The people of Tottenham might not be fans of Brighton-based sports teams at present (some 3-0 football thing a few days ago, apparently) but the mighty Rockers are heading to that very enclave of North London this Saturday to take on their chums the London Rockin’ Rollers. This event, which also features the LRR B-team vs Dorset B, is taking place at Tottenham Green Pools & Fitness. Doors are at 2pm with tickets available online (£12 adults, £6 kids) from the link down below.
The Rockers game will be the first one up at around 2.30. So is this sporting event going to finish 3-0 to Brighton too? Er, no. That’s a modest score for a single jam (of which there are usually about 43.6 in a derby game) rather than a whole contest. There are likely to be HUNDREDS of goals (points) in this one, so come along and see which side gets the mostest. It really could go either way. Eek!
We at BRATS have been to this venue for LRG games and even (for some reason) LRR training, but never an actual LRR home game, so we can’t speak for the facilities, stalls, food, drink etc in the hall. We can say it’s an easy enough few minutes walk (or a minute or so on one of the many regular buses) north from Seven Sisters tube, which is a short hop from Victoria on the Victoria line, so there’s no reason at all for everyone in Sussex not to turn up. You can even do some Extinction Rebellioning on your way home, yeah?
SCORE PREDICTIONS
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The world of educated guesses (but still guesses) that is flattrackstats.com has the Rockers placed 294th in WFTDA and LRR at 345th. Despite being the visitors, Brighton are given 68% chance of victory here, although the 11:9 differential suggests a pretty close (165-145, say) away win. The day’s other game sees visitors Dorset B (199th in Europe) given 76% chance of seeing off LRR B (290th) with the predicted differential of 37:26 suggesting a 185-130 Dorset win. NB Predictions are as often wrong as right. The only way to know for sure is to come and watch the games!
VARIOUS FOLKS FROM BRIGHTON ROCKERS SAY…
The Rockers know LRR quite well. How does that change your approach compared to playing against complete strangers?
In some ways we can relax because we know they’re a lovely league and always fun to play against. However, we know that rosters can vary a lot in a year, so we can’t know exactly what to expect in terms of gameplay. We just have to work hard during training to make sure that we all know our own strategies inside out, as well as always having a Plan B and a Plan C up our sleeves. We have heavy sleeves!
Any particular players or tactics to look out for?
From us Rockers, Lazy Jo. From LRR, we’re not looking out for anything as we’ll just concentrate on playing our own game.
Care to predict the result?
Our last game against LRR was super close [a 227-184 loss in a scores released closed door] so we’re expecting another nail-biter, but this time we will have some more points than they, oh yes.
You’re back on the road two weeks later for a big tournament in Hull. Any advantages or disadvantages to away trips in quick succession?
Luckily London is not that far, so travel wise all is good. It’s also great to be playing a tough game a couple of weeks before a multi-team tournament, so we can see what areas we need to focus on leading up to Hull.
Finally, any message for the Rockers fans in Tottenham this Saturday?
We love you!
AGENT COOPER FROM LONDON ROCKIN’ ROLLERS SAYS…
Hi LRR. Who the hell are you?
We’re a London-based roller derby league and one of the oldest leagues in Europe. We played in the UK’s very first interleague scrimmage and Europe’s first interleague bout. Yeah, we’re that old! We celebrated our tenth birthday last year with an event including a super fun old school rules game – pivot starts, remember them? We have two fantastic travel teams and a (W)Rec(k) league with their own travel team. We regularly run beginners rookie courses, so if you’re interested in starting to play roller derby in London, come and say hi!
You’ve had quite strong links with the Rockers over the years, being their WFTDA mentor league etc. Does that affect your approach to the game?
Our history with Brighton goes right back to the start with LRR legend The Mighty Mighty Bash helping to set up the Rockers and later transferring to skate there. We’ve not played against Brighton since June 2018 [the closed door sanctioned game mentioned above] and it’s been too long. Being their WFTDA mentor league doesn’t affect games at all. It was a pleasure to mentor them and it’s always a pleasure to play them too.
Any players or tactics the crowd should look out for? Care to predict the result?
With a fair few of our current A-team injured we’re bringing some exciting new talent into the mix; superstar jammer Slammer And Sickle is one you’ll want to keep an eye on, and new Allstar blocker Stings Like Abbie will make life difficult for the Brighton jammers. We predict it’ll be a corker.
Any thoughts on the day’s other game (LRR B vs Dorset B)?
We’re incredibly proud of our Badasses. They’ve been kicking butt and their attitude on the bench is always amazing. They’ve been working very hard and we’re so excited to see them take on Dorset.
Finally, what can Rockers fans expect from your venue, event and the day in general?
Expect a bloody nice game of roller derby.
[Photo by John Hesse]
LINKS
FB EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/732910307158765/
TICKETS: https://bpt.me/4405141
VENUE: https://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/tottenham-green-pools-fitness/
ROCKERS: https://www.brightonrockers.com/
LRR: https://londonrockinrollers.co.uk/
DORSET: https://www.dorsetrollergirls.com/
brightonbrats 