EXCHANGE INTERFACE

Two games, very tired by the second one, but still managing to keep in there for most of it - at least until the late 2nd half when I was just not quite managing to be there. (I think that was happening for a few of the players, actually.)

Game 1: C-grade (mixed C & D grade teams), playing a top-C-grade team.

We did solidly; not well, but solidly. Good play, I ended up in the half-line at least once. Got a few opportunities there, but couldn't quite make it work.

A free hit smacked me on the shin, and now I have a really impressive bruise. It would have been a broken shin but for the shinpads that we have to wear. Swelling has gone down some since last night, but it's still kind of colourful.

Anyway, I came up against the player in the A-grade game that followed and said "I hope you're going to be playing in this grade and not that one". She didn't give a very definitive answer!

We lost, but, like I said, we played solidly - just couldn't get our goal attempts in.

Game 2: A/B-grade team, playing one of the upper A-grade teams.

This was a lot more stretchy than last week, in skills and interceptions and fitness. We lost the game by running all over each other and not talking enough, but they also played very cohesively - excellent passing - and aggressively in a way that one or two of our players weren't quite prepared for. Apparently they're one of the stronger A-grade teams. We were definitely outmatched, but not in a 'we were terrible' way, just in a 'we weren't quite ready for that' way.

Like I think I've said before, I could probably play A-grade, but it'd be a push every week. B-grade is a solid challenge, and C-grade is comfortable.

( rambling )