It all came down to this night, the decider for season two between Newcastle Roller Derby League‘s Fort Smashleys and the Harbour Hellcats. The Hellcats skated away victors in bout one with a 100-81 win but the Smashleys evened the score in bout two with a 101-86 win. It was evenly poised with the winner at the end of bout taking home the big gold trophy and bragging rights.

The Smashleys skated out to a rocking track and even did some air guitar before they did their roll out the big guns routine which got a massive cheer from the crowd. Not to be outdone the Hellcats huddled into a group in the middle of the track and appeared to be geeing themselves up before the group suddenly broke apart and they headed to the crowd to get a reaction from the crowd and boy did it work. Both sides meant business and the crowd was absolutely buzzing waiting for the first whistle to start the bout.

The bout started with a bang as Hippy Highrolla got smashed by the Hellcats wall of defence and although she made it through the pack first she wasn’t lead jammer. Babycakes quickly call off the jam before Hippy could score any points. In the next jam Godjilla Sold Separately knocked down the Hellcats like bowling pins which created space for DangeRass to get lead jammer then she too joined in with the explosive hits as she took down both Tootsy Turbo and Susy Pow  on her way to scoring a 5-0 jam.

The Hellcats had the early numerical advantage when two Smashleys found themselves in the penalty box but they couldn’t take advantage as Fannie-Tastic managed to hold off Susy Pow which allowed Hippy Highrolla to get lead jammer and score a 3-2 jam. The bout then had its first big game changer for the night when the Hellcats’ The Cramp showed great defence to stop DangeRass from getting through and helped Babycakes to get lead jammer but then DangeRass fell down and didn’t get back up right away. She was holding her skate and there was a fear she may have injured herself but she picked herself up and went back to the bench. Thankfully it wasn’t an injury but she snapped her axel which her and her team mates were trying to repair and luckily the Roller Derby Heaven stall outside had the part she needed to get her back on her skates a few jams later. Amongst all the confusion the jam continued and the Hellcats capitalised with Babycakes scoring a 20-0 jam which gave the Hellcats the lead for the first time 23-7.

Both sides then went blow for blow as the Smashleys Luna Shovegood was sent to the penalty box first then Susy Pow quickly followed with both sides eventually scoring a 8-8 jam to take the score to 33-17 for the Hellcats. DangeRass came back to the track after her skate malfunction as she lined up to take on Babycakes again. Babycakes got lead jammer status and called off the jam after scoring a quick 4-1 jam to extend the Hellcats lead to 39-18.

The Hellcats’ Booga got lead jammer over Hippy Highrolla and scored a quick 2-0 jam. Hippy appeared to being using the same tactic over and over again when she was jammer. She would try getting passed the Hellcats by going on the outside but the Hellcats read that play easily and were able to contain her for a while in most jams. Hippy found some joy when she got lead jammer over Babycakes in one jam when first GodJilla then Broken Arrow and the Smashleys captain Lady Quirkinator formed a wall to stop Babycakes.

Both sides showed amazing defensive work firstly the Smashleys when Belt’er Goodrem belted the Hellcats captain Susy Pow with a great hit then Schmierer who was on debut for the Smashleys popped off a good hit on Susy too. The Hellcats Dino la Rouge then stopped DangeRass with some great defence but then GodJilla doing what she does best took out Booga and then smashed Deathrow Doll. When the Hellcats were able to form a wall at the front of the pack the Smashleys found it difficult to get through, it was impressive defence from the Hellcats. It was an absolute slugfest with the crowd going crazy in appreciation for the high quality bout they were witness to. The first half ended with Broken Arrow doing her best to stop Babycakes from getting through but she eventually did but quickly called off the jam when DangeRass got in front of her. The half time score 58-48 for the Hellcats.

Half time gave both the skaters and fans a chance to catch their breath after an intense first half. Although things were heating up with the scores being so close it was literally hot and humid temperature wise and according to DangeRass ‘the moisture made the floor nice and grippy’. It also had an impact on tactics when she was lead jammer ‘When I was lead jammer I did choose to run shorter jams for longevity throughout the bout when normally I may have tried for more points.’

By the end of the first half GodJilla found herself sent to the penalty box no less than three times but according to her at least one of them was worth it as it resulted in the Smashleys picking up five points, so she took one for the team, what a team player she is J

The Hellcats mixed things up in the second half with The Cramp playing jammer for the first time that night and got lead jammer over Hippy but quickly called it off when Hippy got in front of her. The Smashleys were trying everything to get back into the bout like having no pack starts to get their jammer starting as soon as possible and finding gaps wherever possible to bridge the gap. Having recovered from her skating malfunction in the first half DangeRass showed great footwork to get around Dino la Rouge to score a 5-0 jam. GodJilla and Belt’er then started forming a wall in front of the jammer when the jams started to try and delay the Hellcats jammer and give their jammer a chance to try and get through and for the most part it worked when they tried that tactic.

The bout then became a see-saw affair as the lead changed after almost every single jam. There was desperate play from both sides with both GodJilla and Dino getting sent to the penalty box for massive hits which turned into illegal hits. The Hellcats then turned the screw, once again forming an impenetrable wall at the front of pack that DangeRass couldn’t find any gaps to get through but Babycakes had no problem scoring a 4-0 jam to take score out to 81-72. The Cramp and Brigand Strong then stopped Hippy from getting through but Booga helped extend the lead with another 4-0 jam.

GodJilla and Belt’er tried to sandwich Booga at the start of the jam but she stayed on her feet as GodJilla hit the ground and Belt’er didn’t fair much better but Booga soon got sent to the penalty box not long after she got lead jammer. Hippy could smell an opportunity and start racking up the points but then got sent to the bin for cutting the track which she was not happy about at all but scored a 11-0 jam for her team which gave the Smashleys the lead again 87-85. With the game in the balance getting sent to the penalty box could prove costly for both sides.

The Hellcats used a no pack start to try and get Booga scoring quick points while Hippy was in the bin and it worked with Booga scoring a 5-0 jam despite great defensive work from De-Bri to hold her back for as long as possible the Hellcats took the lead again 90-87.

Babycakes then got lead jammer over Luna Shovegood with Luna then getting sent to the penalty box. De-Bri and Broken Arrow tried stopping Babycakes but they found themselves out of play and couldn’t block her without getting sent off for a major penalty. There was some confusion over when the jam was supposed to finish and a furious Major Puddles called an official time out to find what was going on, by the end of it the jam resulted in a 15-0 jam for the Hellcats with the Hellcats in a 105-91 lead with only three minutes left on the scoreboard.

DangeRass tried using Fannie-Tastic as a battering ram to try and create space for herself to get through the Hellcats wall, the Hellcats Reggie Ramjet ended up taking herself out trying to lay a hit on DangeRass. The Smashleys scored a 3-0 jam to bring the score to 105-94 with only 1:40 left. It all came down to this final jam, the crowd were almost in a frenzy, the atmosphere was incredibly intense. Hippy managed to get lead jammer and the entire Hellcats pack all fell down which resulted in both Susy Pow and Tootsy Turbo being sent to the bin. The Smashleys were trying to slow down the pack as much as possible to give Hippy a chance to catch up and get more points. The crowd were screaming and cheering on Hippy who looked completely knackered by this stage. Susy came back on trying desperately to score some points and the jam eventually ran its course. Everyone was waiting nervously for the referee’s to tally the points in the final jam to determine the ultimate victor. The final score – 111-108 for the Harbour Hellcats. The Hellcats celebrated with proud captain Susy Pow lifting the trophy up surrounded by her team mates. The Hellcats The Cramp was made up with the win and thought that the Smashleys might have won the bout but they tried to learn from their mistakes from the last bout when the power jam from Hippy gave a win to the Smashleys.

With high quality, nail biting bouts such as this it’s no surprise that Newcastle are making a name for themselves in Australian roller derby circles which should make for an exciting 2012 and beyond.

Special mention to all the NSO’s and referee’s on the night who battled the humid weather to put on another great bout.

It doesn’t end for Newcastle their next bout is over in New Zealand when the NRDL Dockyard Dames take on the Pirate City Rollers’ Canon Brawlers on the 12^th November.

Words by Lisbeth Slammed-her & Pictures by Nick Sullivan