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Larwood Invitational Cup Season Finale

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An emotional moment for all as it was the last Volfsball of the season (although there may be a Der Goldene Volf in the Wirral in December). It was time for the oldest cup in Volfsball - The Larwood Invitational. The temperature was a scorching 24 degrees in what has been an incredibly lucky season weather wise for the sport.

Before the games kicked off the MVP award was handed out. The prize can only be received once, so Ben Stanier the top scorer at the time was out of the running. Ryan Howes lifted the prize for his incredible number of Volfsballs this season. Honourable mentions go to Gregory Stanier and James Hunt.

Only three teams competed - the Happy Friends, Kilbonez and Supermoons. The latter had drafted in Ben and Alex Stanier to join Captain Larwood.

Each of the three teams would play each other twice, the winner whoever won the most games or had best points difference in the event of a tie.

Happy Friends v Supermoons

It was the Friends who started out the strongest, Gregory Stanier, Andrew Woodward and Hew Ingram passing it around wonderfully, while Larwood and the two elder Staniers struggled to find shooting accuracy. The Friends were up 4-1.

Larwood started the next third with a Volfsball to bring the Moons back into it but the Friends continued with impressive all round play, Gregory Stanier shooting seven from eight from the field to give them an 8-7 lead.

The Friends continued to dominate as the Moons struggled with accuracy and came out 15-10 winners (scored 14-11 on the day).

Kilbonez v Happy Friends

In what started out as quite a static game Matt Skillington scored a single with the Kilbonez first shot but they failed to score for the rest of the third. The Happy Friends up 2-1 in a close contest.

Just as the Happy Friends looked like building a lead, the season MVP “Volfmaster” Ryan Howes hit one of his trademark Volfsballs and the Kilbonez ended the first third up 9-5.

The Happy Friends weren’t getting the ball to the in form Gregory Stanier enough in the final third and the Kilbonez held on to an important 11-8 victory.

Supermoons v Kilbonez

Matt Skillington started out on fire for the Kilbonez hitting two Volfsballs with his first two shots. Louise Taylor added another point and the Kilbonez had a big lead. However lots of singles saw the Moons fight back to 11-6 in a frenzied first third.

The Moons continued to fight back with fast flowing Volfsball in the next third, Ben Stanier hit a Volfsball and they were into a 14-12 lead.

In the final third the Volfsballs Alex Stanier hit a Volfsball for the Moons only for Dom Herd to reply for the Kilbonez. It was all too late as the Moons ran out 22-19 winners. (Scored 21-19 on the day)

So after the first round all was pretty even, all three teams with a win.

Supermoons vs Happy Friends

Another case of poor shooting from both sides as the first third saw plenty of squandered opportunities with the Moons leading 3-1.

The next third was low on quality but the Moons still had the edge 6-5. In the final third a Gregory Stanier Volfsball proved to be the difference giving them a 12-9 victory and one win away from the trophy.

Kilbonez v Happy Friends

The Kilbonez needed to win to keep the competition alive, but it was the Friends who went into a flying start, Hew Ingram leading the surge into a 7-0 lead. The second third saw a poor display of shooting from both sides as they were only able to put one point each on the scoreboard 8-1.

The Friends continued with their domination in the final third to win 13-3 and lift the splendid trophy.

Supermoons v Kilbonez

A dead rubber. No-one cares about the result of this match. It finished the Moons winning 14-4.

Final Table

Congratulations to the Happy Friends who added the trophy to their County Cup win.

Hot Shot Challenge

After the game we had a fund raising shoot out. Every chipped in a pound and had six shots, with the highest scorer taking half the pot. Ben Stanier was an early leader but Dom Herd hit all six shots with kicks to win with 18 points and scoop the £5.50 prize.

Thanks to everyone who has played and helped out this year, with a special thank you to the Stanier family and Hew Ingram for their support. Good luck everyone and see you next year.

Supermoons 10 vs 15 Happy Friends

Kilbonez 11 v 8 Happy Friends

Supermoons 22 v 19 Kilbonez

Supermoons 9 vs 12 Happy Friends

Kilbonez 3 v 13 Happy Friends

Supermoons 14 v 4 Kilbonez