BAFANL PREMIER SOUTH LONDON SOUTH WALES vs BLITZ WARRIORS 16 GAME 3 Chairman’s Welcome Welcome to the University Of Hertfordshire Sports Village. Given the London Blitz’s ‘nomadic’ lifestyle during the 2016 season on account of the refurbishments in Finsbury Park (which I’m pleased to say are making fantastic progress), I'd like to say a huge thank you to the University of Hertfordshire for hosting our home game today against the South Wales warriors. Despite the significant changes that took place at the end of the 2015 season, not only to our home ground, but also to our coaching staff and committee, the club has demonstrated its ability to remain focused on what really matters - staying strong as a team and winning games. Our performance in the opening games of the season against Farnham and Bristol have demonstrated why we are once again contenders for the national title. Led by head coach Damian Anderson, our versatile offence has kept defences guessing, and we have managed to put up big numbers with both running and passing plays. Our defence, led by coach Duncan Burford, has also put in solid performances, ensuring the victory on both outings against challenging opponents. The match this afternoon against the South Wales Warriors will be an exciting one. Last season the Blitz came out on top in both games, but the Warriors are coming fresh off a 35-18 win over the London Olympians, and they’ll want to continue that momentum with another strong performance. We can’t take this game for granted. Finally I'd like to say another thank you, this time to one of our partners for this season, Sport Insure. Injuries are an unpleasant but inevitable part of our sport, and Sport Insure gives players peace of mind that their future will be protected whatever happens, so that they can focus on winning. For more information please visit http://nlfa.sport-insure.co.uk/blitz/ We still have a long season ahead of us, but we know where we need to get to and we’re already heading in the right direction! South Wales Warriors The South Wales Warriors are an American Football team currently competing in Premiership South Conference of the BAFA Community Leagues (BAFACL). They play their home games at the home of Llanharan rugby club. The club was formed in 1993 as the Tiger Bay Warriors, and started out as a Junior Flag team. After withdrawing from the league in 2000, the team was reformed as the South Wales Warriors in 2001. In 2011, the South Wales Warriors beat the West Coast Trojans at the Division 2 Britbowl final at Crystal Palace Stadium 48-20, crowning them Britbowl XXV BAFANL Division 2 Champions. In 2012 the South Wales Warriors were promoted to the Premiership South Division after an expansion programme run by BAFA. Joining the London Blitz Daniel Howard - Linebacker #44 Having played for 8 seasons before joining the Blitz, the two key reasons I chose to join the club were, first and foremost, to win a national title, and also to learn more from some of the best coaches and players in the country. Given that it had been nearly 5 seasons since I had participated at a team try-out, I approached the rookie days with a bit of nervousness! With the number of returners and coaches on hand, the sessions flew past. Before we even got kitted up, the drills and situational plays were used to teach core skills, and to see who had previous experience. The first contact session was great, although the next few days of aching weren't! Over the next few weeks, I, along some of the other B Team veterans and the club newcomers, began to get called up to the A Team for training sessions. My first residential camp opened a lot of eyes – early starts, bad dancing (especially on my part) and more than a dozen training sessions in a weekend meant we were able to install a lot of plays, refine technique and bond as a team – and with just a few weeks before the first game, it was crucial. Hearing that I had made the A team in the week before the first match against the Farnham Knights was a great feeling – especially pulling on the jersey for the first time, and setting foot on the field for the first kick off. The next match vs South Wales Warriors will show our intentions for the rest of the season, and you can definitely feel that we're working towards something special this year. Bristol Aztecs vs. London Blitz Match Report After a comfortable win against the Farnham Knights, the London Blitz traveled west to Bristol to take on the Aztecs. The bus ride over didn’t seem to do the players much good, and Bristol took full advantage of an uninspiring Blitz start to put the first 7 points on the board. The Blitz answered just before half time with a much needed score, but failed to convert the extra point, and headed into halftime trailing 6-7. It took until the 3rd quarter before both the Blitz offence and the defence found their rhythm. But when they did, they showed why they are once again title contenders. Deji Alli and Temi Oduyemi led the way with some impressive and powerful running on both sides of the tackle, with the running backs finding the end zone multiple times. The Atzecs were not ready for the sudden change of pace, and soon the score climbed to 26-7. The game was finally put away when the defence stepped up. Rodon Zeqiri deserves special mention for almost single-handedly stopping multiple Bristol drives. The Aztecs attempted some trickery with a fake punt to get themselves back in the game, but it was covered well, with Stefan Gonzalez making the tackle to secure a turnover on downs. However, Bristol did not give up, and kept throwing the ball around the field, which had proved fruitful throughout the day. They managed to find end zone twice late in the 4th quarter; the final score standing at 39-19. It was not the best game of Blitz football and the players will be poised to do better next Sunday on the 8th of May, home against South Wales Warriors. Photography (c) phil3productions London Blitz Roster Number Player Name Number Player Name 3 Tim Liechti 52 Matt Eva 4 Shane Afolabi 53 Remi Akibo 5 KB Asiedu 54 Ed Cheadle 6 Charlie Joseph 55 Sky Modebe 7 Jeff Davis 56 James Connolly 8 Sam Marshall 57 Scott Hillcoat 9 Kyle Jervier 58 Max Petitjean 10 Jack Daley 65 Matt Meyer 71 Siever Stubben 11 Ronel Daley-Thomas 72 Joe Awonusi 12 Josh Adamson 73 Justin 13 Mike Aboujaoude 74 Deejay Ogunkolati 16 Ben Sarpong 75 Majid 17 Luke Naughton 77 Joseph Odeginyon 19 Jonell Pellie 78 Azmi Sbaiti 22 Deji Davies 79 Bam Olaseni 23 Deji Alli 80 Henry Charlton Weedy 24 Enoch Hankombo 81 Justin Holder 25 Sam Joseph 82 Craig Marron 26 Matt Barrington 83 Josh Vines 27 William Kodjo Davis 84 Sam Rodgers 28 Temi Oduyemi 85 Fabio 29 Jason Selormey 86 Alex Laird 31 Raphael Osei 88 Jasper Van Dooren 32 Glen Toonga 89 Ricardo Libbert 33 Stefan Rivera-Gonzalez 90 Alan Blake 34 Jose Van Ooten 91 Jonny Ridge 35 Lewis Owusu-Afriyie 92 Oti Ojuyah 36 Jordan MacIntosh 93 Rodon Zeqiri 38 Aaron 94 Charlie Cohen 39 Luke Prendergast 95 Ari Halldorsson 41 Jordan Jones 96 Luke Whitney 44 Daniel Howard 97 Oli Stein 49 Fab Gargiulo 98 Jamie Charles 51 Alex Davies 99 Kamil Potrec South Wales Warriors Roster Number Player Name Number Player Name 3 Sam Huxtable 59 Ian Oakley 5 Dean Jackson 60 David Usher Matthew Tynan 7 65 Anthony Holland Gareth Thomas 8 66 David Coles Benjamin Alan Cooper 9 67 Stewart McCarthy Lawrence Tuckett 10 68 Oliver Blocker Nick Dacey 11 69 Dan Emberson 14 Bradley Clay 71 Thomas Davies 15 Robert Jones 72 David Farr 20 Christopher Bartlett-Legge 76 Nic Johnson 23 Joshua Hurford 79 Huw Costello 24 Kevin Green 81 Daniel Dacey 26 Adam Balson 82 Chris Morgan 27 Shaun Vaughan 82 William Cooper 28 Tom Slater 85 Nate Webb 29 Ross Tweddle 87 Zac Taylor 35 Simon Braule 89 Dean Evans 36 Robert Pryce 89 Kearn Foster 39 Peter Allott 90 Sam Stokes 40 Owen Hughes 92 Will Nunn 41 James Carlson 93 Riccardo Byrne 44 Gwyn James 96 Kyle Crowley 45 Akeem Hallisey Johnathan Reid 47 Greg Davis 96 Daniel White 48 Stewart Bicker 97 Mark Atkin 49 Richard Evans 98 Spencer McKinney 50 Dan Davies 99 Stephen Chappell 52 Nicholas Yeubrey N/A Ryan Moorse 54 Lewis Jones N/A 55 James Henderson N/A Kurt Roberts 56 Alex Lester N/A Michael Steyn 57 Andrew Pryce N/A Ruairidh Lewis 58 Rhys Bain N/A Joseph Lee Premier South: Schedule Date Opponent Venue Result Score April 17th Farnham Knights Home Win 42 - 6 May 1st Bristol Aztecs Away Win 19 - 39 May 8th South Wales Warriors Home - - May 22nd London Warriors Away - - June 12th Bristol Aztecs Home - - June 19th London Olympians Home - - June 26th Farnham Knights Away - - July 10th South Wales Warriors Away - - July 17th London Olympians Away - - August 7th London Warriors Home - - Premier South: Standings Team Win Loss Tie PCT PF PA London Warriors 2 0 0 100 139 8 London Blitz 2 0 0 100 75 25 Bristol Aztecs 1 1 0 50 49 41 South Wales Warriors 1 1 0 50 35 95 London Olympians 0 2 0 0 26 65 Farnham Knights 0 2 0 0 14 104 Feature Player: Timothée Liechti Quarterback #3 Where did your Blitz journey begin? My Blitz journey began back in early 2013 when my old uni coach, Firas, told me to come down to a session, where I wanted to play WR.