Roster:

NOwen
Sam
Julia
Ares
Ed Wilson
Jess Wong
Connor
James Smith (mvp)
Dan
Kenny (mvp)

Having witnessed the maelstrom that had engulfed the Lions game on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to find I could still feel my hands after cycling to Jesus Green. I was also pleasantly surprised to find myself in one piece, after cycling like a hamster on speed to get there 5 minutes late and maybe, possibly, definitely not having gone through a red light. This responsible, inspirational and above all reliable captain had managed to leave the spare kit in the computer room overnight and spent his 5 minutes spare at 13:25 running across the paddock to retrieve it.

Anyhoo, my white knuckled entrance aside I rocked up to catch the remnants of SB sundays playing pickup and DCU milling around. Then a wild Ed Wilson appeared, presumably from his troll lair next to the lockhouse bridge, and we convinced a Jess Wong to shore up our oestrogen levels. After throwing in the leaves for a while, Julia took charge, warming you lot up like you've never been warmed before. I was feeling positively toasty just looking at you. New Thunderbirdz were already go, having kindly set up a pitch for us (any captains on the list can probably count on one hand how many times they haven't had to set up the pitch and I hope you are as excited by this as I was) and our opposition weren't looking too shabby. In my mind New Thunderbirdz were in the same league as ChrEmBroke but the reality was a surprisingly strong line - fortunately no inordinately sized emergency rescue vehicles were lined up against us. Neither did any of them have strings controlling their every movement. Supermarionation ruins games. Remember that. Then google supermarionation.

Thankfully however, Eagles were on their A game and dominated from the start. Some slick ultimate saw us scoring point after point; excellent handler movement and some intelligent cutting outclassing New Thunderbirdz completely. Our D was also solid, with Thunderbirdz rarely getting a look in. Deep shots to Janman and Kenny, layout D's from fresher James Smith (Thunderbirdz' captain was impressed) and the occasional huck from Ed were just some of the highlights. We took half with no reply and after reminding ourselves not to get complacent, went straight back out there.

Three points more for DCU before Thunderbirdz finally managed to get on the scoreboard. All credit to them, if I remember correctly it was an awesome huck which seemed to home in on their receiver and they deserved some points at least as they were working very hard. We replied in kind before Thunderbirdz scored once more and time went.

Eagles swiftly finished it, leaving the final score at 12-2. A quick game of mini tanks (you crazy kids) and it was off to the pub for a well deserved lunch.

Points to take away:

*Sideline spirit*. Thunderbirdz' captain was quite rightly angry at one point, when our sideline apparently called travel on Connor's behalf. SD had said 'watch his feet' and someone beforehand had apparently actually used the word travel. The 2009 WDF rules on spirit state:

1.10. Rules should be interpreted by the players directly involved in the play, or by players who had the best perspective on the play. Non-players, apart from the
captain, should refrain from getting involved. However for calls relating to “out-of-bounds” and “down”, players may seek the perspective of non-players to assist them to make the appropriate call.

And in the official interpretations of the rules:

It is still up to the players involved to make the final call. Non players must not provide verbal advice regarding a call unless they are requested to by the players involved.

So as helpful as I'm sure the sideline was trying to be to Connor (who in fairness was probably unaware he could call travel in that situation - the guy had established his pivot just outside of the pitch), in future tell the player in between points not during. As well as being bad spirit, I saw Connor look confusedly at his feet when this occurred, distracting him from his mark. In the heat of a point the advice will probably do more harm than good so in future let's be a better sideline. Constructive shouting ('no around', 'you're deepest' etc) but nothing that could be interpreted as a call.

*Layout intelligently. *Seriously it looks spectacular and feels great (so I hear). It even earned James Smith MVP this week. But layouts on D are very much a risk/reward situation: be aware that if you sail past your mark and they snatch the disc anyway then you are seriously out of position and they essentially have a free throw. James Smith seemed to innately know when it was worth diving in front of a Thunderbird player and when to stay sensible and establish the force. If anyone caught US Open Nationals over the weekend (highlights are on USAUltimate's youtube channel) you'll see a great deal of layouts on D, not all of which came off. It's something that is difficult to gauge in a game situation but one that separates the very good from the best.