“Look at that. My first new team in ages, and it's not even wood elf! Instead, I thought I'd play against some wood elves and see what it's like.

I went for humans because they're nice and versatile and I thought I'd go for something with a little bit more punch than usual - but still with the option of a passing game because I know myself too well to know I'm always going to throw given half a chance. The lack of AG4 is a little bit unsettling, but the ability to hit things and not fail my armour rolls all the time is quite refreshing.

Having said that, you'll notice I had my first player killed in this game. Obviously with hindsight I should have used the apo, but he was a no-points lineman so I let it go. And sadly, I didn't earn enough gold to replace him.

Anyway, on to the game. I received the kick and so decided to come out with all guns blazing, using those nice blitzers and making sure the ogre was 3-dicing it. And boy, fresh wood elves are soft. A BH on the first turn wasn't going to help Kaniulec at all. Then he went and did himself no favours by attempting a foul and getting a player sent off on his very first turn, so now he was outnumbered by two.

After my first score I was blessed with a blitz and almost straight away it was 2-0, with the wood elves unable to reorganise themselves before I ran it in.

After that, I settled back for a bit of heavy bashing on defence while the wood elves began a tentative advance. It was then I noticed Kaniulec was struggling with the client and I realised he was new to FUMBBL and hadn't yet got to grips with the way passing and handing-off works. After a short explanation, I gave him a free turn as it was clear he'd meant to hand-off on his previous turn and I also eased off a little bit on the bashing. No one likes to be mercilessly pounded into the dirt when they're just starting out, and I was still in control of the game anyway.

Making use of his opportunity, Kaniulec threw a pass and made a hand-off, and before I knew it, the wood elves were on the board.

But there were still two turns left, and with so few wood elves to stop me, I set up for a final turn TD. Kaniulec might have stopped me with a blitzing wardancer, but as is so often the case, he failed his leap and fell flat on his face, allowing me to go in to the second half with a 3-1 lead.

The second half was just as tough for the wood elves as the first had been and three turnovers in four turns allowed the humans to score once more, putting the game safely out of reach of the elves. However, Kaniulec stuck it out and managed a second score - as well as the killed lineman along the way - and that was how the game ended, with a win for the humans and a very respectable recovery from a new coach who is still learning the subtleties of the site.

I was pleased with the way the humans played. Obviously it's early days and everything went my way here, but they felt comfortable to play with and I do like the luxury of AV8 (although, clearly, it's not to be relied on).

Three skills after the game - both catchers scoring twice and getting block for their trouble, and the thrower rolling a double and starting off with strong arm. Guess how happy I am with that?

Thanks for the game Kaniulec. I hope you stay on FUMBBL and have as much fun here as I have over the years. Winning really isn't everything (as I know only too well) but I hope you get your first win soon and I look forward to meeting your wood elves again sometime. ”