Melbourne Royals Newsletter Edition 13

Round 13: Melbourne Royals Vs Monash Warriors

With the division-two games over for the season, the Royals were faced with their second last challenge of the regular season. The Royals would take on the Monash Warri-ors, champions three years of division-one in a row before the Buccaneers won 2011. The Royals have their share of ex-warriors, with coach Dan Levin having spent some time with them, as well as linebacker Andrew Rowse.

As usual the Royals were missing a few of their personnel but nothing too drastic. Keen to improve on last year’s score line with the Warriors of 36 - 0, the Royals came onto the field first defensively. Defensive end Aaron Mapstone returned to his old position of nose tackle for the start of the game, making a couple big run stops early in the game. The defense held the run but were passed on by an experienced offense with a lot of talent all over the field. The Warriors took the lead over the Royals 0 - 6, after been stopped on the two point attempt.

The offense came on field but was stopped quickly by a tough defense and forced to punt. The Royals defense returned and were able to stop the Warriors this time with big stops from defensive tackle Jeremy Edwards and defensive end Paul Stephanatos. The first quarter ended with the Royals only trailing by six points.

The second quarter however was not as successful, despite the Royals linebackers providing solid support over the top continuously, the Warriors turned to their passing game. Protected by a big and skilled offensive line, the Warriors passed the ball on the Royals with devastating results. The Warriors picked up numerous touchdowns through the air in the second quarter as the Royals had trouble adjusting to a team with such strength in the passing game. Adjustments were made and returning linebacker Floyd Baragwanath nearly sacking the Warriors quarterback as he managed to get away without a call of intentional grounding.

The Royals came out offensively but with limited results. As usual quarterback Blair Black picked up yards both on the ground by the scramble as well as passing to usual targets Adam Watson, Chris Tuohy and Darcy Muller. Running back Justin Matic was given space from a well performing offensive line, facing a tough and stingy defense. Ultimately, despite several pancakes from center Dominic Young and guard Larny Pasene, the Royals were not able to get going against the Warriors defense. The Royals headed into the locker room behind by over thirty points at halftime, their hopes of a more competitive game looking less likely.

Adjustments were made in the locker room, however the Warriors changed some personnel as well. Despite some great offensive plays, the Royals were unable to make it into the end zone. A fumble was nearly recovered defensively from safety and for the day, defensive end, Alex Gossage. The Warriors continued to score however throughout the second half, as the Royals were outmatched by a skilled and disciplined unit. Defensive highlights included strong safety Michael van Gessell picking off the Warriors quarterback near the end zone and making approximately twenty yards after the catch. Linebacker Andrew Rowse came very close to a sack with some assistance from linebackers Alex Strickland and Josh Vakapuna, as well as Ben Ly’s usual hard hitting plays.

Offensively, QB Blair Black continued both an aerial and ground attack behind an offensive line performing against a tough opponent. Receiver and possible future quarterback Adam Watson stepped into the quarterback role as the Royals tested new plays and possibilities out, knowing that the game was out of their hands and inconsequential to their finals hopes. A defensive touchdown was scored by the Warriors, but on a positive note, QB Adam Watson nearly picked up a big gain on a fake punt had the ball not been dropped.

The Royals finished the game losing by 62 points, a disappointing result, their worst loss of the season by far. However, the Royals have already clinched their playoff spot and was only further cemented by the Monash Barbarians losing to the Berwick Miners the next day. The Royals are a certainty for the Vic Bowl division-two final now, taking place August 25th at Moorabbin Oval.

The Royals go into a bye week this week, resting players and developing new attacks for their finals appearance. The Royals last game of the season will be against division-one runners up, the Croydon Rangers. The game will be played down at Berwick Miners in two weeks on the 12th of August. Get down to support the Royals in their last regular season game of the year!

Royals welcome Melbourne Spirit

Hey everyone - cheerleading has arrived at Parkville in the form of Melbourne Spirit Cheerleading! We started up our squad earlier this year and are based at The University of Melbourne with both All-star and Scholastic teams. Many of us have a background in dance and/or gymnastics which is extremely helpful in a fast-paced, high-energy sport which combines athleticism with grace and strength.

On the 1st of July, Melbourne Spirit competed in our first ever competition, Winterfest at the Geelong Arena, with over 1,500 other cheerleaders and we were all really nervous. The team only competed in the cheer division, where we had to perform a routine containing jumps, dance, stunting and tumbling. Everyone had a fantastic time just being there and we were all so proud to find out that we placed 2nd in our division.

It was a long and tiring day, but was well worth it! However, it wasn’t time to rest yet. Two days later, on the 3rd of July, Melbourne Spirit Cheerleading competed at the Southern University Games in Traralgon. This is an event in which the Victorian Universities send teams to represent them in various sports. This was the second year a cheer competition was held at SUG, and it was a great opportunity to debut our scholastic team. Melbourne Spirit competed with routines in partner stunt, cheer and pom categories which placed 1st, 2nd and 1st respectively.

We had trained long and hard prior to our first round of competitions and were all thrilled with our success which is testament to the hard work and dedication that everyone had put into the team.

Last Sunday, girls from our squad came down to Walker Oval to cheer on the Melbourne Royals in their game against the Monash Warriors. It was a cold, windy day and we are so proud of our girls and the Royals for braving the tough conditions and sticking it out!Finally, Melbourne Spirit would like to congratulate the Royals on earning a spot in the VicBowl for 2012 - well done boys! We’ll be there to cheer you on!

For more information head to https://www.facebook.com/melbournecheer

Around the league

After the Royals game, the Gippsland Gladiators made the trek down to Parkville to play the Croydon Rangers. The Rangers clearly felt right at home in the Royals mudpit, driving the ball with ease against a division-two side carrying some key injuries. The Gladiators fought hard, but ultimately the Rangers came away with the win fairly easily, 49 - 0.

The Croydon Stars, severely undermanned unfortunately had to forfeit for their second time this season. Missing the division-one game seemed the prudent decision instead of risking player safety and a poor match. The Bay City Buccaneers were given the win in what would have been a one sided affair anyway.

Due to the forfeit, the Monash Barbarians played the Berwick Miners at 1.30pm down at Endeavour Hills. The Miners had been playing strong lately and this did not change. The Barbarians played without quarterback Kieran Dwyer and were easily overcome by a tough defense. The Miners offense fired hard in the first half putting up 43 points in the first half, before winning the game 55 - 0.

Overall the cross divisional round showed the dominance of division-one teams, as no division-two side managed to put a score on the board and let through significant scores.

OFF THE FIELD with Adam donohue

FoodChicken

Movie: PREDATOR

TV Show:FAMILY GUY

MUSICmetallica

ACTORarnold schwarzenegger

Heard about royalsseen the add on tv

thought I would try a dif-

ferent sport, so I emailed

the GV president and he

said that there was a new

team applying for the 2011

season the Melbourne Roy-

als so I went down to a

training sesh, and loved it

rest is history

contact@@mroyals.com

Contributors

Writer//Editor Jeremy Edwards

Designer Ahmed Arayne

Photographers Luke Markof

Jenny watson

Barend van den Hoek

Special ThanksSpecial thanks to Barend van den Hoek who supplied the action shots used this week. He takes fantastic photos and we encourage you to check them all out, including more from the Royals Vs Gladiators game at www.barendphotos.photomerchant.net