Stonehewers & Choppers Dominate Opening Day

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Updated: April 24, 2017

A lovely day for Volfsball.

Volfsball 23rd April 2017

St George’s Day and the start of a new season for England’s new national sport (yet to be officially confirmed). Record crowds of two people gathered to watch on the sidelines as four of the top teams prepared to fight it out. The Stonehewers in brand new red, black and white kit, the Choppers sporting new red away colours and the Supermoons in tired old blue T-shirts. The Snakehips were also on hand with biscuits all the way from Switzerland which we were assured were not dog biscuits.

Snakehips vs Stonehewers

The season opener, five months of anticipation all expelled in form of thunderous cheers as the teams took the field. There were rumours of the Stonehewers actually practicing in the off season, unheard of in Volfsball, but it certainly paid dividends as they dominated early doors. Lovely passing and great accuracy from Alex Stanier as they shot into a 6-1 lead (scored 5-1 on the day).

In the second third last season’s MVP Rob Marland started to see more of the ball and the Snakehips crept back to 9-5 (actual score 10-5). But with the Snakehips forced to go for Volfsballs as the time clock went down the Stonehewers pushed ahead winning 15-6. An impressive start to the season.

Choppers relentlessly trying a move which people forgot is illegal.

Supermoons v Choppers

Last year’s league champions the Moons looked for a strong start and surged ahead in the first quarter Richie Hart hitting a Volfsball, and Larwood following up. However there was some terrible mix up with the scoring on the sidelines, with people adding Moons scores to the opposition’s points. The Moons winning the first third with a record 14 -2, but on the day score 13-4. A mistake that would later cost the champions.

A mediocre second third saw the teams score few points. In the last third two Volfsballs from Tom Bell brought the Choppers back in it. The shellshocked Moons had no reply. Match scoring gave the Choppers a 20-19 win, review of the footage indicates the real score was 20-19 Moons. However the score on the day counts the Supermoons will be calling for more stringent scoring in the future.

Hats off to Tom Bell for scoring 15 points for the Choppers in their dubious victory,

James Branch bringing Volfsball into the 22nd Century with drone footage.

Choppers vs Stonehewers

The drone was up in the sky as the first ever aerial match coverage took place. Ben Stanier hit a Volfsball early and the teams traded points. Stonehewers up 9-5 after the first three minutes. Consistent play by the family squad saw them edge into a 12-8 lead with three minutes left.

The Choppers rallied back to 14-11, but were unable to score a Volfsball to bring them back into the game and the Stonehewers remained undefeated 15-12.

Supermoons vs Snakehips – Watch some in 360

The warm April afternoon was having it’s affect as the teams slowed down the pace. The Moons up 3-1 in an uneventful first third. After that the teams pretty much traded points, Richie Hart taking an almost record breaking 19 shots for the Moons, while Marland hit a Volfsball and struck singles from all over the field. With seconds left the Moons were 14-13 up as Marland was forced to shoot for the tie. He hit the single and the game finished 14-14.

Later inspection revealed this was the second instance of terrible scoring from the field and the Snakehips would have won the match 15-14.

Choppers vs Snakehips – Watch Some here in 360

A frenetic start saw the Choppers playing some of their best Volfsball, but in reply the Snakehips Marland was devastatingly accurate from the field giving them a 6-4 lead. But the Choppers clawed back with a series of one points in the second third, James Rowland’s powerful arm almost threatening to break the camera attached to the post. Scorers had the game at 10-7 Chopper, yet another mistake as it was 9-8.

In the final third the Choppers played safe, hitting the one pointers while a Volfsball eluded the Snakehips. Final score 14-12 Choppers (again scored incorrectly 15-10 on the day). Rob Marland almost broke the record for shots taken with a total of 20.

An impressive day of Volfsball from the Stonehewers.

Stonehewers vs Supermoons

James Branch put his drone down and made his debut for the Moons, and some great early play from Simon Feilder saw them take a 4-2 lead. The Stonehewers replied coming back to end the first third 6-4. The next third saw the Moons misses pile up, a total of 15 successive missed shots from the first half as the Stonehewers stretched the gap to 10-4. The misses continued stretching to 20 in a row before Richie Hart scored a kick for the Moons, by then it was too late as the Stonehewers sealed up their third successive victory with a 15-7 win. The dark horses at the start of the season already looking like title contenders.

This 360 camera was hastily removed once James Rowland took the field.

Choppers vs Snakehips

Tom Bell started well for the Choppers double blocking Marland in the first play of the game, the much improved Choppers side stormed into a 5-2 lead. In the second third James Rowland caught fire with his power shot, propelling the Choppers into a 10-4 lead. The Snakehips couldn’t fight back and the Choppers were victorious 13-6.

Choppers vs Nobodies

Desperate to get more wins under their belt, the Choppers lined up against the London Nobodies. The team made up of disparate players who want another game, in this case – Marland, Wareing, Feilder and Larwood.

A very open game saw the Choppers take a 4-2 lead in the first third, Wareing clocking up three blocks in the first period alone. It was now over three hours into the Volfsball day and fitness levels all round were beginning to tell. Shooting went awry and the Choppers won again 9-4. A terrific day for the Choppers who with the help of some dodgy scoring equalled their total wins for the whole of 2016 in one day. Harringay Choppers top of the league, but the Stonehewers undefeated.

Rule Clarification

Playing Rules – Rule 3 – states that teams may not lift each other up while on offence, this tactic is only on defence.
Scoring – When more two teams are playing one of the other teams will now offer a designated scorer, who will use pen and paper. Two results went the wrong way today due to scoring errors.
Travelling – reviewing footage shows a lot of players are travelling with the ball – the rules state that you may pivot on one foot and then jump off the second foot. However a lot of players are walking around on the spot and turning around not using the pivot rules. Refereeing in this will be more stringent in future.