Official Team Thread [Nunez – ‘Toots Hibbert’ Winner] S30 - Sin City Swamprats: "A Rats' Dinasty is Nasty in Double”

[philreich]

Well Rats - 3 short weeks ago, we were stone motherless last: now we're in the top 4. We're not the reigning premiers for no reason, and if someone wants to take the crown off us, they'll have to do something pretty special to make it happen.

Back to back baby!!!!!!

 

[philreich]

Top 5 after round 4:

ant555 75
GotheGoodes 38
Nunez 35
SarahSmiles 35
MannumPower 28

 

[haydo]

akkaps Ant Bear ant555 edgie Far Kern Firestarter GotTheGoodes GremioPower jackster83 Kirkswan Leviathan Pie LukeParkerno1 MannumPower Nunez philreich Plugger35 Power Raid projectv Quadzilla Rich the babe Evans SarahSmiles sataris Sparkle​

 

[philreich]

Round 5 v Warriors by Sparkle

The Rats and the Royals entered their Round 5 match fourth and fifth on the SFA Ladder; the clash between the two sides being awarded the Match of the Round status. The Rats had won their previous two matches over the Hawks and Dragons, while the Warriors returned to the winners list in Round 4 with a strong win over the Bombers.

The match got off to a scrappy start, @Sparkle’s opening goal for the Rats met with a reply from leobarryyoustar. NaturalDisaster extended the Warriors lead to eight points, before @GremioPower’s late goal reduced the margin to one point at quarter time. The second quarter began in a similar fashion, however the Rats were able to steadily build a lead through the course of the stanza, and headed into the half time break 24 points in front.

The game opened up in the third quarter but neither side was able to take control, the Rats were able to build a lead of 31 points but faced strong resistance from the Warriors, with a goal from BigJoeD_ reducing the Rats lead to just six points, before goals from Nunez, SarahSmiles and LukeParkerno1 extended the Swamprats lead to 26 points at the final change. The Warriors offered little resistance in the last quarter, while an early goal from chelseacarlton kept the margin at 25 points, three late goals from the Rats extended the final winning margin to 47 points.

Sin City Swamprats: 16. 16. (112)
Coney Island Warriors: 9. 11. (65)

Leading Goalkickers: GremioPower 4 Sparkle 2, LukeParkerno1 2, Rich the babe Evans 2, Nunez 2

Leading Disposals: haydo 28, Rich the babe Evans 24

Votes:

haydo 25
Nunez 17
Rich the Babe Evans 12
GremioPower 6
ant555 4
Sparkle 3
edgie 3
GotTheGoodes 2
Far Kern 2
Firestarter 1

 

[philreich]

Another very nice win - that makes back to back 8 goal victories. Outstanding BOG game by haydo, while yours truly accumulated the princely sum of 2 DT points.......

 

[haydo]

akkaps Ant Bear ant555 edgie Far Kern Firestarter GotTheGoodes GremioPower jackster83 Kirkswan Leviathan Pie LukeParkerno1 MannumPower Nunez philreich Plugger35 Power Raid projectv Quadzilla Rich the babe Evans SarahSmiles sataris Sparkle​

 

[philreich]

Round 6 v Bombers by GremioPower

Before the match, only one win separated the third-place Rats and the eighth-place Bombers. Both teams had started the season with two losses, but had been recovering ground since. They both had won their previous matches, and the game in a cloudy Sin City was perfect for a thriller!

The first quarter was wild, with both teams quickly switching momentum. The Bombers stroke first, but right after the 10’ mark, the Rats had leveled the score. Then, the sides exchanged scores before the home club taking a two-goal lead. However, TheCoach16 scored a major when the siren was about to sound. At QT, Sin City was up by merely 6 points. (SCS 32-26 BOM)

Bar a late goal by Quadzilla, the second term was all Baghdad’s. The visitors took control of the match, while the Rats couldn’t kick the ball straight in those rare moments they had a chance to score. Led by CALL ME SNAKE, the Bombers went to halftime three goals in front. (SCS 41-59 BOM)

During Q3, though, the tide changed. It wasn’t that the Bombers stopped playing well, because they didn’t, but Sin City raised their level of play up to a point the visitors simply couldn’t match. Baghdad kicked a respectful 3.2:20 score, but its defence wasn’t able to stop the Rats’ advances. Moreover, it seemed that, during the main break, SarahSmiles had decided that the Rats wouldn’t lose. He scored 3 of Sin City’s 6 majors of the frame, which, combined with 6 behinds more, have put the homers on top at 3QT. (SCS 83-79 BOM)

The last term also witnessed the Rats a class above their opponents. The Bombers managed to regain the lead at the beginning through SammaGilberto, but soon Sin City took over the match’s reigns. Two more goals from Sarah sealed the game for good. @Sparkle’s goal in the end only helped the Rats improving their percentage. Final score: SCS 103-88 BOM.

Votes:

Nunez 22
ant555 19
SarahSmiles 12
MannumPower 8
GotTheGoodes 6
Ant Bear 5
edgie 2
projectv 1

 

[philreich]

Only one way to describe this outstanding team - we're a runaway train. Bring on the Wonders!!!!!

 

[philreich]

Round 7 v Wonders by jackster83

After a solid win against the Roys, the third place Rats could have been forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief seeing the lowly Wonders as the next opponent on their fixture. However, the history between the two sides meant that this was never going to be the case, particularly with the SFA’s Supreme Chairman returning to the Rats after a stint destroying playing for the Wonders.

Fittingly it was Ant Bear who had the first touch of the game, as the Rats drew first blood. An error-riddled first term saw the Wonders up by a solitary point at the first break. LukeParkerno1 put the Rats ahead early in the second term, before inexplicably being benched straight away. Apparently shouting “fu** the Wonders” is not an acceptable goal celebration. He was to come back on the ground a short time later, before another outburst saw him dragged once again. The Wonders then piled on three straight goals before the Rats hit back through GremioPower, SarahSmiles and a hot under the collar LukeParkerno1. At the half time siren, the reigning champions were up by two points.

Some scrappy qootball at the start of the third term saw nearly 10 minutes elapse without any goals scored before Firestarter finally split the middle. A huge mark taken by Bonz left an imprint of his boot in projectv's neck, before a rare piece of run and carry from jackster83 resulted in another SarahSmiles goal. By the final change, the Rats had added another two goals to extend their lead to 19 points. The Wonders tried to hit back early in the final term, but four straight behinds put paid to any chance they had to apply scoreboard pressure. The Rats then responded with goals to star players SarahSmiles, ant555 and Firestarter before the floodgates opened.

The final score was West Coast Wonders 9.10 (64) def by Sin City Swamprats 18.10 (118)

SarahSmiles finished with 6.2, while Firestarter booted 5.1, while GotTheGoodes, Ant Bear and ant555 were all dominant in the midfield.

It was also to be @haydo’s last game in a Swamprats jumper, with the enigmatic wingman requesting a mid-season trade to the Wonders shortly afterwards.

Votes:

Firestarter 22
Ant Bear 21
ant555 8
SarahSmiles 8
Sparkle 8
GotTheGoodes 7
Far Kern 1

 

[philreich]

The year of the Rat just keeps rolling on. If anyone is sick of winning, please let us know - in the meantime, it's clear that the sim loves us, so let's enjoy it while we can.

 

[philreich]

Round 8 v Roys by Sparkle

Both the Rats and the Roys entered their Match of the Round clash in Round 8 with 5-2 record and only one game inside the top eight, although in an unusually close SFA season the Rats were leading the league while the Roys were sixth. The Rats had won their past five matches, while the Roys had won their last two.

The Roys were absolutely in absolutely scintillating form as the match began and in reality, the positions of the two teams on the ladder should’ve been switched. Three goals to Allikat extended the lead to a high of 32 points, before a goal on the stroke of quarter time through Sparkle gave the Rats a glimmer of hope at the first change. However, there would be no reprieve early on and the Roys continued to pile on the pain, @RU_’s goal extended the lead to 33 points, and while this was quickly met with a reply from SarahSmiles, Allikat responded with their fourth goal just as quickly. The Roys might’ve felt they were home with such a strong lead, but the Rats rallied and with @GremioPower’s goal the margin was just three points, a late goal to Runk brought the margin to nine points at half time.

Neither team was able to take advantage throughout most of the third quarter with the teams trading scores, however the Rats continued to chip away at the margin. The Roys lead was just one point late in the quarter when Firestarter kicked a goal, the Rats taking the five-point lead (their first of the match) into the three-quarter time break. Almost immediately after the resumption of play, Firestarter kicked another goal and the Rats were in front by 11 points. The lead changed hands multiple times throughout the early stages of the last quarter, SarahSmiles goal ten minutes into the quarter the only goal for ten minutes, until GremioPower came to the fore with two goals in two minutes, the Rats winning by 16 points, and in doing so completing a 49-point turnaround.

Roys FFC: 12. 8. (80)
Sin City Swamprats: 15. 6. (96)

Leading Goalkickers: SarahSmiles 6, GremioPower 3

Leading Disposals: Nunez 26, Ant Bear 20, ant555 20

Votes:

Ant Bear 22
Nunez 20
SarahSmiles 11
ant555 10
Firestarter 10
sataris 1
edgie 1

 

[philreich]

Top 5 after round 8:

ant555 116
Nunez 94
SarahSmiles 66
Ant Bear 56
GotTheGoodes 53

 

[philreich]

Going out on a limb here - tonight's headline from our game will be, "Rats in 7th heaven - unstoppable Rats win their 7th game in a row."

 

[philreich]

Back to the count:

Round 9 v Demons by Sparkle

The Rats remained on top of the Sweet FA ladder after pulling off a great escape against the Roys in Round 8, while the Demons had the same amount of scoring shots as the Bombers but lost by 25 points in a low-scoring match. The Rats were on a six-game winning streak after losing their first two matches of the season, while the Demons had lost two of their last three. This was the first meeting between the Rats and the Demons since the Season 29 Grand Final, where the Rats were victorious by one point.

It was a low-scoring opening to the match at the Underground Stadium, the Rats kicking three of the first four goals through GremioPower, Sparkle and Ant Bear before a late major from Callums_Guns reduced the home sides lead to six points at the first change. An early onslaught from the Rats began the second quarter and the lead was extended to 22 points before Tarkyn_24 and Proper Gander rallied for the Demons and ensured the lead was kept to 15 points at half time.

Toump Ass and Proper Gander started the third quarter in fantastic form for the Demons with two quick goals to bring the margin back to four points before the Rats steadied once again, @Wojcinski’s goal pushed the lead back to 23 points before another late goal, this time from jmoo wan reduced the lead to 17 points at the final change. In a seesawing final quarter, the Demons began to take control of the match and in a frenetic opening portion of the quarter, a goal from cooney put the Demons in front for the first time in the match. It wouldn’t last, the Rats replying through MannumPower and Wojcinski and surviving a scare from Tarkyn_24 to win by two points.

Sin City Swamprats: 12. 10. (82)
Mount Buller Demons: 12. 8. (80)

Leading Goalkickers: SarahSmiles 3, Wojcinski 2, GremioPower 2

Leading Disposals: GotTheGoodes 22, sataris 21

Votes:

ant555 17
sataris 14
Ant Bear 11
GotTheGoodes 10
Rich the Babe Evans 8
Nunez 6
jackster83 4
Wojcinski 3
Sparkle 2

 

[philreich]

Round 10 v Bears by jackster83

The reigning champs had now registered seven wins on the trot, which saw #yearoftherat trending on Qwitter. Next up was their next door neighbours, the Las Vegas Bears, a side coming off three consecutive losses and desperate to claw back some momentum. As always, the usual suspects in xenxen, Millky95 and MWPP were chirpy leading into the game.

A poor start saw the Bears kick the first two goals of the game, before sataris produced a long torpedo goal worthy of going on the highlights reel. MannumPower was seeing stars thanks to a brutal hit by tony, before Firestarter put the Rats narrowly ahead. At quarter time, the Rats were leading 2.3 (15) to 2.2 (14). The second term started in unspectacular fashion with no scores for some time. jackster83 vented his frustrations on Millky95, and sataris took out Muddiemoose, which led to SarahSmiles finally breaking the goalscoring deadlock. The rest of the quarter played out in similar fashion, with the Rats going in to the main break leading 3.6 (24) to 2.3 (15).

Two early goals to the Bears in the third term saw them take the lead, until GremioPower replied before hurling a barrage of abuse at the opposition cheer squad. One more goal to each side saw the Bears take the narrowest of margins into the last term. The Bears quickly added another six pointer to their score at the start of the last term, while the Rats could not hit the side of a barn, scoring four consecutive behinds. Finally LukeParkerno1 managed to split the middle, before Matera92 replied almost immediately for the Bears. With their supporters starting to get restless, the Rats rallied, piling on three consecutive goals within 60 seconds, which was enough for the Rats to record their eight consecutive victory.

The final score was Las Vegas Bears 8.9 (57) def by Sin City Swamprats 10.12 (72)

Votes:

sataris 23
Nunez 17
Ant Bear 12
GotTheGoodes 10
Firestarter 9
akkaps 2
philreich 1
GremioPower 1

 

[philreich]

We're on the verge of a little bit of history, folks - a win over the Dragons next week will give us our greatest winning streak ever. We have a very special group here: let's rewrite the record books!!!!!

 

[philreich]

Round 11 v Dragons by GremioPower

There was plenty of hype surrounding R11’s Match of the Round. It is not usual, but this game actually lived up to its hype. Both teams showed why they are among S30’s best, with the reigning premiers just scaping out of a strong push from the visitors to keep their winning streak (now, at 9 games) alive.

Since the air-conditioning system of The Underground has broken down and needs to be fixed, the match was played in what felt like a gigantic sauna. This only added drama to the game.

The Dragons used marks to save energy. Besides being 24 points down at HT (SCS 37-13 DRA), they patiently got back into the game during the second half.

The strategy seemed to have worked for the visitors. In the last term, the Dragons were on the verge of coming back and winning. However, Sparkle scored Sin City’s last 7 points, and those 7 points ended up being the difference for the hosts. Finals score: SCS 71-64 DRA.

Votes:

GotTheGoodes 25
Ant Bear 20
ant555 14
akkaps 9
Nunez 6
MannumPower 1

 

[philreich]

9 IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how many times in SFA history there's been a double figures winning streak, but hopefully we're about to join a very select group.

 

[jackster83]

*denotes no longer playing for the club.

 

[philreich]

Round 12 v Royals by Sparkle

The match between the Royals and the Swamprats was a much-anticipated clash on the Sweet FA calendar, and the 1 vs 2 Match of the Round battle was set to be an exciting match at The Golden Throne. The Rats had just won their ninth match in a row after defeating the Dragons by seven points, while the Royals were on a three-game winning streak after defeating the Bears in Round 10.

philreich and Firestarter got the Rats off to a brilliant start with two early goals, and Power Raid responded to @BRAB’s opener for the Royals to build a 13-point lead. Refusing to lie down, the Royals rallied and with Paddles_ goal had not only removed the Swamprats lead but built one of their own and went into the quarter time break seven points in front. While the lead was reduced to three points as the second quarter reached its middle stages, goals to BRAB and Marlowe extended the Royals lead to 17 points, and the Swamprats winning streak was seemingly at an end. However, philreich scored a late goal to bring the margin back to five points at the major break, ensuring that the Rats remained on the heels of the Royals at the major break.

brahj kicked off the third quarter for the Royals with a goal which extended their lead to 10 points, before the Rats kicked into gear with five straight goals through Power Raid, philreich, jackster83, Firestarter and Wojcinski the Royals 10-point lead was suddenly a 21-point deficit. The Filth Wizard scored a late goal for the Royals, and the margin was 14 points at the final change. With the game well and truly in the balance, nahnah kicked a goal in the opening minute of the final quarter and in the back-and-forth play, The Filth Wizard kicked three goals and GreyCrow kicked one to bring the Royals home with a 16-point victory, ending the Swamprats winning streak and staking their claims as a serious contender in Season 30.

Gold City Royals: 13. 10. (88)
Sin City Swamprats: 11. 6. (72)

Leading Goalkickers: philreich 4, Power Raid 2, Firestarter 2

Leading Disposals: philreich 18, Firestarter 18, ant555 18

Votes:

philreich 25
Firestarter 17
GotTheGoodes 6
sataris 6
Wojcinski 6
Rich the Babe Evans 5
ant555 4
Ant Bear 3
Quadzilla 2
akkaps 1

 

[philreich]

Well - the streak was never gonna last forever, and The Filth Wizard and his Royals showed their premiership credentials with a solid 16 point win. They (and the Gumbies ) could be tough to beat in the major round.

But we're still in pretty good shape: if my maths is right, the Demons' loss against the Bears means we've sealed a finals spot. This back to back quest ain't over yet!!!!

 

[philreich]

Top 5 after round 12:

ant555 151
Nunez 123
GotTheGoodes 104
Ant Bear 102
SarahSmiles 66

 

[jackster83]

Great to see the likes of Wojcinski, projectv and Gameova_ slot in nicely. philreich aiming to bring up the 1000 post mark by the end of this round.

 

[philreich]

Round 13 v Furies by GremioPower

It rained so much in Sin City that one imagines people thanking the qooty gods at the SFA House for the fixture having a Rats’ home, instead of a Bears’ one. The safety at the Stadium in the Sky would be questionable.

In The Underground, although it was safe, the ceiling was leaking. The playing field was drenched, and the ball, slippery. The game between Rats and Furies, respectively 2nd and 3rd on the ladder should have been entertaining regardless. The water only made it even wilder.

The Swampies were coming from their first loss after 9 rounds of winning. The Furies were trying to find some consistency (and hoping, after two losses in three matches, it would be the good kind of consistency). Both sides had an eye on the field and another over the BJO, cheering for the Roys over the Royals.

The match was a mirror: Q1 = Q4 and Q2 = Q3, just backwards. The Rats drew first blood, just to see the visitors run them over for the rest of the first quarter. (SCS 13-25 FUR) In Q2, Sin City did everything they wanted to the Furies, except kicking goals. In 8 minutes, they had scored four times – 3 behinds. The rhythm went down for the rest of the frame, but the home side at least has found some accuracy. At HT, the Rats were ahead. (SCS 35-26 FUR)

After the break, it looked as if the teams had switched guernsies. While the Swamprats couldn’t do anything, the Furies did it all, but to kick the ball in-between the goal posts. Eventually, they did and took the lead. However, right before the siren, @LukeParkerno1tied the match. At 3QT, the score was even. (SCS 47-47 FUR) In the last frame, the Furies “drew first blood,” but that was it. The home side “ran them over for the rest of the quarter.” Final score: SCS 72-54 FUR

Votes:

Power Raid 20
sataris 16
ant555 12
jackster83 11
Nunez 9
GotTheGoodes 7

 

[philreich]

Damn - we tried really hard to match our longest losing streak since season 28 (OK slight exaggeration), but we just couldn't manage to suck for long enough to achieve it .

On a serious note, 1 more win this week will 100% guarantee us a top 4 spot (and a double chance) for the finals. There's no such thing as a premiership hangover at Sin City: the only thing resembling a hangover here belongs to jackster83, who is clearly an alcoholic. But well done team - let's keep this form going!!!!