2011 ROUND 2: Panthers -V- Titans

[Big Mick]

I have not finished marking this match.

But I have started. ;-)

I'm not sure if I'll finish it tonight or tomorrow.

But I will finish it.

Damn you Dave. lol.

 

[Jesbass]

Match Report:

Round 2 brought with it a clash of two strong sides. Both entered the match undefeated, but with contrasting form.

The table topping Titans, (with an assortment of additional alliterations), were coming off the back of a victory in which they'd survived a late comeback from the Dragons.

In contrast, the Panthers were playing their first home match, having drawn with the Bluebags in the opening match of the season to sit 3rd= on the table.

Regardless of the result, however, it was unlikely that both teams would remain unbeaten by the end of the 80 minutes.

After checking the boots of both teams, the referee blew the whistle and the CUA Stadium crowd cheered as one.

The first sets featured hard hitting defense from both sides, but it was the Titans who felt the pain first, with Titan Uranus failing to get up after a particularly heavy tackle. A pair of trainers led him to the sideline and bgdc was sent on as a replacement.

Despite this hiccup, however, the visitors were first to score through their captain Titanic, who somehow found himself unmarked for half a second – just long enough for him to chance his arm and send a supporting player downfield for a try near the posts.

This was a very eloquent piece. You painted the scene very well with a vivid description of the restroom encounter. I’m not a fan of titles lacking capital letters, and I think the use of *s was not the best way to present the urinal scene. (I would recommend some form of break at the beginning and end of the flashback to indicate it without distracting it with asterisks.) Despite that gripe, the story itself was beautifully illustrated. 89

Titans lead 89-0.

Not to be outdone, opposition player Goleel took a strong hitup, bouncing out of a tackle before essentially falling over the line to score. As a result, the Panthers had almost done enough to equalise.

This article was nicely packaged, and you retained your focus throughout. There were a couple of blips, like “pointscoring”, “as 17 year old”, and “and looks like”, but apart from that middle portion, the piece flowed well. 87

Titans lead 89-87.

Still finding her feet after her premature appearance on the field, bgdc proved she was no walk over when she capitalised on a rare Panthers error. Darting from dummy half from 10m out, she managed to burrow her way over the line to extend the visiting team’s lead.

Wow. Eclectic doesn’t even come close! It’s clear that you’ve put a lot of effort into this piece, and for that alone, you deserve a solid score. But I couldn’t help thinking that written text isn’t the best medium for this article. I can imagine it carrying more weight if it was read aloud by someone on television, in costume, playing the part. But this is the Forum 7s, not the TV 7s… ;-) 87

Titans lead 176-87.

The end to end football continued, and madunit threw a dummy to the left, then offloaded to his centre on the right. The resulting line break brought the Panthers close to the Gold Coast tryline, and as the visiting fullback moved to close down the play, the centre passed back to the shady Panther on his inside who dived over the tryline – breaking a lens of his sunglasses in the process.

Very, very humorous piece! It reminds me of a similar (but topically different) video I once saw with Facebook updates for historical figures. Adding in a meme like Tiger Blood certainly added to the experience. I noticed a couple of spelling errors, (“hoards”, “to” instead of “too”), and a wayward apostrophe – watch those. The content was fantastic, but creating a new paragraph (rather than merely a new line) after each Tweet would have made it an easier read. 88

Titans lead 176-175.

The first half finally settled then, with only a field goal being the margin between the two teams. Just as it was beginning to look as though there would be no change to the score before half time, Azkatro created the try of the match, stepping and changing direction no less than four times as the Gold Coast defense scrambled in vain.

Wow. Brilliant. You took a common aspect of rugby league, (injuries), and presented a whole new angle on it. Providing the medical insight was extremely interesting, too. The only noticeable glitch was an “it” instead of an “is”. (Do watch those lower case titles, though.) The rest was downright compelling. 92

Panthers lead 267-176.

Both teams immediately headed towards the changing rooms, with the siren sounding as they made their way from the field.

HALF TIME: Panthers lead the Titans 267-176.

Whatever was said at halftime in the Titans shed seemed to work, as they came out fired up for the second half. Eager to reclaim the lead, the scored first through Amadean who muscled his way past two defenders…

I don’t know if I should laugh or cringe! There was certainly little left to the imagination! It’s great to see a theme going within the team, homoerotic subtleties notwithstanding! A little less penis and a bit more balls next time, methinks. ;-) One thing I’d note is that “50ks” works in spoken conversation, but not in written form. 87

Panthers lead 267-263.

…then through Tittoolate who caught an offload and changed the direction of the play to evade the Panthers defense…

Ha…rugby league entwined with a Kumul flavour and a comically tribal approach. Grammar was for the most part really good, and this one had plenty of creativity. My pidgin English is weak, but “lookie me behind you puk puk”! 88

Titans lead 351-267

…and finally through tits&tans who simply ran onto the ball, threw a huge dummy, and ran straight through the parting defensive line, untouched, to score under the posts.

I loved this piece. It was obvious from the beginning – and one can’t expect surprises when this competition says that all articles must be rugby league related – but that had no impact on my enjoyment as I watched how you provided the different layers of metaphor. I think you were lacking the word “room” in the last sentence of the second paragraph and there was a “burn of some nervous energy” instead of “burn off some nervous energy”. 88

Titans lead 439-267

As the Gold Coast kicker lined up the conversion, the Panthers huddled together, glaring at each other and issuing instructions in an attempt to stop the rot. It seemed to have worked when LeagueNut finished off a set play a few minutes later, although the mooted celebrations pointed to the fact that there was still work to be done yet.

This is a very topical and very delicate matter at the moment. I think you’ve presented an angle that the most vocal of opponents either haven’t considered or simply refuse to examine. You’ve captured the mood very well…but don’t be afraid of commas. ;-) All the best to Shaun. 88

Titans lead 439-355.

The Titans then defended valiantly as the home side gained several repeat sets, and a few favourable decisions no doubt influenced by a small but vocal portion of the crowd. But it was only when captain Big Mick was tackled close to the line, and when he reached out to plant the ball on the chalk, that CUA Stadium erupted as one.

This article was incredibly well researched. You presented a point of view, then backed it up with a solid backing. While this article wasn’t necessarily “colourful” it excelled in other ways, and it never felt like it might get dry. It’s a pity you mentioned the Packers, though. (Go the Steelers!) 90

Panthers lead 445-439.

The home side were still celebrating when the full time siren sounded. The fans, meanwhile, are reportedly still celebrating now!

FULL TIME: Panthers defeat the Titans 445-439.

Score Sheet:

Penrith Panthers:
Goleel: 87
madunit: 88
Azkatro: 92
LeagueNut: 88
Big Mick: 90

Gold Coast Titans:
Titanic: 89
bgdc: 87
Amadean: 87
Tittoolate: 88
tits&tans: 88

POTM: Azkatro

 

[Big Mick]

Thank you Dave for the marking. Much appreciated.

Thank you for my score. Wasn't expecting that so thank you!

Great report. Very enjoyable!

Congrats to the Titans as well as my lads. Great game all round.

Congratulations to Az for his fantastic article and score

 

[Bubbles]

After all the crap, this was a great game with some great articles. Congrats to both team and particularly to Azkatro on a really fantastic read; what the game is really all about after all!!

 

[Tittoolate]

Congrats to the kitties, well played one and all, and a big Highland Koteka thanks to the ref!!!!!!!!! TTL

 

[Big Mick]

PS Dave....Steelers...lol.

 

[bgdc]

oh dear

 

[Titanic]

Boooohoooowaaaah ... oops sorry, stubbed my toe reading the score on my Nokia as I came through the front door.

What a pounding! Too bad team, now we have to wait until the second round to see if the Az is really the new Gaz ... great stuff.

Onya BM, good win and enjoy it while you can, we'll be back. Hey, 'Unit! How are ya holding up there? Ready to give up yet?

Thanks Mr Referee, you #@$#$%!!!

 

[madunit]

Titanic, my old mate, I'll give up after you do ;-)

 

[Titanic]

Just like the old girl says in the morning "get off" off her ipad, she means.

 

[Jesbass]

PS Dave....Steelers...lol.

 

[Big Mick]

I can't laugh Dave...I support the Bills

 

[Jesbass]

I can't laugh Dave...I support the Bills

:lol:

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)

 

[Azkatro]

Backpacker Award Points

Azkatro - 3 points
Big Mick - 2 points
Titanic - 1 point

For more on the 2011 Backpacker Awards, check out the Forum Sevens website: http://www.forumsevens.com.au/players2011.php.