Your correspondent relaxes as his boat sails gently up-river towards its destination. A meeting with one of the newest coaches in the league awaits him.
Having travelled through the heart of Reikland, the ship berths on the River Bogen, in the bustling town of Weissbruck.
Looking out of a window, our correspondent can the see, in the distance, the outline of the purpose built and state-of-the-art Riggs-Clowney Stadium.
He is eager to get his formal invite to tour this magnificent building, but yet more eager to speak to the driving force behind this new Wreckers’ project.
When his time arrives, the stadium is as fantastic as advertised, and the Reikland hospitality as impeccable as ever.
Coach Dieuraskel shows our correspondent into a luxury sky box overlooking the pitch and is in effusive mood!
Die Fauschlag Nachrichten: Coach, its a pleasure to finally meet you, you took over late last season, have you fully acclimatised to the DLE yet?
Coach Dieuraskel: Yes, of course. I was hired for a playoff bound team so I needed to adjust fast. You can look at the Wreckers results since I took over to tell how quickly I acclimated.
DFN: Tell us the back story to this amazing stadium I am sat in!
We played the remainder of the regular season in Nörden, but ownership veiwed the pre-established stadium there as insufficient and insufferable. Luckily, we were a Wild Card team last season and simply played all of our Playoff games on the road.
For this season, our ownership group worked with the Reikland Council on our new home stadium. Initially, we wanted to share a stadium in Aldorf with the Thunderbolts, but the Council didn’t like the idea of two teams in the same city competing for ticket sales.
Instead, a new pitch was constructed just outside of Weissbruck named “Riggs-Clowney Field” to honour greats from Wreckers history.
Now I know there may be some controversy about a Sigmar Heldenhammer Conference team taking on the name of the Principality led by Karl Franz, but our proximity to other KFC teams makes our out of conference matches much easier on our team, like our Week 2 match against the CCC, while also making our home games a travelling nightmare for our Divisional Rivals.
DFN: How did you find your first Draft? Do you think there is anything you will look to do differently next draft?
Coach D: I am proud of this first draft. Our front office worked around the clock to relocate all of our picks into the first half of the draft, landing us quality selections. Now I know there was a lot of complaints about us selling Jackson for the Second Pick, but I will say that our front office already knew who the Unicorns were selecting number one overall before the draft even started, and I view Murray as a player with less immediate talent then Jackson, but had the potential to become a stronger player overall in the future.
[Coach D, leans in conspiratorially]: As for our future plans, I do not talk about our future plans; there are too many cutthroat teams who will take advantage of that knowledge the second they hear about it.
DFN: Wreckers underwent a successful restructure before you joined and with a solid identity, is the team setup fully to your liking or are there changes you still want to implement?
Coach D: While there are a few positions I believe we can improve upon, I also feel this team is very capable of making every game we play in competitive.
DFN: Have ownership set you any targets for S14?
Coach D: Playoffs. Ownership is very straightforward and knows any playoff run is capable of going all the way.
DFN: How do you feel your SoS has gone to start the season?
Coach D: Our SoS games have gone decently, but there are sections that need to be improved upon. The end of the Marauders game was not acceptable and Landry’s poor performance was a hindrance more than a boon. I believe our team will do better without his presence as we will have strong players to fight in his place.
DFN: what do you make of your rivals start in the SHC?
Coach D: Our rivals in the SHC South have done well but have all also suffered key losses like we have. I still believe the Division to be a wide open race, but the Avalanche’s Superb Owl hangover has been quite entertaining to watch.
DNF: What has surprised you most about the DLE?
Coach D: What had surprised me most had been the wide variety of team playstyles in the high skill environment. That, and the fact we can have such a wide gap in skills between each team.
DFN: You seem to have embraced the Wreckers history, which is pleasing to see! How do you plan to add your name into that legacy?
Coach D: I believe the success of Dimitri Delibes is one factor, but I also plan to maintain the one thing the Wreckers haven’t had for many seasons: stability. I am aiming for this to be an era closer to when Oly or Testi guided the team, and not the seasons where we would go through two or more coaches each season.
With that, Coach Dieuraskel makes his polite excuses, he needs to prepare his team for the arrival of the hulking brutes from Carcassonne.
On leaving the Riggs-Clowney, it is hard not to get swept up by the optimism present here in Weissbruck. There are, as always, big expectations to meet for the Wreckers but also big shoes to fill from past coaches. Its a tricky balancing act, but this correspondent is sure, that if there is a coach able to do both, its Coach Dieuraskel.
