“An absolutely brutal game for Java's 'zons injury wise, but well played and won (at great cost). This game will mark the first time I've attempted Jambon's tried and true method of reviewing his play, and I think it's the perfect opportunity because my play was generally extremely sloppy and I was heavily reliant on great dice for it to even be as close as it was. Kudos to Java as well for being a good sport about having his team so thoroughly mauled.

So half 1 things start out okay. Java's asymmetric defense is interesting, an offset anchor with two layers. It makes me think which is good because I was sleepy and the coffee hadn't kicked in yet. I am already thinking about the one turn as he keeps his MA+ carrier in reserve.

Half 1 goes generally well after a double skull opener I decide I ought to reroll. Two notable mistakes: T2, I move the ball into the path that other players need to cross forcing GFIs to make the ball safe again. Pretty sloppy but I don't trip so it doesn't cost me anything. T3 I screw up and target the blocker here which of course has defensive - I was on autopilot and clicked the stronger target without thinking and couldn't take it back after moving. Foolish but again, I don't fail the roll so no punish. Attrition is piling up for the 'zons because my dice are hot so Java smartly decides to concede this touch with a reroll in the tank for a one turn. I do make some small positioning mistakes (including opening up a chainpush) but none of them are too massive.

Then we have the 1TTD attempt: this was expected and again I let myself just auto-pilot through it without really thinking about what I'm doing. I don't space the los goobers making it extremely easy for no reason, and I put the kicker in a sideline. I also should've put the goblin further out although it didn't matter as much as the first two. This means Java equalizes the game at little risk so all I've gotten out of H1 is the removals.

H2 defense I am largely satisfied with but for some reason I am not as aggressive as I could be once he circles my defenders. If I had put more effort onto marking the ball and its escorts sooner once he was stalling I am pretty confident I could've gotten an extra turn for my short drive. Short drive is fine, again small positioning mistakes but largely it goes ok- could've been more aggressive and pushed the team further in and marked out the spots the 'zon intercepting players needed to go. Bt, rerolls and more excellent dice win me through.

H3 T1 we have the most brainless error of the game: I seem to forget the MA+ carrier is back in play and just put the goblin in reach. Java goes for it, manages to pow the carrier, and that is effectively any hope of a 3-2 win for me gone. I force him to score but now I'm playing for a 3-3 draw and kicks. This was one of the dumbest mistakes I've made in quite a while, and I attribute it to a consistent problem I am having where over the course of a game my attention wanes and I start playing faster and less carefully. I need to be cognizant of it. The short drive I am out of rerolls and I fail 3 pickups and then fail a handoff killing any hope of an equalizing touch, but that's ok I think after that showing I had earned the loss.

Top takeaways:
1) Ball safety is king. maybe I need a checklist to follow, after this many games I don't really have an excuse for leaving a ball exposed like that

2) Need to make sure I'm actually thinking and not just letting the autopilot take over, as it leads to very sloppy positioning like that 1TTD which could have easily been made much harder at no cost other than a few seconds consideration

3) Sequencing, one of the most common mistakes I still make is poor sequencing leading to unnecessary GFIs or the wrong player having to fill a cage guard spot. Just need to take more time on my turns, I have 4 minutes I should use them.

Overall a very good match for drawing into focus my shortcomings as a coach. We must do better.
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