DUNDEE DRAGONS WHEELCHAIR RUGBY LEAGUE ROAD TRIP NUMBER 1

KEIGHLEY AND BRADFORD 13 & 14 APRIL 2018

Match Report by Kevin Rattray, DDWSC Vice-Chairman

It seemed strange that we were on the road, Basketball season hasn’t quite finished and rugby hasn’t been a huge feature on training days but here we were and heading for two venues we knew well, just didn’t know how to get there, but more of that later.

Jay and Kirsteen set off early, they were also heading off to Basketball Women’s League in Nottingham after the two rugby matches, now that’s real dedication.

Mairi, Stewart, Ronny, David and I met at Gardyne campus to load up Mairi’s van with chairs, balls, tags and everything else we needed for the weekend, Michael and family were setting off from Cardenden a bit later in the day.

It would be great to report that the journey was smooth and uneventful, but sometimes good things come out of adversity.

Traffic ground to a halt at Broxden, yes not even past Perth and we were parked up, but it was ok as Stewart and Mairi resolved most of the issues with the Scottish education system, then moved onto international affairs as I munched greedily on the jelly babies provided by Mairi, I’m nothing if not a classy guy.

Suddenly we were moving again, waving to Ferris as we passed Findo Gask, then parked up again at Dunblane and the Castle Cary Arches, this was going to be a long day.

First comfort break came at “What’s it Called…Cumbernauld”, then we were off again next stop, where else but Tebay services, got to keep the tradition going, but we seemed to have lost David and Ronny.

Tebay arrived with Ronny and David catching up and it was now obvious why they were held up, David’s bumper and back door showed the damage that a little, badly driven, Clio could do.

Phone call to the insurance company followed as the players munched on the food of champions, fish and chips, maybe it’s the food of bowls or darts champions but was very welcome.

The next stretch of the journey was now more straightforward apart from the damp and dark A65 into Bradford, a misbehaving Google maps, an unchargeable Iphone and an elderly driver who can get lost in a car park!

Travelodge was ok, although I’m sure I heard someone telling Roxanne to put on the red light, apologies for the Arctic Monkeys reference, I’ll maybe start hiding these musical references in my match reports.

The area was not the best and I’m not sure we’ll be back!

Marks and Spencer or MacDonalds for breakfast then we were off to University Academy Keighley, which we found really easily, this was not the norm.

Slight delay to the start of the match, double booking with kids playing football, just gave us a bit longer to get moving and prepare for action.

Now we were ready and started with the 3 players from the match day 7 who were celebrating being announced in the Scotland squad for the Celtic Cup, Michael Mellon, David Birtles and Jay Anderson, they were ably supported by Ronny Robb and Stewart Squire, with Mairi Simms and yours truly on the bench, and of course Ryan Mellon, broken thumb and all, collecting and distributing tags in a blur of activity.

As well as Kirsteen Burns the queen of all things medical and tape, patching up and holding us all together

The match kicked with Dragons receiving and starting very quickly, although it was clear this was a different Keighley team from the one we had played previously as they covered the court well and shut down some of our attacking moves.

The score board started to tick with Ronny and Michael taking centre stage, and Michael converting from a variety of locations on the court.

The pressure from Cougars was telling though as attempts at intricate movements were closed down and pressure was exerted resulting in a few spilled passes.

As the half went on Dragons started to simplify their play and were now well on top and score followed score up to half time with the half ending

Keighley Cougars 0 30 Dundee Dragons

The second half saw changes being made with Mairi now coming into the action and the former coach rolling onto court to fill a gap.

This was now a very different game, one quick score came from Michael, but in spite of a variety of attempts from the Dragons, Cougars were holding firm and came close to getting on the score sheet as a deft kick was chased down but drifted long.

Defences were completely on top and Dragons swapped player after player to find a way through the stubborn defence but it wasn’t to be and the match finished

Keighley Cougars 0 36 Dundee Dragons

Great respect was shown from team to team as handshakes and hugs were exchanged, pictures were taken and we headed into the coffee shop for food generously supplied by the Cougars.

But hold on we had another match to play, thanks for the reminder Jay, memory issues? me?

Back outside to load cars and van and we were off to Bradford with Stewart on Google maps.

I’m not going to dwell on how we got horribly lost but when we came to a junction and Stewart said turn left and Mairi, now on sat nav, said turn right this elderly gentleman, who was now in desperate need of a comfort break, could have broken down and cried.

Of course we got there, and of course there was no time for a full warm up, but Michael gathered everyone around and we were off.

Dragons began with the same five who started against Keighley and stormed into a 12 point lead, through Ronny and Michael, and were looking very strong in defence and attack, could this be the start of a comfortable victory?

I can tell you now that no one thought that as this Bradford team started to open up our previously water tight defence, with some excellent passing, movement and pace.

Bulls pushed forward at every opportunity and started to build an impressive score and Dragons were having difficulty making any inroads or adding to the scoring.

The first half came to a bit of an abrupt end for the Dragons and we were now down

Bradford Bulls 22 16 Dragons (I think, but never checked with the ref)

Michael pulled the team together, we were not playing badly, but were making some errors in defence and attack, it was time to get back to basics, play out the sets and work attacking positions by moving the defence about as much as possible.

That’s what the second half brought with us staying in touch, sometimes only just, as Bulls built an impressive 14 point lead midway through the half.

It was make or break time for the Dragons, 2 matches in 1 day was that too much for them, would tiredness kick in.

Not a chance, this team found inner strength that I haven’t witnessed very often, they hauled themselves back into the match and registered score after score to bring within four points with a 5 minutes left to play.

Michael Ronny and Jay were all on the scoresheet and a moment of magic from David with a kick to the corner touched down by Michael.

Three minutes to play and Dragons are still behind, but there was time for one more bit of brilliance, Ronny score to the side of the posts conversion by Michael we were now two points ahead with 3 minutes to play.

All we had to do was gather the kick off, play out the set and push them back down field.

Kick off gathered, ball played to the left, we’ve carried it out of play and Bulls have a chance from 6 metres out with a set of six to play.

They crash in we crash them back, they try again and again and go for it on the final tackle, but no way through, ball is handed to Ronny who smiles, you’ve seen that smile, and only 60 seconds to play.

Tackle 1 to tackle 5 and we barely move up the court, tackle 6 and the ball is passed to Ronny, yeah he smiles again, kicks the ball long and the match is over.

Bradford Bulls 46 48 Dundee Dragons

The tension on the touchline was palpable, I think Deborah may have a video of the final minute, not sure I want to relive it though.

Final kudos to Mairi she never played in the Bulls match, but here is what she said to me during the second half:

I’m not going on, you can’t take any of these guys off, they are playing great and it’s too close to make any changes.

Great hospitality followed with lots of rugby chat, no I don’t remember much about it or the uneventful journey home apart from trying to get out of Bradford, man do they have a lot of roundabouts and speed bumps.

Lessons to be learned.

Keep it simple and believe in ourselves.

Work hard and trust the team

Don’t let Stewart Squire anywhere near Google Maps!

Next match will be the Semi-Final of the Plate Competition, draw will be made week commencing 23 April, fingers crossed for a home draw where we can get a big Dragons support on the touch line.

DUNDEE DRAGONS v ST MIRREN WARRIORS

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL SCOTTISH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

DUNDEE AND ANGUS COLLEGE GARDYNE CAMPUS

 SATURDAY 7 APRIL 2018 11AM TIP

Match Report by Kevin Rattray, DDWSC Vice-Chairman

Dragons welcomed St Mirren Warriors to Dundee for a decisive fixture in the Scottish Development League which followed very quickly after our double victory over Lothian Phoenix.

The club had made little fuss over the fixture but everyone on the sidelines knew that a victory would secure top spot in the development league.

The squad was changed for this match, I seem to say that a lot, with Ben Leitch returning after his time at the GB Under 23 Training Camp, as well as Mairi Simms returning from holiday, but unfortunately we were shorn of the services of Michael Mellon off to Invictus Games Trials, Ronny Robb off to Paris with Scotland Wheelchair 7’s to play France, Murran MacKay training hard for the London Marathon Festival and Stephen Carling still working out of town.

The squad assembled for the match with the exciting addition, under the clubs latest “non-youth” strategy of including Ian Hall and Kevin Rattray alongside Mairi Simms on the bench, no need to do the maths the average age was clearly close to 60.

Gemma’s comprehensive warm up, ok we’ll start in 10 minutes, 10 minutes later, maybe give them another 5 minutes, 5 minutes later, ok definitely we’ll do it in 5 minutes.

Was still a really good warm up and thanks due to Shayne McVicar for his help to get people moving.

The match started right on time with Gary Godsell, in glorious orange, that’s a lot of alliteration, alongside Owen Allan with both ably supported by table officials Sally Lumsdaine and Owen Leitch.

Dragons starting five consisted of Gemma Lumsdaine as guard working with Blair Marshall, Rhys Colliar working with Ben Leitch and David Birtles at point and the 3 reserves previously noted raring to get involved, well at least 2 of them were.

Dragons jumped into an early lead through Ben Leitch quickly finding space in tandem with Rhys Colliar and slotting multiple baskets before Warriors began to show with several baskets of their own and were working so hard to upset the rhythm the Dragons were trying to establish.

The first half settled into a steady stream of Dragons baskets from Ben, Blair and David with Warriors slotting several baskets of their own ensuring that there would be no complacency from the home team.

The first half drew to a close with Mairi replacing Gemma for the final couple of minutes and the score finishing at  Dundee Dragons 30 St Mirren Warriors 8.

The start of the second half saw Gemma’s brave experimentation kicking in as Ben was replaced by Ian Hall, making his debut.

St Mirren’s change was almost palpable as they switched to a full court press which the Dragons really struggled to break and the scoreboard started to tick in the favour of the visitors throughout the third quarter, with Dragons living off of a few scraps of possession.

With David close to being fouled out changes were made late in the quarter to steady the ship with Ben back in play.

The final quarter started with Warriors now only 15 down but with Dragons starting 5 back in play they started to find their shape and shooting skills with Ben and Blair to the fore, David adding to the score and the biggest cheer of the day reserved for another basket from Rhys this season, the work he and Gemma do is very often unnoticed but I’m sure Ben and Blair will tell you they couldn’t do what they do without the work of their 2 guards.

Dragons were now in control of the scoring, and even though the Warriors press was still effective it was now being broken much more consistently.

The Dragons surged towards the end of the match with Ben’s 3 pointer attempt slightly closer than Michael’s previous efforts but still without success and the final buzzer sounded with the score

Dundee Dragons 58 St Mirren Warriors 31

We concluded with food, drinks and general banter and many of the women who were in attendance stayed on for Jen Scally’s Women Warriors session.

Next match is our final home match of the season against Grampian Flyers on Saturday 28^th April, be great to have as good a support as we saw yesterday.

Apologies for locking spectators out before the match but hope everyone enjoyed the result.

Thanks due at the end of the day for Garry and Owen who’s refereeing meant we all learnt something, and to Sally Lumsdaine and Owen Leitch for timekeeping, scoring etc.

Paula and David Leitch for helping with food, drinks, setting up, dismantling equipment and generally being fantastic Dundee Dragons.

Would like to give special mention to Gemma who has lead the senior basketball team on this fantastic league run and deserves all the credit she receives.

I will reflect on the season once we have finished all of the league fixtures and play offs and produce a full season report, and as a message for Tina let’s get next season organised!

Club coach, Gemma Lumsdaine and Trustee, Andrea Cameron, attending a civic reception hosted by the Lord Provost Ian Borthwick on the evening of 22nd March.

This event was organised by Dundee Rotary Club to celebrate the achievements of local athletes and to distribute funds raised from their annual Swimarathon. DDWSC was awarded a cheque for £1188 courtesy of the stellar efforts of the DL Sharks.

The Sharks swim out of the David Lloyd Leisure Club at Monifieth, and have taken part In Swimarathon for the last 3 years, distributing  funds raised to local charities.

Participants taking part in the Rotary Swimarathon ranged in ages from 3-81, with the oldest swimmer a member of DL Sharks and one of three of their club members that Gemma and Andrea were able to personally thank on behalf of DDWSC after the ceremony.

Club Chairperson Elizabeth Ferris said afterwards of the gift;

“We’re always so grateful when the local community are kind enough to choose us as beneficiaries of their fundraising efforts, because every penny we receive truly does make a difference. So you can imagine how excited we were to hear of the hard work put in by DL Sharks on our behalf! What a fantastic effort, Thank You Sharks, Young and Old!”

DUNDEE DRAGONS v LOTHIAN PHOENIX

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL SCOTTISH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

DUNDEE AND ANGUS COLLEGE GARDYNE CAMPUS

 SATURDAY 24 MARCH 2018 1PM TIP

Match Report by Kevin Rattray, DDWSC Vice-Chairman

Dragons welcomed Phoenix to Gardyne following a few weeks since our last match. The weekend was to feature 2 matches and this, the first of them, was our home match of the of the Scottish Development League.

The second, which followed right after this one was Phoenix as the home team, probably a little strange for them but we like to think Dundee is a home from home.

The squad was changed for this match with Murran collecting her racing chair and Stephen Carling still unavailable as he’s working in Glasgow.

Dragons welcomed back Ben Leitch after his GB Under 23 Training Camp.

Dragons ran straight from their club session of Tennis, Badminton and Basketball, with many of the players helping out with every activity before Gemma settled everyone.

What followed was Gemma’s comprehensive warm up which is stuff of legend, and as we’ve got to know with Gemma, it was time for a bit of experimentation, but more of that later.

With referees Tina Gordon and Kenny Sanford in place Michael went in for the tip and the match was on.

Dragons started with a very strong five of Michael Mellon, Ben Leitch, Gemma Lumsdaine, Rhys Colliar and David Birtles with Ronny Robb, Blair Marshall and Mairi Simms on the subs bench.

Dragons started very quickly and were immediately in charge of the scoring, Ben was to the fore with player /coach Gemma creating space for him seemingly at will.

Gemma’s experiment became clear very quickly a 3-2 press, occasionally a full court press and also occasionally a “ what are we doing now” press.

The carnage which ensued was entertaining to watch often brilliantly executed but occasionally had players seemingly spinning round and round in a kaleidoscope of blank expressions and Ben imploring “no not him, her”

The match flew to half time with Dragons in control of the scoreboard with David and Michael also getting in on the scoring

Half time score Dragons 30 Lothian Phoenix 14

The second half saw the introduction of Blair, Ronny and Mairi into the action, with Gemma and Ben now taking up the sideline coaching positions.

Dragons continued to push forward with Michael, Ronny and David sharing the scoring and then Blair chipping in with 2 excellent baskets and Ben finishing the scoring.

This was not a routine victory for Dragons as Phoenix, very ably lead by Colette Martin, were a constant threat and in reality deserved to be closer than the score reflected.

The match finished with Ben running the last 14 seconds down and Dragons coming out victorious with a final score of

Dundee Dragons 44 Lothian Phoenix 29

Half time in the day’s proceedings saw the consumption of food and drinks including the story of David Leitch and the missing Curly Wurly’s, I’m pretty sure there were 4.

A thirty-minute break and we were back into the game this time with Phoenix as the home team.

LOTHIAN PHOENIX V DUNDEE DRAGONS

SATURDAY 24 MARCH TIP OFF 2.50PM

Dragons changed their starting five for the start of the match with Ronny, Ben, Blair, Michael and Gemma on court and Rhys, Mairi and David taking up the sub positions.

It was clear from the outset that this next match was going to be a very different proposition with Phoenix coming at Dragons with a much greater intensity and showing excellent commitment to nullify Dragons press and create space for their forwards to get the scoreboard ticking in their favour.

Phoenix jumped into a quick lead and sustained this most of the first half of the match.

Dragons were clearly rattled and both Ben and Michael were struggling to find their range, I’m going to put it down to them relaxing during the break can’t be anything to do with the half time food….can it?

The first half came to an abrupt and confused end for Dragons as they stumbled to a very small lead

Lothian Phoenix 13 Dundee Dragons 14

A couple of changes from Gemma some motivational chat from Ben and Michael and we were off into the second half knowing that only an increase in our intensity, and improvements to communication would enable us to force out the win.

Fortunately for us this is exactly what happened Gemma’s master strokes in selection and the scoreboard started ticking in our favour.

Michael and Ben now found their shooting skills again and the team started to move away from a very committed Phoenix team who never gave up, constantly tested the dragons defence, broke the press sometimes just for fun and displayed some fantastic skills throughout the match.

Scoring was concluded with Ronny, Ben, Michael and special mention to Blair who chipped in with 3 baskets of his own, yes Blair your mum was watching and did see them going in!

The match finished

Lothian Phoenix 25 Dundee Dragons 48

I don’t think this was a true reflection of the match as the first 20 minutes really had Phoenix in command and Dragons hanging on.

As soon as Dragons found their shooting form in the second half there would only be one winner

Thanks due at the end of the day for Tina Gordon and Kenny Sanford who brought such a great light touch to every match enabling everyone to play to the best of their ability.

Special mention to Paula Leitch for side-line management, tea and coffee making, being Ben and Owen’s mum and Paula, I’m sure we’ll both figure out what is going on when that whistle blows!

Another fantastic job done by Sally Lumsdaine and Ryan Mellon with timekeeping, scoring etc.

We have two more matches left both at home with the first one scheduled for Saturday 7 April with an 11 am tip off against the very dangerous St Mirren Warriors and the final one on Saturday 28^th April against Grampian Flyers with a 1pm tip off.

What a season that will have been with only the play off finals to complete.

Be great to have a good support at the next 2 matches it’s really appreciated by all of the players and officials.

We were delighted to once again be involved in delivering Scottish Disability Sport’s Annual Parasport Festival for the Tayside Region. The event was a huge success, with many of our coaches and volunteers in attendance, all working hard to ensure young people from all across the region are able to participate in adaptive sports.

Below is a report on the day from the SDS website, and some snaps of Dragons in action at the event.

The Tayside Parasport Festival continues to improve each year, with the 4^th annual festival having taken place on Wednesday 14^th March. Numbers rose significantly with 42 children with a physical or sensory impairment from across Dundee, Perth & Kinross and Angus accessing the opportunity.

The event was supported by Allardyce Healthcare, Dundee & Angus College and Celtic FC Foundation, without whom the Tayside Parasport Festival would not have been possible.

There were four athlete mentors in attendance on the day. Athlete mentors spoke to the participants regarding their experiences of sport with the aim of inspiring the next generation. Scottish Disability Sport was pleased to welcome Deaflympics double gold medallist Danielle Joyce to Dundee as one of the athlete mentors.

Scottish Governing Bodies, clubs and coaches delivered thoroughly engaging and dynamic sessions to participants in bowls, running basketball, wheelchair basketball, athletics, boccia, wheelchair rugby league, judo, badminton, tennis, goalball, powerchair football and running football.

It was a wonderful event with positive responses from participants, parents and support staff. Following the event, Tayside Regional Manager Jennifer Scally will be looking to contact participants and their families in order to support transition into local opportunities.

Scottish Disability Sport would like to acknowledge all the key partners on the day for all their assistance in making the event happen. Thanks go to Active Schools Dundee, Active Schools Perth & Kinross, Active Schools Angus, Dundee City Disability Sport, Angus Disability Sport, Perth & Kinross Disability Sport, Scottish Athletics, JudoScotland, basketballscotland, Tennis Scotland, Balgay Bowling Club, Dundee Dragons Wheelchair Sports Club,Dundee United Community Trust, Madsons Dundee and BADMINTON Scotland.

Tayside ParaSports Festival 2018, Dundee College. Scottish Disability Sport. Dundee.

Tayside ParaSports Festival 2018, Dundee College. Scottish Disability Sport. Dundee.

Tayside ParaSports Festival 2018, Dundee College. Scottish Disability Sport. Dundee.

Tayside ParaSports Festival 2018, Dundee College. Scottish Disability Sport. Dundee.

DUNDEE DRAGONS v WOMENS WARRIORS

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL SCOTTISH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

DUNDEE AND ANGUS COLLEGE GARDYNE CAMPUS

SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2018 1PM TIP

Match Report by Kevin Rattray, DDWSC Vice-Chairman

Dragons first home match of the 2017/18 season of the Scottish Development League followed on quickly from our successful visit to Aberdeen the week before.

The squad was changed for this match with Ben Leitch off to a GB Under 23 Training Camp, I think we can forgive him for that, and the loss of Mairi, off with Lewis and Kacey for a half term holiday.

The squad assembled for the match with the exciting addition of Murran MacKay due to make her senior debut, who may have been a little excited by the prospect.

Dragons ran straight from their club session of Tennis, Badminton and Basketball, with many of the players taking in or helping out with every activity before Gemma settled everyone and got their game faces on.

What followed was Gemma’s comprehensive warm up which is now becoming something of legend.

The match started right on time with Tina Gordon, in glorious orange, ably supported by table officials Sally Lumsdaine and Ryan Mellon.

Dragons starting five consisted of Gemma Lumsdaine as guard working with Michael Mellon, Rhys Colliar working with Blair Marshall and David Birtles at point and reserves of Ronny Robb and the debutant Murran MacKay raring to go.

Warriors were first to show and upset any rhythm the Dragons were trying to establish, taking an early lead and holding that lead for most of the first quarter.

Dragons timeouts were called quickly and the tension was palpable as Gemma tried to calm everyone down as she switched with Rhys to work with Blair.

Dragons then started to find their shape and shooting skills with Michael and David to the fore and Ronny introduced for Blair during the second quarter, although the occasional descent into under 10’s football was clear to see as the ball was chased around the hall with large groups of people in pursuit.

The first half came to an end quickly, well after 20 minutes so probably just the normal time, but always seems quick to me.

Dragons were now in control of the scoring, Michael and David to be exact, and defensively they had found the form which had eluded them early in the match.

Half time score Dragons 24 Womens Warriors 6

The second half saw the reintroduction of Blair into the action, he was never going to be kept out for long, and the debut of Murran, with Gemma now taking up the sideline coaching position.

Dragons continued to push forward with Michael, Ronny and David sharing the scoring and then Blair chipping in with 2 excellent baskets which generated the biggest smile of the day as Ronny declared Blair’s back.

The scorers always get the plaudits when it comes to scoring but great credit is due to the hard working guards who get the shooters into the positions to make the shots.

Rhys Colliar followed up his destructive and constructive display against Flyers with another storming performance assisting Michael to be top scorer for the day.

What can I say about Gemma Lumsdaine that hasn’t been said before as she works positions for her shooting players, shuts down dangerous players and pretty much gets the tactics right every time.

The revelation was Murran MacKay, I’m not sure how she’ll cope was one comment early on, any concerns were quickly dispelled as she took to senior basketball like she’d been playing it for years.

One curl was such a thing of beauty, that Michael could have been in an armchair, a very tall one to be honest, for his shot, and at the end of the third quarter she came racing over and declared you’re not taking me off, I wouldn’t have dared.

After Gemma’s assertiveness last week and now Murran I can confirm that Dragons women really don’t take any nonsense! (Wasn’t my first choice of word)

The match finished with Michael shouting for Ronny to go for a 3 pointer, yeah that wasn’t going to happen, but Dragons came out victorious with a final score of

Dundee Dragons 40 Women’s Warriors 6

Thanks due at the end of the day for Tina Gordon who’s refereeing brings such a great touch to every match, and to Sally Lumsdaine and Ryan Mellon for timekeeping, scoring etc.

We concluded with food, drinks and general banter and of course Kirsteen Burns surprise Birthday cake and flowers, happy birthday Kirsteen.

Next match is away to Lothian Phoenix on Sunday 5 March, be great to have as good a support as we saw yesterday, may have resulted in some early nervousness but is really appreciated by all of the players.

GRAMPIAN FLYERS V DUNDEE DRAGONS

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL SCOTTISH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

BEACH LEISURE CENTRE ABERDEEN

SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2018 11AM TIP

Match Report by Kevin Rattray, DDWSC Vice-Chairman.

The Dragons travelled up to Aberdeen full of confidence following a strong showing against Women’s Warriors in the previous development league match and a very strong playing squad, with only Stephen Carling missing.

The team arrived pretty much in sequence in the space of 15 minutes and Gemma quickly asserted her authority,” Flyers you’ll need to change your colours”, I’m not afraid to say that I was a little bit scared.

She pulled everyone together very quickly, got her red pen out and her red dry wipe board, anyone else spot the schoolgirl error there, and we were ready to get into the warm up.

The warm up was pretty impressive, hoops were being shot, picks were being picked, screens were being screened and curls were being curled.

That’s pretty much my knowledge expended but the warm up did look great!

I think even the Flyers, of which there were many, were impressed.

The team started with a very strong five, Ben Leitch and Michael Mellon playing as forwards ably supported by Gemma Lumsdaine and Rhys Colliar as guards and David Birtles slipping into point.

Dragons started really impressively both in attack and defence with movement, communication and precision in almost every thing they did. Flyers were chasing shadows throughout the first quarter and 20 points were harvested without reply, Ben leading the way supported by Michael and David.

It was now time to make changes with Ronny Robb and Blair Marshall introduced into the action with both of them getting on the scoresheet, although the biggest cheer came when Rhys nailed a beautiful basket just before the half.

Flyers were now finding their form and clawed back 8 points making the half time score 28-8 to the Dragons.

The second half saw another Dragons change with Mairi Simms being introduced into the action.

The half started very much nip and tuck as the first half had ended but Flyers were now dominating possession and kept the scoreboard ticking with Dragons now struggling to find their form of the first 2 quarters, although the reintroduction of Michael helped to steady the ship, it was now a 12 point game at 34-22 to the Dragons, with one quarter to play

Not deterred, Gemma decided to try out a new tactic with four high chairs on at the same time, a quick calculation confirmed that yes we could do that and had enough points on the court.

This was a bit of a masterstroke as Dragons stormed back into the match with Ben, Michael and Blair adding to the Dragons total and the defence finding its resolute form of the first quarter, the match finished with Mairi replacing Gemma and the other four made up of the match starters.

The final action saw Ben’s 3 pointer atempt come back off the rim and out of play and the final score read

Grampian Flyers 22 Dundee Dragons 50

This was a really enjoyable match with thanks due to the Grampian Flyers for their excellent hospitality, the match officials for their lovely light touch to refereeing and the table officials doing an absolutely sterling job.

From Dragons point of view it was great to see a large travelling support, ok most of them were driving the players but big shout out to Sally, Carrie, Sharon, Deborah, Ryan and Sarah, David and Owen.

(I know I’ve missed some folk but couldn’t remember names sorry!)

Special mention to my partner in crime on the sidelines Paula “what was that foul for” Leitch.

Dragons move onto the return against Women’s Warriors on Saturday 17 February, at home, but without Ben and Mairi and I’m sure Jay and Kirsteen will be looking to put one over on us.

With a 1pm tip-off at Gardyne Campus be great to see a big support for the team.

Pictures courtesy of Grampian Flyers WBC