Fort Smashleys vs Harbour Hellcats decider - the untold story

In what is almost becoming my second home, it was up to Newcastle again last Saturday to watch another bout. This time it was the decider between the Smashleys and the Hellcats. Roller Derby AU asked me to do the review because they were covering the WSR bout on the same night, so I did the review and it can be found here.

As always there was other shenanigans that went on that I couldn't put on the review but could put here. It all started before I even got inside. RDAU had my name on the door because I was doing the review so I had to sign a media form and got given a media pass. It all felt surreal, it was like I was important or something haha. I would have a done a review on my own blog if RDAU hadn't asked me to do it for them.

Ness and I walk in and who do we see at the merch stand but CASS! She was working the merch stand that night. I can't help but smile when I see her, she's always doing something derby related. I picked up some merch for Mon and another Smashleys shirt for myself because I was hoping to get the Smashleys to sign my other shirt.

I kid you not it was humid as buggery that night. I was sweating just standing there, kudo's to all the skaters and ref's that night for coping with the temperature. As for the bout itself it was another cracker of a bout. I think in future all NRDL should carry a health warning in their bout programs. They love nail biting bouts up there. It's bad for your heart I tell ya haha. This bout went down to the last jam just like their bout against Adelaide and it also required an official time out to sort out the final score.

I probably look like an absolute loony when I watch their bouts, I'm trying to cheer/yell either the Smashleys or Dames on (when they bout) while madly scribbling down notes in my notebook for the review. There's been a couple of times when I've had paper flying everywhere. I have enjoyed doing the reviews, I'll keep doing them for my blog next year unless RDAU need me to fill in for them or NRDL tell me that the reviews suck and I'll stop. Being a lifelong Liverpool supporter I've grown up appreciating tactics and I've found that by doing these reviews I tend to look out for tactics and patterns when I watch a bout. It's another reason why I love NRDL they employ a lot of tactics in their bouts so I have an absolute field day doing their reviews. Here's a funny fact, in this last season the Smashleys had a 0% win rate with Jilla in the side. She played in the first and third bout which the Smashleys lost both bouts but they won the second bout when she was on the sidelines. Please don't kick my arse Jilla haha. Speaking of Jilla I can finally carry on a conversation with her without going all shy and fangirly around her, yay for progress :)

At the end of the bout I walked up to Jilla and gave my Smashleys shirt to her to sign. Ness who was wearing her Hellcats shirt gave Jilla a hug, I wouldn't have blamed Jilla for decking her since the Smashleys lost in controversial fashion :P While the Smashleys were signing my shirt I had to go off and get some interviews for the review. Here's where I hit a stumbling block, I'm notoriously shy and rubbish at interviews. I was trying to pull questions out of my arse and wanting to go and try and interview either Dino la Rouge, Booga or The Cramp but I was too shy to actually go up to them. Bloody hell, I eventually found the guts to go up to The Cramp and ask her a couple of questions.

Once the interview was over I went over to pick up my signed shirt and while I was standing there admiring it DangeRass came up and started talking to me. She asked me if I was the one who wrote the blog (what I wouldn't do to have the same reputation for my bouting skills). I've never spoken to Danger before so it completely threw me that she even knew about my blog. While I was still coming to terms with the fact that she was talking to me she was giving me positive reviews about my NRDL reviews and how I picked up how her and Jilla work off each other on the track, I thought it was common knowledge. She also said that although Jilla was my favourite skater I wrote balanced reviews and didn't just favour Jilla's side. I was still in shock but also over the moon that my reviews were appreciated by the guys I was writing about. As for the signed shirt here's a pic and thanks heaps to the Smashleys for signing it :)

Since Ness and I were staying overnight we decided to go to the after party. Wasn't that one big epic fail. We got there and we were too shy to talk to anyone. It's not as if they were snobs or unapprochable, I just don't have it in me to butt in on a group conversation and start talking to people I've never met before. Eventually we both felt tired and gave up trying to get over the shyness and left. I also had to get up and watch Liverpool's match at 3:30am, yep I was jumping up and down and cheering on Liverpool at 3:30am from a hotel room. What a weekend. I can't wait to do it all again next year :) (hopefully I'll actually have a conversation at the after party haha)

I swear I've been here before

Last Sunday night I was pretty focussed, pretty excited and a little nervous because it was my first Corporal training session. Yay I finally made the step up and now had the chance to train with the big kids. Even better I finally got the all clear from the physio on Thursday on my right ankle. I was doing my warm up and started to stretch my left ankle when I feel a tearing sensation down my heel, the same pain I felt when I first injured my right ankle all those months ago. Despite all the swearing I was doing on the inside and wanting to put a hole through the wall in anger (knowing my luck with injuries I would have shattered my entire arm and not just my knuckles) I just KNEW that I had done some damage. So what do I do? I tested it out to see how bad it was. It only hurt when I tried stretching my ankle but I could skate pain free so I continued on. Probably not the most smartest decision but dammit I worked so hard to get to this level and to miss out right from the start it just felt so unfair.

Right away I noticed the difference in training. It was a lot more advanced and better footwork was a major requirement. I felt like a freshie all over again starting from the bottom and having to work my way up. I did have that nagging thought 'I don't know if I can do this' in the back of my head but I tried to ignore it and kept carrying on. One of the things we practised was getting in groups and kicking out at each others skates. While it is illegal to do in a bout it's all about getting used to have your skates clipped in a pack situation. I found that alright and didn't stack it yay! Then it came to practising carves and can openers. I was teamed up with Mon which was good because we're a similar build so I didn't have to worry about hurting her. This one was bit of a challenge for me because given the size of me I should be able to pack a strong hit but I'm weak as piss. I know I could probably cause some damage if I execute a good hit but I'm also worried I might injure a team mate unnecessarily so I hold back a bit. I had a big smile on my face when Mon was practising can openers on me because I was hardly moving and she said I'd be hard to knock over on the track which is what I'm aiming for. I want it to take something special to knock me down on the track. We then started practising carves and hits on the track, far out it is not easy you need to get the timing right and get yourself in position and try and catch them unaware. Mine were pretty crap. I did injure Danger Blond she did a shoulder hit on me and re-injured her shoulder. I felt a bit bad about that. I did get a chance to finally try and hit Cherry but she saw me and got down even lower that I would have to be skating with my arse touching the ground to have any chance of doing a can opener on her. I think she's making it harder on me because she's worried I'll fulfill a wish of mine of knocking her on her arse in training :P It's all good though by making it harder for me she's making me a better skater. I won't lie I'm a little excited that I now get to work with one of my favourite skaters to be able to learn from her and hopefully reach her level one day is ace and I'm also not acting like a fan girl around her at training which is new for me :)

First thoughts on Corporal training it's a lot harder skills wise and I know I'll be battling mentally to push myself when it all feels too hard but I've also had a taste of it and I want more, this is where I want to be. Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait at least a month until my next training session because I ended up straining the ligaments in my left ankle which is what I did to my right ankle a few months ago, this really bloody sucks. If I was a horse I would have been put down by now. I've come to accept that roller derby is not going to come easy for me due to setbacks from injuries. If I can take anything out from that it's that it'll make me mentally tougher to keep coming back despite the setbacks. When I start bouting and have my arse handed to me but more experienced skaters i'll hopefully have that mental toughness to keep picking myself up and keep carrying on.

During our team talk Cherry asked us what our goals were, I had a thought about it and came up with this list (in no particular order):

1. Stop picking up so many frigging injuries.
2. Be good enough to finally bout not just intraleague but against other leagues.
3. Knock Cherry down on her arse in training :)
4. Somehow have a scrimmage training session with Jilla.
5. Be in a bout with Cherry and Jilla and try and take on Jilla.
6. Bout against my friend's from other leagues like Cass, Ivy, Jo and Pepa.
7. Try and learn the 3 point transistion move, walk and run on my toe stops, tomahawks and backwards skating.
8. Become a fearsome blocker but also have a crack at jamming one day down the road.

ERRD finals - Newcastle Dockyard Dames vs WIRD Steel City Derby Dolls bout review

It was the weekend of the Eastern Region Roller Derby (ERRD) finals and there were two bouts to look forward to. First up was the bout to determine third and fourth spot which was between the Newcastle Dockyard Dames and Wollongong's Steel City Derby Dolls. I knew what to expect from the Dames. I'd never seen WIRD bout before but I've heard they're a tough, physical team to come up against. One player I was interested in seeing was WIRD's White Hawk. I've heard a lot about her in terms of her blocking skills, even Cherry said she was the toughest skater she's ever come up against. I was curious to see her come up against someone like Godjilla who loves a good hitting contest and see who would come out on top.

The bout came to life right from the first whistle when Steel City's Chakram got lead jammer over Hippy Hardarse. Thanks to some great defence from her blockers, Chakram was able to call off the jam and grab an early 8-0 lead. The Steel City blockers even got the measure of Godjilla as they double teamed her whenever possible so that she couldn't lay a hit on their jammers. It was all Steel City in the first few jams and it wasn't until the fourth jam that the Dames finally got lead jammer thanks to Booga but she called it off early to make it a nil all point jam.

The Dames started getting into the contest when DangeRass jumped over the apex to get lead jammer over Janis Job-em and score a 4-0 jam to bring the score to 15-8 for Steel City. Hippy Hardarse then added another four points in her next jam to make the score 15-12. Despite the comeback the Dames needed to find a way to stop White Hawk from dominating at the front of the pack, even without the pivot stripe on her helmet she was controlling the pack and as for her blocking, I was starting to see why she has such a big reputation, honestly it's almost near impossible getting past her.

The Dames did however manage to capitalise when White Hawk wasn't on the track when once again DangeRass got lead jammer, this time over Chakram as she scored an 8-0 jam to give the Dames the lead for the first time 28-23. Steel City appeared to bounce back when Underbelly Morelli got lead jammer over Brigand Strong then White Hawk to the detriment of her team went to land a hit and took most of her team out instead which allowed Brigand Strong to score a 4-1 jam and take the score out to 32-24 for the Dames.

Steel City formed a wall at the front of the pack but great team work from Godjilla and DangeRass created space for DangeRass to get past two blockers. Chakram got lead jammer and called it off for a 4-4 jam to make the score 36-32 for the Dames. Speaking of DangeRass and Jilla, I've noticed a pattern lately whenever they've played for the Fort Smashleys and the Dames. These two work as their own little unit. If DangeRass is jamming while Jilla is blocker, they'll be close to each other. Jilla will create the space for DangeRass to get through the pack, or give her a whip. They seem to operate on the same wave length when they're on the track.

This bout was a very physical encounter. The pack was skating at a quick pace and it wasn't until an official time out was called with ten minutes left in the first half with the score at 36-all that both the skaters and the crowd could start catching their breath back. Once the next jam started it didn't take long for the intensity to pick up when White Hawk knocked down Godjilla while Jilla was skating backwards. Almost instantly Dino La Rouge had the last laugh when she knocked down White Hawk.

Steel City went for a no pack start but it didn't take long for Godjilla to show everyone the human wrecking ball that she is at the front of the pack which helped Hippy score a 3-0 jam and help even the score 40-40. Steel City's Penny Nartsy managed to get lead jammer by skating along the outside line but then got sent to the penalty box so DangeRass capitalised  with help from her blockers by slowing down the pack to allow her to catch up as she scored a 9-2 point jam. The Dames' Babycakes also joined in with points as she scored a grand slam to take the score out to 54-42. Special mention has to go to Lady Quirkinator as her massive hit on Steel City's iKandy stopped her from scoring any points.

The first half ended with Steel City's Demander got a whip from Unleashed but she got whipped face to face with Godjilla. I've noticed her do this more often in the last few bouts I've watched. If she does it for the intimidation factor, I'm sure it works real well just like in these pics taken by the legendary Kim Lee

Hippy scored a 9-0 jam to give the Dames a half time lead of 63-42. Some things I noticed in the first half were the Dames needed to do more to stop White Hawk's effective blocking. I thought they would have tried to double team her to try and stop her dominating so much. Both Godjilla and White Hawk were hardly on the track at the same time, they seemed to be on alternate jams. I've got no idea if that was a tactic by either side so that it allowed either player to be at their destructive best without worrying about coming up against each other. I finally met Susy Pow in person at half time. I also need to apologise in my last review I kept spelling her name Suzy, sorry Susy with an S :)

Steel City came out with all guns blazing in the second half, almost all the jams they started with a no pack start to try and get their jammer scoring some much needed points. They eventually had a power jam as the Dames had a blocker and jammer in the penalty box and they closed down the deficit to 67-58. Babycakes tried to stop Steel City's momentum by getting lead jammer but when Godjilla lined up a hit to take out Steel City's jammer she ended up taking out her own team mate and a ref which allowed Chakram to score a 3-0 jam and cut the Dames lead to 69-61.

White Hawk and Janis Job-em (who really impressed me too, she'll hit anything that moves on the track in opposition colours) took turns stopping Babycakes from getting through the pack. I know jammers usually get all the glory but there was great blocking like this going on in this bout which made the crowd really get into it. Courtney Lovebite whipped Chakram to help her score a 2-0 jam and make it a 3 point bout 69-66.

Despite the comeback Steel City were mounting it was snuffed out again as the Dames starting picking up lead jammer consecutively. A 4-0 jam here a 9-0 jam there and the score is 87-70 for the Dames. Amongst all that while iKandy was jammer for Steel City, Dino La Rouge lined a hit on her that sent her flying into the crowd at the suicide seating.

I applauded Penny Nartsy when she appeared to face plant the floor but she got up and got lead jammer over Babycakes but then got smashed by Godjilla but got a 4-1 jam to make the score 101-75. Hippy fired out of the blocks to get lead jammer by the second bend but then the bout got really painful as there was a multi player stack which left the Dames' Fannie-tastic and Vicioushire Cat both injured. Vicioushire Cat came off the worst and ended up making a trip to the hospital after the bout.

DangeRass is a really good jammer but she can more than hold her own when it comes to blocking too which serves her well when she's jammer because she can take hits really well from opposition players. In one particular jam she actually outmuscled White Hawk on her way to getting lead jammer. It then left White Hawk and Godjilla to go at each other in a rare moment and my gosh was it great to watch as someone who wants to become a really good blocker.

Penny Nartsy gets lead jammer over Babycakes by hugging the outside line. Demander went for a hit on Babycakes but only succeeded in landing on her backside. Babycakes ended up outscoring Penny 7-6 to take the score to 113-82. The last jam summed up the bout. Lady Quirkinator tried stopping Chakram but she still got lead jammer over DangeRass. DangeRass managed to take down White Hawk and then Booga got taken out by a late hit. The bout ended 117-86 for the Dames in what was a great bout to watch and I imagine even better to have been involved in.

Special thanks to Roller Derby Au's Indy Carcass and WIRD's Courtney Lovebite for helping me identify some of the WIRD skaters for this post :) and to Mon who I watched the bout with, I learnt more rules and enjoyed your company.
  

Earning your stripes

Last weekend was a pretty big one for me in terms of roller derby. It all started when Ness and I went up to Newcastle for their social skate on Saturday morning. Both Pwnie and Skarz were both attempting to teach me how to do a crossover before I had to re-do my Corporal test on the Sunday night so this was my last chance to learn how to do it. It also gave me a chance to meet some of the guys I had been chatting to on the social skate Facebook group like Skarz, Carley and Susie. I think Pwnie has taken it upon herself to become my PR person. When she was introducing me to some of her team mates she was telling them I did this blog and that I had done some reviews for the Newcastle bouts, thanks Pwnie :D She was in full coach mode before I even got my skates on. She was running me through what we would be doing so once I stretched and warmed up I was ready to go. God knows Cherry and my team mates have tried teaching me various methods to do a crossover and the method Pwnie was teaching me was a completely different method again. Pwnie's method was about completely breaking down the crossover and then putting it back together again, just like stripping down an engine and then re-building it again. It sounds so simple. I found some parts more challenging than others but the more times I did all the parts, the better I got and the more comfortable I became. Pwnie quickly picked up that I look at my feet when I try to do crossovers, I'm aware I'm doing it, it's because I have this fear at the back of my head that if I don't look down, my feet will get tangled when I try to do a crossover and I'll stack it. She got me to stare at a point on the wall when we were practising the drills and I soon came to realise that I could do these drills and not get my feet tangled up if I didn't look at my feet so that was a nice little win for me. By the end of it although I hadn't gotten the crossover down 100% I knew for sure that my technique had improved so I was happy with that.

Skarz asked me if I wanted to join her and the freshies practising falls for their level one test so I did. For those that don't know Skarz is better known as Skarz N Strikz, she's the only female ref in NRDL. I'm weak doing single knee falls on my left knee and I completely stuffed up on my first attempt. Skarz took me through it and it worked. I was able to do them with a bit more control after that. I practised other falls like double knee, four point fall, single knee fall with a 180° turn, then I tried a fall they call 360° porn star. I never attempted that one before so my first attempt wasn't too crash hot but my second one was better. I learnt a lot that morning and had a lot of fun too. The freshies I was practising falls with were a nice bunch too. Pwnie and Skarz are really good teachers, they helped me a lot. I really hope I can return the favour one day. Once again thanks heaps guys. I hope to skate with you guys again more often :)

Roll on Sunday for D-Day. The realistic part of me didn't think I would pass on my second attempt because although I had noticed improvments in my skating and general skills I didn't think it was at the level required to pass. Plus I had gotten the cold on Wednesday so my nose completely blocked so I knew I was going to struggle with breathing especially during endurance. Despite all that I knew I was going to go all out and not leave anything in the tank and improve on my first attempt from a few months ago. I took on Pwnie's advice and followed the pre-training meal plan she suggested. I also decided to wear my lucky shirt which is the Liverpool jersey with my derby surname and number on the back of it

By the time we were warmed up and lining up to start the endurance part of the test I was focussed and ready to go all guns blazing. Lynda was counting my laps so I didn't worry about counting laps I was just worried about my form and trying to do crossovers. After the training session with Pwnie the day before I made a conscious effort to look straight ahead instead of my feet when I attempted crossovers. It didn't take long for my blocked nose and wearing a mouthguard to hinder my breathing. My chest felt like it was on fire. I wanted to give up, I didn't feel like I was going fast enough and eventually every second I kept thinking the five minutes will be up and I won't have done enough laps in time. I kept skating though left foot, right foot then attempt a crossover coming out of the bends and repeat and then I hear Lynda telling me one more lap until I hit the magical 20 laps so I tried picking up the pace and I do it. It was the first time I've hit 20 laps in a 5 minute endurance. I manage to do 21 before Poz calls time. I end up on the floor unable to breathe thanks to the stupid cold and I'm thinking it would be easy just to quit right there and then but I eventually pick myself up and get ready to do the rest of the test. Unlike my first attempt, I attempted everything this time around stops, falls and jumps. My double knee and four point falls aren't as tight as I'd like them to be but I keep going and eventually it's over. I feel completely stuffed and no amount of blowing my nose unblocks it. I was pleased with my effort but I didn't think I passed.

Cheya and Mon were doing the endurance test for their Sargeant level. I was counting laps for Mon and catching my breath back. Once that finished Poz came up to me with my test results. Judging by the serious look on her face I braced myself for failure then I look at the results. I've got ticks next to everything and 21 laps next to endurance. Did I just pass? I look at it again and I appear to have passed. WTF? I ask Poz if I passed and then it sinks in that I passed. I cannot believe it, I've fucking passed!!! I can't help it I scream out to everyone in the room that I've passed :) I'm still in a state of disbelief but I'm so happy I could just scream again. Nine months of injuries, mental battles, illness and tears mixed with stubborness leads to this moment. You know what it was all worth it. Everyone handles it differently but passing this first step means so much to me. Like Pwnie said passing this first level is the hardest thing you'll ever have to do in roller derby and I agree with her. If you can get past that first step then you know you can past everything else because you know you have it in you to do it. It also means now that I get to join in the more advanced skill training instead of watching from the other court wishing I could.

Pwnie's reaction when I posted that I passed on Facebook made me laugh. It was great to be able to share it with her. Not only had she helped me she also knew the feeling of finally passing after struggling with getting past fresh meat level. While I was buzzing for days I also knew that I was back at the bottom. I now have to work my way up Corporal level to pass my Sargeant level. So not only am I battling mental battles I'll have more physical battles as I start doing hits, pack work and eventually scrimmage. It'll only get harder as more will be expected of me so now I have to work even harder.

Roller Derby is my game, Lisbeth Slammed-her is my name.
    
 

Newcastle Dockyard Dames vs Adeladies bout review

After seeing the Fort Smashleys defeat the Harbour Hellcats the week before in their intraleague bout, it was time to head up to Newcastle again to watch Newcastle's Dockyard Dames take on the Adeladies. This time round my team mate Lauren came with me. She'd never seen either team bout before, I've seen Newcastle bout before but not the Adeladies. I knew Newcastle were good but I heard the Adeladies were pretty good too so I hoping for a good bout and oh boy was it that and more.

There was a mini bout before the main bout. It was NRDL's Star Riots which was their B-team take on CCRG's The Valkyries. I'd never seen CCRG bout before but I recognised  a lot of the players from the Riots from the bout the week before. It started off fairly evenly in the first few jams then the Star Riots really ran riot (pardon the pun). The Valkyries started clawing back the deficit in the second half but it was too little too late as the Star Riots skated away 102 - 27 victors. I had Suzy Pow sitting in front of me for most of the bout so it was good to pick up on some more rules listening to her. I was really impressed by Newcastle's captain Broken Arrow. She was absolutely amazing that night. Not only was she a beast of a blocker she was also organising her pack really well when she was on the track. There must be something in the water up in Newcastle, they breed blockers that amaze and scare the hell out of me at the same time :) Special mention has to go to CCRG's Kiki Kick Arse Chaos she was sneaking sips of beer when she could, you've gotta love derby :D

By the time the skaters came out for their warm up the place was already buzzing. There were people there at a bout for the first time, the regulars and lots of skaters from other leagues. It was a great turn out. The warm up ranged from just skating to practising moves and added to the excitement of waiting for the whistle to start the bout.

The first few jams started off fairly tame as both sides appeared to be sizing each other out. Then the bout exploded into life when Suzy Pow and Adelaide's Kit Cat Krunch lined up on the jammer line. Adelaide's defence was a brick wall on wheels, whenever Suzy tried getting passed she more often than not fell from the heavy hits she received. I think Adelaide did their homework on Suzy especially GoGo Fiasco who gave Suzy a torrid time. Kit Cat on the other hand was killing it and managed to score a 18 - 0 jam to give Adelaide an early 22 - 3 lead. That was also the last jam that I saw Suzy jam, no idea if it was a tactical decision but it suprised me a little since I'm used to seeing her as jammer in bouts. 

Newcastle weren't going to take this lying down, DangeRass picked up a 7-0 jam over Coconut Rough. Godjilla played a smart jam using various tactics to help DangeRass out and she was leading from the front of the pack and did so for a quite a few of the first few jams. I'm not sure how often she plays from the front, most times I've seen her bout she's been a wrecking ball at the back of the pack. 

Defcon Dani had a power jam and the no pack tactics at the start of the jam from her blockers helped her score a 14 - 0 jam which allowed the Dames to hit the lead for the first time with the score at 37 - 32. The crowd were getting behind the Dames but then Kit Cat struck again. With a power jam she scored a 10 - 0 jam. In her next jam she was hitting Hippy Hardarse from the start and causing major havoc as she scored a 7 - 0 jam to take the score out to 49 - 37. In Kit Cat's next jam she smashed Babycakes on her way to scoring a 4 - 0 jam. I don't think anyone forgot Kit Cat that night, she hurt the Dames not just on the track but on the scoreboard too whenever she was jamming.

The Dames fought back with Hippy scoring 12 points in her jam while Adelaide had a blocker and jammer in the penalty box but then she too got sent to the penalty box. Godjilla found herself in the penalty box for the third time in the first half and I was starting to get worried she'd end up getting expelled from the bout for clocking up too many majors.

But Jilla more than made up for it when she got back on the track and absolutely smashed She-Ra, she was not expecting it all. I almost jumped out of my seat, it's great seeing one of your skating idols at their best. Although I hope she hasn't got a thing for opposition players wearing the number 33 because she also hammered Moe Skeeto who wears 33. 33 is my derby number so now I'm a little worried!

The first half ended 63 - 51 to the Adeladies. This bout was absolutely crazy, the jams were played at break neck speed with the blockers skating at a pace you'd expect from jammers. There were hits galore but there was also lots of trips to the penalty box for both sides, one of the more common majors was for cutting the track.

Half time was quite funny and cute. There was a KISS tribute type band performing for the crowd. To my left and the row in front of me there were a few kids who stuck their program out to any skater who went past in the hope of getting an autograph. It just reminds me of Whip It. It's cool to see kids wanting to get skaters autographs. I have to mention Adelaide's Vaderella. I've read and heard about her but never got to see her bout. I know she's a big deal in Aussie roller derby circles and when it was half time she joined in and danced around but when it came to her players warming up before the second half she was all business, getting them to do various drills. I didn't speak to her but there's an air about her that demands respect.

The start to the second half was all Newcastle, starting with Godjilla who smacked out Kit Cat and allowed Babycakes to score a 3 - 2 jam. The Dames went with the tactic of trying to score quick, fast jams to cut back the deficit and it worked with Babycakes, DangeRass, Brigand Strong and Hippy all scoring quick points which allowed the Dames to the hit the lead again 78 - 76.

Hippy was getting nice and low and weaving through the pack with her great agility. For me the unsung hero for Newcastle was Dino La Rouge, she was playing like a pivot at the front of the pack and more often than not stopped the Adelaide jammers from getting through. Despite Vaderella calling a time out to try and stop Newcastle's momentum, the Dames were still scoring points with DangeRass scoring a 12 - 0 jam and taking the score out to 103 - 76. By this stage there was no full compliment of blockers and jammers for the jams as both sides kept getting players sent to the penalty box. Both sides looked knackered from the physical encounter, my throat was getting sore from cheering and screaming. 

The bout then turned on its head again. I'm believing that the Dames are going to go on and win it but then the trips to the penalty box started costing them. Adelaide started clawing back with the score going 116 - 102, 116 - 111, 119 - 111, then with 45 seconds left this is the score

Number 298 and Kit Cat are pulling off a miracle and bring Adelaide back into the bout. The crowd is almost in a frenzy and the tension in the air is so thick you can't breathe. It's down to the last jam, both sides have a blocker in the bin when Babycakes lines up for the Dames and Tricksy Belt'em lines up for Adelaide. Babycakes gets lead jammer and gets past a few Adelaide blockers and calls off the jam. We're all celebrating thinking the Dames won when Mal the commentator tells us to hang on because there's some Newcastle players in the penalty box so ghost points apply. Vaderella is holding three fingers up to indicate three points for Adelaide with a smile on her face. After an official time out to check the scoring it's announced by Major Puddles that Adelaide won 122 - 121. It's pandemonium by this stage some people don't know what's going on, some are just stunned that Newcastle went from winning the bout to losing it by a point, and the Adelaide supporters are celebrating like crazy!

That was the most intense and nerve wracking bout I've ever been to, I was completely stuffed by the end of it and I didn't even bout. I can't even imagine how the players felt by the end of it. Watching bouts like these makes me even more determined to get out there. These are the kind of night's I think most derby folk dream about. I caught up with Cass and some of my friend's from WSR at the end of the bout and we all had pretty much the same reaction. I won't be forgetting this night anytime soon. The Dames more than held their own and the Adeladies were absolutely amazing. I'll definately be keeping a look out for them.

I saw the cutest thing just before I left. There was a little girl who was getting autographs from players then she went up to Godjilla and got so shy she almost cried. Jilla went on her knees and gave her an autograph. Don't worry kiddo I know where you're coming from, I wasn't much better when I met Jilla for the first time last month :D

Wobble, wobble :)

Hello all, I know it has been a while since my last regular write up. Time has not been my friend lately plus my never ending injury hasn't helped. I'm back on my skates in fact I've come from training and currently have both my right knee and right arse cheek with ice packs on them after I stacked it on my arse when my wheel got stuck on the track while attempting to do a snow plough. Derby is tough but I've long since discovered that you need to be even tougher if you want to succeed in the sport.

As for this never ending ankle injury saga, I finally had enough and booked an appointment with the physio. According to her my skating technique was causing the tendon that runs from my right foot and up 3/4 of my leg to get fatigued and causing me a shit load of pain only when I was skating. She gave me some strengthening exercises to do on the wobble board and how to strap my ankle and leg before training. I also have the problem that my ankles roll out so I'm putting extra pressure on them. I'm sure when I upgrade my skates to the 122 boot it'll support my ankles a lot better so that'll help too. On Friday Cheya pointed out that I skated with my knees pointed in and that was probably causing the problems. So when we had our freshie hour at training tonight I focussed on skating with my knees pointed out slightly and would you believe it the pain in my tendon stopped. I was so over the moon, I really hope this is the end of this long running injury drama. I hate being restricted, I just want to be able to skate and train like everyone else.

I don't know why but I'm getting good feedback about my blog. My blog tends to follow this pattern - got injured again, blah, blah, I'm pissed off about this latest injury, blah, blah, I'm pissed off I suck at derby and I'm not progressing like everyone else and repeat. It's not like I'm writing about knocking Cherry on her arse at training with an awesome can opener or killing it in scrimmage, all the fun stuff I wish I was able to do by this stage. People seem to like it and it has ended up presenting writing opportunities for me that I never expected. First up I did the review for last weeks Fort Smashley vs Harbour Hellcats bout for Roller Derby Au and for me the biggest praise was finding out that Suzy Pow linked it on the NRDL members page for people to read. Next up Cherry has asked me to do a write up on our league and to update it in the future as more things happen, she's trusted me enough to give me free reign on it which is a massive complement. Roller Derby Au have asked me to do the review for the Smashleys vs Hellcats season decider next month PLUS they're letting me do the reviews for H*A*R*D's bouts starting from next year until I'm finally good enough to be bouting myself. I still can't believe it all. After doing the review for RDAU I discovered I enjoyed doing reviews so I've decided to do bout reviews on my own blog. They won't be formal as the first one I did. I've got the Newcastle vs Adeladies bout to write up and I'll also be doing one for the ERRD finals next week for both bouts. I actually had Dicey ask me at training tonight if I had done the review yet for the Newy vs Adelaide bout, it's always nice to hear that people like your work and want to read it.  

Training wise, I'm not too worried about the things I still suck at like walking on toe stops, all my attention is focussed on next Sunday's Corporal aka white star test and giving myself the best chance of passing it once and for all. Ever since I discovered the date of the test I've been making the most of freshie hour on Sunday night training to work on the things I'm struggling with. I don't think I'll pass this time round but I think I've made some improvements from my first attempt a few months ago. Tonight I improved in my attempts at doing a crossover. Over the last couple of weeks I've finally managed to skate around the bends on my left foot which will definately help with the crossovers. Tonight during endurance Cherry was telling us to turn our bodies into the bends while attempting to do the crossovers, I tried it and I swear it helped. I'm at the stage where my technique is getting better but it's JUST not enough to make it a complete crossover. For the first time since I started derby training I'm starting to believe that I can do a crossover. These last two weeks I'm starting to notice some improvements overall in my skating but I think it may have come too late for next week's test but I'll give it my all anyway.

In my desperation to learn how to do a crossover before my test, I'm making an emergency trip up to Newcastle to skate with the NRDL social skating group next Saturday. Cass and some of her team mates are going to show me crossover drills that worked for them, apparently one of them is from Godjilla so that's pretty cool! I'm looking forward to working with them and meeting even more like minded derby folk.

Speaking about Cherry and Jilla, I remember when I read their responses from the interview I did with them that I have something in common with them. With Cherry I'm struggling with crossovers and learning new skills like she did when she started, with Jilla I have the same problem of having to pull my finger out when it comes to fitness. Why the hell couldn't I get their better traits haha Ohh and roller derby gods if you're listening could you please somehow organise a co-training session with these two awesome coaches when I'm at scrimmage level so I could learn from the both of them, it'll make up for all the tears and injuries I've endured so far :D

Fort Smashley vs Harbour Hellcats review - the director's cut :P

Roller Derby Au asked me to do a review for the Fort Smashleys vs Harbour Hellcats bout last Saturday. I was a little apprehensive at first because it's a bit different writing a laid back blog that a couple of people read compared to a more professional site that's read nationwide. I said yes in the end and I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed doing it. Here's the final version. I'm a self confessed Fort Smashleys fan but I tried to make it as un-bias as possible.

Of course there were other things that happened that night that I couldn't really put on the proper review so I thought I'd put it all here instead.

After my own league NRDL has become my next favourite league. I think it comes down to that whenever I've seen them bout I'm always reminded of Whip It. They play at a high level but they also look like they're having so much fun at the same time and it rubs off on the crowd. To me that's what derby is all about. They've also got their fair share of characters in there like The Cramp. Not just that I've also met a few nice people off skates there too.

There were two people I wanted to meet at the bout. The first person was Cass aka Apocalypse Pwnie. She messaged me out the blue a few weeks ago telling me she could relate with the struggles of progressing in derby and she read my blog. We ran into each other at half time and had a chat. She's ace, she really is derby personified - doing NSO duties, getting her skates checked out at half time and down to what she was wearing, she's 100% derby :) I even managed to get a photo with her.

Ness was running around meeting her favourite skaters from the Hellcats and getting them to sign her shirt at half time. She managed to get The Cramp, Suzy Pow, Booga and Heartless Desire so she was pretty happy after that especially since the Hellcats were leading on the scoreboard at half time.

As if the half time break wasn't already action packed enough, so who do I run into while I'm lining up to buy a drink none other than Godjilla! After last months shocker of an intro when I was too shy and starstruck to even say hello, I did what I should have done last month and introduced myself, told her I was a big fan and shook her hand. She asked me what my derby name was and I think she sounded impressed.

At the end of the bout which the mighty Fort Smashleys won I was chatting to Cass, had Jilla hook me with Belt'er Goodrem to ask her a few questions for the review I did, then I waited to ask Jilla if I could have a photo taken with her but then something completely unexpected happen. I had a girl come up to me and ask me if I wrote that blog, I told her I did write a blog and then she told me she was a fan. I swear to you never in a million years did I expect a complete stranger to come up to me and tell me they liked my blog. It took me a second to get over the surprise. I discovered she was Cahlee AKA Beth LeHell and was the NRDL equivalent of me! So there's more of us out there who don't pick up derby as quick as everyone else. She was cool to talk to. I'll get to skate with her and the others in the NRDL social skate group on the 8/10 which I'm looking forward to.    

To top the night off I caught up with Jilla and got a photo with her :D I was proud of myself, I actually acted normal in front of her this time around. I can be around my skating idols without going too fangirly hehe. It was such an amazing night, I had the best time. Mon, Lauren and I are heading up to watch the Newcastle vs Adelaide bout on Saturday night so I thought I'd do a little review on my blog, nothing proper like the one I did for Roller Derby AU.

I'll leave you with this...