Round 9 - Scorpions vs Wolves

Saturday was a good day- We won footy, Ian survived running with the bulls, Scorps had a great night out to give Josh a send off.

A combination of pre game excitement and a skype date with my family (g’day mum and dad if ya reading) had me up and ready by sparrows fart. 1 delicious bowl of porridge (I agree now Rob - can never have enough cinnamon in porridge) and 1 coffee later (dash of low fat soy fully pasteurised free range vegan goat milk, no sugar) and I was out the door, ready to be swiftly swifted away by a Swift to a covert meeting location where I was then told to get out and get in Kearney’s car. A short M6 detour later and we had arrived.

We settled into what was arguably the best change rooms we have had all year and got ready. Change rooms were buzzing- being it Josh’s last game, Lucas was streaming the rugby, music was playing and Tom “Tipungwuti” Would had returned after eagerly undergoing weeks of rehab on his wrist. The Scorps had come to play. This continued out into the warm up where voices were up and everyone seemed focused - key for the next few weeks ahead lads.

First quarter we kicked against the wind. Josh Richards (despite sporting a hangover) had started with a bang, kicking 2 early goals. Carl was setting the scene in the middle with some competitive ruck work. Scorps came into the first break actually have one less scoring shot than the Wolves, but thanks to some good kicking Scorps were up 32-13.

Wolves came out with more gusto in the second. A few moments in the quarter we got caught looking at Robs Ferrari which allowed them to put on a few goals. This was made worse by Josh Richards who copped a big hit which displaced his shoulder ending his last day in a scorps guernsey. We all had to step up and that started with Lucas and Rob in the back who was solid all day as per, Neil also provided some great run from the back lines before he was blindsighted by a hole in the ground. He later made a cameo appearance but later the sore ankle got the better of him. Half time scores finished at 55-33.

Third quarter was when we reallyyyyyyy got going. Tom “Tombstone” Stone kicked 5 sausage rolls for the quarter, leaving him with 9 for the day. Kearney provided a crumbers paradise, being the target of many kicks. James Haden showed the team how to play half back, getting consecutive clearances in the centre on the run through. Ash Swift could do no wrong while his brother Jamie didn’t let the Wolves midfielders get an easy kick all day. Batch laid some brilliant chase down tackles while Tom Would played as if he hadn’t missed any games. We were looking good, Wolves were beat. The fat lady had sung well before the three quarter siren, scores were 105-47.

The fourth quarter we kept pushing, and Wolves did not. It all finished up at 139-66. Players player was yours truly, closely followed by Tombstone. Haden and Ash also recieve honourable mentions. Great win lads, lets keep rolling on the good form deep into finals.

With the formality of the game out of the way we could focus on the night ahead. In tribute to Josh, the theme for the night was party shirt. Excited by the theme, I had the tough task of choosing which one of mine to wear. The one I chose was later called “terrible” by Laura, which I took as a compliment - party shirts are meant to be cringey. Josh repped his flamingo ol favourite, Rob, Jamie and Tombstone pulled off a couple of saucy Hawaiian numbers. While Chaps nailed the Josh Richards look in what could have been a “come as your favourite Scorp” night.

A few other things of note:
- Kearney spotted super-gluing hand to mug in Bierkeller to avoid loosing it
- Laura wanting to know where I shop (secretly likes my fashun despite strongly claiming otherwise)
- Fake Ferrari keys to now be given to each Scorps player when paying subs. Rob to advise how best to use
- Lucas is banned from borrowing shoe horns
- Whats hot: Scorps players being the first ones to stand on the seats at Bierkeller for sing alongs
- Whats not: Neil wanting to go home at 10:30pm

All in all, it was a great night. All the best on your new adventure to Chicago Josh, you will be missed by us here in Nottingham. Safe travels mate!