Berzerk Brothers AXL Round 2 Fox Studios (2005)

2005 has seen some distractions for the Bruise Brothers as a team, several members have been seconded into professional reffing roles for the Australian AXL 2005 series which has left the line up short. We have decided to play in throw together teams to help "blood" some of the aspiring teams that are looking for some tournament experienced players to play with them. We did manage to field a team with some of the crew from Canberra/Sydney team Berzerk for Round 2 of the AXL event in Sydney. So with Daniel Van de Leur, Mick Wyatt, Antony Harvey, Darcy Ryan, Brett Lindsay, Luke Devlin & Marco(not in photo), we fielded a team. Assisting the on field action were our man in the pit Mark Ashley & coach Lauren Russell. We all had an enjoyable time at a great venue, and I think some indication of what the sport in Australia should aspire to. The event was efficiently and expertly managed by Pete Russell and the team from Mac Dev. All in all we have added a few extra names to our possible line up at future events. We hope to see you there.

 

Bruise Brothers Div1 (2004)

So we prepare for season 2004, there have been some changes made to the team lineup. Ethan has departed from the team to do something else, his position has been filled by long time tournament player Jason Ozerskis "Ozzy" who will bring with him a powerful amount of experience. So the team line up for this year is Ant, B3, Chappy, Bushy, Ozzy and Dixie. By all accounts, this will be a strong team of players that are all focussed on one thing, enjoying playing good solid tournament grade Paintball. After much discussion about what Division the team should play in this year, it has been decided that Div 1 is where we will eventually end up, whether it is 2004 or 2005, so we might as well make it 2004, and give the "Fallout" guys a chance to take up the challenge of bringing the Div 2 championship trophy back to Victoria, and make it two years running. SAPPA 2004 Round 1 is a two day event. It is being held at Strathalbyn SA on the 13th and 14th of March 2004. See you there.

Jason Ozerskis(Ozzy) Marker - Sonic Cocker. Ozzy is a well known and highly regarded Paintball identity Australia wide. He can play any role he feels a team needs him to play, and transitions between the roles instantly. His decisive and daring moves can rip open a game in an instant. A professional player to be reckoned with both on and off the field. A living legend.

SAPPA 2004 Round 1

The Bruise Brothers first series as a Division 1 team was against some of the top players/teams in Australia. Ant and Chappy were unavailable to play so we had Peter Graham (SA) stand in for us as our fifth man. Our first game was against a tough Victoria team, Jetts, and they showed us what we might expect from the other Div 1 teams if we played loosely. After several more lost games we changed our game plan and things started to turn around a little. Overall it was a great tournament with some great pieces of play to be observed. The final results didn't truly reflect the closeness of some of the games, and although we finished well down the Div 1 field, it has toughened our resolve to come back in Round 2 and balance the ledger.

 

 

Bruise Brothers Div2 (2003) Player Profiles

From left to right: Vlad, B3, Trevor Long (Field Owner), B1, Deadeye, Bushy & Ant (SAPPA Round 1, March 2003).

Antony Harvey(ANT) Marker - Angel. Ant is a strong team player who is versatile and can be used anywhere on the field. Is always chatting it up on field while putting the pressure on the opposition. Ants an aggressive player and has of late been playing back. Traveled to Toulouse in July 2003 to attend the world cup.

Bret Maunder(B1) Marker - AutoCocker. Bret is our main center player, he is one hell of a fast runner and is quick to grab center flags. B1 can hold key positions under heaps of pressure and really puts the pressure on the opposition and aids the team through all of his play abilities.

Brett Lindsay(B3) Marker - Bushmaster. Brett is a strong all round player. Has been holding the team together from the back of late with his great accuracy and communication skills. Not uncommon at all to see Brett leaving the backline to run right down the field to make a big key move. Sometimes suicidal in result.

Craig Chaplin(Chappy) Marker - Spyder E99. The newest member of the team. Chappy is a fast and aggressive player and is always keen to make quick decisive moves to get forward. Always talking it up and is a great team player.

David Bush(Bushy) Marker - Sonic AutoCocker. Bushy is a great support player that really knows how to haul your ass out of trouble. When Bushy gets going the other team better hope they have umbrellas because its going to be raining paint. Also likes to get up close and personal with the other team when ever the chance arises. Traveled to Toulouse in July 2003 to attend the world cup.

Ethan Sedgman(DeadEye) Marker - Angel Speed. Ethan is an extremely aggressive player who's always itching to run and and bunker peoples asses. Sneaky and fast on the trigger, he likes to make the big runs to hit those key barricades on the break.

Troy Dix (Dixie) Marker - Mini Mag. A long term Paintball player. Has played in more tournaments than the rest of our team combined. Is fast on the trigger and foot, a great communicator and a strong strategist. If he is on the field you may not see him, but you will know that he is around somewhere.

Vladimir Markov(Vlad, Dr.Nick) Marker - E-Bladed AutoCocker. A tourney hardened veteran who has heaps of experience and can hold a field down or break it open with style. His skills are a huge asset to the team and is a great support or front player.

 

The original Bruise Brothers team was formed in January 2003 from members of the Peninsula Paintball Club that were looking to start playing tournament level competition. The original members were Antony Harvey (ANT), Bret Maunder (B1), Brett Lindsay (B3), David Bush (Bushy), Ethan Sedgman (Deadeye) and Vladimir Markov (Vlad). In the months leading up to the first competition, we were mentored by Andy Hookem, Barry Davis and Neil Wheatley. We were coached at the first competition (Mount Gambier, SAPPA Round 1 2003) by Troy Dix.

 

SAPPA 2003 Series Round 1

Our first outing yielded our first tournament win, which, as the only Victorian Amateur team in the competition, didn't please the South Australian competition at all. Round 1 was a center flag style competition, and this suited our specialist flag grabber B1 down to the ground. He secured flag grab points in the majority of games. He was unfortunately taken out by friendly paint in several games. This two day event at Skirmish Downunder's Mount Gambier field then fueled our desire to play in future SAPPA rounds, and so the core of the team was formed.

 

SAPPA 2003 Series Round 2

Played at Tarlee saw the introduction of Craig Caplin to the team. His up front aggressive style worked well with the team, and at the start of the last game, Bruise Brothers were in the right spot to take out first place in Division 2. However that was not the way the day was to finish, after some undisciplined and some might say complacent play against a newbie team, we fell from first to third, and went back to Victoria with some very tough questions to answer. Our overall position on the series ladder was now in jeopardy.

 

SAPPA 2003 Series Round 3

Bushy and Ant felt that it was time that they should diversify their base of expertise, and so joined up with a throw together team for a stint at the world cup in Toulouse. This event both inspired and disappointed them, the inspiring aspect of the trip was the level of public acceptance and interest in the sport, as well as the level of competition available internationally. One aspect though was the blatant cheating and disregard for the spirit of the game demonstrated by a lot of international teams and referees. They returned to Australia prepared to play some serious Paintball, and so we set off to Strathalbyn for Round 3, albeit without Ant, who's daughter was locked in for a big event on the date of the Tournament. Enter Peter Graham a freelance seasoned player, rumored to be related to Heather, but I couldn't see the resemblance. We played some good Paintball with a convincing win, and resecured our overall grip on the season ladder, with the nearest team 3 point behind us. The season wasn't finished, but we only had to secure at least third place to take the season trophy.

 

SAPPA 2003 Series Round 4

Troy Dix became available to play and this posed a problem, who do we let go from the team with the season coming to and end. A tough decision was made based purely on the number of Tournaments that each played had participated in, and so Chappy was asked if he could sit out, which he reluctantly, but gracefully accepted. Chappy went and fortified the new Vic team Fallout for this round. Back to Strathalbyn again, and the only way to describe this round was spectacular. Solid wins against most amateur teams, strong stoushes with the Div 1 guys, and at the end of the day, 5/5 wins against amateur teams and 2/3 against Div 1 contenders. We also racked up the quickest game for the day against an old nemesis "Ballistic" in 37 seconds, although admittedly they didn't have their full complement of experienced players. We finished the season with a second place overall for the Round, first place for our division, and first place overall in our division for season 2003. There is mounting pressure for the Bruise Brothers to step up to the Division 1 ladder next year, but that is still being discussed, it's only our first year out. Stay tuned sports fans!