And so it comes down to this. Two rounds to play and a lot on the line for a whole lot of teams. Round 7 continued the emergence of The Pantheon as a premiership contender as they neatly dispatched Gronks Boyz 2-0. After beating Jurassic Havok the previous round The Pantheon were riding high on the wings of their foul Gods who continued to show their favour by granting favourable dice for the whole game.
Following on from two wins going into the final round of the season, The Pantheon stand a real chance of qualifying for Finals needing only a draw if Sokol’s Scoundrel’s draw to Bone Lads in round 8.
Sokol’s Scoundrel’s had the bye round so were heading into round 8 needing at least a point to challenge for finals. Cemetery Dropouts versed Bone Lads which saw the Dropouts consolidate their finals run and locking up at least 3rd. Dingley Bypass locked up top spot of the regular season dispatching The Osseous Tossers 1-0 and then going into the finals with the Bye round 8. Gold Diggers despite having the worst record in the regular season will go into next season with the number 1 draft pick. The Gold Diggers would be hopeful that their new prospect can help elevate them into a finals position.
Round 8 saw the Sokol’s Scoundrel’s play Bone Lads. A win for Sokol’s Scoundrel’s would see The Pantheon need a win to leap them into 4th. Sadly this would not occur as Bone Lads were able to hold the Scoundrel’s to a 1-1 draw opening the door for The Pantheon to leap them with a point. Gronks Boyz would finish strong with a 2-0 win over Gold Diggers finishing the season on a high with the win and the number 2 draft pick.
The two rounds with the most effect on the season were held between Jurassic Havok v Cemetery Dropouts, and The Osseous Tossers v The Pantheon. Jurassic Havok and the Dropouts arm wrestled their way to a 1-1 scoreline with two turns to go where on the last turn of the game Jurassic Havok managed to score the game winning touchdown at the death of the 2nd half and locking up 2nd place, and the double chance in the process. This would see Cemetery Dropouts play either Sokol’s Scoundrel’s or The Pantheon in the Semi-Final. Thankfully, no one had to wait too long to find this out as just a few days later, The Pantheon squared off against The Osseous Tossers. A point to The Pantheon would see them leap Sokol’s Scoundrels on goal difference into 4th spot and a birth in the finals against the Cemetery Dropouts.
The Osseous Tossers and The Pantheon engaged in a hard fought, bloody affair with the werewolves spending a lot of the first half on the ground, and the newly recruited Minotaur ending up in the injury reserves box after a very successful foul attempt out of sight of the referees. The Pantheon managed to keep the pressure on though taking a 1-0 lead into the 2nd half.
The 2nd half was much closer with The Pantheon failing to make up much ground past the halfway line. The werewolves piled on the pressure whilst being supported by their very stubborn line of dead guys. But on the cusp of The Tossers sacking the Beastman with the ball, the Beastman counter blitzed into open space and with a final push managed to get the touchdown with two turns to go, making it a 2-0 scoreline. The Tossers managed to get one back but the final score was in, 2-1 to The Pantheon. This win would lock the final playoff spot for The Pantheon who play the Cemetery Dropouts in the elimination Semi-Final.
With the close of round 8 we see the end of the regular season, and what a season it has been! Ten teams competed for the opportunity to be crowned the inaugural Melbourne Blood Bowl Association 2022 Premier League Champions. Each team gave it their all and with a little luck going either way at different times, the results could have been very different. The final standings sees the emergence of the very first Top Dog Award being awarded to Andy Smith as the coach with the best record at the end of the regular season. His piloting of Dingley Bypass and the luck of the dice have seen his team progress from annoying, fragile humans to terrifying warrior women who any team would be afraid to play. It would be naive to think he doesn’t have the best chance of being crowned the first ever M.B.B.A. Champion, but only time, and a few more games will tell.
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