University of Sydney Unspeakables win Melbourne Mudbash 2018

By Cameron Caccamo, QA Media Director The University of Sydney’s top team, the Unspeakables, have won the annual Melbourne Mudbash tournament at Fawkner Park. They defeated a NSW-based mercenary team, The Art of Yeeting, 120*-100 in the final, capping a remarkable finals run. For USyd, Alex Cunningham was the hero; named Most Valued Player in the final. He caught Snitch Nathan Morton three times, with the first two being disallowed. Keeper Max Brenner and Dropbear chaser Brandon Frison were a lethal combination with the quaffle, accounting for most of the Unspeakables’ goals. Sydney were also without several of their stars, like Beater Harry Jones and Keeper Nicholas Albornoz. Injury also left them without Chaser Ana Stancic for part of the second day.Speaking to QA Today after the win, co-captains Samantha Chittenden and Ajantha Abey said they were "super hyped about the win, especially having had to play so many close games against so many amazing teams all weekend".Their opponent in the final was known as “Yeet”; a mercenary team made up of players from the ACT and NSW. They showed great cohesion despite being a mercenary team, with many players hailing from the Sydney City Serpents combining well in the quaffle game. Luke Derrick was a star distributor for the team as Keeper, playing a full game in the final and having a hand in most of the goals scored.  “Yeet” were ahead on quaffle points for the duration of the game, but never managed to keep out of range. This allowed Sydney to regain bludger control and give Cunningham more time with the snitch, with Morton finally caught when he was forced to use only one arm. However, it was not a dream run for Sydney. At the end of pool play, “Yeet” had a perfect record, including a close overtime win against the Monash Muggles. The Unspeakables, however, had a single loss, 60*-50 to the Melbourne Manticores early on Day 2. Sydney would avenge that loss in the minor semi-final; after running through the Whomping Willows and the Muggles in the knockout stages, they beat the Manticores 100*-30 with another catch to Cunningham. The Art of Yeeting had a much easier path after pool play, going straight through to the grand final winning the major semi-final against the Manticores 90*-130.  This left the Manticores as the best performing Victorian team, despite the absence of several key Australian representatives. Rounding out the top four were the Monash Muggles, with the injury ravaged Whomping Willows and Melbourne Ravens squads just behind.The Ravens' Deni Tasman was named as Tournament MVP.