Round 10: Royals Mid-Season Review

The Royals have a bye week in round 10 of the Gridiron Victoria 2012 season, so this week we will be reviewing the season so far and where the Royals will be going for the rest of the year.

The Royals started 2012 with a bang, knocking off the 2011 division-two champions in week one after amassing a huge score against one of the league’s premier defences. With new quarterback Blair Black at the helm among a host of new receivers, offensive lineman and a running back adding onto the 2011 roster, the Royals had new strength to challenge the league. The Royals defence saw some new faces too, from rookies in all positions as well as some of the offensive players making the transition.

The division-two games for the Royals have been largely successful. As the bye week finishes the Royals have a 5-1 win loss ratio, and have widely been considered the team to beat. The season started with wins against every team in the division and a strong new team with high ambitions. The Northern Raiders were defeated first, before beating the Gippsland Gladiators, Croydon Stars and Monash Barbarians. The Royals defence started the year as the weaker component of the team, however has improved over the last ten weeks to round off the Royals into an overall strong unit.

The Royals however took their first division-two loss in round nine, the Monash Barbarians taking home the win by a narrow margin 8-6. It was a loss the Royals were hoping not to have to feel this year in their own division, but has strengthened the team as they endeavour to not allow a situation like that to happen again, and not to have any compo-nent of a single game lag behind. Division-two has become a highly competitive league, with every team except for the Stars still in the running to make the finals. The Royals sit on top of the ladder with a two game advantage, however the Barbarians, Raiders and Gladiators are all tied up with three wins apiece.

Division-one games for the Royals have been mixed however. A fantastic outing against the Western Crusaders in round six saw the Royals come within one touchdown of the division-one outfit, and nearly square it up, or even take a lead with a successful two-point conversion on fourth and one. It was not to be however, but was a great effort by the Royals and showed their capabilities on the field to be competitive against all. Round eight however against the Berwick Miners was a disappointing game. Despite fielding some injuries the Royals looked to continue to be competitive or even to be the first division-two team to beat a division-one team, but fell short. The Miners proved too difficult and the Royals couldn’t take home a win.

The Royals come in to the tail end of the season with two games left in each division. The Raiders and Gladiators prove the final division-two challenges left, and the Royals will look to seal a Vic Bowl seat and finish as regular season champions. The Monash Warriors and Croydon Rangers to finish off the season will prove to be tough and testing matches for the Royals, as they look to remain competitive and bring everything to the table against strong opponents. The Warriors have dominated the division-one Vic Bowl in recent years and the Croydon Rangers have appeared and the large majority of them as well.

The Royals are ready to bounce back in round 11 against the Raiders, with their team starting to look healthy again and hungry to win and show their prowess on the field. The last rounds of the season will see players return both from injuries and from overseas, bolstering the Royals as they head into the 2012 playoffs. Most notably running back Victor Nguyen looks to return to the field after a week one injury, providing the Royals with an even stronger ground attack to match their aerial abilities.

The Royals play the Northern Raiders this weekend at Corio Reserve, home of the Bay City Buccaneers. The Raiders will be feeling confident after beating division-two foes the Gippsland Gladiators and will be keen to test their mettle after losing to the Royals in round one. The Royals will be looking to seal their top spot with a big win and show division-two that they are still the best team out. Get down to Corio this Saturday 14th of July to see a great match of football with big playoff implications. Game starts at 1.30pm!

NFL Comparisons

This week Royals Newsletter looks at the big men that make all the magic happen on the offense. Without these guys, quarterbacks couldn’t hit receivers and running backs wouldn’t have lanes to go downfield.

Center: Dominic Young – Mike Pouncey, Miami Dolphins.Center Dom Young has come into the 2012 senior season at only 18 years of age, but has shown he can hang with the older members of the offensive line. Like Pouncey, the aptly named Young is in his first year and shows other attributes like the Dolphins center. Young, like Pouncey is quick off his feet and shows good hand placement. Young is big enough to take on nose tackles and shows a desire to improve, his age and dedication should see him do even better in the coming years, becoming more like Mike Pouncey’s older brother, Maurkice Pouncey.

Guard: Larny Pasene – Jahri Evans, New Orleans SaintsThis guy is the powerhouse of the Royals offensive line and will be a nightmare strength-wise for any defensive lineman, interior or exterior. Pasene played center in 2011 and moved into the guard position for 2012. Pasene matches up to New Orleans guard Jahri Evans as he shares his raw strength as well as his tenacity to play every down with tenacity and athleticism. Pasene, like Evans leads his offensive line around him to produce good football and make sure his quarterback is not hit, as well as putting defensive line-man into the dirt with his on field mean streak.

Guard: Bryce Cilia – Matt Slauson, New York Jets.Cilia has had experience playing multiple positions on the offensive line, playing left tackle in 2011 as well as some snaps at center. Royals Newsletter has chosen Cilia to be compared to Jets left guard Matt Slauson as Cilia has the ability to play tackle like Slauson as well as guard. Cilia is a strong unit and can fight in a double team as well as pull around and leave a defensive player on the ground. Furthermore Cilia now has the arm ink to match Slauson!

Guard: Norm Kortum – Jeremy Zuttah, Kansas City Chiefs.New to the Royals in 2012, guard Norm Kortum comes to the team with an AFL background, providing him with agility off the ball and lateral ability. These attributes make Kortum akin to Jeremy Zuttah of the Chiefs, who furthermore plays well in the double team, particularly providing assistance to the center. Kortum has a strong base and solid reflexes like Zuttah and improves each game as he gains experience.

Tackle: Liman Lee – Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys. Playing right tackle for the Royals is big run blocker Liman Lee. Lee has the style of Cowboys right tackle Tyron Smith, as he is able to and could possibly make the switch to left tackle with ease as a pass rush blocker. Lee, like Smith is quick on his feet, particularly for his size and makes life particularly difficult for the rushing defensive end. Lee holds an exceptional lateral move that will often hook defensive ends, or simply ride them out of the play when they over-commit. Good strength with ideal size and quick hands sees this tackle as an essential part of the Royals protection unit, although was unable to stay healthy in his rookie season unlike Tyron Smith…

Tackle: Daniel Griffin – Nate Solder, New England Patriots. The final rookie of the 2012 offensive line, Daniel Griffin is tall and relatively lean for the tackle position. These attributes make Griffin the Nate Solder of the Royals, as he provides solid blind side protection for his quarterback whilst not weighing in at a massive weight. Griffin shows great potential like Solder, and looks to be a regular starter in the years to come. Like Solder, Griffin also shows great speed off the snap as well as balance on his feet. His long arm reach provides the ability to pin defenders on pass blocks as well as good pad level on the run block.

OFF THE FIELD with Derrick-Justin Tugiono

Food

steaks, burgers, ribs, roasts

Movie: rush hour trilogy, Avengers, star

wars series, sherlock holmes 1 & 2

TV Show:how i met your mother, modern family, game of thrones, leverage

MUSICTinie tempah, Dev, Tiesto

ACTORJohnny Depp, Robert downey jr.

Heard about royalsfriend who was playing for the

rangers

7maxwell

SmithMelbourne VIC

1 year

170 CMS

60 KGS

PLAYER PROFILE

Saturday saw a great event hosted by the Northern Raiders down in Reservoir at LE Cotchin Reserve, as the Raiders put on their 4th of July celebration. The Raiders had vintage Ameri-can muscle cars as well as activity for the kids and some great football.

The Monash Warriors played the Croydon Rangers in the morning game, flexing their strength against a good but slightly depleted Rangers squad who were shut out by the Warriors. A mid-game scare had linebacker Lincoln Smith taken out of the game via ambulance, however was later cleared of any spinal injury and we wish him the best in his recovery. The Warriors took back the top spot on the ladder as they took home the win, 16-0.In the afternoon, the hosting Raiders played the Gippsland Gladiators in their first match up since the 2011 division-two Vic Bowl. The game saw a battle of defences, both teams stingy against the run. Gladiators Swiss army knife Don Veale was the first to put points up, recovering a Raiders fumble and returning it for a touchdown. The Raiders struck back however, with quarterback Matthew Jermy throwing some great passes, and ultimately winning the game, 12-6.

Sunday saw the Bay City Buccaneers host the Western Cru-saders in Corio. The Western Crusaders jumped to an impres-sive early lead, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown and then throwing another one to lead the game 12-0. The Buccs regrouped after quarter time however and dominated on both sides of the ball, finishing the game with a win 29-12 after some great rushing by running back Daniel Barnett. The other game scheduled for the weekend was the Croydon Stars taking on the Monash Barbarians. The Stars were too depleted on numbers at this stage of the season unfortunately and were forced to forfeit, the second time for the division-two league this season.

BYES: Melbourne Royals, Berwick Miners.

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