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 The Dodgeball Premier League is the top UK Dodgeball League for the top six elite dodgeball clubs in the UK. The Leicester City Ligers are joined by current National Champions Warwick University Warriors, Jammy Dodgers, Halifax Vipers, Derby Seahawks and Balls of Steel aka Nottingham University. These six qualified for the DPL through their consistently high performance during the previous Dodgeball season of 2009/2010. At the end of each Dodgeball season, teams from the National Dodgeball League will be promoted to the DPL, replacing a relegated team. This is the first year the DPL is in action and the Leicester City Ligers are very eager to launch a strong campaign in the League. |
The Leicester City Ligers
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Jammy Dodgers
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Balls of Steel
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Halifax Vipers |
Derby Seahawks |
Warwick Uni Warriors |
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Times and venues are subject to change by the UKDBA
We visited Derby University for our first ever Dodgeball Premier League 'meet'. The format meant that we played 3 of the other 5 teams - Derby, Balls of Steel and Warwick. The opening match was against the hosts Derby, who had strong crowd support, but unfortunately David Pool (jokes). A very strong start saw Ligers take the first four games, however each game was a lot closer than the scoring. As Liger's mentally relaxed, Derby came back and took the next 2 games before we took the final game with a convincing 5-0 scoreline. Final score Ligers 5-2 Derby Seahawks. Our second game was against a Balls of Steel side almost unchanged for years. The small courts favoured the more attacking of teams, but giving away too many 3 ball combos, the Leicester City Ligers faced a 2-4 final match loss, with Nottingham taking the final two games by one-player margins. The lads were downbeat but we vowed to bounce back against a Warwick side that had earlier posted a 0-5 loss to Jammy Dodgers. Final score Ligers 2-4 Balls of Steel. Warwick Warriors were the Liger's final DPL game of week 1. After narrowly losing on sudden death in their last meeting, the Liger's were confident they could overturn the Warwick boys momentum. They started very promising, taking the first 3 out of 4 games, the other game being a draw. At this point, perhaps complatency crept in to the Leicester guys side, knowing they couldn't now lose. Or maybe it was the usual nerves trying to creep over that final winning line, because Warwick took the next 3 games to tie the encounter 3 all. Final score Ligers 3-3 Warwick Uni Warriors. So a mixed back for the Leicester City Ligers over week 1, 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, but it could've been so much more, and the lads reflected on that on the short trip back to Leicester. Jammy Dodgers look back to their best, Warwick seem to be slipping up with an uncharacteristic heavy defeat to JD, and Vipers were the only team not to record a win. Derby and Balls of Steel though had come out fighting, with the home team recording some impressive wins. Onto week 2 in 2 weeks time at our home venue of Leicester.
Oadby in Leicester was our 'home' venue for week 2 of the DPL, however we don't normally play there, our usual home venue is Enderby Leisure Centre, Enderby. This week with injuries and illness, Alex from training started on his debut for the Ligers. We kicked things off by facing a Vipers team determined to record their first Dodgeball Premier League victory and start a decent run of form. A topsy turvy game followed, with the score alternating 1-0, 1-1, 2-0, etc. The Ligers were never behind, and held on strongly to win the final game and land a 4-3 victory, a scoreline Ligers vs Vipers nearly always seems to produce. Final score Ligers 4-3 Vipers. Warwick were up next, and we wanted revenge for the previous weeks draw. Sadly, they proved slightly stronger, with our throw speed lacking due to injuries and absentees. Final score Ligers 3-4 Warwick Uni Warriors. Our usual training partners for the majority of summer were up next, Derby Seahawks. A confident Ligers side brushed Derby away and took the first four games more convincingly than the last Dodgeball Premier League fixture between the two sides, before a resurgent Derby took the following two games. The Ligers won the final game to take the match victory and boost the moral on the day. Final score Ligers 5-2 Derby Seahawks. The final, most excruciating match of the day for the Ligers was facing the old enemy, Jammy Dodgers. After losing the first game, we powerfully (and I'm sure they would agree when we said) deservedly won the next 3 games to take a 3-1 lead in the match. The turning point was when the already weakened and injured Ligers side saw Simon Moody take a leg injury in the middle of the court, halting procedures temporarily and swinging the momentum. Jammy Dodgers took advantage of the situation and rattled off 3 quick games in a row to win the match 4-3, agnosing for the Leicester lads. Final score Ligers 3-4 Jammy Dodgers. A notably mention to how well Alex played for us on his debut, his throw was fast and he took some fantastic catches to keep us in some games. We look forward to having him on the team more reguarly when he's not at the rugby grounds! Also Sean played the entire tournament with his weaker left hand due to injury of his right. The other teams days were mixed. Warwick were back on form, winning all 3 of their games. JD looked vulnerable, drawing against bottom-of-the-table Vipers. The biggest dissapointment was Balls of Steel, who didn't bother bringing their usual first team for this big event, showing how weak their club is in depth. Notably though, they managed a superb draw with Vipers. Derby continued their up-down season with 1 win and 2 losses.
Unfortunately, it snowed lots, so the Dodgeball Premier League fixtures up in Halifax, Yorkshire, were called off. They will be ran at a later date to be confirmed by the UKDBA. So we move onto Nottingham University for the third round of the Dodgeball Premier League. Sean had moved to France at this point, which was a big loss to the side, as well as the long-term loss of Richie Gray to injury. So with a weakened side, we travelled on the short trip northwards to Nottingham. Knowing that we had Warwick and JD to face later, our first game against Derby Seahawks was more crucial to gain some well needed points. However the Seahawks gained an early lead, 3-2 with 2 games remaining. The lads resilience proved strong though, and a 4-2 player win and 4-4 player draw in the final 2 games squared the match. Final score Ligers 3-3 Derby Seahawks. Vipers edged a close battle and reversed the scoreline from the previous weeks DPL encounters. Final score Ligers 3-4 Vipers. Warwick Uni were next and proved far too strong for a Ligers side lacking experience. Final score Ligers 1-6 Warwick Uni Warriors. Finally, our last game was against local rivals the Jammy Jammy Dodgers. They had their full strength squad today, and it showed. Ligers pulled into a 2-1 game lead, but after edging the fourth game 3-2 in players, JD rattled off 3 more games in quick succession to win the tie. Final score Ligers 2-5 Jammy Dodgers. So a pretty bad results for the Leicester City Ligers, but invaluable experience was gained for the newer members of the team. The other sides fared much better in DPL week 3. Home team Balls of Steel used this advantage to win 3 out of the 4 matches they played, including a notable 5-2 victory against Warwick Uni, which might be crucial in the race for the DPL title.
Unfortuna
Unfortuna
Unfortuna
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Final standings of the 2010/2011
Results from Derby
Results from Leicester
Results from Nottingham
Results from Warwick
Results from Hinckley
Results from Halifax | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leicester City Ligers - Website created May 2010. About Us Contact Links