What We Learned: Week 3

It’s Dobbie’s World, We’re All Just Living In It

Let’s start this off by saying Dane Dobbie is by no means a small guy. It would not be unreasonable to expect a 38-year-old, 205-pound forward to play as such; laying rib-cracking cross-checks, sealing multiple defenders, absolutely ending careers in transition, etc. Dobbie, however, defies all expectations for a man of his build, instead showcasing a playstyle suited for pocket forwards and shifty, two-way transition players. The Calgary playmaker entered the fourth quarter scoreless against the Firewolves, flipping the switch and tallying eight points for the Roughnecks, including four consecutive goals, the game-tying push in transition, and the OT game-winner.

THAT’S one for the record books 📚

Surpassing both Zack Greer & Adam Jones who previously held the record for 6 goals in one quarter. Dobbie’s 4th quarter heroics now stands alone in NLL History! pic.twitter.com/8bop7PayEI

— NLL (@NLL) December 17, 2024

While seven goals in one quarter (NLL Record), and eight points is ridiculous in and of itself, Dobbie’s knack for offensive positioning makes his seven-point quarter all the more impressive. There is no wasted movement in his cuts, no hesitation in his picks, and he never fails to use the defense’s impatience and instincts against them to create shot opportunities. Dobbie positions himself directly in the defender’s blindspot, turns his head and calls for the ball in the same second. As a defender, if you’re not seeing Dobbie in the pocket, you’re seeing balls in the back of the net.

The Bandits are Defenders Pretending to be Forwards

Buffalo Bandits at Ottawa Black Bears 12.13.24

Buffalo’s intensely calculated play style and their eagerness to throw themselves in harm’s way is what makes them a board-rattling matchup. While the Ottawa Black Bears came out swinging from the first whistle, it’d have proved a Sisyphean task for any team to keep up with the Bandits’ physicality for the full 60 minutes. Ottawa is an offensive-minded team supported by position-defining players like Kiel Matisz and team captain Jeff Teat, and their attention to detail when it comes to offensive efforts is second to none. However, Ottawa’s attempt to turn forwards into enforcers proved too tough a switch to make, resulting in a disjointed performance on both sides of the ball. As the first half continued to get outta hand, the Black Bears began to reflexively slink away from the Bandits’ sturdy down picks, instead sinking to the middle to cushion the impact, exposing the pass lanes in their initial zone set and persisting despite their switch to man-to-man defense in the second half. Intentional or not, this gave Buffalo’s forwards multiple opportunities to generate offense from the first substitution; packing the defense into themselves in transition and drawing various defenders to one player in settled situations.

Saskatchewan is Here to Compete

The Saskatchewan Rush have played the role of the little brother the last few seasons; the men in neon green chasing success and recognition in a league dominated by Byrnes, Schreibers and Teats. However, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the Rush are on the road to something much bigger. After an unexpected overtime win over Albany in Week 1, Saskatchewan came prepared for another uphill battle against the Halifax Thunderbirds following their loss at home to the Calgary Roughnecks. Much to Halifax’s surprise, the Rush proved that their win over the FireWolves was more than a fluke, clawing their way back in the second half to once again seal the deal in overtime. Saskatchewan’s now 2-0 record is due in part to a more than satisfactory team effort, and to several outstanding individual performances. Jake Boudreau set a franchise record for loose balls in a single game, scratching together 21 loose balls against Halifax, and becoming only the fifth player in league history to tally 20+ loose balls, multiple assists and multiple caused turnovers in a single game. Mike Messenger also set a new franchise record for most shots blocked in a single game with his five blocks on the night. The rookie, Levi Anderson also seemed to have finally found his footing in his new home, putting up his first career goal to tie the game in the fourth. But few performances could outshine that of Zach Manns’, the former Toronto forward. Manns put up eight points against Halifax, including six goals and two assists, with four straight in the fourth quarter, and the OT winner. For anyone paying even a lick of attention, from these statlines alone, it’s clear that something is brewing in the Sask Milk.

Zach Manns went to WORK in the second half, scoring 6 goals and the overtime game winner as the Rush take down the Thunderbirds 9-8

👀 HIGHLIGHTS pic.twitter.com/KwGaj4vlHc

— NLL (@NLL) December 15, 2024

The Desert Dogs Learn Lesson in Brotherly Love

After a rocky start to the season, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs rode into the City of Brotherly Love looking to add one in the win column. The Wings recognized that the Desert Dogs were anxious to score, and capitalized early on unbalanced situations without sacrificing offensive fundamentals. Most notably, Wings forwards Brennan O’Neill and Sam LeClair displayed this beautifully early in the first quarter. O’Neill drew and dragged his defender below the pipes while LeClair picked, and re-picked, opening an easy skip lane from Joe Resetarits to Mitch Jones for the Wings’ second goal of the game. Moving into the second half, miscommunications in settled defense were instrumental to building the Wings’ lead. In the fourth quarter, Holden Cattoni passed down to O’Neil and buried his defender in the middle, freeing space for O’Neill to carry up top. Jones replaced and followed him looking to pick Las Vegas defender David Brock. Brock then turned and switched his mark to Jones either too early or without communicating to the adjacent defender, Jonathan Gagliardi, leaving O’Neill with his hands-free and little to no coverage for his fourth tally of the night. The Wings’ emphasis on team play rather than individual performances allowed every player to shine, sending Las Vegas packing with an extra tally in the loss column.

Toronto is Struggling With Consistency

Following this week’s nail-biter against the Georgia Swarm, the Toronto Rock are now 0-3 for the first time since 2018. From a stats perspective, the Rock won the game, outpacing Georgia by ten in almost every column (including penalty minutes), except on the scoreboard. With the absence of Toronto cornerstones Latrell Harris and Tom Schreiber, as well as team captain Challen Rogers, the Rock have struggled to maintain steam, primarily on the defensive end. A few key readditions to the defensive line in the form of assistant captain Brad Kri have helped to shore up corners for the Rock, and while Kri’s presence was definitely felt in Week 3, Toronto still seemed in need of help. The Rock use a man-to-man defense, and they know how to stay aggressive and maintain pressure on and off-ball. However, against creative forwards like Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew who know how to draw the attention of the defense, a go-getter defensive set will be hard to stay consistent in. The Swarm’s offense is designed to create multiple scoring opportunities by sealing the middle defenders, allowing the forwards opposite ball to sweep and exchange, or give the ball-carrier an open lane to dodge to the cage. Toronto had some scattered success in one-on-one situations against this set, due in part to Nick Rose’s 35 saves and Kri’s three blocks, but they were unable to adapt fully to the Swarm’s forwards.