The First Age 503 Football Finals by myrtaceaae  

Pregame

“And so we have it folks, Nogrod vs Doriath, first semifinal. As we know, Doriath are minor premiers, but they’ll have to put up a good defense against the dwarves of Nogrod.”

“Yes and Doriath’s defense is good, a specialty of theirs, having defended against Morgoth for so many years, but their offense is less strong.”

“And of course their key offensive player, Beleg Cuthalion in centre half forward, was sadly taken off the team by a nasty hamstring injury caused by fellow forward, Turin.”

“Yes, a nasty injury. And Turin had already bumped off another player in the Doriath team, Saeros, so he was really a destructive force against his own side.”

“Yes yes yes, a large loss for Doriath, losing Beleg, but they’ve taken out loose cannon Turin since that incident. Certainly a loss for Doriath’s offensive forward line, but overall I think the longevity of players will have been improved by that decision.”

“Yeah, and with Thingol having been injured too, as well as Melian’s 6 week suspension, just missing out on the finals, it’s been a tough year for Doriath”

“And here we have the Nogrod side. A strong turnout, they had a good season, but could never quite shine. We’ll have to see what they’re made of today, going against the top of the ladder.”

“They’re also a primarily defensive team, but Gamil Zirak can craft incredible plays at the inside fifty so we may see some of his brilliance today.”

“During the home and away, his contest with Thingol was incredible, definitely a contender for mark of the year, we’ll see if he can bring that energy today.”

“And we’ve got Telchar as a ruckman, known for his tackles, he can take a man down easily, so we’re looking forward to his showing.”

—

First Quarter

—

“And the first bounce, the Nogrod ruck Telchar has made a magnificent jump, really beautiful stuff, Nogrod starting strong there. Bringing the ball up the field, some really beautiful dodging from Nogrod centre Narlig and a tidy handball to Orik. Ah, a beautiful kick to the forward fifty line, but centre half back for Doriath,  Mablung, marks it! And he’s taking the free.”

“A nice drop punt into the back pocket, Galadhon marks it and he’s playing on, but Orik tackles him, Galadhon gets out of the tackle and he kicks up the ground, but Telchar marks it in the square.”

“Telchar is kicking back up towards the fifty, Gamil Zirak marks it, he runs, bounces, and kicks to half forward, Vitr.”

“Will Vitr take a shot at goal?”

“Well you know he’s a good kick, but that’s a long way out.”

“Is he going to take it? No, he kicks deeper, into the pocket to Khralin, who marks it and plays on, he kicks back to Vitr, but Ithilbor of Doriath takes the mark! He plays on, a good kick down the ground making space for Dior on the left wing in the midfield, then to Oropher in the centre.“

“From Oropher to Galathil down the central corridor, back towards Oropher, but Bori, Nogrod’s half back has marked it, has a run, bounces, bounces again, and right down the middle into the wing to Dworlim. A wonderful mark, play on, then a handball to Lodgrin, into the inside fifty, he fumbles but Ginnarr has come good, he runs, he grabs the ball, is he going to go for the goal? He does! And the first goal of the game to Nogrod.”

1.0.6 - 0.0.0

—

“In the square, and Telchar is dominating, but a wonderful tackle from Nimloth in the centre, and it’s a ball up. Can they get it out of the pack? Oropher grabs it, he’s tackled by Lorli–but Oropher gets its back, and manages to handpass it to Elmo in the left wing, Elmo takes a run, kicks it to centre half forward Evranin, just shy of the inside fifty.”

“Evranin hand passes to Gereth, and a good tackle by Annarr in full back, but Gereth kicks it deep into the pocket to Galion, a strong mark. Will he take a shot at goal, it looks like he is, and oh! Just shy of it; it’s a behind!”

“A tough angle, that one, but he has done it before.”

“Yes, it could be the nerves, finals season always brings the pressure”

1.0.6-0.1.1

—

“Ball up, and it looks like Doriath has won the contest, Galathil passes down the right wing to Elmo, and then to Elgol, into the inside fifty, but a strong tackle by Lorli. Elgol manages to get out, but their handball is intercepted by Dworlim, who kicks to space, but Lodgrin coming out of the fifty can’t get there in time.”

“The umpire throws the ball in, Oropher in the centre does a decisive punch, and Nimloth takes possession, an effective tackle by Lorli, coming up from the goal.”

“Yes Lorli has started off strong today on the defensive, we’ll see if he can keep it up.”

“Lorli kicks into the centre to Narlig, who handballs to Dworlim, then back to Narlig, and then again to Dworlim, a good bit of teamwork there, then a kick to the forward line Naugladur takes the mark, plays on, and a lovely tackle by Finglas. He handballs into the centre to Elgol, and Elgol is under pressure, the Nogrod side are everywhere, he kicks to Galathil, but Nidi running in from the wing gets under the ball, and takes a screamer of a mark!”

“Yes, a highly contested mark, and Nidi just cut straight through.”

“Yes, he timed it perfectly.”

“Ok, Nidi taking the free kick, kicks to Telchar, who handballs to Orik, he kicks down the corridor  to Lodgrin.”

“Nogrod were really controlling the central corridor there.”

“Yes, that was lovely teamwork.”

“And Lodgrin is tackled by half back Finglas. Finglas handballs to Ithilbor, who is tackled by Ginnarr deep in the pocket, Ithilbor goes for goal… and it’s a behind.”

“Yes, and you can see he’s not happy with it.”

1.1.7 - 0.1.1

—

“Another goal to dwarves.”

2.1.13-0.1.1

—

“A behind, and from a set shot as well, Ginnarr in full forward will be kicking himself.”

“Yes, that’s his second behind, usually he’s quite an accurate shot.”

2.2.14-0.1.1

—

“And a goal for Doriath!”

“Their first goal of the game, and that should make them happy.”

2.2.14-1.1.7

—

“Some rough tackling going on, good pressure from Doriath, dominating that central corridor, really making Nogrod work for possessions.”

2.3.15-1.1.7

—

“Telchar torpedoes the ball into the inside fifty, it’s marked by Naugladur, who plays on, and a lovely tackle by Galadhon. He takes possession, kicks wide into the midfield to Nimloth, and on to Luthien deep into the inside fifty.”

“Yes, a kick to Galion deep into the pocket, and back across to Luthien, and a lovely mark, right in front of the goal.”

“Yes, that was a beautiful mark! She hasn’t had much of the ball yet, but she is a really decisive player, and has the goal count to prove it.”

“And Luthien has kicked the goal!”

“That brings it up to a margin of 2 at quarter time.”

“Yes it was a strong quarter, both sides have worked hard, and there have been some wonderful contests, both sides doing some very effective tackles.”

“And there seems to be a good matchup, remembering that if Doriath loses this game, as the minor premier finishing at the top of the ladder, they’ll have a chance to challenge who wins the final, but for Nogrod this is their only chance.”

2.3.15-2.1.13

Second Quarter

“A strong start from Doriath in this second quarter, across the field into the wing to Elmo, then a handball to Galathil, who runs it down into the fifty, handballs to Evranin, a kick to half forward Luthien, but she’s tackled, and taken down by Bori, he gets the ball out, and kicks towards the middle of the ground, and then a mark from Galathil.”

“Yes, advantage, a kick to Dior in the wing and a handball to Gereth deep into the inside fifty, and a goal!”

“A strong goal from Doriath, so early in the quarter, and Doriath is now leading by 4 points.”

2.3.15-3.1.19

—

“Nogrod ruck Telchar has done a good job, and Narlig takes possession, bounces, a strong tackle by Galathil, but Narlig keeps his feet, hand passes back to Telchar, who kicks to Dworlim, and play on, he kicks towards the fifty to Naugladur, and a wonderful tackle by Galadhon, he snaps a kick to Elmo in the wing, who kicks back to Galadhon.”

“Ah, but Vitr intercepts, and takes a great mark.”

“He’s outside the fifty, kicks to space and finds Lofar coming out of the pocket, strong tackle by Bregalad, but Lofar evades, and kicks towards Ginnarr right in front of the goal. He fumbles it, and is tackled by Doldun of Doriath, but Ginnarr evades the tackle, goes for goal … and hits the post.”

2.4.16-3.1.19

—

“Good pressure from Doriath’s defenders there, I can tell already that the Nogrod forwards are going to have some trouble keeping the ball in their hands.”

“Kick from Doldun to Finglas, back to Doldun. Down the ground from Doldun, into the wing, and the ball finds Elmo, he runs, bounces, looking for space but the Nogrod midfield are covering Doriath well. Elmo bounces again, kicks wide to Galathil.”

“From Galathil across the ground back to Elmo, then down towards the fifty, good pressure from the Nogrod midfield.”

“Elmo kicks down to Luthien, a marvelous tackle by Harr but Luthien evades, and handballs to space, the ball bounces wrong and is picked up by Lorli, who kicks it down through the central corridor into the centre, to Orik.”

“He kicks towards the pocket, to Vitr, but a spectacular mark by Doldun, the Doriath full back, who has come out of the goal to get under the ball. He does a long kick down the field to Galathil, he plays on, and kicks to Oropher in the square, who kicks down into the fifty, and the ball is marked by Beren just inside the fifty.”

“Now, he’s not been in the action much so far.”

“Is he going to take a shot at goal?

“I’m not sure, it’s quite a way out, but he’s done it before.”

“Looks like he isn’t, kicks into the right pocket to Denweg, who is tackled by Radsvidr but keeps his feet, quick handball back to Beren and a goal!”

“Good set up there, and Denweg kept his feet well, bringing the margin up to 9 points.”

2.4.16-4.1.25

—

“Telchar in the ruck, decisively winning the contest, kicks across the wing to Nidi, he kicks back to Telchar, a handball to Lodgrin, to Nidi, down into the inside fifty, marked by Vitr.”

“A smooth start.”

“Yes. Vitr to Ginnarr, down to Khralin in the left pocket, tackled by Bregalad and, he handballs the ball towards Galadhon, who is then tackled by Ginnarr, the ball is kicked down to Lofar, again tackled by Finglas, Lofar kicks to space but Galadhon gains possession, and he’s looking for options.”

“Plenty of disposals by Galadhon, he’s really showing himself to be a central player today, but it seems like the Nogrod players are everywhere.”

“‘Play on’ says the umpire. Galadhon’s still looking for options, and he decides on a rushed behind.”

2.5.17-4.1.25

—

“Kick in by Doldun, who finds Finglas, he kicks wide towards Mablung, and what a mark by Nidi! He just launched himself up there behind Mablung.”

“The ball is kicked towards Gamil Zirak, but Nidi overshot it, and it’s out. Throw in by the umpire, and there’s a strong contest, Ithilbor makes it out, but his handball goes astray, Dworlim picks it up, handpasses to Lorli just inside the fifty, he’s a way out, he’s done it before from this distance, and he does it again! A good goal from Lorli!”

“That was a long kick, but he made it look easy.”

3.5.23 - 4.1.25

—

“Centre bounce, the rucks are flying high, the ball goes to ground, and it’s not coming up, ball up by the umpire. Narlig gets it out of the pack and kicks it wide to Nidi, he fumbles, but he’s got it again, bounces, and handballs to Naugladur. He kicks it to Khralin, and a marvelous tackle by Bregalad. Khralin can’t get out of it, and Mablung scoops up the ball, and does a quick handball to Dior, Dior runs it down the ground, kicks to Evranin into the inside fifty.”

“Now this is going to be tricky, there are Nogrod players everywhere.”

“Yes there are, they’ve set up a good defense.”

“Evranin kicks deep into the pocket, but Denweg in the pocket is tackled by Althiofr, looks like it’ll be a ball up.”

“Yes, ball up, the contest is heated, the ball is passed out to Denweg, intercepted by Anarr, and a mighty tackle by Gereth. He gains possession, and does a quick handball to Evranin, she kicks wide to Luthien, Luthien does a short boot to Gereth, Gereth is tackled by Radsvidr, but Gereth manages to get the ball out to Beren, Beren judges the angle and… he judges wrong. A behind.’

3.5.23 - 4.2.26

—

Kick in by Anarr, to Althiofr in the pocket, and he kicks it down the ground, marked by Orik. He plays on, and handballs into the left wing to Dworlim, who passes it on, into the fifty to Vitr. He kicks it down into the left pocket, Lodgrin marks it!”

“A tricky angle, he seems to be going for goal… and misses. A behind.”

“That was a set shot, he’ll be kicking himself.”

3.6.24 - 4.2.26

—

“Well it’s half time, and neither team has truly distinguished themselves.”

“Yes it’s been a low scoring game, but I’ll certainly be interested in how each team approaches the second half.”

3.6.24 - 4.2.26

Third Quarter

“Third quarter, and I think we can safely say that the loss of both Thingol and Melian from the Doriath side has made a huge effect on the team.”

“Yeah, they seem to have kept their morale, but the loss of their star forward and their full back defender has been a crushing loss heading into this semifinal.”

—

The centre bounce, and Telchar decisively wins the tap, Narlig takes possession, passes to Nidi, a wide kick down to Lodgrin, who kicks to Khralin in the pocket, can Nogrod get an early goal?”

“And yes they can! Nogrod opening the term, Nogrod with 30 to Doriath’s 26.”

4.6.30 - 4.2.26

—

“The centre, Telchar dominating the centre bounce again, Dworlim in the wing takes the ball, but a good tackle by Oropher and  Dworlim goes down. He can’t get the ball out, and it looks like it’s going to be a ball up.”

“Touched by Doriath, passed to Nimloth, then down into the wing to Elmo, kicked forward to Evranin.”

“A good mark, but a bit far out for a goal I think.”

“Yes it is. Evranin kicks into the pocket to Galion, he’s tackled by Althiofr, Althiofr gains possession, kicks down to Bori, good pressure from Nogrod.”

“Bori kicks into the central corridor to Nidi, a snappy handball to Narlig, back to Nidi, then down to Vitr. Vitr takes his time, kicks to Lofar, he handballs to Ginnarr, back to Lofar, a snappy kick, and another goal for Nogrod!”

“That’s two quick goals to start the third term for Nogrod, they must be pretty happy with that.”

5.6.36 - 4.2.26

—

“A hot contest in the centre square, Galathil manages to get the ball out to Elgol, then on to Dior in the wing, back to Elgol, then to Nimloth. Nimloth is looking for options, finds Galion free, a long kick, and a glorious mark.”

“It’s a bad angle for a goal, Galion kicks to Beren, he’s under pressure, tackled by Anarr, goes to ground, and it’s a ball up.”

“A messy contest, Galion comes away with the ball, goes for goal, and misses. A behind for Doriath, when they could have really used a goal.”

5.6.36 - 4.3.27

—

“Kick in from the goal by Anarr, down to Harr, towards Nidi in the centre, to Telchar right in the middle of the field, then down into the fifty to space, I’m not sure who he’s hoping to find, and a great mark by Mablung!”

“A great mark, but a nasty landing, it looks like he might have been hurt. He takes the kick anyway, down the ground into the centre to Oropher, but the runners are out there, and it looks like Mablung is being helped off the ground.”

“We'll have to wait and see if he’s ok, but this is a blow to Doriath, having their key defensive player injured.”

“Back down the ground, Oropher has handballed into the left wing to Elmo, Elmo handballs on to Luthien, but she fumbles, and Bori scoops up the ball. He wastes no time kicking it down into the centre to Gamil Zirak, and on into the wing to Dworlim. Then towards Harr, and he marks it inside the fifty.”

“And as you can see, with Mablung gone, the Doriath defense is left wide open. Interchange player Fladrif has come onto the ground, and he is doing his best, but he’s a bit slow, so he’ll have to work hard against the Nogrod forward line.”

“In the inside fifty, Vitr is looking for options, he sees Lofar free, kicks to space, and a good mark from Lofar.”

“Now he’s in a good position to go for goal, and he does! A great goal from Lofar, bringing the margin up to 15 points.”

“Nogrod are pulling in front, and Doriath really needs a goal.”

“Yes, without Mablung in their defense, the pressure is on for the Doriath midfielders to keep the ball out of the Nogrod fifty, I think if Nogrod gets the ball inside their forward line, there’s not much Doriath can do about it.”

6.6.42 - 4.3.27

—

“Down the field to Gereth, a quick kick to Beren and a much needed goal for Doriath.”

6.6.42 - 5.3.33

—

“Back up to Doriath forward line, centre half forward Evranin kicks it into the pocket to Denweg, but Althiofr gets his hands on it, kicks up the ground to Nidi, then up into the centre to Orik, a quick handball to Vitr, and he’s inside the fifty, he runs, he bounces, he goes for goal, and he gets it! Another goal for Nogrod!”

7.6.48 - 5.3.33

—

“Nogrod is leading by 15 at the end of the third quarter, and we’ve just had confirmation by the doctors that Mablung has a knee injury. Not sure how bad it is, but he’ll be out, certainly for the rest of the game, and maybe for the rest of finals.”

“Yes, a nasty injury, and at the worst time.”

“This means that three key players from Doriath are out, and without Melian and Mablung in the defensive setup, Doriath is going to have to work hard to keep the ball out of the Nogrod inside fifty.”

“Yes, without those players, the Doriath defense is way under power, so it’ll be tricky to stop Nogrod from scoring.”

7.6.48 - 5.3.33

Fourth Quarter

“It’s been a low scoring game, Doriath going into the final quarter down 15, can they close the gap?

—

“Centre bounce, and Galathil in ruck decisively wins the contest, handballs on to Oropher, then kicked wide into the wing to Dior. He kicks down the field to  the pocket, Denweg marks it, and kicks to Beren. And Beren snaps a quick goal!”

“Just what Doriath needs to start this quarter, hopefully they can keep it up.”

7.6.48 - 6.3.39

—

“The centre square, once again Galathil gains the ball, passes to Oropher again, but he is tackled by Nidi. Oropher gets the ball out, but Narlig scoops it up, a decisive kick to Naugladur at the fifty, and then on to Lodgrin.”

“The gap in Doraith’s defense is very obvious.”

“Yes, Fladrif has a very different playing style to Mablung, and he prefers full back to half back, he’s not had a lot of experience on the forward line.”

“Doriath will have to adjust to different tactics in their defensive structure, but I’m not sure that they’ll manage that today.”

“Lodgrin handballs into the pocket to Lofar, then on to full forward Ginnarr, and a goal from Ginnarr!”

“The dwarf forwards are working smoothly, they evaded the elf defensive line well, truly a dangerous combination.”

8.6.54 - 6.3.39

—

“Telchar dominates the centre bounce, handballs to Narlig, he fumbles the ball, and Nimloth picks it up, kicks into the wing to Elmo, he kicks on to Luthien, who handballs into the pocket to Galion, but Radsvidr gets in front and takes possession. He kicks to Lorli, Lorli kicks forward on to Dworlim, a handball to Orik, he keeps the ball moving, Naugladur gets his hands on it, looks for a player, but there’s good pressure by the Doriath side. Naugladur runs, bounces, he’s getting deeper into the fifty, will he go for goal?”

“No, he does a short kick to Khralin, who snaps a kick back to Naugladur, and a goal from Naugladur!”

“Doriath was giving good pressure, but the Nogrod forward line worked so well together.”

9.6.60 - 6.3.39

—

“The centre bounce, and Doriath is looking pretty desperate. Galathil handballs to Dior, kicks into the centre to Elgol, advantage, and he handballs to Evranin on the forward line. She takes the advantage, kicks down into the pocket, and Denweg marks it. He is tackled by Radsvidr, but Beren gets it out of the pack, kicks to Galion.”

“Will he go for goal?”

“It’s a tough angle, but he’s done it before–he manages it this time as well! A well timed goal to Doriath!”

9.5.60 - 7.3.45

—

“Heading towards the end of the final term, Doriath needs 3 goals to draw even, do you think they’ll manage?”

“I think if they had their key defenders they’d be in with a chance, but the Nogrod forward line is just too strong. However, as the minor premiers, they will have a chance to challenge the winner of the next finals, so even if they lose, they’ll still have a shot at winning the grand final.”

“Yes, it’s Nogrod for whom this win is important, and I think they’ll manage it tonight.

—

“The clock is running down, the rucks are going up for the contest, the ball goes to ground, and there’s a ball up.”

“Nimloth gets the ball out, Oropher grabs it, handballs it to Dior, who torpedoes it down into the fifty.”

“Ahh and Althiofr marks it. He looks for a player, but they’re all being closely tagged by the Doriath players, he kicks out towards the wing, it bounces, and it’s out.”

“Umpire throws in, a strong contest, but Doriath wing Dior gets the ball out, creates space, and kicks into the centre to Elgol, advantage, and a handball to Elmo, he runs, bounces, kicks inside the fifty to Galion.”

“30 seconds left, will he go for goal, do you think?”

“He kicks to Luthien, who handballs back to Galion… and there goes the siren.”

9.6.60 - 7.3.45

—

“A decisive win for Nogrod.”

“Yes, it was well played by them, things were close but Nogrod was consistently up on the scoreboard in the second half, and held that advantage for the rest of the game.”

“It’ll be interesting who they’ll be facing in the final.”

“Yes they’ve got a strong side, but they’ll be facing the Petty Dwarves next week, and there’s some rivalry there, so we’ll see how things turn out.”

“And of course Doriath will be able to challenge whoever wins the final, so it’s possible we might see a rematch in two weeks.”

Chapter End Notes

A great grand final: Entire 2008 AFL Grand Final, with commercials. Channel 7.

Another great grand final: 2017: Grand Final Richmond v Adelaide

Perfect Mablung song for this AU 

Big thanks to my betas: Enid, morbid.covid, and LaOriE from discord.

I will be writing at least two more games to complete this finals series.

Any constructive criticism is welcome, and I am particularly looking for someone familiar with the game to beta read the rest of my works and check that the actual gameplay is correct.

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Pregame

“Now it's Nogrod vs the Petty Dwarves, and they have a strong rivalry.”

“Yes, the Petty Dwarves were established as a club early, but in the past years have been hammered by other clubs in the competition.”

“I personally think it's a minor miracle that they made it to fourth on the ladder.”

“Yes they've picked well on the draft the previous years, and have finally put together a team that you can be intimidated by.”

“They’ve done lots of hard work during the season, but only two players on the side have been in the finals, so the rest of the team will be feeling the new pressure and finals nerves.”

“But they also have the weight of the fans behind them, and in the stands I'm seeing plenty of support.”

—

1st Quarter

“The first bounce, and tapped out of the centre by Telchar in the ruck for Nogrod, and picked up by Orik, a short handpass to Gamil Zirak, then a snappy kick to Dworlim. From Dworlim down to Lodgrin, and they’re not getting a lot of resistance from the Petty Dwarves down there, Lodgrin kicks to Ginnarr, and a goal from Ginnarr!”

“That was a quick goal, within the first two minutes of the game, a decisive start by Nogrod.”

1.0.6 - 0.0.0

—

“Centre bounce, and again it’s picked up by Orik, kicked wide to Narlig, onwards to Vitr, he’s dodging, looking for players, the Petty Dwarves seem to have come alive, but he goes for goal, and he kicks it!”

“Very good ball movement there, the Petty Dwarves could barely set up a defense.”

2.0.12 - 0.0.0

—

“Wonderful stuff! In the centre again, Surtt from the Petty Dwarves taps it towards Hotha, who handballs to Fjorgg, he’s tackled by Gamil Zirak, but manages to pass the ball off to Bauld. He’s under pressure, and is tackled by Dworlim, he tries to pass it off, but he can’t, he’s holding the ball, and free kick to Dworlim of Nogrod.”

“ As you can see, Bauld isn’t so happy with that.”

“Yes, very marginal by the umpire, a bit of a dubious decision.”

“Dworlim kicks down to Orik, he kicks onwards to Khralin coming out of the fifty, who marks and then kicks wide to space. Coming out of the goal square Ginnarr chases, catches a hold of it, and handballs to Lodgrin. He looks for options, kicks into the pocket towards Lofar, and Lofar marks it.”

“Now it’s a tough angle, he’s looking around, finds Ginnarr just beyond the goal square, a short kick to him, Ginnarr marks it, plays on, and he snaps one in between the posts!”

“The Nogrod side have kicked three goals in quick succession, with almost no defense from the Petty Dwarves, not a very good showing.”

“Yes, it’s not a good start to the game for the Petty Dwarves at all.”

3.0.18 - 0.0.0

—

“Out of the centre circle to Fjorgg of the Petty Dwarves, tackled by Gamil Zirak and Nogrod gains possession, a kick down to Nidi in the wing, and he marks it!”

“Nidi takes a moment and kicks just inside the fifty to Naugladur, but he has overshot it, and the ball is picked up by Petty Dwarf Brimi, he’s tackled by Vitr of Nogrod, but Brimi handballs it to Lokk, who kicks down the central corridor to Garmai, he plays on to Hotha, then a long kick into the fifty to Vitharr.

“The Petty Dwarves seem to have woken up.”

“Yes, that was very smoothly done.”

“Vitharr kicks to Frej coming out of the pocket, he plays on, coming from an angle he kicks, looking for a goal, can he get it between the posts? And he can’t. A behind to the Petty Dwarves.”

3.0.18 - 0.1.1

—

“Kick in by Anarr, Nogrod’s full back, and he finds Althiofr, who kicks on to Bori. Bori handballs across to Lorli, who is tackled by Nitha, the ball goes to ground, and it’s scooped off the ground by Orik of Nogrod. He handpasses to Dworlim, who kicks it close to the boundary line, just inside Nogrod’s attacking fifty, Lofar runs for it, but he can’t get there in time, it goes over the boundary line.”

“Throw in by the umpire, it’s a fierce competition and Petty Dwarf half back Bylei gets possession, he handballs towards Hildr, but it’s intercepted by Vitr from Nogrod. He handballs towards Lodgrin, who misses the handpass and fumbles for the ball, he manages to get ahold of it and snaps a kick towards goal, but it’s a behind.”

3.1.19 - 0.1.1

—

“Kicked into play by Petty Dwarf full back Bestla, Hrymi marks it in the pocket, looks around, and a leisurely kick to Brimi. He’s searching for an available player, but it’s a highly contested field.”

“Yes it is. And Brimi kicks down the centre to Hotha, who handballs across to Fjorgg. A tidy tackle by Gamil Zirak, he gains possession and kicks it down the wing to Dworlim, he’s deep in the pack, but he marks it, plays on, and is swiftly tackled by Bauld. Yet Dworlim manages to shake him off and kick it down to Naugladur.”

“Was that mark that Dworlim took legal?”

“It didn’t look like it, it looked like there was high contact, but the umpire didn’t call it.”

“Down the ground, Naugladur considers his options, kicks deep into Nogrod’s attacking fifty and finds Lodgrin, who handballs to Vitr. He goes for goal, and he succeeds! Another goal from Vitr, and he brings the margin up to twenty four points.”

4.1.25 - 0.1.1

—

“At the centre, Telchar taps toward the Nogrod goal end, but the ball is scooped up by Petty Dwarf rover Hotha, and a quick handpass to Garmai, then down into the wing to Skoga. She’s running, and kicks it towards the forward line to Hlothi. He’s tackled by Bori, but gets the ball to Torr right in front of the goal. Torr is tackled by Anarr, but keeps control of the ball, and snaps it through, and the Petty Dwarves get their first goal of the game!”

“You can see that when they get into a groove their forward line can operate very smoothly.”

“Yes, it was very tidy work, but can they keep it up and close the margin?”

4.1.25 - 1.1.7

—

“Nogrod gets the ball out of the centre very cleanly, it’s handpassed on to Naugladur, but he’s tackled by Nitha, who’s come up from the Petty Dwarf forward line. Naugladur kicks down to Lofar in the pocket, there are Petty Dwarf players everywhere, Lofar has decided to take a shot at goal, it’s so close, but Bestla has touched the ball before it went between the posts, and it’s a behind.”

“Good pressure by the Petty Dwarves, bringing up Nitha from the forward line was the right decision.”

“Yes, if they can keep this pressure up, then they might be able to even out the scoreboard.”

4.2.26 - 1.1.7

—

“Out from the centre to Fjorgg, then kicked wide across the wing to Bauld, who’s tackled by Dworlim, but Bauld disposes of the ball cleanly, he kicks beautifully towards the Petty Dwarves’ forward line, but it doesn’t quite make the distance.”

“The ball is almost marked by Vitharr, but he’s cut off by Harr, who gets it off the ground, handballs to Althiofr, and a kick up to the centre of the ground, finding Narlig.”

“Unfortunate kick that was from Bauld.”

“Yes it could’ve been a clean mark by Vitharr, but it just fell a bit short.”

“And Narlig kicks into space towards the centre square, the ball is picked up by Nidi, who kicks into congestion just above the Nogrod inside fifty. The ball goes to ground but Lokk gets it out, looks for options, handballs it to Hrymi in the pocket, but he fumbles, and the ball is claimed by Lofar for Nogrod.”

“You can see Nitha running up the ground from the forward line in order to have an extra Petty Dwarf defender inside the opposition’s fifty, but I’m not sure he’ll make it in time to stop a goal.”

“Yes, we can see that inside the Nogrod arc Lofar has the ball, and is looking for options, he tries his luck again at goal, and it dribbles through!”

“Another goal for Nogrod, well kicked by Lofar, he judged the bounce very nicely, and you can see that the Petty Dwarf defensive line isn’t looking too happy.”

“It’s a shame that Nitha couldn’t get down the field quickly enough, I think maybe with an extra player they could have prevented that goal.”

“As it stands, the scores are thirty-two against seven in Nogrod’s favour.”

5.2.32 - 1.1.7

—

“At the centre bounce, Surtt has put his all in it, he taps it towards Garmai in the direction of the Petty Dwarf goal, but Narlig gets there too quickly, and cleanly kicks the ball out to Dworlim in the wing. Dworlim is tackled by Bauld, he goes down, and the umpire calls that he’s holding the ball.”

“A free kick to Bauld, he kicks it across to Fjorgg near the centre square, and there goes the siren!”

“A poor first term for the Petty Dwarves, one goal and one behind.”

“Yes they’re trailing by twenty-five points, let’s see if they can make up the difference in the next quarter.”

5.2.32 - 1.1.7

—

2nd Quarter

“Second term, and the Petty Dwarves have a big task ahead of them, they really need to get a couple of goals to remain competitive.”

“Yes, and keeping it away from the Nogrod forward line, who are like a well oiled machine, because once the ball gets inside their fifty, it’s all but a guaranteed score.”

—

“Bounced in the centre, Telchar goes for the tap, gets it out towards the Nogrod end, but the ball is claimed by Hotha. A stable kick out to Skoga on the wing, she handpasses to Garmai, he’s tackled by Gamil Zirak, but he manages to kick it just outside the Petty Dwarves’ forward arc to Nitha.”

“Gamil Zirak is having a good game, he’s tackling very well, and is having a strong influence on the game in the centre of the ground.”

“Just outside the Petty Dwarves attacking fifty, Nitha kicks down to the pocket, but it’s claimed by Nogrod defender Radsvidr, he kicks wide towards Harr on the flank, but Vitharr sails above him for a spectacular mark!”

“Fully head and shoulders above Harr!”

“Vitharr conservatively kicks wide to Hlothi, he plays on, kicks deep into the pocket to Eggtha, who does a quick handball to Torr, Torr evades a tackle from Anarr, kicks for goal, and makes it!”

“A second goal for Torr, and indeed the second goal in the game for the Petty Dwarves.”

“Nogrod however are still leading with a nineteen point margin, so we’ll need to see some more work like that from the Petty Dwarves if they want to even up the scoreboard.”

5.2.32 - 2.1.13

—

“Centre tap, and the ball goes out to Fjorgg, he kicks into the wing to Bauld who marks the ball, plays on – and look at that tackle by Dworlim!”

“Definitely a high tackle.”

“Yes and the umpire thinks so too, a free kick to Bauld.”

“Hmm, now Dworlim doesn’t seem so happy about it, giving a bit of push and shove, but Bauld takes the free. He’s looking for a player, but can’t find anyone, kicks to space, and Hotha is running for it, gets it, he kicks it further into the fifty, looking for someone, anyone… and it bounces outside the boundary.”

“All the Petty Dwarves were being very well covered by Nogrod players.”

“Yes they were.”

“A boundary throw in just inside the Petty Dwarves’ forward fifty, tapped towards goal, but Nogrod player Bori scoops it up, a penetrating kick towards the centre square, it’s marked by Petty Dwarf Garmai, and the ball is again kicked back down to the Petty Dwarves’ forward fifty.”

“And look at that, Dworlim, is definitely having a go at Bauld behind the play, but it seems the umpire hasn’t noticed.”

“Back down to the play, and Garmai kicks towards the fifty, the ball is marked just outside the attacking arc by Brimi. He’s taking the free, and kicks to Frej, but it’s a terrible kick, and it’s gone out of bounds on the full.”

“A kick in from the pocket by Radsvidr, and he kicks along the boundary line into space, Bori and Hlothi are chasing the ball, but it bounces wrong, and crosses the boundary line.”

“The Petty Dwarves were everywhere just then, weren't they?”

“Yes, very thorough were the Petty Dwarves, but it’s no good just tagging the defenders, they have to find an opportunity to score.”

—

“A boundary throw in, and Nogrod is being extremely competitive, they tap towards their goal, and Bori gets out of the pack, he kicks along the boundary line towards the wing, and look how Dworlim is jostling Bauld!”

“It’s a highly contested pack, but Bauld rises above and takes the mark, plays on and tries to get away, but Dworlim goes for the tackle, and it looks like a bit of a high tackle.”

“Yes Dworlim had his arm around Bauld’s neck, and the umpire thinks it’s a high tackle as well, so it’s a free kick to Bauld for the Petty Dwarves.”

“Dworlim seems to be having a go at the umpire, it looks like he’s getting into the umpire’s face, and a warning from the umpire to Dworlim.”

“Dworlim has been very aggressive this game.”

“Yes, but he’s got to keep that aggressiveness directed at the ball, not at the umpire.”

—

“Bauld takes the free, looks for a player, Vitharr looks to be asking for it in the flank, just above the inside fifty, but Bauld doesn’t see him, and he kicks into the contest down to the centre towards Nitha.

“Down just above the Petty Dwarves’ inside fifty, Nitha goes for the mark, but it’s two on one, both Lorli and Orik are on him! Orik has punched the ball away, and Bori runs up the ground, he scoops up the ball, and quickly kicks down the ground to Narlig, who handballs to Telchar.

“Telchar moves the ball on to Naugladur who runs, and a marvelous tackle by Brimi almost takes him down, but he’s handpassed the ball to Ginnarr across the ground.”

“Ginnarr plays on, he’s running, he bounces, he’s looking around, can’t find anyone, Petty Dwarf half back Hildr tackles him, but Ginnarr goes for goal, it’s not a long enough kick, but look how it dribbles through anyways, and another goal for Nogrod!”

“With that goal, the difference is brought up to twenty-five points.”

“A nasty gap for the Petty Dwarves to try and close, but that was very smooth work bringing the ball up the ground by Nogrod.”

“Yes, their forward line was very efficient, a well deserved goal.”

6.2.38 - 2.1.13

—

“Back in the centre, Surtt taps it towards the Petty Dwarf goal, and the ball goes straight into the scramble, so a ball up by the umpire just outside the centre square. Surtt taps it towards Hotha again, who kicks out to Bauld in the wing, but Dworlim contests the mark, and look at that! Dworlim has elbowed Bauld directly in the head, and Bauld goes down!”

“What a bump!”

“He’s getting up, but he’s definitely looking wobbly.”

“It looked very deliberate.”

“Yes, and the umpire thinks so as well, and has ordered Dworlim off the ground.”

“That’ll definitely go to match review.”

“Yes. And Bauld has also come off the field, he’s not looking very steady.”

“Tvegg is coming on from the Petty Dwarf bench, I’m not sure who he’ll be playing against from Nogrod now.”

“It looks like Onarr from Nogrod is coming on to replace Dworlim.”

“It looks like it.”

“Now Onarr is pretty speedy, so Tvegg will have to be doing a lot of running in order to effectively cover Onarr.”

—

“Back to the play, Fjorgg is taking the free kick for the Petty Dwarves that Dworlim gave away.”

“Fjorgg kicks into the centre square to Garmai, who takes the advantage, and handballs across back to Fjorgg, he kicks down to the forward line, looking towards Nitha, it’s a highly contested mark, but Nitha manages to hold onto the ball.

“He’s taking the advantage, looking for options, and is tackled by Lorli! Nonetheless, Nitha manages to dispose of the ball, kicking it down the pocket towards Eggtha, who is marvelously tackled by Althiofr, but Eggtha manages to kick it towards the goal square, clearly looking for Torr.”

“But Anarr gets there first, touches the ball, grabs it, and goes across the goal with it!”

“A rushed behind, when the Petty Dwarves really needed a goal, but no luck.”

“Yes, Anarr, Nogrod’s full back was covering Torr quite thoroughly, it was well played by him.”

6.2.38 - 2.2.14

—

“Anarr’s kicking in, and he kicks across to the pocket to Radsvidr, who handballs to Harr, and he handballs to Onarr. Onarr runs down the ground, Tvegg is trailing him but can’t get there in time, and Onarr disposes of the ball across the ground to Gamil Zirak.”

“Gamil Zirak is looking around for a free player, can’t find anyone and so he kicks to space down the corridor. Petty Dwarves are everywhere right now, and Garmai gets a hold of the ball, and he kicks back down the ground to Surtt.”

“And what a contest there! Plenty of Nogrod players, Petty Dwarf ruckman Surtt rises above the pack, but he doesn’t make the mark, and the ball goes to ground.”

“Everyone is scrambling for the ball, no-one can get it out, and it’s a ball up in the centre of the ground.”

“A fierce sight! Nogrod wins the tap, but Hotha of the Petty Dwarves gains possession, a long kick towards the Petty Dwarf forward line, and a strong mark just outside by Vitharr.”

“And there’s the siren, but Vitharr will be able to take the kick.”

“The goal is just inside his range, and the Petty Dwarves really need a goal.”

“He goes for it, a beautiful kick.”

“Great range, it’s going the distance, but it swerves across, and yet another behind for the Petty Dwarves.”

“They just can’t seem to get a goal.”

“Yes, this hasn’t narrowed the margin enough, they’ll be going into the third term with Nogrod thirteen points ahead.”

6.2.38 - 2.3.15

—

3rd Quarter

“The start of the third term, the centre bounce, and Fjorgg takes it off the pack, powers down the ground towards the Petty Dwarves end, and a short kick to the top of the inside fifty. The ball is marked by Nitha, he kicks it wide to Hlothi, and it’s marked at forty metres out from the goal. He’s taking a moment, and there he goes, and it’s a wonderful goal from Hlothi, much needed for the Petty Dwarves!”

“Hopefully this will give them the momentum to narrow the margin.”

“Yes, this quarter will be make or break for the Petty Dwarves, so they need to be sharp and dominate the ball in order to stay in the game.”

6.2.38 - 3.3.21

—

“Back to the centre, and from the bounce Surtt taps it to Hotha, but he’s tackled by Narlig, he can’t get the ball out, and it’s a ball up from the umpire just outside the centre circle. Hotha gets a hold of it again, kicks to Tvegg, but Onarr gets in front, and takes the mark on his chest.”

“Onarr kicks long down the centre corridor into space, and the ball finds Naugladur. He kicks into the fifty, but Lokk rises above the pack, and it’s a glorious mark for the Petty Dwarves from Lokk!”

“He goes to play on, and oh! A nasty shove in the back from Lodgrin, and the umpire awards the free to Lokk.”

“Nogrod has played a very physical game today.”

“Yes, quite aggressive. And it looks like Lodgrin isn’t happy about the way that the free kick was awarded. He’s pushing around Lokk, so Nogrod full forward Ginnarr, and Petty dwarf full back Hildr have come up the ground and seem to be calming things down.”

—

“Now Lokk has kicked into the pocket to Bylei, who kicks along the wing to Tvegg, and a strong contest between Tvegg and Onarr.”

“But Tvegg keeps possession of the ball, he handballs to Surtt, who kicks down the middle to Garmai, but a fantastic mark from Nogrod rover Narlig, just outside the Petty Dwarves’ attacking arc.”

“Yes, and he kicks it back down the wing to Nidi, who’s looking for a player in Nogrod’s forward fifty, can’t find anyone, and so he handballs to Gamil Zirak. Gamil Zirak has kicked into the pocket, and the ball goes directly into the hands of Lokk from the Petty Dwarves!”

“That’s the second time in as many minutes that Lokk has taken a contested possession of the ball.”

“Yes, strong stuff from Lokk, and you can see his opponent Lodgrin getting very frustrated.”

—

“Now Lokk has kicked wide across the arc to Brimi, he handballs it out to Tvegg, who fumbles the catch. Onarr has capitalised on that, gets a hold of the ball, and kicks across the ground to Orik.”

“He’s handballed it to Narlig, and Narlig is running it down the ground, kicks to Lofar in the pocket, he does a quick handball to Lodgrin close to the goal, but another quick intercept by Lokk.”

“Lokk is staying very close to his opponent, it’s no wonder that Lodgrin is getting frustrated, any time the ball goes near him it ends up in Lokk’s hands!”

“A bit of aggression by Lodgrin, but this time he doesn’t give away the free, and Lokk handballs to Brimi on the flank, who’s marvelously tackled by Naugladur!”

“Umpire says that Brimi is holding the ball, so it’s a free to Nogrod.”

“Naugladur takes the free, kicks across the ground, looking for Vitr about thirty-five metres out from goal, and avoiding Lodgrin, who’s still being closely tagged by Lokk. But the kick is too wide, Vitr is running for it, and the ball bounces across the boundary line before he can get there.”

“A throw-in from the umpire, and Naugladur from Nogrod taps it out to Lodgrin, who has managed to get free of Lokk, and Lodgrin snaps a kick to Ginnarr.”

“Now Ginnarr is at a very tight angle, but he goes for goal, the ball swings around, and it’s a beautiful goal from Ginnarr!”

“Yes, that was a very good goal, a good set-up from Lodgrin getting it to Ginnarr, and then a really effective kick from Ginnarr.”

“He has an incredible talent, does Ginnarr.”

7.2.44 - 3.3.21

—

“Back in the center, and Telchar taps it out towards the Nogrod end, but the ball has gone to ground, and you can see Gamil Zirak has gotten the ball out, but Garmai scoops up the ball, he’s handballed to Hotha, another Petty Dwarf centre, who handpasses it back to Garmai, and he kicks it up to Skoga.”

“She marks it, and kicks to Fjorgg.”

“Fjorgg has kicked it down into the fifty, Nitha marks it, plays on, and oh! A masterful tackle by Lorli. Nitha manages to dispose of the ball down into the pocket to Frej, but good pressure from Nogrod, he’s tackled by Radsvidr, and an absolutely terrible kick just above the goal square, looking for Torr, but solidly marked by Anarr.”

“The Petty Dwarves very smoothly brought the ball down from the centre, didn’t they?”

“Yes they did, but they couldn’t maneuver it once it was inside their attacking fifty.”

“Good midfield players are all very well, but if you can’t keep hold of the ball inside the arc, then you’ll be simply unable to score.”

—

“Anarr is looking for options, he’s handballed to Althiofr, and he’s looking to get it out of the fifty, he’s seen Bori, and another quick handball.”

“Bori goes for a run, he bounces the ball, he’s looking around but doesn’t seem to find anyone, he does a long kick down the boundary line, and it bounces before going over the boundary.”

“A very silly kick, that, but all the midfielders were ably being tagged by their Petty Dwarf opponents.”

“It’s a miracle it wasn’t out on the full, but all the same, it’s very poor decision making.”

—

“A boundary throw in, Lorli wins the tap for Nogrod, a quick kick to Bori again, he’s coming down into the centre corridor, and kicks on to Onarr. Tvegg tackles him well, but Narlig comes in, gets a hold of the ball, handballs across to Orik, further down the ground.”

“Orik kicks deep into the forward pocket, aiming for Khralin, he’s looking to get his hands on it, and he does! A quick handball from him to Ginnarr, and Ginnarr snaps a goal!”

“You can see that Nogrod are now avoiding kicking to Lodgrin, because Lokk is tight on him.”

“Yes, Lokk has effectively taken Lodgrin out of the game.”

‘But Lokk is only one player, and he can’t cover the entire forward arc, so Ginnarr has kicked his second goal of this third term, with two goals in swift succession.”

“Yes, and he’s a very cool headed player, he was calming things down earlier, but he’s also ruthless when it comes to the goal square.”

8.2.50 - 3.3.21

—

“In the centre, and the ball has been tapped towards the Petty Dwarf end, Fjorgg kicks down the field, he seems to be looking for Hotha, it looks like he’s found him, but no, the mark has been ably taken by Orik.”

“He’s playing on, handballs across to Onarr, and he’s tackled by Tvegg, but the ball is scooped off the ground by Gamil Zirak, he’s tackled by Garmai, and the umpire has made the call, it was a high tackle.”

“A bit marginal that call, it didn’t look very high from here.”

“Yes I agree, but a Nogrod free kick anyway, Gamil Zirak kicks out along the wing to Nidi, a very contested mark, good pressure from Skoga, but Nidi manages to keep his hands on the ball, and takes possession of the ball.”

“Nidi kicks down towards Nogrod’s forward fifty into space, and it’s marked by Lofar, at about sixty-five metres out from goal.”

“He’s looking for an opportunity to get it within the attacking arc, but the Petty Dwarves are tagging well, and instead he kicks across the ground to Narlig.”

“Narlig kicks long into the fifty, it reaches Lofar again, he takes the mark, plays on, and goes for a long kick to goal.”

“That kick only just made the distance, and it looked like it was touched before it got over the line.”

“Yes, there were a lot of Petty Dwarves near the goal square, the umpire seems to be deliberating, but he’s made a decision, and yes, it’s a goal to Nogrod.”

“Very good pressure from the Petty Dwarf midfield, but they’re struggling to convert it to a goal, and once it gets into the Nogrod inside fifty it’s all but a guaranteed score.”

“Nogrod have really widened that margin to thirty-five points, the Petty Dwarves need to work a lot harder than they currently are.”

“Not what you’d expect of a finals game at all.”

9.2.56 - 3.3.21

—

“Telchar does some marvelous ruck work, and wins the centre bounce, tapping the ball to the Nogrod end of the field. Orik gains possession, handballs it to Narlig, and a quick kick up the wing towards Onarr.”

“Onarr is tackled by Tvegg, he gets the ball out, Gamil Zirak picks it up, kicks across the ground to Narlig, and there’s the siren.”

‘Only one scoring kick from the Petty Dwarves, a very poor showing.”

“The Petty Dwarves just couldn’t keep possession of the ball once it got into their inside fifty.”

“They have a good midfield, but that amounts to nothing if you can’t convert it into goals”

9.2.56 - 3.3.21

—

4th Quarter

“The Petty Dwarves are going into this final term thirty-five points down, do you think they can make up the difference?”

“No, I’m afraid it looks like a done deal for Nogrod. Coming back from a thirty-five point gap would be especially difficult, and as we saw last quarter, the Petty Dwarves just can’t seem to get around the Nogrod defense and score goals.”

—

“Bounced in the centre, and Surtt goes in for the tap, the ball goes out to Hotha, he handballs back to Surtt, then across to Skoga, a long kick down to the top of the Petty Dwarves’ attacking fifty, and it’s marked by Hlothi.”

“He’s looking for options, finds Nitha free, and then Nitha does a quick kick deep into the pocket to Eggtha.”

“He’s backed up, and kicked across the fifty back to Nitha, who’s handballed to Torr, Nogrod full back Anarr goes in for the tackle, Torr tries to kick for goal, but it was a good tackle by Anarr, the ball hits the post, and it’s a behind for the Petty Dwarves.”

9.2.56 - 3.4.22

—

“Anarr is kicking in from the boundary line, the Petty Dwarves are tagging their players very well, Anarr kicks to space in the pocket, finds no-one, and the ball bounces across the boundary line.”

“A pretty useless kick, that.”

“Yes, the Petty Dwarves were very admirably covering their players.”

“Throw in by the umpire, the ball goes to ground, it’s scooped up by Eggtha, he’s going for goal, it’s a very tight angle but he makes it! A goal for the Petty Dwarves at the start of this last term.”

“Will this mark a change in their fortunes?”

“Well they had an early goal at the start of the last quarter, and it didn’t amount to any more scoring shots after that, so we’ll see what they make of this opportunity.”

9.2.56 - 4.3.28

—

“Telchar wins the tap in the centre, hits it across to Narlig in the direction of the Nogrod goal, Narlig runs it out towards the wing, a snappy kick to Onarr, who is tackled by Tvegg, but Onarr handpasses to Gamil Zirak, so no turnover there from Tvegg.”

“From Gamil Zirak to Naugladur, a kick to Vitr, he handballs to Khralin, a good tackle from Bylei, and Khralin is forced to kick from his non-dominant boot, the ball bounces across to through the goal, but it’s tapped by Bestla, and that’s a behind for Nogrod.”

“You can see that Gamil Zirak is keeping close to Tvegg in the wing, along with Onarr, they’re keeping a two to one contest against Tvegg.”

“Yes, and it’s working pretty well, that combination is very ably neutralising Tvegg.”

9.3.57 - 4.3.28

—

“Kick in from Bestla, she finds Hrymi, and he kicks along the boundary line towards Hildr, but Hildr can’t grab it in time, and the ball bounces across the boundary line.”

“It’s a throw in by the umpire, and the tap is dominated by Nogrod, Lodgrin gets the ball across to Lofar, he handpasses up the fifty to Naugladur, a snappy kick from him down towards the top of the goal square, but Ginnarr fumbles it, and the ball is scooped up by Bestla.”

“She handpasses towards Bylei, but Lodgrin gets away from Lokk and intercepts, a quick kick from him across to Ginnarr, and Ginnarr converts it into a goal!”

“Ahh but it seems like Lodgrin has been injured.”

“He’s limping off, looks to me like a groin injury, but hopefully he’ll be in match shape by next week for the grand final.”

10.3.63 - 4.3.28

—

“Back in the centre, and Surtt has tapped it out, the ball is grabbed by Hotha, who handballs it across to Fjorgg, and he kicks it down the corridor towards the Petty Dwarf forward line.”

“A bit of a dodgy kick there, it didn’t go the full distance, Nitha is running for the ball, but Nogrod defender Lorli gets there before him, picks up the ball, and is tackled by Nitha coming up behind him.”

“And the umpire says that he’s holding the ball, so a free kick for the Petty Dwarves.”

“Nitha takes the free, and is looking for someone inside the fifty, can’t find anyone, kicks backwards across the ground to Tvegg, and a marvelous tackle from Onarr! Tvegg gets the ball out to Garmai, and he’s tackled as well by Narlig, and the umpire says ‘ball up’.”

“That was well tackled by both Onarr and Narlig.”

“Yes, they really put the pressure on the Petty Dwarves, and halted the momentum that they had going.”

“The ball has been tapped towards the Nogrod end of the ground, deftly picked up by Onarr, Tvegg goes for the tackle but Gamil Zirak gets in front of him, and gives space for Onarr to gain control of the ball. He kicks down the field into a contest just outside the attacking fifty, it’s almost marked by Petty Dwarf centre half back Brimi, but he can’t make it stick.”

“The ball has been scooped up by Vitr, a quick handball to Khralin, a snappy little kick from him, and a goal for Nogrod!”

11.3.69 - 4.3.28

—

“At the centre, Telchar decisively taps it towards the Nogrod goal, it finds Orik, who kicks on to Nidi in the wing, he kicks down into the forward fifty, but it’s too short, and the ball is scooped up by Petty Dwarf player Lokk.”

“He handballs up to Garmai, who kicks to Hotha, and then a bold kick across the ground to Tvegg, he’s being run down by Onarr, but manages to dispose of the ball down the ground, and it’s marked above the fifty by Vitharr.”

“He takes the advantage, runs it into the forward fifty, bounces, but is taken down by Bori of Nogrod.”

“Bori gains possession, and handpasses deeper into Nogrod’s defensive fifty to Radsvidr, he’s tackled by Frej, but manages to get the ball out to Anarr.”

“Anarr takes the risk on a long kick down the ground into congestion, Narlig manages to get his hands on the ball, kicks across to Nidi, he handballs to Fimbril, who has come on to replace Lodgrin. Fimbril kicks the ball to Naugladur, who is hovering just above the fifty line.”

“A very good bit of play.”

“Naugladur is looking around, kicks to a contest in the pocket, he seems to be looking for Lofar, but Ginnarr rises above the pack from behind and takes the mark!”

“What a speccy!”

“Yes, Ginnarr has played a very good game today, and that was a treat!”

“Now it’s not the best angle but it’s well within his capabilities, he kicks for goal, and he succeeds! A spectacular goal from Ginnarr, possibly playing his best goal kicking game of this season, if not his career!”

12.3.75 - 4.3.28

—

“Back to the centre, and Telchar taps it decisively to Gamil Zirak, he kicks along the ground to Onarr, who is tackled by Tvegg. Tvegg gets the ball out, and it’s scooped up by Hildr from the Petty Dwarves, and he kicks it up the ground down the central corridor.”

“The ball is marked by Surtt, he takes the advantage and kicks it back across to Tvegg. Tvegg is tackled by Onarr, but Tvegg manages to dispose of the ball towards Fjorgg.”

“Fjorgg grabs the ball, runs, bounces, bounces again and kicks it to Petty Dwarf forward Hlothi.”

“Now will he go for goal?”

“It’s about fifty-five metres out, and he’s not known for his range.”

“Yes, he decides against it, and handballs on to Eggtha, who’s being shepherded into the pocket by Althiofr, he’s at a bad angle, but he takes the kick.”

“Ahhh, a behind. It really was a bad angle, due to the wonderful defensive work from Nogrod player Althiofr.”

12.3.75 - 4.4.29

—

“Now Anarr has kicked from the boundary line deep into the pocket to Radsvidr, he’s tackled by Frej, getting a bit jostled, but he successfully kicks into the centre of the fifty looking for Lorli.”

“A good kick, but it’s spoiled by Nitha. Hlothi scoops it up, handballs back to Nitha, and a snappy little kick from him gets the Petty Dwarves another goal!”

“See this is what you expect of a finals side. The play from the Petty Dwarves today has been extremely sloppy, if they’d had this momentum in the first half, then we might be seeing a very different scoreboard.”

12.3.75 - 5.4.35

—

“In the centre, Narlig gets the ball out to Onarr in the wing, he kicks down towards the fifty, the clock is running down, can Nogrod get a final goal before the siren?”

“A mark by Naugladur at the top of the fifty, a handball across to Vitr, and that’s the siren.”

12.3.75 - 5.4.35

—

Post-game

“That was a terrible game for the Petty Dwarves, they were absolutely crucified, the fans will be extremely disappointed.”

“Not what you’d expect of finals footy at all, the nerves must have really gotten a hold of the Petty Dwarves. From the start the Nogrod team was outclassing them, and it was a very poor showing, especially from a team that was so high on the ladder.”

“There was however, a very good competition between Onarr and Tvegg, and some heroics from Lokk in the Petty Dwarves’ defensive fifty.”

“Yes, had all the Petty Dwarves brought a similar spirit, then the game could’ve gone quite differently.”

“But on to next week, it will be an interesting matchup, especially with Dworlim from Nogrod reported to the tribunal ahead of the grand final.”

“He didn’t seem very happy about it, but if you're going to play aggressively like that, then you should expect penalties.”

“It will be interesting what the tribunal will make of that incident, if he’s suspended he’ll miss the grand final and may even not be able to play the first couple of matches next year, so it’s a very silly thing to do.”

“And Lodgrin came off the ground in the final term, looking like he was in quite a bit of pain, do you think he will be able to play next week?”

“Yes, it looked like a painful injury, but hopefully he’ll come good before the match, for him to be out of the game would really leave a hole in Nogrod’s offensive fifty.”

“Hopefully the injury won't take him out of the match, he's an experienced player that is able to steady younger players and their nerves, invaluable in a grand final.”

“Yes, and we’ll see if Doriath can turn around their poor performance from their last confrontation with Nogrod, and bring their best when they meet again next week.”

You may be thinking, a forty point margin seems like a lot in finals season, however in 2007, the Geelong vs Port Adelaide grand final had a 69 point margin, in Geelong’s favour. 

Chapter End Notes

You may be thinking, a forty point margin seems like a lot in finals season, however in 2007, the Geelong vs Port Adelaide grand final had a 69 point margin, in Geelong’s favour. So I feel like the drubbing of the Petty Dwarves has precedent.

Thanks to my betas, Iþilmë from discord, and my mum.

I apologise for any mismatch between the formatting of this chapter as compared to the previous one. I'm very new to posting and I still haven't figured it all out...

Constructive criticism is welcome, and if I've made a grammar or spelling mistake (or worse, my scores are incorrect), let me know!

Also if you're familiar with the game, I'm not sure about the legality of the altercation between Dworlim and Bauld in the second quarter. Whilst I enjoy listening to the game, I'm not so hot on the actual rules of it, so if I've got that mixed up, please let me know, and I'll edit the chapter to make things make sense.

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