Late game Friday night. Australia and the USA, as the last two teams in Blue Division, get to show their stuff to the public for the first time.
USA must have decided their fans have a short attention span and scored within the first 30 seconds. Their fans were pleased but the team decided that after flying all the way to watch the games that maybe they would like a few more goals to cheer about and went off and shot 6 more to 1 in the first quarter.
Some very clear things to take out of this first 20 mins. This is 'Team USA', they are not giving you time to warm up, they are not going to let you make mistakes and if you let them make a fast break then they are going to score on you.
We, as Australia, looked a bit shocked and nervous at the start. In the first quarter there were 9 face offs. We broke early on five of them. Our sliding on their fast breaks was poor and when we did have the ball in attack we seemed rather static.
The Australian team for the rest of the game looked more settled but to be honest never really looked like bringing the game back. In the third quarter the scoring was kept to 3 goals to 2 which doesn't show that the USA team knew that with their current lead that they could control the tempo and spent at least 5 mins of that quarter slowing the game down with some 2 2 2 type plays.
Why?
Because they could.
So, with a final score of 21 to 5 where does this leave both teams?
USA is clearly a very class act and clearly want their number one ranking back from the Canadians. The 7 goal first quarter probably reflects more on Australian mistakes then US skill but there were also times later in the game where the Americans were not completely in top gear and could of found more goals if they needed to. Obtaining 20 plus goals in a game, every game, is clearly within this team.
Australia, to their discredit, didn't start well. In their defence, international lacrosse doesn't allow many opportunities to face teams of this calibre and unfortunately as mentioned before, teams like the USA don't give warm up time. There were some annoying things like the early breaking on the face offs and some bad stick chasing against US players who could dodge with their eyes closed. We did move the ball rather sharply and while we didn't get off many good outside shots, we did set up some impressive looking feeds for inside shots and goals.
At this stage personally I can see the US going undefeated to the win the gold while Australia has a good chance of beating Canada, at least in the round robin stage.
July 17 games in Blue Division will be Japan v Germany, Australia v England and USA v Canada. My picks are Japan, Australia and USA.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Canada muscles out Japan
Canada 17 def Japan 4, a score that implies that Japan was walked over from start to finish.
Not really so. Japan were fast, moved the ball sharply and well and were not afraid to be aggressive. In the second quarter they probably had about 70% of the ball and kept the quarter's score to 2-0 in favour of Canada.
Which brings to their problem. 70% of the ball for zero goals.
Third quarter the Canadians scored 7 goals to nil. They corrected their errors that previously was allowing Japan to control the ball and said to them 'when we have the ball, we WILL score.'
That in loose summary was the difference between the teams. Canadian was physically larger and had the ability to feed in good passes leading to inside shots and goals. Japan, while having a good amount of possession, lacked the size and skills to push in for inside shots. Most of their time in attack seemed to be spent looking for the shot that never came.
Still, a very entertaining game and Japan is definitely showing that are a true Blue Division team.
Not really so. Japan were fast, moved the ball sharply and well and were not afraid to be aggressive. In the second quarter they probably had about 70% of the ball and kept the quarter's score to 2-0 in favour of Canada.
Which brings to their problem. 70% of the ball for zero goals.
Third quarter the Canadians scored 7 goals to nil. They corrected their errors that previously was allowing Japan to control the ball and said to them 'when we have the ball, we WILL score.'
That in loose summary was the difference between the teams. Canadian was physically larger and had the ability to feed in good passes leading to inside shots and goals. Japan, while having a good amount of possession, lacked the size and skills to push in for inside shots. Most of their time in attack seemed to be spent looking for the shot that never came.
Still, a very entertaining game and Japan is definitely showing that are a true Blue Division team.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
And so it begins... :)
Today, July 15th, will go down in the books as a mega Crab bludge day.
There is a strong rumour going around that The Crab, got up late, had breakfast just before they shut the dining room, then did his laundry before going back to bed for a mid afternoon 3 hour nap.
NO.
COMMENT.
Today was however Lacrosse Fans(tm) the official opening of the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships with a simple and functional opening ceremony. The teams were announced, they marched on, Official type people gave Official type speeches and the oaths were read out.
Unfortunately standing out in their absence was the Iroquois team, who at this date are still not in Manchester, and then, to the surprise of many, the announcement that German had now been formally raised to the Blue Division in place of the Iroquois and the later curtain riser between England and Germany was now a 'real' game.
Iroquois WHEN (if?) they arrive will now take Germany's place in their division which fortunately does mean that they have a realistic chance of making the final games.
(for those not up with the system of Lacrosse Worlds, teams are placed into divisions based on their international raking. "Elite" nations are in the highest or "Blue" division while the other nations are matched up against nations with similar skill levels and experience. Then, after all the minor round games have been played, the winners of a lower division get the chance to play the lower ranked team from a higher division and, in theory, have a shot at the grand final game. If you think of it in the same sense as a relegation/promotion system then you are not fair off.)
So, Germany gets to run with the big boys in Blue Division. How did they shape up?
Well...
Ummm...
They weren't that great. Final score was England 12 Germany 3.
Having said that, England didn't really impress that greatly either. Both teams showed a large amount of missed passes and other basic skill fails, which, at this level, isn't really what the fans have come to see. Germany were of course playing outside their level and I think took the game as an honoured experience. To be even considered for a spot in blue division is a great honour and shows how well Germany is progressing as a Lacrosse nation.
However the important word here is still 'progressing'. I didn't really think Germany ever looked dangerous in attack, a lot of the shots they had were not even on the cage (an error that would get even us Australian lower club level players seriously yelled at - you either force the goalie to save it or you put the ball in the back of the net. Basic shooting skills) and from my very brief notes, I think that all three of the German goals were from man up plays.
As much as I am deep down a Germanphile and hate to say this, Germany is going to get butchered by USA, Canada and Australia.
England on the other side of the field were a bit more differcult to judge. Chatting to people after the game gave me the 'unofficial' view that the team was holding back on the grounds they have 8 more days of serious hard lacrosse and blowing a hamstring on day one would be a 'bad thing(tm)'. However, even allowing for the fact they were playing at say 70% they still didn't really look completely hot. As mentioned before they dropped the ball on passes a few too many times not to be noticed and there was at least two fast breaks where taking the extra pass would have given them the goal they ended up not getting.
Full day of games tomorrow and a chance to see how the other nations are shaping up. Canada play Japan for what should be a win for the North Americans and USA play Australia which will give us a feel if Australia is a serious Grand Final chance this year.
There is a strong rumour going around that The Crab, got up late, had breakfast just before they shut the dining room, then did his laundry before going back to bed for a mid afternoon 3 hour nap.
NO.
COMMENT.
Today was however Lacrosse Fans(tm) the official opening of the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships with a simple and functional opening ceremony. The teams were announced, they marched on, Official type people gave Official type speeches and the oaths were read out.
Unfortunately standing out in their absence was the Iroquois team, who at this date are still not in Manchester, and then, to the surprise of many, the announcement that German had now been formally raised to the Blue Division in place of the Iroquois and the later curtain riser between England and Germany was now a 'real' game.
Iroquois WHEN (if?) they arrive will now take Germany's place in their division which fortunately does mean that they have a realistic chance of making the final games.
(for those not up with the system of Lacrosse Worlds, teams are placed into divisions based on their international raking. "Elite" nations are in the highest or "Blue" division while the other nations are matched up against nations with similar skill levels and experience. Then, after all the minor round games have been played, the winners of a lower division get the chance to play the lower ranked team from a higher division and, in theory, have a shot at the grand final game. If you think of it in the same sense as a relegation/promotion system then you are not fair off.)
So, Germany gets to run with the big boys in Blue Division. How did they shape up?
Well...
Ummm...
They weren't that great. Final score was England 12 Germany 3.
Having said that, England didn't really impress that greatly either. Both teams showed a large amount of missed passes and other basic skill fails, which, at this level, isn't really what the fans have come to see. Germany were of course playing outside their level and I think took the game as an honoured experience. To be even considered for a spot in blue division is a great honour and shows how well Germany is progressing as a Lacrosse nation.
However the important word here is still 'progressing'. I didn't really think Germany ever looked dangerous in attack, a lot of the shots they had were not even on the cage (an error that would get even us Australian lower club level players seriously yelled at - you either force the goalie to save it or you put the ball in the back of the net. Basic shooting skills) and from my very brief notes, I think that all three of the German goals were from man up plays.
As much as I am deep down a Germanphile and hate to say this, Germany is going to get butchered by USA, Canada and Australia.
England on the other side of the field were a bit more differcult to judge. Chatting to people after the game gave me the 'unofficial' view that the team was holding back on the grounds they have 8 more days of serious hard lacrosse and blowing a hamstring on day one would be a 'bad thing(tm)'. However, even allowing for the fact they were playing at say 70% they still didn't really look completely hot. As mentioned before they dropped the ball on passes a few too many times not to be noticed and there was at least two fast breaks where taking the extra pass would have given them the goal they ended up not getting.
Full day of games tomorrow and a chance to see how the other nations are shaping up. Canada play Japan for what should be a win for the North Americans and USA play Australia which will give us a feel if Australia is a serious Grand Final chance this year.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Blue Division - see the top Five...
The Crab is now safely encamped in Manchester Uni after two weeks of being a tourist over Europe and southern England but is yet to work out if all is well here in Lacrosse Land.
Despite the fact that the opening game is 'meant' to be about 20 hours away, I am still not sure if the Iroquois have been able to leave the US or not.
As you might know there is currently a massive amount of what is best loosely described as visa bollocks in regards to if the team is allowed to travel using their Iroquois passports or not.
In VERY brief summary
UK Types - Hmmm, not seen these passports before. Can the US State Dept just confirm they accept them?
US State Dept - No.
Lacrosse Types - WTF?
US State Dept - Okay, how about we issue some US passports on a fast track and the team can travel on those
Iroquois - What? And reject our own sovereign nation status? No
So as I currently understand it (and largely reading from all the same sources that you kids currently are), the team is coming but is highly unlikely to play in tomorrow night's game.
Despite the fact that the opening game is 'meant' to be about 20 hours away, I am still not sure if the Iroquois have been able to leave the US or not.
As you might know there is currently a massive amount of what is best loosely described as visa bollocks in regards to if the team is allowed to travel using their Iroquois passports or not.
In VERY brief summary
UK Types - Hmmm, not seen these passports before. Can the US State Dept just confirm they accept them?
US State Dept - No.
Lacrosse Types - WTF?
US State Dept - Okay, how about we issue some US passports on a fast track and the team can travel on those
Iroquois - What? And reject our own sovereign nation status? No
So as I currently understand it (and largely reading from all the same sources that you kids currently are), the team is coming but is highly unlikely to play in tomorrow night's game.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Nearly there... but will everyone else be
Hello Lacrosse fans,
The MudCrab is currently in Cardiff and will be on the train to Manchester tomorrow morning.
The big question however doesn't seem to be 'will MudCrab get to the games on time' (and seriously, no one is REALLY asking that question), but 'will the Iroquois be allowed to enter England.'
In a visa issue that I do not confess to fully understanding, it seems that since the US will not guarantee to UK customs that the Iroquois will be allowed to return to the USA if they travel to the UK using their Iroquois confederation passports.
Now I am sure it is a lot more complicated then I can sum up in a few paragraphs, but I am sure that considering that the curtain raising game is England v Iroquois, a quick rational and sensible solution to this issue would be a good thing for Lacrosse.
The MudCrab is currently in Cardiff and will be on the train to Manchester tomorrow morning.
The big question however doesn't seem to be 'will MudCrab get to the games on time' (and seriously, no one is REALLY asking that question), but 'will the Iroquois be allowed to enter England.'
In a visa issue that I do not confess to fully understanding, it seems that since the US will not guarantee to UK customs that the Iroquois will be allowed to return to the USA if they travel to the UK using their Iroquois confederation passports.
Now I am sure it is a lot more complicated then I can sum up in a few paragraphs, but I am sure that considering that the curtain raising game is England v Iroquois, a quick rational and sensible solution to this issue would be a good thing for Lacrosse.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Team TV 2010 tour is about to start
Hello fans,
Currently it is June 29th and the Crab is prepping his bags for his trip to Adelaide airport in 4 hours time. Since you are only here for lacrosse I think most of you can safely skip the next 16 days where I roam across NW Europe on my side trips and pick up the blog action on Wednesday 14th of July when I finally arrive in Manchester.
Currently it is June 29th and the Crab is prepping his bags for his trip to Adelaide airport in 4 hours time. Since you are only here for lacrosse I think most of you can safely skip the next 16 days where I roam across NW Europe on my side trips and pick up the blog action on Wednesday 14th of July when I finally arrive in Manchester.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Remember me? Not even a little?
Hi Kids,
back in the day MudCrab Lacrosse was THE place on the web to receive up to date and useful infomation about, well, my adventures at the 2008 U-19 Lacrosse Worlds.
Since then I have not been to any major international lacrosse fixtures... well... apart from the All-Star games in Melbourne last year... so this blog has slowly been covered in dust and apathy.
Well with Manchester 2010 coming up in several short months I thought it was prime time to dig out the password and fire this puppy up again.
Stay tuned.
Tell your friends
Esp the rich ones :)
back in the day MudCrab Lacrosse was THE place on the web to receive up to date and useful infomation about, well, my adventures at the 2008 U-19 Lacrosse Worlds.
Since then I have not been to any major international lacrosse fixtures... well... apart from the All-Star games in Melbourne last year... so this blog has slowly been covered in dust and apathy.
Well with Manchester 2010 coming up in several short months I thought it was prime time to dig out the password and fire this puppy up again.
Stay tuned.
Tell your friends
Esp the rich ones :)
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