Men's team given reality check against best in the league
It was a harsh lesson for the men's team, but it might end up being one that they may need as Nottingham Trent continue to run away with the league with a 17-3 win.
Before the match it was seen as a huge clash that will decide who looks the favourite for promotion. But after the match, the hype was all pointless as Nottingham Trent continue to walk away with promotion. As for Staffordshire it was their first loss in the league and it was one they lacked any fighting spirit in. "I didn't expect us to play like they did against the leagues best" said captain Dimitri Chambers. "No one on the team acted like they wanted it, we could not play as one and we were all over the place."
The first two quarters did see the visitors create a comfortable lead, but it didn't seem the match was over. The hosts did mange to collect a couple of goals to keep them in the game. But as the game went on the gap was increasing which lead to further frustration for the Staffordshire men.
This included an altercation with a couple of players from both sides that forced both benches to clear to separate the players. Thankfully it didn't end up with anyone in a serious condition, it was just a harsh conclusion as to how poor the men's side were playing after having a 100% record before today's match.
"I guess the positives to take from the game is that we know now what to expect from the leagues best and other teams that we come across out there" said Chambers.
The next few weeks will show how much this men's team wants to at least challenge for this league title. So I think everyone will expect a lot of serious sessions especially to do with fitness, because that seemed to be the biggest disadvantage our men's team had against the league leaders.
"For the next game everything we need to work on, is going straight back to the basics of catching and throwing before we move onto anything else."
The men's team next match will be against third place East Anglia at Norwich in what will be a match that could confirm second place for Staffordshire.