Blood Bowl, it's a game of two halves.

I'm four games into the round robin stage of our club's bloodbowl league. The paint job on the team is coming along nicely but the performance on the pitch leaves a lot to be desired! So far I'm without a win in 4 games, however, two of my losses have been close and my team is progressing nicely with four players having gained a skill all ready! I think I'm knocking on the door of my fisrst win but I have to face an Elf team next week and I fear speed based teams above all else!

Anyway, I thought I'd recap on my season so far by giving you so0me highlits and a match report from my most recent game against a Skaven team, The Green Peak Packers:

Starting line-up - 4 Blitzers, 4 Black Orks, 1 Throwers, 2 Linemen, 3 Rerolls and 1 Fan Factor
Update: Game 4 - Fired 1 Blitzer (-1MA). Bought 1x Blitzer and 1x Lineman

Played: 4
W/L/D: 0/4/0
TDs (for/against): 2/9
Casualties (for/against): 5/5

Recent Results:
1-4 vs Quexecotl Slithrers
1-2 vs Green Peak Packers

Team News:
"Lame" Bolts Blitzer sent to the glue factory.
- Injured Bolts Blitzer, Gag Throttlesnot, did not appear for training this week. When asked for comment Head Coach, Marv Teefsnatcher said "We definitely didn't kill 'im."
Bolts Break Bank, Buying Blitzer and Balast.
- Despite their recent run of poor form on the pitch, Da Bolts have been receiving significant financial dontations from members of the players' and coaching staff's families. These donations have allowed the purchase of a new Blitzer, to replace the mysteriously absent Gag Throttlesnot, and an extra Lineman to add depth to their roster. When questioned about gambling irregularities, Bog, mother of Da Bolts star Blocker "Mung", was quoted as saying "I always bet against them, they're a load of rubbish."

Match Report: Game 4 vs The Green Peak Packers.

Game two of a Thursday afternoon double-header, and game 4 of the RRT, was against the Green Peak Packers. Even more speed than the Slitherers but much less bash, surely Da Bolts would be able to come away from this one with at least a bonus point.

Sadly Flash Git did not seem to want anything to do with the ball for the second game running and two handling errors early on gave away two soft scores in the first half. On a more positive note a serious injury had befallen one of the line-rats and he would be at -1MA from now on thanks to a rather unpleasant block from Burk, the Black Orcs really have been living up to their reputation and putting in the hard work on the line. So that really was the story of the first half, two more fumbles by Da Bolts thrower and Burk laying the smack down. Surely Da Boltz were due for a change in fortunes in the second half but kicking the ball away would put them in a tough situation from the get-go.

The second half started with a deep kick straight into the paws of a waiting Gutter Runner on the Packers' backfield. Not a great start but this was to be a half full of bad behaviour from the mean greenies. The Packers decided to try and move the ball down the right side of the field behind the blocking of their Rat Ogre. As usual the Black Orcs owned the line of scrimmage and crucially the Orcs out wide on the far side of the field were able to cut off the option of a reverse … or at least make it look less attractive!

A couple of big blocks made the difference here, firstly a mob of Boyz made a bee line for the Rat Ogre and put him down, to be honest the big fellah had been a bit distracted all half so he was at least no less use on the floor than he had been on his feet up to this point. Then a big blitz from TD hero of the last game – Rip Edsplitta, who put a mighty blow on another Rat consigning him to the Injury bin and needing the swift attention of the team apothecary to stave off long term ill effects! All this action put the ball carrier in a cage with a decidedly green tinge to it and with his escape route to the far side of the field cut off by some more angry looking Orks he decided to consolidate as far away as possible from the nearest Orks and hope the cavalry didn't spend too long nursing their wounds on the floor.

It wasn't long before the inevitable happened though and the Orks saw to it that the was ball returned to their blood-stained mitts and number 8 Gaz Bonethrasha ran it in for a consolation score. That little event had taken up most of the second half, so a win was off the cards but two turns to try and salvage a bonus point on casualties didn't seem out of the realms of possibility. Sadly however those damn rats proved to be more resilient than they looked and the Orcs were forced to leave the field with nothing to show for their efforts.

A 4th loss in a row and some serious soul searching is needed by the team and coaching staff to try and stop the rot. Drastic measures were taken in the firing of injured Blitzer, Gag Throttlesnot, who had been nursing an injury since game 1 and the surprisingly rich Bolts were able to buy a direct replacement and a new Lineman to bulk out the roster. Somehow, best known only to the Associated Press who voted for the award, Boltz thrower, Flash Git won the MVP and earned a skill up, taking Block – at least he can do something even if he can't pick the ball up! Also gaining a skill was Gaz Bonethrasher who took Guard.

It's been a tough first 4 games but the fans are behind them and if that's not sufficient motivation to turn the corner then perhaps actually letting the fans get hold of a few of them will be!