Bout for Freedom: TVR vs TBR

Review by Marquise D'Praved, Tweed Valley Rollers

Tweed Valley Rollers’ (TVR) Valley Vixens have a challenge ahead of them tonight: to face-off with The Bay Rollers’ (TBR) long-term line up of solid, veteran skaters, with a Vixen roster that consists of 50% new bouting players.  But the Vixens never shy away from a challenge – especially when it’s in the name of charity.

Tonight’s event is raising money for Connecting Hands – a not-for-profit that raises awareness about human trafficking and the illegal sex slave trade; a salient issue, particularly in the lead up to International Women’s Day.

There is a strong show of support in the crowd from Byron Bay locals, who have shown up to back the cause and TBR – who are playing on their home turf, the still shiny and new council owned Byron Bay Sporting Complex. Passing comments from random punters suggests that for many, it is their first time watching a game of Roller Derby. This is the great thing about charity bouts; they tend to draw a crowd outside of the derby regulars, opening the sport up to new fans and with luck, freshmeat for the hosting league.

As the venue fills up and the smell of barbequed onions thickly wafts through the hall, the teams take to track for safety check. The sight of a full TBR contingency is common, with these women having the good fortune of retaining the (mostly) same line-up for at least the last three years. The strength of this team due to their consistence and camaraderie cannot be underestimated. They know each other well and over time have developed formidable teamwork on track, including a number of highly honed skating partnerships that are key to this team’s overall success. Tonight we see the classic TBR line up with all their most popular and skilled players ready for battle. 

Strong partnering work make The Bay Rollers formidable opposition. PHOTO CREDIT: Lyn McCarthy

A full roster of TVR’s Vixens is a less common sight however, with the team being low on bouting skaters for the majority of the last two seasons. Pregnancy and injury have seen a good number of the Vixen’s veteran players benched over the last couple of years, with the team being reduced at one point during 2013 to a mere 7 players. Tonight we see a very different looking team though – tonight we see a rejuvenated, rebooted Vixens, with a staggering 13 skaters ready and lined up for safety check. If it weren’t for player 302 Marquise D’Praved sustaining a broken leg during training recently, the roster would have been full – something that hasn’t occurred with this team since Spring 2012!

The Vixens are playing tonight with more numbers than they have had for months, but this doesn’t necessarily give them a leg up. The reality is that half of these skaters are new to bouting, and whilst they are all strong, skilled skaters; they have not yet had time to gel as a team. This will be their biggest challenge tonight, going up against a team, which on the opposite end of the spectrum, have teamwork as their biggest advantage. TVR’s veterans will have to work extra hard tonight to guide their new skaters on track.

New to TVR's Valley Vixens Scarlett Slam, displayed some excellent jamming skills. PHOTO CREDIT: Lyn McCarthy

An excellent sight to see is the return of two of TVR’s veterans to the team – player 00 Jac Nippleson, who has returned from maternity leave, and player 14 Laydee McBiatch, who is returning after major shoulder surgery saw her benched for the second half of 2012. Nippleson will be a welcome addition to the Vixen’s jamming ranks, and McBiatch’s strong offensive work will no doubt be greatly appreciated.

The first few jams start off well for TVR, with well-thought out offensive plays off the jammer line seeing them claim lead jammer several times in the first 10 minutes. TVR are the first to put points on the board and continue to collect points with the scoreboard neck to neck for the first quarter. Three power-jams early on in the first half see Vixens’ jammers Scarlett Slam, Jac Nippleson and LC Hammer collect a total of 50 points between them. This strong start seems to put a bomb up TBR and suddenly they surge ahead, closing halftime with a score of 116 to TVR’s 65.

Ten minutes into the second half, and TVR struggle to add to their 65 points, whilst TBR continue to scale up the scoreboard. It is an out-of-character game for the Vixens, who are known for being ‘second-halvers’. They seem to be playing an inverse of their typical games, which see them come out super-strong in the second half. Tonight, the vixens’ jammers are looking obviously exhausted and can’t seem to crack that half-time score. It’s no wonder though, being faced with TBR’s intense line of defence. Stand-out blocking work from Tank U and seemingly effortless jamming from the awe-inspiring Nitro are hard to counteract.

Even so, TVR are incessant in their ability to keep getting up and keep fighting. Long-time Vixen Monie Bones deserves a mention for her skilful offence work (especially in the second half). This woman will never leave her jammer out in the cold, and blocks like only a seasoned jammer can – with voraciousness and empathy. The best offensive blocker is one who understands first hand what it’s like to be a jammer.

Also worthy of a mention is Vixen’s Captain Poisonality, whose offensive work is pro-active rather than re-active – she has a knack for predicting the threat to her jammer and taking it out before the damage can be done. This is something that can only come from a seasoned derby player and most likely what won her the night’s MVP award (Most Valuable Player), which is voted by the opposing team. 

TVR's Jac Nippleson gets a clear run thanks to the pro-active offensive work from Poisonality (on the right, holding back a TBR blocker). PHOTO CREDIT: Lyn McCarthy

TVR newcomers, Bom Zo ‘Way and Whoopsie Daisy deserve to be commended for their stand-out defence in this game. In what is only their second official bout for TVR, these two players displayed a keen defensive instinct, continually chasing out the opposing jammers and never shying away from attempting good solid hits. Additionally, Whoopsie Daisy gave a note-worthy assist to jammer Jac Nippleson in the second half, projecting her with a mighty push that helped her clear the pack after being stuck for several excruciating seconds in a TBR crush.

TVR’s Jac Nippleson is a stand-out TVR jammer tonight. She is a classic aggressive jammer, stopping at the back of the pack and getting up on her toes stops to push on the opposing wall of blockers. She is a skater who is not intimidated when approaching a solid line of defence – but unfortunately tonight, her blockers frequently fail to ‘read’ her attempts to push the opposing blockers out of play and therefore render her jamming style less effective. Having said this, she still placed a good percentage of points on the board, and managed to do so whilst accruing only one penalty the entire game! If it weren’t for a pesky cut-tack in the second half, this veteran skater – who is known for being penalty heavy in the past – would have come out of tonight’s game with an unheard of clean slate! 

Also particularity effective in her jamming for TVR tonight is Scarlett Slam, who returns to the league after a year-long stint honing her skills in New Zealand. Her time spent in the land of Orks has clearly paid off, as this girl throws herself into battle with the same craziness as said characters, and with an enviable lack of fear. Slam proves tonight that she is definitely an evasive-style jammer that will be worth keeping an eye on this season.

There's a lot of love between the two leagues, as TBR's Leggy Bomb and TVR's Monie Bones show here. PHOTO CREDIT: Lyn McCarthy

By the end of the second half, both teams were visibly spent, with both side’s jammers struggling to get up after being hit down. Though TBR went away with a convincing win – 264 to 80, it was not an easy game for them – something which undoubtedly would have come as a surprise to the Bay women. It seemed that for the first time ever, TBR were challenged by their long-time pals from TVR. The two teams have faced-off many times before, but tonight somehow seemed different; almost like TBR sensed a potential in this new Vixens line-up – a potential for this re-booted team to give them a run for their money this season. And what a better way to kick of this derby season with a bout that not only raised the spirits of the skaters, but also raised money for a worthy cause! Great job Bay Rollers and of course – Viva La TVR!