“"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."

So said Coach Stikki after the final whistle was blown and the remnants of two teams dragged themselves away to lick their wounds and tell their stories.

Or whatever.

But it was an epic game and one I really enjoyed playing. And it was one I really thought was all over after the first turn, when BlueEyes used his wizard to SI my top receiver and kill my top wardancer before they'd even had the chance to do anything. And then I failed a gfi on my turn and was looking at spending the following hour or so on the receiving end of nothing but pain and humiliation.

But after that things settled down a bit and the nine remaining wood elves went about doing what they do best - the thrower started to collect stats, the tree hit some stuff, the other guys ran about a bit. And surprise, surprise, it all seemed to work out.

Every time I scored, I was sure that was that and the rest of the game would be a one-sided affair, but then BlueEyes would score, I would get the ball back and then I would score. It was kind of fun, really.

When it came to the final turn of the half I wasn't really in any sort of state to go for a one-turn score - especially as half the dark elves were side-steppers - so I settled for more passing stats and thanked my lucky stars I was only one score down and about to receive the kick.

In the second half the scoring was a bit slower - for me, at least - but the injuries were still coming thick and fast. After another exchange of scores, we both set up what was left of our teams and I was hoping for one final chance to pull back a draw.

But then came the worst of all kick-off combinations - a shallow kick and a blitz. So down went the passer, and suddenly there were four dark elves (with the ball) between me and my endzone. I did what I could - which actually turned out to be quite a bit, and after freeing up the ball I was in a good position to get the ball downfield, but then Briskbreeze double fumbled the pick-up.

And then, on the following dark elf turn, he was killed, just to make sure he wasn't going to get another chance for another long bomb. And then killed again, at the hands of the worst apothecary ever.

Remarkably though, this wasn't the disaster I was expecting. The dark elves were unable to capitalise, I was able to get the ball back, and with a dodgy shuffle pass to a waiting catcher, I was able to get the ball all the way down to just outside the dark elf endzone and safely out of reach of those nasty witches and blitzers.

And with no final turn one-turner thanks to a revenge blitz of my own, we ended the game on 4-4.

Wow, what fun all that was.

As for poor Briskbreeze, I'm not too upset. He managed to post an impressive 7 for 70 before his demise, and this has taken him just above the 5000 yards passing mark, leaving him in an all-time third place - for the moment, at least, but Elf Marx from Glorious Socialist Elven Land is hot on his heels and looking good to break the 5000 yard mark himself in the not too distant future. Good for him!

So what to do now? With the new seasons rules imminent, it's unlikely I'm ever going to get another of my passers up to the giddy heights of Briskbreeze, or anywhere near, so I did wonder whether I should sack everyone but the tree and play a team of journeymen plus the tree from now on. But I just can't do it. Where would I be without my somewhat pointless but fabulously flamboyant passing game? Nowhere, that's where. So I bought a new thrower (see, they're throwers until they've proved their worth, then they become passers!) and I'll see how I get on before the rule change comes into effect. Alternatively, I do have another wood elf team with a fairly-well developed passer already, so I might migrate over to them for a while.

Anyway, as for Sensation, I'm back down to a more reasonable TR, and I have a lot of passing skills to collect over the next few games. And that's always fun.

Thanks for the game, BlueEyes. It was epic for many reasons and after that first turn, well beyond my expectations. Revenge may be a long time coming, but it will come eventually :)”