At the New Roker Park Executive Bar - Tuesday 13th March
The entire Dangos team had gathered around the Executive Bar in the Main Stand. The reason was the draw of the Porter Cup which was played between teams in the Goldslager Premiership as well as the new Second/Third Grade Legacy Rugby League (LRL) which saw old Australian Rugby League sides compete. The Porter Cup was to be a Union sort of event, through a Heads and Tails, the winner was the Goldslager League in terms of the code being played.
Kyou's health since the Carlisle game had been a little up and down, she was quite ill on the Sunday before recovering enough to be at the bar with everyone.
"Who do you think we will draw" said Kyou
"I think Illawarra personally would be the best option" said Tomoyo
"Why, it is an industrial sort of area, I would want either Western Reds or Balmain Tigers, personally" said Tomoya
"Isn't Perth very hot" said Youhei
"It is, but I would rather hot than cold" said Tomoya
"Ain't most of Australia pretty warm, plus we can only draw against LRL teams as the two leagues have been split into two pools" said Yukine
"I personally would love to get either Balmain or North Sydney, both nice areas personally" said Kyou
"The draw is starting" said Fuko
"Welcome to the Porter Cup 1st Round Draw, teams of the LRL and Goldslager Premiership will be put into two pools with one LRL team playing one Goldslager team.
Pool A:
1. Hikarizaka Dangos
2. Colony 3 Qubeleys
3. Neriema Viola Buffalos
4. Casval Red Comets
5. Yucipica Aliens
6. Orrell
7. Carlisle
8. Northern Alliance
Pool B:
1. Illawarra Steelers
2. South Queensland Crushers
3. Balmain Tigers
4. North Sydney Bears
5. Western Reds
6. Adelaide Rams
7. Northern Mariners
8. Tasmania Seagulls
"With all of the Pool's announced, we begin the draw"
"North Sydney will play Northern Alliance in the battle of the Northern Teams"
"Carlisle will play against Western Reds"
"Illawarra Steelers will play the Neriema Viola Buffalos"
"Balmain Tigers will play against the Casval Red Comets"
"Adelaide Rams will play against Orrell"
"Tasmania Seagulls will play the Hikarizaka Dangos"
"Yucipica Aliens will play against the Northern Mariners"
"Colony 3 Qubeleys will play the South Queensland Crushers"
The reactions of most of the Dangos players and staff was a mixture of happiness and horror, on one hand they would get a Australian adventure, but to Tasmania of all places where it was colder than mainland Australia as well as being the furthest to travel and what was worst of all was that it was a midweek game that would take place in three days time.
"What do you guys think" said Kyou
"A little far, I was expecting somewhere nicer like Balmain or North's" said Akio
"I do think we can beat them, I hear they have been struggling in their league" said Tomoya
"I agree with Tomoya, winning the Porter Cup would be good for all of us and the local area" said Youhei
"It may be cold, but we are ready" said Kyou
Other Club Reactions
Yucipica Aliens reaction was very muted as the Northern Mariners were probably the smallest club in terms of historical prestige in the LRL (they were a pheonix club of the Hunter Mariners).
Orrell players were already booking the holiday to Adelaide which was seen as a big holiday destination, the Qubeleys and Carlisle were disappointed that they were playing at home rather than enjoying a brief holiday with Haman encouraging her players over the easy draw.
Northern Alliance were planning a big tour and were planning on playing a friendly on that weekend that the Premiership was off due to the cup. Casval Red Comets reaction was a fairly modest one with Char pointing out that while it would be a competitive clash, it will be a long journey for the whole team.
The most unique reaction came from the Neriema Viola Buffalos who were expecting a sunnier tie such as North Sydney or Adelaide, but were instead lumbered with industrial Illawarra and it was shown as many of the players had packed holiday clothes as well as a list of things to do in the more sunny parts of Australia.
Even so, all teams were ready for their cup adventures which was to be a midweek game, many of the clubs on the eastern side of Earth would play on the Wednesday, whilst the Western Side would play on a Friday to avoid an unfair advantage in terms of timezones.
Yōuhei spent the last two days before the flight with Kyou and Yuna as on the final day he took them to the park where they watched Yuna as they both sat on the bench.
"Looks like the Dangos got a long trip to cover tomorrow for the Porter Cup," said Youhei
"Tasmania as well, not even the warmest part of Australia," said Kyou
"Yeah, are you going to be watching the game on TV," said Youhei
"Me and Yuna will be watching it along with Sanae and Misae at the Furukawa Bakery," said Kyou
"Will you be well enough to be able to watch the game, it'll be on quite late," said Youhei
"I'll try and keep myself awake for the game, I want to see you score as many tries as you can," said Kyou
"It will be a tough game," said Youhei
"It may be tough, but that shouldn't stop you from giving it your all, your friends will be there to support you for the game and although I can't it there in person, I will be watching along with Yuna, you can do it," said Kyou
"At least they are giving us the bye week, imagine if we had to play both a cup and league game days of each other," said Youhei
"You would all play like elderly pensioners, especially as the Dangos have got the Red Comets the week after," said Kyou smiling
"Don't remind me, our squad might be unified and have some Hikarizaka grit, we are also aware that we aren't exactly in peak condition, especially against the Red Comets and their American Superstars," said Youhei
"Haven't you also got to play Yucipica who also are American," said Kyou
"Yeah, but there squad are of a similar age to us, Char on the other hand went and recruited loads of Amercian NCAA College Rugby Players as well as a few Australian players that were playing high level in Australia," said Youhei
"But on the other hand, your squad is going to be more physical, I can see the likes of Tomoyo and Mai causing havoc to the less seasoned Red Comets players as well as the quickness and skill of you, Tomoya and Nayuki being useful in getting the crucial tries," said Kyou
"Did you go on a checkup yesterday," said Youhei
"Yeah, they are managing the cancer, although it's likely I'm going to have chemotherapy to destroy the cancer," said Kyou
"Oh, that means you might lose your hair," said Youhei
"I am aware of that which is why I bought these trendy woolly hats, this one has a image of a boar that looks like Botan," said Kyou
Youhei admired Kyou for keeping her strength during these tough times.
"I have to ask, how are you feeling," said Youhei
"I'm feeling better than I did a few days ago," said Kyou
"That's good to hear, when do you next have treatment," said Youhei
"Tomorrow, so the same day as your flight," said Kyou
"Oh, at least I'll be able to contact you considering my flight is early tomorrow morning," said Youhei
"That'll be good to hear, I'll probably spend the next two days either in treatment or maybe go visit my parents with Yuna," said Kyou
"That'll be fun, Yuna will love seeing her grandparents," said Youhei
"Yeah, I have told them about what you bakas are doing to help me and they were laughing their head off before saying that they will be cheering you on," said Kyou
"We'll be on TV on Wednesday against Tasmania Seagulls in the Porter Cup," said Youhei
"There is one thing I want you all to do with regards to that game," said Kyou
"What's that," said Youhei
"Win," said Kyou
They spoke for a while before Youhei got home, got his Dango's Tracksuit on, put his Dango's kit in his suitcase along with some causal clothes, toiletries and a framed picture of Kyou and Yuna and then after a few hours of relaxing, drove to Hikarizaka City Airport where after checking in and boarding the plane, he found the team was waiting for him.
"I see you made it on time," said Tomoya
"Yeah, there was heavy traffic on my way to the airport," said Youhei
"At least your here, that's all that matters," said Akio
"Good Morning this is your Captain speaking, this is the flight to Hobart in Australia, please fasten your seatbelt and remain in your seats for the flight"
The plane took off as the Dangos embarked on a long flight to play in the Porter Cup
A few hours later
The Dangos landed down into Tasmania with the team slightly exhausted from the long flight, after getting an taxi to the hotel which was in the heart of Hobart, many of the team would rest in their hotel rooms for the most of the next day as they heard news that many of the Seagulls players could be found at the local nightclubs as they weren't taking the cup as seriously as the Dangos.
The day of the game
The game was to be played at Bellerive Oval which was one of the largest venues on the island and was also used for cricket, for many of the Dangos players, they were impressed by the design of the place which looked more glamorous than New Roker Park which had an more old school design.
As they were in the locker rooms, the Dangos team could hear banging and rattling in the other locker room as the Seagulls were kicking lockers in their locker room in an attempt to intimidate the Dangos with tactics that the Western Suburbs teams of the 70s would be proud of.
"You can hear them, can't you, they are in it to win it and they are going to hit you like a bunch of steam trucks, but remember who and why we are playing this great game, we are playing for a cause greater than there's and that should be our motivation when we go out and play them. For our friend Kyou and for Hikarizaka, Dango Daikazoku" yelled Akio as he fired his team up.
The Dangos were spurred on by Akio's speech as they ran out inspired onto the pitch with 'Simply The Best' by Tina Turner blaring from the speakers.
Team Rosters
Dangos
1. Tomoyo Sakigami (Prop)
2. Jun Kitagawa (Hooker)
3. Mai Kawasumi (Prop)
4. Tomoya Okazaki (Second Row)
5. Kaori Kitagawa (Second Row)
6. Yuichi Aizawa (Flanker)
7. Yukine Miyazawa (Flanker)
8. Kotomi Ichinose (No.8)
9. Youhei Sunohara (Scrum-Half)
10. Ryou Hiragi (Fly-Half)
11. Nayuki Tskagawa (Winger)
12. Ayu Aizawa (Inside Center)
13. Kyosa Tskagawa (Outside Center)
14. Kappei Hiragi (Winger)
15: Nagisa Okazaki (Full-Back)
Finishers:
Shiori Misaka (Backup Full-Back)
Fuko Ibuki (Backup Winger)
Mei Sunohara (Backup Scrum-Half)
Haruto Tsushima (Backup Second Row)
Seagulls
1. Mal Lewis (Prop)
2. Greg Anderson (Hooker)
3. Wally Pearce (Prop)
4. Phil Steeden (Second Row)
5. Andrew Steeden (Second Row)
6. Cliff Gilbert (Flanker)
7. Craig Kirk (Flanker)
8. Joey Wharepapa (No.8)
9. Inga Harawira (Scrum-Half)
10. Phil Wendal (Fly-Half)
11. Eddie Smith (Winger)
12. Steve Cronella (Inside Center)
13. Shannon Davies (Outside Center)
14. Jerid Messa (Winger)
15. Reccoa Londe (Full-Back)
Finishers
Steve Canberra (Backup Prop)
Kevin Brisbane (Backup Scrum-Half)
Shannon Green (Backup Winger)
The Game
The Seagulls came out to the same song as the Dangos did which 'Simply the Best' was considered a unofficial anthem for the rebel code of Rugby League which the Seagulls were more accustomed to as Tina Turner had done various promos with the Australian Rugby League back in the 1990s.
The two sides would spent the first 15 mins beating the snot out of each other with various tackles as the Seagulls and Dangos both showed heavy physicality as they were both strong sides with old grizzled players.
However after 15 minutes, Tomoya's shoulder gave way and he was down injured which saw him stretchered off which rendered him out for most of the season as his already mangled shoulder had been dislocated as an result of an tackle attempt gone wrong. Haruto came on to replace him at Second Row
The game was tied at 0-0 at half-time as both sides defences had cancelled each other out.
The 2nd half was the opposite however as the Seagulls began to show their class, within 5 minutes the Seagulls scored two tries both from Davies before a 80th minute try from Jerid Messa ended up sealing a shutout victory for the Seagulls in a 21-0 win.
After the game, the Seagulls were celebrating by drinking lots of beer, whilst a dejected and tired Dangos team just sat in the changing room as they could hear the loud cheers from the other room.
Meanwhile
The Commissioner's of both the LRL and Goldslager Premiership were having a drink in a function room reserved for either of them, the LRL representative was drinking ale and the Goldslager representative was drinking a glass of brandy.
"Looks like the rebel code wins this round," said the LRL Commissioner
The Goldslager Commissioner looks at the scores of the Porter Cup which weren't an easy read for him:
Tasmania Seagulls 21-0 Hikarizaka Dangos
North Sydney Bears 18-12 Northern Alliance
Carlisle 24-7 Western Reds
Illawarra Steelers 46-7 Neriema Viola Buffalos
Balmain Tigers 53-0 Casval Red Comets
Adelaide Rams 8-2 Orrell
Yucipica Aliens 8-12 Northern Mariners
Colony 3 Qubeleys 12-0 South Queensland Crushers
"You may have won, but it's our first season, give the teams time and we'll be stronger next season," said Goldslager Commissioner
"We had a better start than you, the Porter Cup shows it, our ratings are gonna be through the roof," said LRL Commissioner
"You miss the point of the game, it's supposed to be about the competition, not the ratings," said Goldslager Commissioner