The Dresden Monarchs have their sights firmly set on second place in the north! The Royals only need one more win to secure home advantage in the play-offs two game days before the end of the regular season. The decisive step will be taken this Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Mommsenstadion against the Berlin Rebels.
It will be a duel of opposites. The Monarchs are unbeaten in four games since the summer break and last week, in their 34:7 home victory against the Paderborn Dolphins at the Glöckner Gameday, they never left any doubt about their own strength. In fact, they have only lost one of their nine games so far this season.
The Rebels, on the other hand, are deep in the relegation battle. The bottom team in the northern division has only won two of its nine games so far, the last victory being against the Kirchdorf Wildcats (33:17) at the beginning of June. After that, head coach Douglas Fryer’s team suffered six defeats. So an easy game for the Royals in the capital? Definitely not!
“It’s always dangerous when you go into a game as the big favorite. Everyone expects you to win that game. Complacency and overconfidence can become a problem. We have to approach every opponent with due respect and bring our best football onto the field. You shouldn’t think from the outset that you’re going to leave the field as a winner without putting in the necessary work,” explains Monarchs head coach Greg Seamon.
Stumbling against the relegation candidate is not an option for the Royals. Special teams, the second-best defense in the league and the offense, which has recently really taken off, must also deliver top performances against the Rebels. Seamon makes it clear: “I expect Berlin to deliver its best game of the season against us. We need a clean and focused performance.”