“I'm a big fan of long-lived teams - teams where the coach has clearly put a lot of effort into building a cohesive unit. With well over 200 games under their belt, Dead Cousins certainly qualified. It was fun to get a chance to play them.

This match started off ugly for Watchmen Philosophy. Markinthepast's dirty player was on fire, knocking out my players right and left. The KOs were okay, but I was only playing with 12 this time around, so it had me a little bit nervous when three of my stars were sent to the box to recover.

The crucial moment came when Sally Jupiter - our only tackler - was badly hurt on a foul. Do I let the injury stand and play with a maximum of 11 (and probably less) in the second half? I took a deep breath and called in the apothercary on turn 3. Sally was safe, but the rest of my team seemed more tense (and less inclined to use piling on) for the rest of the half.

Markinthepast is a hell of a nice guy. The second half wound up with my blocking dice catching fire and getting casualties on nearly everything I hit. Even with rotten luck, he was a good sport all around.

Thanks for the game, Markinthepast. I have no doubt that the luck will even itself out in the rematch. Good luck with the team.

”