantos fought through injury to star, scoring twice as UTS stayed a step ahead of their rivals through the first ten minutes. Matt Armstrong led the way for the Nargle chasers and his first two goals levelled the scores at 30-30 after a long, tense and staccato fifteen minutes. Both teams struggled with discipline, UTS due to their abundance of rookies and the Nargles rather as usual.

Rayan Calimlim’s game ending second yellow was a cruel blow and arrested some of the UTS momentum. The Nargles had now recognised the threat of the sleek and fast UTS game and upped the ante, with Armstrong and Zac Neulinger grabbing the ascendency before Gary Hague finally reverted to his familiar role as a goal-scorer.  Triantos completed his hat-trick, keeping UTS temporary in range, but Hague’s quick pair of twentieth minute goals took the score to 80-40 and with momentum on the Nargles side, UTS could do nothing but catch the snitch and salvage a close and more than respected result out of the situation. Player of the Match Triantos did this too, taking his tally for the match to sixty points despite injury, his catch finishing proceedings 80-70 in the Nargles’ favour.

First up after lunch were Newcastle and Macquarie, both looking for a second win out of three for the day. James Mortensen wasted no time affirming Newcastle’s status as favourites with a quick opener, but it remained 10-0 for a long period moving forward. Ana Barciela and Maria Wizbicki’s telekinetic understanding served them well again as they fluidly combined to neutralise much of the Fireball threat with their bludgers.

Newcastle had more guns to blaze with in attack so the Marauders were to an extent just trying to hold on, though Leslie Fox found space and was able to threaten the goal early. With captain Laura Bailey already out for the day with an ankle injury, losing her replacement Amber Williams early was a blow the Marauders could have done without. But Macquarie often play particularly well in these kind of emotional adverse circumstances and with more than enough depth to cover and the increasingly dominant leadership presence of Kieran Richards now formally sailing the ship, there was still a win to be had.

Mortensen continued to threaten but his headband was white not green, with the experience of Tom Russell entrusted with holding the fort at the back. It was Russell who scored second from a powerful attack and as the first ten minutes passed, the two-pronged force took control of the quaffle contest, between them scoring the first give goals.

Macquarie never really went away, always making Newcastle’s progress hard and slow, but they just couldn’t match the Fireballs muscle in the physical contest. A largely even game in centre-field was not reflected on the scoreboard as only Newcastle could break that final line and put points on the board.

Usual chaser Jason Taylor continued his foray into beating and led by the now firmly established experience of Jordan Hunt, the initially Marauder-dominated beater game began to even out aswell, sealing Macquarie’s fate.

A fiery late burst from Dameon Osborn sealed it further, his hat-trick would take Newcastle to an even and unanswered century. Liam Dawson’s catch then confirmed an emphatic 130-0 result.

Wollongong vs UTS represented a major opportunity for both teams to pick up a well and truly deserved result. Such is the competitiveness of today’s quidditch, both sides were without a victory in the recent past and desperate to build some meaningful rewards in the run up to QUAFL. Both went through similar mornings, being summarily trounced by Sydney but pushing arguably higher fancied opponents impressively close.

The ultra-experienced Warriors had the pedigree to be definite favourites, but UTS had them for depth and another performance like that against the Nargles might be enough to do the job.

It was UTS who had the early run of play, perhaps surprisingly given Wollongong’s traditionally strong starts. But the Warriors are a smart team and knew they couldn’t afford to fade away as they had in their morning contests and trusted their defence to absorb the early pressure. This they did and the Opaleyes had only one Arthur Triantos goal to show for their early efforts. Wollongong then turned up the heat, with Ezekiel Azib and Jarrod Simpson scoring in quick succession to briefly hand Wollongong the lead.

By the ten minute mark UTS were back in front though, with Christopher White then Triantos again scoring. The Opaleyes were unlucky not to extend their lead further still, with disallowed goals, more untimely yellows and the unpleasantly lurking spectre of a potential scoring discrepancy hampering their charge towards a bigger lead.

Wollongong continued to play consummately intelligent though, doing what they needed to stay in range and keep things alive. With only eight players and a main weakness that is up-front firepower, that’s all they could do in this situation.

UTS continued to have the narrow balance of quaffle possession, while Wollongong were superior in quaffle defence and, inevitably, the Aman Nalli and Morgan Legg led beater game.

It was always going to come down to the snitch and the match was certainly tight enough to deserve such an ending. On this occasion Ezekiel Azib was the hero and it was Wollongong who won 50-30. It was a result few could begrudge the ever popular and ever toiling Warriors, but unfortunately UTS were at least as deserving on this occasion. It would not be outrageous to suggest that UTS on balance should now have won two in a row which was certainly not predicted. While coming away with the goods in neither was a devastating blow, if the Opaleyes can keep this squad together, continue to develop, and weed out the discipline issues, they will be very interesting to observe at QUAFL.

It had been four long months since the great UNSW and UWS dynamos had faced off. On that occasion, UNSW’s win was fairly emphatic but as always progress was slow. There was every reason to believe UNSW should be able to put UWS to bed here too, but the one sure fire prediction you can always make is that these games will always be tough attritional fights where goals are hard to come by.

That is, until now apparently. Andrew Culf scored in each of the first three minutes and the Snapes were off and running. This dominance was not a surprise, but the sheer pace of scoreboard progress was. Hannah Monty quickly replied and before the seeker floor was up, the two UWS stars of the day, Chrystal Player and Liam O’Callaghan, had goals of their own. Yet still they were nowhere near in range. UNSW scored eight times in that first ten minutes, mercilessly cutting up UWS through the middle.

It was an undeniably amazing performance from the Snapes but even they must been surprised at the ease with which they were regularly able to penetrate an off kilter UWS defence.

Nicholas Allan was stellar, spectacularly deconstructing beaters of the class of Christian Barquin and Stephen Butler with a physical presence and pressure few can match. The goals were shared around, with each of the UNSW’s production line of star chasers managing one score. UWS didn’t know where to look next, trying to arrest the charge largely devoid of any bludger control. Isolated chasers can only ever do so much no matter how good they are, particularly against a line-up like UNSW’s.

By the time fifteen minutes had past, the goal count was up to twelve, and it was only now, with a safe 120-40 lead, that the foot came off the throttle at all.

By the time the snitch returned, UNSW were up to 150-40 and beginning to accelerate again with Minh Diep returning for a burst. There was no end in sight either, with the UWS seeker missing and UNSW’s Chris Rock for once unable to make a good run at the tag, so quality was the snitch. But then it was suddenly over in the most remarkable circumstances.  With Rock pinned hapless against the ground, he had the presence of mind to hook his feet behind the assailant snitch and managed to grasp the tag between his ankles and remove it, dramatically completing UNSW’s 180-40 shellacking.

The next unfortunate victim of Sydney’s burgeoning momentum would be the Weasleys. Arfy Papadam was not at all keen to lie down though, brilliantly leading Macarthur to an early 20-10 lead with a quick pair of second minute goals. The Weasley star of the match was Dan Toland, whose bustling chasing regularly broke through Sydney’s defences only to be cruelly denied at the last moment.

Ultimately, the early threat was but a brief blip and by the five minute mark Sydney were 50-20 up and on their way to safety.

With Albornoz used sparingly in order to stay fresh for the crucial Nargles clash, Rob Wells took up the slack, scoring a hat-trick inside the first six minutes. Luke Derrick also excelled, matching this effort in his rare foray into chasing, while Carolyn Themel impressed again.

You know a team is going to be tough to live with when Cameron Brown can once again play a secondary role yet still somehow come away with the small matter of five goals.

A Craig Cockcroft strike was the only respite for the solid Weasleys as the firing Unspeakables continued to go from strength to strength, controlling the beater game through Lachlan Chisholm and the rapidly developing Jeanne Hamman who already doesn’t look out of place on the big stage.

Sixteen goals was the mighty dividend this time for the voracious Unspeakables and when Shara Longbotham made her second catch of the day, it was a third consecutive battering win for Sydney, 190-30.

Macquarie ended their day with a showdown against the Nargles. It was anyone’s guess what could happen here, both teams had impressed in patches early but were disappointing in their most recent matches. The Nargles had done rather a better job of pressuring UWS though, so deserved to be favourites and came out of the blocks strongest. After a number of early attempts, Gary Hague managed to open the scoring after two minutes. Leslie Fox equalised in the fourth minute and at 10-10 the score would stay until the seekers were long gone.

The big Marauder guns were out, with Kieran Tolley starting alongside Barciela this time and his keeping namesake stepping impressively into the vacant captaincy shoes. The Nargles had their own cat in the bag through, with teenage rookie, late arrival and rumoured beater extraordinaire Chris Stubbs starting on debut. Stubbs was certainly far from underwhelming, combining effectively with Morgyn Benstead to dull the threat of the on paper stronger Macquarie beating unit, as is the typical Nargle way.

But in return, Macquarie were also doing rather well to deaden an on paper stronger Nargle chasing unit. It took ten minutes and some Harris Law Yee Fat solo brilliance to re-establish a one goal lead for the Nargles and though Hague added a second shortly afterwards, a second of Fox’s own kept things at 30-20.

The Nargles had the greater penetration towards goal thanks primarily to Hague, Armstrong coming from the back and Clara Barrs’ monstering presence up forward. The Marauders played a smart possession game though, denying them the opportunity to stretch their legs. 30-20 became 40-30 with the twenty minute mark approaching and the Nargles threatening to draw clear without quite managing it.

Macquarie were just holding on but the balance of play was inevitably tilting towards breaking point and it took the X-factor that is Gary Hague to break the final straw. In a frenetic final burst, he fired a sequence of five goals in five minutes and took the Nargles to a safe lead. Leslie Fox then made another of his now trademark effortless grabs to narrow the scoreline, but with Macquarie fifty down it was the Nargles’ game, winning 90-70.

A far greater challenge stood before the Nargles however, to try and arrest the momentum of the undefeated and high-flying Unspeakables in the last game of the day.

Until then, there was some business to work through. Delays and injuries had unfortunately curtailed Wollongong’s day, rendering them unable to face up against UNSW. But happily, UTS were able to overcome initial doubts and put up a team to face UWS. It was good to see because the Opaleyes had been ultra-impressive and didn’t deserve a forfeit to add to their harsh results sheet for the day. Misfortune, injury and absent players may have taken some of the sting out of the Opaleyes for this last game, but they surely still had enough fight to keep UWS within the 150 points that a forfeit would constitute.

Hannah Monty’s two early goals confirmed that UWS were on their game and not going to allow any shock result to happen, but progress was mellow after that. UWS were never under any kind of sustained pressure, but UTS defended gamely and kept them out time and time again, ensuring the Thestrals would have to work for their points.

Though the hard yards were put in across the board in centre field, Corey Ingold-Dawes reaped the most reward, scoring give times as UWS slithered inevitably away to a lead of over one hundred. UTS got to end the day with much deserved positivity though as Rayan Calimlim brilliantly caught the snitch, salvaging a more respectable and deserving 110-30 scoreline.

Newcastle and the Weasleys ended their days with a fairly lazy jamboree under the disconcertingly setting sun. With Newcastle in a playful and overall happy mood after a reasonably solid day, the Weasleys found they could get some purchase, with some early goals making things interesting. Ultimately the Fireballs knew they were going to have too much for the Weasleys though and were playing to the necessary level.

Tom Russell led the way in the prolonged absence of the seeking Mortensen, while the improving Weasley beaters found themselves with more ball than ever, allowing them to effectively keep Newcastle in check initially.

The result was never in doubt though, Liam Dawson dominating on the scoresheet and Mortensen’s catch ending the match 130-30 in Newcastle’s favour.

The last game slot was all about the blockbuster happening across-field though. The Nargles and Sydney were a perfect closer to proceedings, as both had been impressive and whoever won here could rightfully feel like they’d made huge gains on the pack.

It was the Nargles who came out hardest, with Matt Armstrong starting as keeper and scoring off brooms up. Much of the early play was about the oneupmanship between the experience and skill of Armstrong and Cameron Brown who led their teams to a 20-20 stalemate after five minutes.

It was anybody’s game, probably the most genuinely even across all aspects for a sustained period of time. In the fifth minute Harris Law Yee Fat handed the Nargles the lead and they looked capable of maybe going on with it, but were scuttled by the Sydney defence and their own poor discipline.

Law Yee Fat and Gary Hague both received yellows at crucial times, both shorthanded periods resulting in Sydney goals. Kristie Kuhn’s tenth minute equaliser signalled a shift in the momentum as the depth of the Unspeakables began to shine through.

The combination of early seeking and the stellar job figures like Albornoz, Wells, Brown and Themel  were already doing meant that Ajantha Abey had been in the chasing backwater for the most of the day. But now was his time to shine, with a pair of crucial skilful goals sneaking Sydney out to a 50-30 lead.

A couple of disallowed Nargle strikes did not help and as the game wore on it was Sydney firmly in control. A quick cameo from Rob Wells added two more goals and with the safety of a 70-30 scoreline to inspire her, Shara Longbotham completed the job with her third catch of the day. 100-30 over a top quality Nargle team was perhaps their most impressive performance of the day yet, ensuring a perfect four from four and the most successful Triwizard ever for the charging Unspeakables.

Though things have come so far and every team is now top quality, the hierarchy coming into August remained essentially as it did this time last year. UNSW and UWS were still clearly on top. The inconsistent Newcastle continued to threaten greatness without quite achieving it, though a third straight impressive tournament here would firmly establish them as the state’s third powerhouse. But it couldn’t quite be said just yet.

Wollongong and UTS continued to toil hard without due rewards for their efforts. Macquarie struggled for results for much of the year so far but with such a dearth of talent on their roll you know it’s only a matter of time. Sydney are now happily with us always unlike this time last season, struggling for consistent results as they have all year but continuing to grow as a club on the back of their landmark QUAFL showing and World Cup sojourn. The Nargles also made the journey up yet again and having built on their eye-catching May performance with some show-stopping form at Melbourne Mudbash, the nation’s capital was clearly on the verge of something special. The Weasleys completed the field and would be looking to take another of their baby steps towards future competitiveness and official team status. The total count therefore was nine, once again necessitating a mighty day overloaded with quidditch action.

It is this way in which Triwiz has most transformed in the intervening twelve months. Right to the end of 2013 it remained a quaint tournament of single fields and seven or eight games. But with fourteen matches across two pitches to pile through on this occasion, again the seeds for countless dramatic stories had been planted. It took just seven short hours for all sorts of momentum shifts to take hold.

Newcastle’s fortunes plateaued as always seems inevitable. At their best they are now clearly a match for anybody, as consecutive May and Midwinter wins over UNSW showed. But that best remains hard to find. Macquarie’s fortunes in turn spiked dramatically, more than doubling their two scant wins in ranked play all year with a triple treat of efficient triumphs. The Weasleys made critical breakthroughs, putting in a competitive showing against the class of the Nargles, including a snitch catch, then taking a surprisingly huge win over UTS which once and for all firmly established their powerful chaser unit as a force to be reckoned with.

For UNSW and UWS, it was more of the same and without either having faced too much of a meaningful test this month (particularly in the form of each other), little can be said on where they definitively lie. UWS proved something with a controlling performance against Newcastle, but nobody got near UNSW, not even the inherently strong Marauder and Unspeakable units. Sydney for their part fluctuated wildly. They were a rabble in their smashing at the hands of the Snapes and looked confined to the doldrums after a tough snitch catch loss to a Macquarie team they’d have felt confident of beating. But then they took out Newcastle a little bit from nowhere, reminding everyone of how defensively supreme America taught them to be and restoring some momentum before September.

Wollongong remained at their same professional and consistent level, but with everyone else on the rise even more rapidly, it’s just not proving enough to compete at the moment. UTS remain clearly in transition and with a small squad they could not make any major impact on the day, but they have firepower in reserve for coming months.

*

The first match of the day was between UNSW and Sydney, with little to split them early on. The Snapes had all their Drop Bear stars back and they all made a penetrative impact early. But Sydney’s physical defence kept things tight, with only a couple of solo efforts from Raj Kapoor and Andrew Culf on the board in the first five minutes. The Unspeakables’ chaser solidity and depth held them in good stead, but their beater stocks suffered the cruel loss of captain and Drop Bear Luke Derrick to an early ankle injury. This made a big difference, allowing Emmanuel Berkowicz and Holly Shuttleworth in particular to control the bludger game.

It was UNSW’s newly decorated second wave who really made the decisive difference though, with Leigh Morrell and Michael Thomson carrying on their Midwinter work. They each scored early in their runs, putting Sydney out of snitch range to which they would never return.

40-0 in twelve minutes suddenly blossomed to an even century just five minutes later with Thomson’s hat-trick leading the way. Sydney’s early play was highly competitive, but as the match got away from them so did much of their discipline and it all broke down sadly, allowing UNSW to draw away to an unrepresentative margin. Andrew Culf’s hat-trick made it a twelve goal lead, before Berkowicz’s catch sealed a 150-0 thrashing.

Newcastle then faced a big acid test against their bogey side UWS. The Fireballs have proven a recent match for UNSW, as they often are, but UWS have been too difficult for them for more than a year and a half. QUAFL 2012 was the last time UWS dropped a game to Newcastle and after some perceived scratchy form (but it must be said, consistent results), an emphatic triumph here would reinforce their position as one of the state’s two strongest teams.

UWS won brooms up and so they led immediately, with no beaters home to stop Corey Ingold-Dawes. With James Mortensen hamstrung by a rib injury carried over from Midwinter, it was down to the recovered Marcus Bradtke, who Newcastle had so missed in that Midwinter final, to lead the chaser ship. He equalised in due course and was consistently threatening up forward, but UWS’ beaters were too good to let the Fireballs ever take a lead.

Drop Bear Dom Bell was missing but they managed well, still able to put forward the likes of Stephen Butler and Christian Barquin to start, before the less experienced but by now increasingly seasoned Evan Wright was employed effectively alongside his beater leaders.

Hannah Monty and Ingold-Dawes ground UWS out to a 30-10 lead and though an impatiently frenetic burst from Mortensen before substituting off levelled things again, it was brief respite within a period otherwise controlled by UWS, who eked out a 60-30 lead by the time the seekers went wandering.

From there everything was to and fro, with Newcastle possessing the chaser penetration to rally behind the class of Bradtke, but UWS always looking the slicker unit and keeping the score under control. By the time the snitch was back around with seekers in tow, UWS were 40 up and so it was Tom Russell who was employed as a specialist defensive seeker, to keep new recruit Liam O’Callaghan at bay.

O’Callaghan’s transfer from Sydney was a real coup for UWS, giving them a dedicated seeker, allowing Barquin to concentrate full time on his beating. But his first game for UWS was proving a frustrating one as Russell continued to interfere with his bursts at the snitch. It was proving a fruitless exercise though, because a final Monty-led surge pulled UWS out to a 110-60 lead and the momentum suggested it would only get worse. Final Newcastle seeker Liam Dawson duly got the jump on the tiring O’Callaghan, snapped the catch, and so UWS took victory by twenty, 110-90.

Macquarie vs UTS marked a huge opportunity for both teams. The Opaleyes from the big ugly building hadn’t really gotten their year properly off to a start yet and would play their first ranked match against a Marauders side who had been hamstrung by bad luck and bad draws. Macquarie were yet to put together a string of decent results despite a fundamentally sound team. They entered August on the back of a standout effort from their real breakout star of Midwinter, Adam Halliday. With 2013 star Harry Mahoney back in the fray to lend further height and power to proceedings, the Marauders finally had the muscle to match their guile and depth.

It was all Macquarie early as Halliday and then Mahoney dominated, sharing a majority of scores between them. As their inexperienced side got into the rhythm of the contest, UTS lifted. Beaters Sabeth Kastanias and Poya Heidari brought experience and once they were up and running, going blow for blow with the influential Maria Wizbicki and returned sensation Ana Barciela in particular, things evened out.

Kevin Yates and Christopher White both showed once again that they can easily be future superstars, denying some monster Macquarie runs courageously.

With John’s Ilacqua’s weathered wiliness to make the play, goals can always be found. UTS managed two on the board as a consequence, but it was too little too late as Macquarie’s depth was just too much for the eight-person squad and they slithered away to an eventual ninety point lead.

UTS improved markedly from the first minute to the last though and deserved some reward, which they got through Arthur Triantos’ snitch catch, ending the match 110-50 in favour of the Marauders.

The Nargles and Wollongong started their respective days against each other. It was clear from the outset, given even the most general analysis of the two teams, that the match would be all about whether Wollongong’s sturdy defence and top class beating could deny the powerful Nargle chasers who were no doubt going to control proceedings.

This is exactly how it proved and the answer, happily, was pretty much yes they could, initially. Only Gary Hague’s muscular early surge split the teams for most of the first ten minutes.  Aman Nalli was devastating in midfield, destroying all before him and handing the Warriors a clear beating advantage, thanks also to Morgan Legg’s tightness at the back. The Nargles’ struggled to get a second bludger, thanks almost entirely to Nalli’s dexterity and despite some fearless energy in the line of fire from Andy Cruwys. They did however use the one they had to good effect. Oscar Cozens was deadly on his keeper line, snuffing out any chances Wollongong threatened to develop.

The Nargles’ chaser firepower was therefore enough in time, with Hague and Matt Armstrong making it 30-0 before one of the more comical degenerations of a match in recent times took hold.

The next five minutes saw just one goal but an astonishing five yellow cards, including two each for the subsequently excluded Josh Chicharo and Zaz Neulinger, denying each team one of their more impactful chasers.

Once play finally got going into any kind of rhythm, Brandon Heldt gave Wollongong a deserved first score, but the Nargles’ had too much depth, with Danny Fox and Nathan Askey-Doran doing the late work, pulling them 60-10 clear.

Jacob Fleming then snapped a magnificent standing catch of the unlucky passing snitch to tighten the scoreline, but the Nargles were safely home, 60-40.

The Weasleys’ third Triwizard campaign started with the tough ask of facing an in form UWS unit, fresh with new blood and complete with all their old troops after some recent attendance dramas. Seeing Weasley captain Arfy Papadam line up against his regular team-mates is always a pleasure, for there is both a mutual respect and spirited rivalry which clearly provides the greatest interest in an otherwise one-sided clash.

The Weasleys’ brought a tight and actually quite experienced unit of ten, defined by their unusual but therefore potentially effective balance of female beaters and big and powerful all-guy chasers. The chaser team was less experienced together though, with Papadam and his most experienced lieutenant Craig Cockcroft making the greatest impact. Not unexpectedly, Papadam scored both Weasley goals but by then UWS were easily home.

As they often do, UWS employed the strategy of Hannah Monty beating against lesser opposition, which is effective given that Monty’s experience and talent is such that against any but the very best beaters, she is still the most dominant force on field.

Corey Ingold-Dawes led the chaser game, charging effortlessly to a major haul of goals, with Stephen Butler proving to be his most proficient lieutenant in a semi-rare chasing cameo. Arfy Papadam did manage the satisfaction of scoring the goal of the game, the day, and possibly more though. Hemmed in near his keeper zone by two encroaching bludgers and with no free forward chaser, the Weasley captain had no option but to throw a pure speculator in the general direction of goal, more than 25m away. It fired straight through and the Weasleys were on the board.

UWS were never troubled though, easily beating the undisgraced but inevitably outclassed rookies 160-20.

Macquarie vs Sydney was perhaps the hardest match to pick of the day. Both have underperformed relative to their impressive rosters. If you had to make a pick you would say that Sydney, with their American experience, rapidly improving depth and leadership setup should have just about enough supremacy in a physical game to do the job. But Macquarie played a smart game to beat them in the trenches of a scratchy May clash and more than anything they are a confidence team. Confidence was high after their big UTS win first-up, so they came out strong.

The Unspeakables can always be trusted to stop goals and even without Luke Derrick they were impressive at the back, with Lachlan Chisholm bullying the oncoming Marauder chasers with his bludgers.

Stand-in captain Cameron Brown was inevitably and brilliantly the most dramatic influence on the chaser game, with an amazing four goal burst in two minutes taking Sydney to a 50-30 lead by the release of the seekers. The ultra-experienced Belinda Toohey and Kathryn Cooper also stood up, filling the leadership void.

Macquarie of course had two of their own pieces of tall timber to respond with and a pair of goals each for Halliday and Mahoney brought things level again.

Macquarie were continuing to make most of the play and Scott Palmer effectively found space for his forward chasers, particularly the fighting Amber Williams. But Sydney were unbowed, keeping it to 50-50 and guaranteeing the snitch catch would decide things. Conveniently though, Macquarie have the services of Daniel Commander and Leslie Fox, either of whom would serve any team very nicely. After spending the UTS game in the able secondary role of being a top notch relief chaser, it was Fox’s turn this time to go after the snitch. Fox’s catch took Macquarie to 80-50 for their second win of what was now their most successful game day of the year.

The last game before lunch saw the Nargles face the ultimate challenge of UNSW. On paper the Snapes shouldn’t have had too much trouble but the Nargles’ chaser line-up at present can live with anyone. A less developed Nargle unit had also pushed UNSW hard at May Triwizard, but it was against a largely second string side who underestimated the unknown quantity facing them.

There was no complacency this time, with all the UNSW big guns taking to the field and making an immediate impact. Captain Kapoor won the opening exchanges by scoring and though his opposite number Danny Fox quickly equalised, Andrew Culf and Minh Diep assured UNSW of early supremacy.

The score did not move from 30-10 for a long while though as the Nargles’ battened down the hatches. The chaser game was as frenetic as one would expect, but the Nargle beater game was doing a highly creditable job in living with the powerhouse Snapes. Oscar Cozens once again impressed and is quickly developing into the Nargles’ key beating leader.

A tough disallow on Gary Hague’s apparent tenth minute goal did not help as the competitive but increasingly frustrated Nargles struggled to find a path to goal. Eventually UNSW took things to a place of safety, finally going beyond the snitch margin approaching the fifteen minute mark.

With their greater depth in numbers and quality, the Snapes were increasingly in control late, moving out to a 70-10 advantage before Emmanuel Berkowicz’s snatch confirmed yet another barely representative lopsided margin. 100-10 said far more about the Snapes than the Nargles certainly.

 *

It was an early finish to UWS’ day, with a third match straight after lunch against Wollongong. There was zero complacency this time against a tough nut of a unit to crack, with UWS playing all their best cards early.

Corey Ingold-Dawes again pounced straight from brooms up, but a piercing counter-punch from Ezekiel Azib levelled the scores almost immediately.

Riskily but smartly, the Warriors shook up their beater stocks, avoiding predictability by withholding their obvious choices Nalli and Legg, forcing Butler and Wright to re-adjust and deal with the unknown pairing of Niamh Joyce and Daniel Nesbitt. Given the UWS tendency to plant with the bludgers, the inexperienced Warrior pairing actually found themselves with a lot of room to move and made quite an impact, slowing down what would otherwise have been devastating progress from the well-oiled UWS chasers and restricting them to three early goals.

Wollongong’s chasers were more cohesive than ever before, combining brilliantly and creating more threats on goal than UWS might have expected. Brandon Heldt and Jacob Fleming brought play out from the back and managed to consistently find Nicole Cabrera, who somehow finds herself in the right position every time and can always be relied upon to make a difficult take. Nicole Langridge was back from a long injury layoff and seemed intent to make up for lost time, pugnaciously scrapping as the first line of defence and coming back harder with every winding blow.

The UWS structure was just too solid though. They found a way to keep Wollongong to 10 and you can’t score one goal and expect to compete with UWS. Their goal-scoring prowess is such that no matter how well you’re playing, they will rack up points. So they inevitably did, with another Hannah Monty hat-trick leading the way and some quality late contributions from the newer breed of Juan Demin and Jeff Howard who took the lead beyond one hundred. Mitchell Tudor took on the job of catching the snitch this time, his snatch wrapping up the match 150-10.

Sydney were next to finish their day, against Newcastle. After one smashing and one painful tight defeat, the Unspeakables were desperate for a win here. Newcastle also needed to perform too, having been below their best against UWS and wanting to affirm to all that they are now a force at the very top of the game.

After a slow and even start, Newcastle began to take slight control, starting with Ryan Hanwright’s goal. The Fireballs were managing Unspeakable superstar Cameron Brown brilliantly, marking him largely out of the game. Ajantha Abey took up much of the slack and scored a quality goal, before Shara Longbotham’s effort tensed Newcastle nerves further. Still though, Sydney didn’t have the penetration to break through Newcastle’s ironically American style defence and increasingly efficient beating, with Ben Keough and Jordan Hunt more than ably covering the mid-afternoon loss of Joel Murphy before this match.

Newcastle looked the better team but Sydney’s defensive spirit and will to win was remarkable. The Unspeakables were utterly unmovable, with the Fireballs firing raid upon raid at the goal but being constantly denied by stellar defence, their own poor finishing, and a little bit of misfortune from the officials’ calls.

Jason Taylor continued to grow impressively into his role as Newcastle’s latest power chaser, helping set up up Liam Dawson for his first goal of the day and being unlucky not to manage one of his own. Taylor’s cautioning arrested further momentum away from the frustrated Fireballs, who despite their domination were only a single goal up. 30-20 presented an opportunity for an increasingly confidence and proud Sydney outfit and the experienced and powerful Isabella Moore didn’t let them down, catching the snitch to hand Sydney a dramatic and emotional 50-30 win.

The Nargles and Weasleys first squared off back at the Macarthur team’s first ever tournament in March. It was the Weasleys who won on that occasion as well and although they brought their biggest and most impressive unit that day and have only improved further still, they are nevertheless still the minnows of NSW quidditch for the moment. Nothing can better illustrate the progress of the Nargles than remembering this early loss, with the Canberra team having gone from unranked cellar dwellers who couldn’t match fellow growth teams from Macarthur and UTS, to a major threat who have made genuine waves with their results against top opposition from both NSW and Victoria.

This was obviously the Nargles’ game to lose and they quickly took the reins, making sure to take any threat of an upset off the table. Both teams play the same highly unusual formation, based around an armoury of big, strong and quick chasers and anchored by a troupe of reliable and experienced female beaters. Teenage sensations Alli and Julia Baston continue to improve with game time and age, while Aleena Ali and Clare Thorn quickly developed a strong understanding on defence.

But the Nargles just had too much quality in both departments, with Danny Fox and Gary Hague dominating the quaffle game and the growing young Weasley beater unit not quite having enough to deal with the nimble rotating Nargle set. New recruit Lee Shu Ying showed particular guile, with a quiet but deceptively brilliant game, showing an intelligence and economy of beats rarely seen in such a raw rookie.

After a relatively tight start, the middle exchanges saw the Nargles pull well clear, but the Weasleys rallied. Debutant Ben Towers was the Weasley revelation of this contest, leading the way alongside his captain Papadam and putting the Nargles under some late pressure on the pitch, if not on the scoreboard. Craig Cockcroft then snuck a sneaky snatch well and truly against the run of play to add further respectability, but nevertheless, 140-70 was still a convincing margin for the Nargles.

After a long break, UTS finally lined up for their second game of the day, against UNSW.  There was respect but therefore no mercy from the Snapes, who made sure to start with a top tier line-up. Andrew Culf was consequently present to make his inevitable impact, but a quick opener was all UNSW could manage in the first few minutes.

UTS fought hard, improving markedly from their first game as would have been their primary objective, putting defensive pressure on the less sinuous than usual Snapes. It took the best part of five minutes for Culf’s second, while a quick brace from Minh Diep took things to relative safety at 50-10, even despite some trademark power from John Ilacqua to deservedly put UTS on board.

Still though, UNSW could not effortlessly pull clear. Though they were clearly improved, the Opaleyes’ efforts nevertheless provided a greater insight into just how slick Macquarie were today, for they put UTS to bed with far greater efficiency than the higher rated UNSW were managing.

The second wave eventually did the trick, though they were helped by a fatiguing UTS naturally fading as time passed. Michael Thomson compiled a slick hat-trick while James Clarke was unlucky not to, scoring two and setting up more. Meanwhile, Midwinter breakout star Leigh Morrell kept things safe at the back, also finding time to score a goal of his own.

They had to work for it, but it was all UNSW in the end, with Emmanuel Berkowicz’s catch ending proceedings 140-10.

Macquarie and Wollongong have shared a good rivalry in recent times defined by the similarity of each contest’s balance. You can firmly rely on a Marauders vs Warriors showdown to feature powerful bursts of Macquarie offence, steadfast Wollongong defence and a subsequent low-scoring stalemate.

This trend played out more dramatically than ever on this occasion. Aman Nalli was back front and centre to control his beating domain, but had a hard time against the dynamic duo of Ana Barciela and Maria Wizbicki’s newfound beater bond. Scott Palmer was the dominant playmaker early, ensuring the expected Macquarie possession predominance. But no one could score. Palmer and Nick Burton continually went close while the counterattacking Warriors also got within inches. But as ten minutes approached it was still 0-0.

At long last it was Rebecca Hibberd, whose nimbleness and fight stood out all game in centre field, who deservedly broke the deadlock in the ninth minute. Ezekiel Azib then broke clear and scored at a crucial time as he so often does, but a quick reply from Harry Mahoney restored Macquarie’s lead.

The Marauders did well to survive a shorthanded minute after Andrew Emmerson was cautioned, then took control through Palmer and the unleashed Mahoney, who had been wisely held back. They managed two goals each and by the twenty minute mark, Macquarie led 50-10.

It was still a nervous situation for the Marauders, who were one Warrior goal then snatch away from overtime, but those nerves never show in the steely face of Daniel Commander. His hunger for snitch tags in unrivalled in the country and he was too good as usual, his merciless pressure sending the panicked snitch into a hasty retreat. Commander waited for his moment then seized it, springing on the snitch and coming up with the goods, to finish an 80-10 win for Macquarie.

The great old rivals from the north and south beyond Sydney at long last got a chance to meet at this Triwizard, in their first ranked contest for almost two years. Newcastle vs Nargles promised much, with both teams impressing heavily enough in recent months to suggest that they are no longer in a transition phase but instead are legitimately in the game. There can be no more excuses of inexperience, growth or some ‘honeymoon period’ for either.

Both teams did still have a fresh feel about them though. This was in part due to the impressive performance of the Nargle rookies, with their new chasers Clara Barrs and Harris Law Yee Fat especially stepping up in this, their fourth game of the steep learning curve that is a first career game day.

The new look in the Fireball ranks came from a change-up in philosophy, rather necessitated by the under-performance in their first two losses. Still struggling with injury, James Mortensen was sensationally employed for the seemingly foreign purpose of beating, alongside beating stalwart Tom Russell, stepping out of his keeper shoes and back in time. This left usual beater Amy Ey and sprightly rookie chaser Holly Cairncross to work up front together, in a new arrangement which worked wonders.

It was all Newcastle early. Mortensen and Russell’s power beating effectively dulled the impact of the Nargle beaters, though Oscar Cozens still controlled the back third enough to limit Newcastle to three goals in the first ten minutes. All three of these goals belonged to Marcus Bradtke and when he added yet another then set up Liam Dawson, the Fireballs were 50-10 up and drawing away.

The Nargles had more to give though, while Newcastle were short one of their best as Ryan Hanwright was taken out and off with the gnarliest of dislocated fingers. Nathan Askey-Doran was the dominant chasing force late in the game, with a step none could get near. He scored one of his own, though not before the eye-catching Law Yee Fat sped to a brilliant solo strike.

50-30 meant it was anyone’s game and it was nervous times for Newcastle, given their lack of experienced seekers compared to the Nargles’ imposing dearth. But Liam Dawson made his second quality snatch of the day, taking Newcastle narrowly over the line, 80-30.

After the climax of Newcastle’s tough win over the Nargles, the denouement of UTS vs Macarthur came. Though this represented NSW’s closest thing to a bottom of the ladder clash, both teams had impressed in patches today and stepped up now the big opportunity to win a game was there.

It was anyone’s game early, with goals spread evenly and slow to come by. Sabeth Kastanias and Poya Heidari’s vast experience was controlling the bludgers for UTS, but the Weasleys’ six-strong unit of hulking chasers was still a big threat. Blake Stone was standing up this time, alongside the now established leader Ben Towers.

As the match wore on, bludger control began to shift. Alli and Julia Baston have improved rapidly with every game they’ve played, across the six months of Triwizard play this year and throughout this day alone. But they stepped up to another level on this occasion, forcefully taking bludger control, keeping it and using it efficiently. Improvement on that kind of scale is an advantage of youth and it is scary to think how good they might be in ten years, when they are the age of many of their current opponents.

With space to roam free, the Weasley chasers were unstoppable and a 40-30 lead quickly blossomed to 100-40, then beyond. Aleena Ali continued the good work of the Baston sisters, refusing to relinquish bludger control back to the frustrated Opaleyes.

A slippery snitch prolonged the game well beyond twenty minutes, which only further tipped the scales in the direction of the resourcefully rotating Weasleys. After chasing like a veteran earlier, Blake Stone completed his performance with the match-ending catch, as the Weasleys took a landmark big win, 180-60.

Results

Throughout July, our Drop Bears represented Australia with great distinction on their way to a sensational runner-up finish at the 2014 Global Games in Vancouver, BC, Canada on July 19. Only the still unstoppable Americans were beyond the Australian team, who brilliantly upset both the highly fancied United Kingdom side and accomplished hosts Canada on their way to a dream showdown in the Final against America’s greatest superstars.

The journey had started a week earlier in Los Angeles when our team first made waves and caught international attention with an impressive run deep into the Sunday Finals at the West Fantasy Tournament. Against a quality roll call of hundreds of experienced American quidkids, as well as many Team USA and Team UK stars, Australia won three of four matches in their group. The team was then won their first knockout final Sunday on Sunday morning as-well, before going out at the Quarter Final stage. Ironically and impressively, it was a team that Australia topped on Saturday who went on to win the tournament.

Then came the feature event, as Australia faced six other national teams at quidditch’s biggest ever international event. Our boys and girls overcame some slow starts against less fancied but spirited opponents to win three from three as predicted in the morning session. No game was more remarkable than the first against France, where Australia overcame the blow of a French snitch catch which took proceedings to overtime at 90-90, with an astonishing seven goal burst to win 160-90 after the extra five minutes expired with the snitch unconquered.

Australia’s big challenges lay after lunch and it was in these games that Australia’s fighting spirit came to the fore, with their defence matching up to the always mighty scoring firepower. ‘

It was dramatic deja-vu when a UK snitch catch levelled the fourth match at fifty-all, but Australia triumphed in overtime thanks to Dameon Osborn’s capture. Andrew Culf was our greatest chasing hero all day, particularly in that game, and he topped Australia’s goal-scoring count with 10. But his enforced absence from the showdown with Canada through injury just reinforced the quality and spirit present through the whole team.

Against all the odds, Australia rose again, defeating the heavily fancied hosts 70-40 in the battle for second place, booking a place in the final against the United States.

The two teams first faced off in the final group game, with Australia fighting hard in a gallant and creditable performance, going down 130-20. Unfortunately the final was a step too far with the United States winning 210-0, but they are of course on a different level to the rest of the world. Australia though, have been definably crowned as the very best throughout the rest of that world.

The AQA and the Drop Bears team would like to thank Australia’s quidditch community for so enthusiastically contributing their money and support to this epic journey and hope that all our donators feel proud and rewarded for their efforts by the amazing performance.

The AQA can confirm that all merchandise orders have been placed and most, such as water bottles and headbands, will soon be dispatched to their purchasers. As for the prized team jerseys, their ETA is late August to the order address, at which point they will be immediately dispatched.

Further information on order progress will be forthcoming and can also be sought on our AQA Facebook page and groups.

AUSTRALIA’S RESULTS

West Fantasy

Red 110* – Australia 20

Australia 110* – Gray 80

Australia 70* – Cyan 20

Australia 90* – Black 70

SECOND ROUND – Australia 110* – Black 50

QUARTER FINAL – Red 90* – Australia 80

Global Games

Australia 160(90) – France 90(90*)

Australia 140* – Mexico 70

Australia 160* – Belgium 0

Australia 80^(50) – United Kingdom 50(50*)

Australia 70* – Canada 40

United States 130* – Australia 20

FINAL – United States 210* – Australia 0

Full West Fantasy Results

Full Global Games Results

Game 1 – Newcastle vs Wollongong

As they did in the inaugural 2012 tournament, the Fireballs and Warriors opened Midwinter 2014. These teams have made rather a habit of playing each other early on Saturday mornings at major tournaments, usually resulting in Newcastle victory. But Wollongong won the last time the two teams met in April and brought a far more experienced side to the party.

It was therefore no surprise that it was tight early. Newcastle had the greater firepower, but they were plagued by the teething problems inherent in blooding a new team. It was the underdogs who spent more time in the early lead.

The first goal of the tournament was scored by Ezekiel Azib. James Mortensen quickly equalised and combined with Matt Ingram to share the early Fireball goals. But Wollongong captain Jacob Fleming was a class act, responding in kind and preserving a 30-20 lead before the balance began to shift.

Newcastle’s control of the chaser game was negated by some poor late options and by the brilliant dexterity of Aman Nalli and the rotating guile of Hannah Davidson and Morgan Legg at the back. The Warriors’ beaters made Newcastle’s rookie bludging roster look slightly out of their depth early, which was enough to keep them well in the contest for an extended period.

Mortensen was ruthless, piling up seven goals, but still they were not safe. Four in reply to Fleming led the charge as Wollongong kept things in range at 90-60 approaching the twenty minute mark.

The passage of time was Wollongong’s enemy though. With only nine to play with, the Fireballs’ depth, especially in the beating game, slowly redressed the balance. Newcastle just needed one more breakout to get clear and bring things home, so up stepped the unknown quantity of debutant Mitch McMahon, whose quick and powerful hat-trick relaxed the situation. Joshua Naismith’s subsequent snatch then wrapped it up, 150-60.

Newcastle – 150*: J.Mortensen 7, M.McMahon 3, M.Ingram 2 goals, J.Naismith Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 60: J.Fleming 4, E.Azib, J.Simpson goals

 Game 2 – UNSW vs Macquarie

Australia’s No.1 ranked team opened their campaign against a packed but by their standards inexperienced Marauders squad. On paper it was obvious that UNSW had the squad depth to effectively cover the absence of their Global Games five. Phil Vankerkoerle and Michael Thomson were always going to stand out, but it was keeper Leigh Morrell who made the greatest early impact, skilfully defending against a number of early Marauder threats then powerfully countering.

UNSW’s starting seven remained as formidable as ever. Emily Webster was stellar in defence before running quality lines behind the hoops in support of her playmakers, while the scrummaging Nick Allan and planting Holly Shuttleworth were a perfect beating combination.

Adam Halliday was proving to be Macquarie’s standout chaser and he managed to put them on the board six minutes in. But UNSW were already thirty up and quickly drew further away.

The Marauders’ attack was far from ineffective, with Kieran Tolley on top form and matching Allan, clearing Dan Phipps an initial channel to carry the quaffle forward. But they could not break into the opposition half, thanks mainly to a curiously high defensive line held by the UNSW chasers. It was a radical strategy, especially on the occasions where keeper Morrell would push beyond halfway with his chasers, but it was smart and it was effective. With Phipps unable to break through, his brilliant burrowers up forward were not sufficiently in play.

UNSW meanwhile pounced again and again, their textbook counter-attacks putting the game well and truly to bed. By the catch of the snitch, the Snapes were over a hundred clear, but Daniel Commander at least brought thirty points back for the Marauders with his capture.

UNSW – 120: M.Thomson 5, L.Morrell 4, P.Vankerkoerle 2, A.Tembe goals

Macquarie – 40*: A.Halliday goal, D.Commander Snitch Catch

Game 3 – Newcastle vs Victory Belles

The tournament’s wildcard opened their campaign against the hosts. The Victory Belles unified some best bits of UWS and Sydney, topped off by Victorian icing. But there was never going to be anything sweet and fancy about this game. The Victory Belles brought the most decorated beater lineup in the competition, while Newcastle’s chaser-based defensive structure can be impenetrable at its best.

The scoring was opened by Daniel Ormshaw, who burst clear from his own keeper zone with no beaters home. Marcus Bradtke equalised for Newcastle, in the middle of a sustained stint of intense pressure which Bradtke was front and centre in applying. The rising star was the most damaging chaser of the game through its early exchanges, yet still the score remained 10-10 after ten minutes.

The Newcastle chasers were overpowering their rivals, but it was the emphatic beating supremacy of Christian Barquin, Stephen Butler and Lachlan Chisholm which was defining proceedings.

Ormshaw scored once again to restore the Victory Belles lead, but they were caught on the hop by Mortensen who retaliated before they could retreat and restored the equilibrium. Newcastle then took their first lead through Matt Ingram, but there was far worse news to be had for Newcastle’s tournament, as Ingram went down in the process, damaging a knee and ruling him out for the rest of the weekend.

After the long stoppage, Ormshaw quickly completed his hat-trick and it was 30-30, only for Mortensen to counter-attack Newcastle’s way back into the lead once more. But snitch decisiveness was inevitable for this match and it was Christian Barquin who won that contest, handing his team a huge win and the tournament’s first tangible upset.

Victory Belles – 60*: D.Ormshaw 3 goals, C.Barquin Snitch Catch

Newcastle – 40: J.Mortensen 2, M.Bradtke, M.Ingram goals

Game 4 – UNSW vs Wollongong

UNSW’s opening win blew away any doubts over their title credentials, so they were always going to be a difficult task for Wollongong. But the battle was uphill enough without the relative incapacitation of Hannah Davidson, who suffered an arm injury against Newcastle. Morgan Legg filled the void ably in her goal line bludger defence, mirroring the steadfast and pinpoint Holly Shuttleworth who swept up at the other end with her one bludger. This left the powerhouse that is Nick Allan to take possession of the third bludger in centre-field and engage in supreme combat against Aman Nalli’s off the ball brilliance.

Meanwhile, a quaffle contest was still happening. The Warriors’ beaters were doing just about enough to neutralise their contest, but unfortunately you need more than neutral against UNSW, who simply controlled proceedings through their chasers instead.

Once again the spoils were shared, with Vankerkoerle, Morrell and Thomson each formidable individually and nearly unstoppable working together. With such quality but equal firepower across the board, it was the intelligence and structure of UNSW’s play that stood out, as their unusual lack of reliance on any smaller set of lead stars gave way to a smarter patient game.

By the ten minute mark, the trio had shared nine goals between them and the game was essentially over. However there was still time for Wollongong to fight and this they did with considerable aplomb.

It was a game of two distinct halves, with the Warriors falling back in defence and beginning to more than hold their own. UNSW’s chaser runs were still penetrative, but they could not get through and make the final killer blow.

Jacob Fleming put Wollongong deservedly on the board, while goals from Matthew Yuen and Emily Webster took the lead back beyond 100. The final fifteen minutes yielded only three Snape goals though, a defensive effort from the unmoved Warriors that any team would do well to match. 150-10 was not a margin they deserved, but thanks to Chris Rock’s snitch catch, it’s what they got.

UNSW – 150*: L.Morrell 5, M.Thomson 3, P.Vankerkoerle 2, M.Yuen, E.Webster goals, C.Rock Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 10: J.Fleming goal

Game 5 – Macquarie vs Victory Belles

Following their respective first up performances, the Victory Belles were justifiable favourites against Macquarie and would only get better, as they grew in confidence and coherence. The Marauders’ great strength is always their depth, which they expressed by shuffling around their starting line-up. The twin threats of Amber Williams and Allison Hore sat up forward, but they were fed with particular effectiveness thanks to the smart and increasingly dominant physicality of keeper Scott Palmer being brought forward to start.  Maria Wizbicki was also brought on to start alongside Kieran Tolley, continuing her recent shift towards regular beating.

It was the beaters who provided the greatest early entertainment. It was a low scoring match, with the chaser game progressing slowly and cagily, under the threatening eye of all the class beaters in play. Kieran Tolley and Christian Barquin’s personal clash was immense, as it so often is. But worries over Tolley’s apparent lack of support were put to bed thanks to the quality in depth shown by Wizbicki, Morgan Thorndyke and the improving and effective defender Helen Glover.

The standout chaser of the match was proving to be Victory Belle keeper Liam O’Callaghan, whose hat-trick slowly ground his team out to a 30-10 lead. Macquarie’s new breed of chasers, most notably Andrew Emmerson and Kieran Richards, were brilliantly agile in short bursts, nimbly finding their way into space. But Adam Halliday and Dan Phipps once again were the most powerful penetrators, scoring both of Macquarie’s goals as they kept in range.

Belinda Toohey and Kathryn Cooper worked hard in centre-field and got themselves into perfect forward positions to support O’Callaghan and Daniel Ormshaw’s frenetic attacks. Meredith Apps continued the good work on her competitive debut and was rewarded with a quality finish which reinforced the Victory Belle lead, but they were not yet out of snitch range. Christian Barquin therefore took it upon himself yet again, nabbing the catch and confirming victory.

Victory Belles – 70*: L.O’Callaghan 3, M.Apps goals, C.Barquin Snitch Catch

Macquarie – 20: A.Halliday, D.Phipps goals

Game 6 – UNSW vs Newcastle

The players paused following the first five matches, ostensibly for lunch. But with the Snapes and Fireballs scheduled to meet next, you would be forgiven for thinking games stopped just to build the tension before this ultimate of not-quite-grudge matches.

After a less than convincing morning, Newcastle needed to find another gear to push UNSW. But it was no surprise that they easily found one, taking an early 20-10 advantage through a pair of goals to keeper Mortensen. Joel Murphy was pushed up front to start for the first time, alongside and in front of the more defensive Jordan Hunt in what has fast become the Fireballs’ new standout combination. But it was the chasers and keeper doing the real defending, as has become Newcastle’s game. UNSW’s destructive threesome continued their punching forward, but they could just not get through and for ten minutes the score did not move.

The match slowed in pace and increased in scrappy intensity as it progressed. A quick pair of yellows to the rapidly acclimatising beater Ben Keough and the even more meteoric chaser Mitch McMahon were blows to the Fireball attack, but still their defence held firm.

After fifteen minutes, Vankerkoerle finally scored his team’s and his own second goal, then completed his hat-trick quickly afterwards. When Leigh Morrell made it 40-20, it was clear the momentum was shifting. Nick Allan and Holly Shuttleworth were the true catalysts for this, taking total control of the beater game.

UNSW were threatening to pull clear but by now the snitch was back. Chris Rock vs Joshua Naismith was inevitably a titanic but also ferocious encounter, with Naismiths’s pure speed countered by Rock’s brilliant bullying of the snitch. It was Rock who made the decisive catch and so the better team, albeit narrowly, deservedly won.

UNSW – 70*: P.Vankerkoerle 3, L.Morrell goals, C.Rock Snitch Catch

Newcastle – 20: J.Mortensen 2 goals

Game 7 – Macquarie vs Wollongong

After two morning losses each, this match marked the one big chance of a Saturday win for the Marauders and Warriors. Adam Halliday won the quaffle at brooms up and with no beaters yet home and no-one able to stop his sheer size and speed, it was duly 10-0 to Macquarie after just a few seconds.

That was pretty much that as far as goals were concerned though, as the match proceeded towards a state of total stalemate. Jacob Fleming’s eventual equaliser was cancelled out soon after by a Kieran Richards strike, then nothing for ten further minutes.

Both teams either matched or mirrored each other for physical and tactical strength. The Marauders made all the running with the quaffle, but the Warriors’ defence was an equal force in opposition. Both teams employed firmly planting beaters, as Thorndyke and Glover matched Davidson and Legg from faraway. Kieran Tolley and Aman Nalli were left forward to annoy each other with equally raucous aplomb.

The end result of this collection of impasses was a very open centre-field, through which Macquarie generally brought possession, coming slowly and patiently forward as they always do. Wollongong would then stop them at the goal face and pounce quickly on the counter, only for Macquarie’s beaters to stop them in turn.

Adam Halliday scored another to put Macquarie 30-10 up. Ultimately, Halliday was the only real difference between the two teams. He scored two, which was the Marauders’ lead by snitch time. Even fatigue and depth could not split the two teams, which was a remarkable effort for Wollongong considering their nine was barely half the size of the Marauder squad.

Given the state of the game, it was curious that Daniel Commander was not pursuing the snitch when it came down to it. Instead, the total mystery factor of Leslie Fox was employed for the purpose. But there was a vague buzz surrounding Commander’s potential protégé, which was vindicated right when it mattered. Fox beat the always difficult Ezekiel Azib to the snitch catch and took Macquarie home to victory.

Macquarie – 60*: A.Halliday 2, K.Richards goals, L.Fox Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 10: J.Fleming goal

Game 8 – UNSW vs Victory Belles

With both teams as yet undefeated, this was the top of the table clash to decide Saturday supremacy.

The Victory Belles had done just about enough to beat Macquarie and stayed in snitch range against a still building Newcastle, but UNSW was an altogether different prospect. The Phil, Leigh and Michael show continued, as they each scored in the first, second and third minutes respectively. Bianca Connell pushed forward and managed the Victory-Belles’ first reply, but 30-10 was an emphatic early statement after just four minutes.

Once the initial flood had passed through, the game tightened. Four goals in the first four minutes were followed by none in the next eight as the Victory Belles stood firm against raid after raid from the UNSW chasers.

As time passed, the Victory Belles began to look increasingly competitive thanks to their beater depth. Barquin and Butler’s quality is known but the level did not drop in the long term thanks to Lachlan Chisholm and Emma Morris’ added work. Chisholm was somewhat of a revelation, given he is usually employed by the Unspeakables as a chaser. But having brought a whole set of experienced and consistent chasers for this weekend, it was beaters which Sydney were short of providing, so Chisholm stepped up to a role he clearly has trained extensively for. Morris smartly dulled the impact of UNSW’s most gamechanging beater Nick Allan, frustrating him particularly with her close range catching prowess.

Shortly before the snitch return, UNSW at long last added a fourth and were beginning to reassert their ascendancy. But overtime was still there to be had if the Victory Belles could somehow overcome Chris Rock. Sadly though, that was a near impossible task on this particular weekend and Rock’s catch sealed a solid 70-10 win for the Snapes On A Plane.

UNSW – 70*: P.Vankerkoerle 2, L.Morrell, M.Thomson goals, C.Rock Snitch Catch

Victory Belles – 10: B.Connell goal

Game 9 – Newcastle vs Macquarie

There was clear work to do for both the Fireballs and Marauders, after just one win from three matches each. This last Saturday match for both was crucial, with third place the prize. Defeat for either would consign them to a Sunday morning knockout match with Wollongong and a sudden death run to glory.

Unsurprisingly, goals were hard to come by in this match too. Newcastle were controlling the play. The Marauders just did not have the firepower to get through the immense quaffle defence of the Fireballs, but Newcastle were not able to pounce easily in reply thanks to Macquarie’s beaters and the wall that was Dan Phipps.

The first ten minutes were a bizarre sight to behold, with both teams visibly keeping their cards close to their chest and their aces in the pocket. The Fireballs withheld their most experienced beaters, with Joel Murphy kept on ice to have a later impact when Kieran Tolley needed a rest or fatigued on field without one. But the Marauders outsmarted Newcastle, holding Tolley back.

It took five minutes for James Mortensen to finally open the scoring, with Adam Halliday quickly equalising. Little else followed for either team as stalemate reigned, but the Fireballs greater size slowly ground the Marauders down. Mortensen managed the first four goals by himself, with only one counter-strike from Phipps. Desany Phanoraj’s first goal of the tournament took Newcastle’s lead to thirty and briefly it went beyond but again Macquarie rallied, keeping it in range at 60-30.

If anything, chaser momentum was now with the Marauders, whose courage somehow kept them in a game Newcastle looked for all money like they should be winning easily. The Fireballs had finally unleashed all their beating aces though. Murphy and Ben Keough muscled control out of Marauding chaser hands, while also expertly isolating Joshua Naismith with the snitch. The Newcastle captain duly did his job and safely guided his team home 90-30.

Newcastle – 90*: J.Mortensen 5, D.Phanoraj goal, J.Naismith Snitch Catch

Macquarie – 30: A.Halliday, D.Phipps, A.Emmerson goals

Game 10 – Victory Belles vs Wollongong

Saturday came to a somewhat leisurely conclusion with a meandering match between the Victory Belles and Wollongong. Final positions on the ladder could not be altered regardless of this result, but the Warriors had a lot to play for. They looked to come out of the day with a win they would richly deserve, if only as reward for how efficiently they had utilised their limited resources to maximum effect.

The Victory Belles’ expected beater supremacy was not quite there early given their leisurely approach to the match, but Liam O’Callaghan was the standout chaser in play. Wollongong defended well but did not have the power of O’Callaghan or Ormshaw who drew their team away to a 30-10 lead. It was Christian Barquin who scored next though, having a rare turn with quaffle in hand.

If there was any doubt that the Victory Belles were saving their bacon to an extent, it was confirmed when Barquin’s effort was followed up by the absurd concept of a goal to Stephen Butler.

To his credit, Butler was penetrative in his lines and both he and Barquin managed second goals, taking the margin to sixty. It was surprising to see Wollongong falling away given their own beater quality should have been more than enough to control a game without Butler and Barquin present. But Chisholm and Morris were just too good again, effectively neutralising proceedings and opening space for their chasers.

Again, the Warriors belied their squad size with a quality late rally, narrowing the Victory Belle lead to 70-30 through Ezekiel Azib, who completed a spectacular hat-track, celebrated effusively then promptly went down injured. The Victory Belles were never in danger though, Butler completing his quality match by moving into seeker and making the catch.

Victory Belles – 100*: L.O’Callaghan 2, C.Barquin 2, S.Butler 2, D.Ormshaw goals, S.Butler Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 30*: E.Azib 3 goals

RESULTS

POINTS TABLE

 Qualifying Final – Victory Belles vs Newcastle

Sunday saw all five teams return to fight for glory through the iconic top five playoffs system made famous within Australian Rugby League competition of past decades. First up, the surprise second placed finishers from Saturday played the underperforming hosts.

When they met 24 hours earlier, the Victory Belles snuck a snitch catch win in a low-scoring thriller. But Newcastle looked the vaguely better team and were clearly not yet at their best, so it would be a bigger ask to overcome them this time. Recognising the need to do something different and spurred on by the relative success of the experiment against Wollongong, Victory Belles captain Christian Barquin once again threw himself and his erstwhile beating partner Stephen Butler on to start as chasers. It was an astonishing move which reaped initial benefit when Barquin opened the scoring. The beater game was even enough early on to further justify the decision, but unfortunately, the chaser game was not such a close run thing.

James Mortensen equalised shortly after Barquin’s strike, before Liam Dawson, back to his best after a disruptive Saturday plagued by injury scares and ball-handling issues, dexterously broke clear to hand Newcastle the lead.

The Fireballs had too much strength in defence and too much speed in attack, with Phanoraj breaking clear from the back and building unstoppable momentum which allowed her to step and turn her way to a third Fireball goal.

Mortensen remained the defensive talisman, but Newcastle had so much more to offer in attack than they’d previously shown. Mitch McMahon made it four different goal-scorers out of four when he got on the end of yet another slick chaser drive.

Daniel Ormshaw and Bianca Connell kept it close with replies of their own and Nicola Gertler looked likely with a series of strong and frenetic forward charges. But Newcastle’s supreme back trio of Mortensen, Phanoraj and Marcus Bradtke held firm and did not let the Victory Belles through again. Simple counter-attack drives led to a goal each for all three and a comfortable looking lead for the Fireballs, which super-sub Ryan Hanwright made sure of with two bustling charges to goal of his own.

At 90-30, Newcastle were home and set up another mighty UNSW showdown, but captain Naismith got himself into the required zone for snitch hunting he would doubtlessly need for later with a quality catch.

Newcastle – 120*: J.Mortensen 2, D.Phanoraj 2, R.Hanwright 2, L.Dawson, M.McMahon, M.Bradtke goals, J.Naismith Snitch Catch

Victory Belles – 30: C.Barquin, D.Ormshaw, B.Connell goals

Elimination Final – Macquarie vs Wollongong

Macquarie and Wollongong’s second clash for the weekend would see one become the first team to drop out of the tournament. Their first encounter had been slow and beater dominated. For this second match, Wollongong’s nine had become an even more impossible eight with the loss of Brandon Heldt. Macquarie’s big out was star seeker Daniel Commander. But Heldt’s absence was structurally covered by the combined defensive pressure of Jacob Fleming and Huw Tomlinson, while Saturday showed they knew how to manage limited resources. Macquarie in turn had Leslie Fox to do the job for them, so the status quo had no reason to shift.

Inevitably then, this repeat match proceeded largely as the first had. Kieran Tolley and Aman Nalli dominated proceedings, with the combative Maria Wizbicki also getting forward and creating problems for Nalli. Davidson, Legg, Thorndyke and Glover’s combined defensive solidarity made scoring largely impossible again, with only Halliday breaking through in the first five minutes.

Macquarie’s attack took its familiar form, but with Allison Hore and Amber Williams both at the top of their game, it began to display a greater cutting edge as time passed. Williams’ lively runs opened space for Hore, who used her trademark perfect protection of quaffle possession to fight her way clear of defence and double the Macquarie lead.

It was in defence where the Marauders looked more dynamic and different though, pushing heavily forward beyond halfway. Again, Allison Hore stood out, utilising her forward attack position to put pressure on the Wollongong counter as it came out of zone. Her timely dispossession of the defensively brilliant Tomlinson just as he looked set to break clear on the counter further frustrated the scoreless Warriors.

As so often happens, Fleming had the class and guile to finally get clear and score Wollongong’s only goal of the match. Relief chaser Nick Burton then used his power well to add a Marauder third, but the returned snitch was to decide everything. It was all over in seconds though, with Fleming unable to muster a meaningful challenge thanks to an amazing no-fuss grab from Leslie Fox. Fox belied the tradition of diving dramatics with an enormously efficient standing snatch to seal victory by the repeat margin of 60-10.

Macquarie – 60*: A.Halliday, A.Hore, N.Burton goals, L.Fox Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 10: J.Fleming goal

Major Semi Final – UNSW vs Newcastle

After their undefeated Saturday afforded them a Sunday morning sleep-in, UNSW lined up for the first time against a slowly gelling Newcastle outfit who were much improved in their first up win over the Victory Belles win. A win here would book one team into the first Grand Final spot, while sending the other to a Preliminary Final encounter against either the Victory Belles or Macquarie, either of whom both would feel confident of beating.

So with not a lot to lose, it was time to go all out. To combat the speed and strength of the UNSW chasers Newcastle went for sheer size, starting Mortensen, McMahon and Hanwright alongside the more diminutive but no less defensively resolute Desany Phanoraj. The strategy paid off handsomely and immediately, with two goals on the board inside the first minute, then a third shortly afterwards when McMahon busted robustly through the Snapes’ left side defence.

Newcastle were dominating the chaser game early but some powerful work by Nick Allan up forward bought his chasers some space and Leigh Morrell quickly added two goals in a matter of seconds. Hanwright replied in turn, but momentum was with UNSW now as captain Michael Thomson then Morrell again leveled the scores at 40-40.

This second time of asking was turning into the blue riband match of the tournament that Saturday had promised to be but failed to deliver on. Phil Vankerkoerle briefly handed UNSW their first lead, before Hanwright scored again, finishing brilliantly on brooms up after a perfect setup from Kathleen Kerr, yet another rookie rising to the occasion with a best performance yet when it mattered.

With UNSW’s beaters needing relief, the safe hands of Chiani Sharma gamely kept up the fight. But the Fireball beater game was finally ticking at its best. Murphy and Keough dominated with their third bludger retrieval and merciless execution and Jordan Hunt and Amy Ey cleaned up any UNSW raid. The late lack of Nick Allan to control bludger possession further tipped the scales towards Newcastle, but it meant his power as a chaser could be utilised and he once again returned UNSW to the lead.

At 60-50 beyond the twenty minute mark, a decisive snitch catch looked inevitable. With both sets of beaters increasingly distracted, McMahon completed his impressive hat-trick, followed quickly by a lead-protecting reply from Morrell. But then Josh Naismith popped suddenly out of the bushes, arms aloft in triumph at an off-field snitch catch which dramatically won the game for the delirious hosts.

Newcastle – 90*: M.McMahon 3, R.Hanwright 2, J.Mortensen goals, J.Naismith Snitch Catch

UNSW – 70: L.Morrell 4, M.Thomson, P.Vankerkoerle, N.Allan goals

Minor Semi Final – Victory Belles vs Macquarie

UNSW now awaited either the Victory Belles or Macquarie, who ended the morning session with their sudden death showdown. Saturday form suggested the Victory Belles should be favourites and Liam O’Callaghan showed why, again dominating the early exchanges of a match. An Adam Halliday reply kept Macquarie in range, as did their solid beater defence, but the Victory Belles had the superior chaser movement, impressively so given their inexperience playing together as a single team.

Goals to Bianca Connell and Daniel Ormshaw before the ten minute mark established further control, before O’Callaghan completed his hat-trick and put the Marauders forty points down.

Thanks no doubt to the influence of their captain Barquin, the Victory Belles approached their play with a tactical process that can best be described as ‘YOLO’. The freedom bred quality, with frenetic and penetrative attack, but it also bred some confused defence which let Macquarie in. The increasingly slick Marauders looked their most threatening yet all weekend, but only some faulty finishing and desperate scrambling defence from Ormshaw kept them to just one more surging Halliday score.

At 50-20, the weekend’s longest stoppage in play came after Maria Wizbicki took a blow to the head. It was bad news for both teams. The Marauders were of course concerned for the health of their fallen inspiration, while the stoppage scuppered the momentum that the Victory Belles had wrested back. Ajantha Abey, who was arguably underused throughout Saturday, finally got an extended chance and made a series of brilliant runs that deserved but did not quite result in a goal.

On brooms up, Halliday quickly burst through again and completed his hat-trick, narrowing the Victory Belle lead to twenty and opening a window for his seeker. Leslie Fox was arguably the revelation of the weekend and he was magnificent again, pouncing with ferocity but pristine balance and completing a sensational come from behind win.

Macquarie – 60*: A.Halliday 3 goals, L.Fox Snitch Catch

Victory Belles – 50: L.O’Callaghan 3, B.Connell, D.Ormshaw goals

Preliminary Final – UNSW vs Macquarie

The hosts awaited in the decider, ready to meet either the Snapes or the Marauders. Phil Vankerkoerle scored upon brooms up, but Macquarie were subsequently tight at the back, pressuring Thomson and Morrell well and holding UNSW out. But there was quality all over the park, with Matthew Yuen and Emily Webster simply doing the scoring instead.

The Marauders fought hard, with Scott Palmer in particular monstering all comers on offence and defence, while captain Laura Bailey led from the front, literally and figuratively. A couple of early yellows (especially a tough call on Allison Hore, whose pugnacious defence finally backfired) did not help their cause, nor did the absence of the injured Wizbicki. A quick pair of strikes to the ever-dominating Leigh Morrell made it 50-0 and UNSW throttled back, knowing there were bigger fish to come.

Thomson and Vankerkoerle continued to notch up the odd score, while Ashwin Tembe powered his way belligerently to goal then promptly celebrated by getting a behind yellow of his own.

Macquarie’s defence remained resolutely gallant, but their UNSW counterparts had the total measure of this Marauder attack, again pushing high and cutting them off completely

Twenty minutes came and went and UNSW were safe at 90-0, but Chris Rock was once again unstoppable, topping the previously undefeated Leslie Fox to complete a total emphatic display.

UNSW – 120*: P.Vankerkoerle 3, L.Morrell 2, M.Yuen, E.Webster, M.Thomson, A.Tembe goals, C.Rock Snitch Catch

Macquarie – 0

Grand Final – Newcastle vs UNSW

It may have felt slightly inevitable, but the decider between UNSW and Newcastle was still an epic prospect to behold. These teams had faced twice already, splitting both contests, with the second ramping well up on the quality of the first. This then was the final that was long expected, this rivalry matches any in the country, their May Triwizard match was of supreme quality and consummate controversy, and it had been a long eighteen months since they last faced off in a major championship final.

The Fireballs had been brilliant through Sunday, finally connecting all the growing elements of their new wave game and nearing perfection. UNSW are never far from perfect and hadn’t been all weekend, but they would still need more this time.

Just as they had in the Major Semi, the hosts and perhaps narrow favourites scored first. Mortensen’s third minute goal was the only for a long time, with both team’s superlative defences looking impenetrable. Nick Allan and Joel Murphy were brilliant, annihilating each other while Jordan Hunt and Holly Shuttleworth annihilated chasers.

UNSW made more regular quaffle attacks, but even without Marcus Bradtke who had been injured in their last face-off, Newcastle were utterly unmoved at the back. Little was different at the other end either. Defensive colossus though he may be, even Mortensen could somehow not break through the decidedly smaller Morrell.

The game changed when first Desany Phanoraj was forced off with injury, then Nick Allan was sent to chase. His quick brace handed the Snapes the lead, but still Newcastle could not stop his charges from deep beyond halfway. A brilliant solo run completed his hat-trick, before Morrell made it 40-10 as the frazzled Fireballs threatened to fall away.

A surprising but steadfast cameo from Tom Russell in goal kept Newcastle hanging on tenuously, before he helped set up Mitch McMahon for yet another of his massive finishes. Mortensen and Phanoraj then returned fresh and reinvograted and the team raised to another level with them. Soon it was 40-40 and Newcastle were taking control. But the snitch was back and would decide the awarding of the trophy.

It took just seconds for Joshua Naismith to pounce on the shocked and frustrated snitch, who was ruled down, controversially and as later evidence showed, probably incorrectly. It was an impossible call for the officials though, given its tightness and lack of proximity to any one referee. Play continued, UNSW’s beaters controlled an already devastated Naismith effectively for the rest of the match, then Chris Rock finished it off. Given his work all weekend it was apt that UNSW’s seeker would seal them their first Midwinter Cup title.

UNSW – 70*: N.Allan 3, L.Morrell goals, C.Rock Snitch Catch

Newcastle – 40: J.Mortensen 3, M.McMahon goals

It was cruel luck for Newcastle even beyond the misfortune of the fifty-fifty call going against them. They were arguably the best unit on Sunday and had all the momentum in the match to continue running over the Snapes. But nothing can be taken away from the efforts of UNSW, who were the most consistently strong side over the whole weekend and were the marginally better team for the balance of the final. Stand-in captain Michael Thomson carved out the legacy he’s long threatened to build, lifting a major trophy. But it was Raj Kapoor’s replacement as keeper who made the biggest impact, with Leigh Morrell topping the goal count for UNSW against the quality of Thomson and Vankerkoerle and despite spending most of his time saving goal after goal at the back. It was a stellar breakout performance Morrell had shown clear signs of developing towards through early 2014 and he was a deserving player of the tournament.

The vagaries of the packed quidditch schedule and all it demands means that 2014’s edition of Midwinter comes without either champion from 2012 or 2013 and without more than a dozen would-be tournament stars. Australia’s 21 fairest and finest are spending the present fortnight plying their trade across the Pacific Ocean, representing their country on a grand tour which culminates in Global Games 2014 in Canada next weekend. While any tournament will of course suffer to an extent without its most eye-catching superstars, there is instead an air of even greater excitement at the magnitude of unknowns going into Midwinter 2014.

So many of the absent players have defined the successes of their teams, at Midwinter and beyond, for more than two years. The powerhouse UNSW and UWS units are understandably the most affected by far, with five legends each missing. UNSW have such depth that they may still be impossible to beat. UWS on the other hand will relinquish their title. Unable to manage a full and competitive squad after being so decimated by the loss of their leadership core, their remnants have put the icing on the newly risen Victory Belles mercenary team, who structurally revolve around an experienced sextet of Sydney Unspeakable travelers. This means that the 2013 champions join inaugural title holders Perth in not returning this year for a second tilt at glory.

Meanwhile, Newcastle and Macquarie bring their own new cards to the table, even without any major Global Games disruption, while Wollongong will need all their experience to overcome their personnel shortfall.

UNSW

UNSW were undefeated until the final last year only to fall to UWS. They are yet to engrave their names on the Midwinter trophy and with captain Rajtilak Kapoor, Andrew Culf, Minh Diep, Emmanuel Berkowicz and Rhiannon Gordon all missing, it looks at a glance like they won’t be able to do it this year either. But any complacency against the Snapes from any team and they will be punished.

Deputising captain Michael Thomson has the temperament and guile to run an efficient well-oiled machine. Filling that leadership void and creating a sense of purpose will be their biggest challenge, because they will have no trouble filling the quality void. Phil Vankerkoerle remains to steer the chaser ship, while Nick Allan and Holly Shuttleworth’s vast utility experience will serve them well. New generation talents like Leigh Morrell, Chiani Sharma and Emily Webster fill out an impressive line-up which though depleted is at least still perfectly balanced.

Prediction: Should make the final really. Their best seven still looks near or at the top on paper, so they’re every chance of winning the whole thing. Only question mark is over depth and how an unusually small squad of 13 will hold up over a weekend.

Newcastle

Newcastle come into Midwinter 2014 with only Dameon Osborn of their central old guard busy across the Pacific. Yet the old guard still barely remains. Drastic rebirth in early 2014 has seen the Fireballs dramatically power their way back to top form, with new general James Mortensen marshaling troops from the back and a plethora of spectacular new talents. The Fireball chaser stocks have been given a distinctly muscular and athletic injection with the rapid development of Marcus Bradtke and Liam Dawson, while the beater team also has newfound variety thanks to Jordan Hunt’s wily work and a further influx of rookies.

Experience is clearly what’s lacking, especially considering the reshuffle that has taken place even within the old hands. Matt Ingram rarely finds himself beating and Desany Phanoraj now sits firmly planted at the back, while the keeping power of Roy Velting is often witnessed with bludger in hand these days.

Prediction: If you look at things in terms of outright firepower and pure peak performance potential, Newcastle will win it. But the Fireballs possess an alarming lack of big game experience and they’ll need to hope that their revitalised squad has left behind the old habit of falling at late hurdles as well as it has left behind its former structures and strategies. A big step to say that they should win it, but anything less than a final berth would me a major disappointment. Call them slight favourites.

Macquarie

The Macquarie Marauders have certainly flown with the winds of change in terms of personnel shuffling, but not in terms of form. Macquarie’s annual pattern now seems set in stone. They slowly build over the second half of the year and compile all their resources for a huge tilt at QUAFL glory. Then in the afterglow of that hard work, things decay to an extent and the opening half of the subsequent year meanders alarmingly. Midwinter last year represented the lowest point of their indifferent mid-season. It may be slightly cruel but not necessarily unjustified to suggest that this year will mark the same, if only because their results have been reasonable, even if consistent form has been hard to come by.

The basic infrastructure is still there for Macquarie to succeed. They provide the tournament’s biggest squad, anchored by the imposing rotating duo of Dan Phipps and Scott Palmer and shaped by the collective wisdom of the Laura Bailey, Allison Hore, Amber Williams and Maria Wizbicki brains trust with all its vast experience. Kieran Richards and Adam Halliday are also developing into classy chasers who could provide the ball-carrying support needed for Phipps and Palmer to achieve penetration. QUAFL megaseeker Daniel Commander is on hand to ensure that every team will have to work to get forty clear as their top priority.

Kieran Tolley is always talismanic with bludger in hand as well and in Morgan Thorndyke he has an able starting partner. But beater depth is where the Marauders’ problem lies and the issue is major. Tolley may find himself unrelieved and no-one can carry a team with that kind of workload no matter how stellar.

Prediction: Most of the key ingredients are there to be fundamentally competitive, but they lack of bit of star power and more than a bit of necessary beater relief. Watch for them to start strong in both individual games and in the tournament as a whole, but even despite their healthy roster, sustaining that form may prove tough. Don’t rule them out, eventual glory is far from out of the question, but it would be worth riding a good dollar or two on because the odds are long and juicy. Expect them to come in 3^rd  at a stretch, though 4^th  might be more realistic.

Wollongong 

For Wollongong, Midwinter looks to be yet another example of the frustratingly pleasant problem that has dogged their season so far; everyone is amazing now. The Warriors are now a classy team but somehow, because there are no true easy-beats anywhere in NSW quidditch, they’ve once again been shuffled to the back of the queue and are finding victories extremely hard to come by. This is likely to be the case this weekend too, thanks largely to their lack of numbers. Just nine Warriors have made the trip and though they are all high quality Warriors, nine just isn’t enough to cut the mustard with in such a quality field.

Defensively, expect Wollongong to be as sturdy as ever, with Brandon Heldt’s goal-saving guile and Huw Tomlinson’s physicality both providing high quality presences in goal. Aman Nalli remains one of the country’s very best off the ball beaters and Hannah Davidson is steadfast at the back. Jacob Fleming is a highly astute leader and knows how to get the best out of his team, especially his rotating chaser unit which the energetic Jarrod Simpson and Ezekiel Azib fill out, alongside the ever-present experience of Morgan Legg and Nicole Cabrera.

As good as they are at stopping them these days though, the Warriors’ problem all year has been scoring goals. This is where they badly miss the services of Michael Krysa and Daniel Lowe. Josh Nielsen’s absence may be felt just as keenly this weekend though, for his unwavering plant defence takes crucial pressure off Nalli and relieves Davidson.

Prediction: Given the quality of the squad, it feels sad and cruel to have to say 5^th, but it is probably the reality. It all comes back to numbers. The Warriors will be fantastic in periods and if they can find a way to efficiently sustain their resources for whole games on multiple occasions, then they could win a couple and who knows how other results might fall their way. But a win or two and maybe 4^th place seems to be the likely peak. 5^th is even more likely.

Victory Belles

As with any mercenary team, it is impossible to judge just what the Victory Belles might bring to the table. The team is made up of six Unspeakables, five Thestrals, a Manticore and a Muggle. What is immediately clear is the intimidating quality of the core UWS quartet present. Daniel Ormshaw and Bianca Connell are always immense at the back. But the real difference for the Victory Belles, which may genuinely propel them from typical mercenary also-rans to legitimate title chances, will surely be Christian Barquin and Stephen Butler. In this Global Games depleted tournament, no-one can lay claim to such a mighty beater unit. This pair will no doubt start and if they can gain beater control, that alone may completely control proceedings, regardless of how well their disparate chaser elements gel. Emma Morris will be the crucial third point in this beating triangle, a triple threat which may very easily take the Victory Belles deep into Sunday.

The chaser unit is far from a weak one. Sydney’s experienced and reliable rotating quartet of Ajantha Abey, Kathryn Cooper, Belinda Toohey and Meredith Apps will provide the strength in depth around which Lachlan Chisholm and Ormshaw can work, with Nicola Gertler’s passionate and demonstrative leadership rounding out proceedings. Connell gives permanent assuredness in defence. Liam O’Callaghan, whose catches in the QUAFL quarter final and World Cup have built him a serious reputation, will also keep the Victory Belles in any game as long as the margin is thirty or lower.

Prediction: The hardest prediction to make. 1^st and 5^th are equally likely, or perhaps anywhere in between. It will all depend on how long Butler, Barquin and Morris can retain the control they will almost without question gain in most matches. I’ll tip them to lead at some point early in every match. But I’m not sure they have the depth to win too many. Looking at 3^rd or 4^th.

The Victoria Cup has seen the Monash Muggles, under the leadership of Captain Georgia Tredrea and coach Nicola Gertler, transform from the team that just enjoyed having fun and drinking like the undergrad university students they are to a team that has developed into a compact well-oiled unit of quidditchy goodness.

Created and captained by Scott Cody, The Blackburn Basilisks defined themselves as serious contenders for the Cup even before the season started with impressive lead-up performances against all teams, only falling short to the Melbourne Manticores in a number of close encounters.

Previous matches between the Muggles and Basilisks have seen mixed results result, however recent encounters have been of the highest quidditch standard. While the Basilisks prevailed easily over the Muggles in both the VQA Winter League and Mudbash 2013, their first clash in the Victoria Cup saw the Muggles pull off a 90*- 40 win, while they advanced to the Grand Final with an 180*-70 triumph in the Preliminary Final just weeks ago.

Both teams provide a diverse range of skill and tactical moves, but rely on largely different styles of play. Where the Basilisks’ skill relies on the physicality and height of their chasers, the Muggles place great pride in the role of their beaters. Led by Dean Rodhouse, arguably one of the best beaters in Victoria, the Muggles’ beaters are disciplined and accurate in their defensive formation. This is not to discount the Basilisks beaters though. Their form has improved in recent times, as shown by their displays in wins over the Melbourne Manticores in Round 12 (130-70*) then again in the semi-final (130* – 80). The Basilisk beaters were instrumental in those wins, ensuring a solid defense to go with their always impressive attack. However the semi-final was both beneficial and detrimental to the Basilisks’ squad. While their triumph earned them a well-deserved spot in the Grand Final, the squad suffered some heavy blows in the form of injury to beater Adrian Marshall as well as minor hits to other players.

The most obvious difference between the Muggles and Basilisks on game day is the size of their squads. Will the tightknit Muggles usual roster of 10 to 13 players be able to match the depth of the Basilisks’ 21 or will that staying power and the seemingly endless line of subs be able to tire out the Monash kids.

This could so very easily be a snitch catch decided nail bitter of a match. Snitch Sam Washington is no newbie to the art of dodging seekers and avoiding capture. The catch will rely on the skill, speed and smarts of the seekers, with Muggles Georgia Wallis and Nathan Morton and Basilisks Luke Teys and James Osmond all potential seeking heroes, so this is truly going to be one to watch.

Will the Muggles’ Shake n’ Bake be able to out-score, out-beat and out-chase their more aggressive opponents, or will the Blackburn Basilisks be able to power their way to victory?

The match will take place at 11am on Sunday June 1, at Fawkner Park in South Yarra.