I have never known anyone to put more photos of themselves up on Facebook than Dom.  I think the way to put him off his game is to put a some mirrors around the court to keep him distracted.  The first time I met Dom was when we played together at his first tournament, the Bench Minor in Sydney.  He was great to play with but he sure got fired up!  People who didn’t know him referred to him as “that really angry guy on your team.” Here’s a little more about Dom.

City:  Brisbane

Team:  Triple Dutch Rudder

Years played:  1.5

Super power:  Cage Rage

Favourite heckle: Do you eat the court like you eat your mum?

Bike:  Focale, freewheel with dual brake and 28:18 ratio

Mallet:  Northern Standard with uncapped generic head with cut out sides

Protection:  Gloves, knee pads, shin guards

What do you love most about bike polo?
My peeps from Sydney and BO Gear

By Virginia Castellan

If you missed our last player profile on Finn Hawkesby-Browne, you can access it here.

The face-mask is the new vouge of Australian polo. Or so it seemed at AHBPC12 in Perth. For the boys seemed to be looking to protect their assets by any means necessary. Unlike our ever tough polo ladies, who laughed at this wanten display of vanity. Here are a couple of photos I snatched between beers and hangs. There aren’t many photos, I was having too much fun, drinking/talking/pickup all took priority, so enjoy the few I have.

Ned demonstrating the Mycro Hurling helmet he, Scottie and Jordy-Boy swear by, these helmets seem light, durable and the cage does not block the view like others. Jordan upgraded to one of these from a cricket helmet, which he said limited his view too much. (I want a Mycro, but I still secretly want to try a cricket helmet first!)

Domenico, my team mate (♥), opted for a Bauer ice hockey mask. His is clear perspex. This avoids any potential inhibited vision, but the down side is it can fog up. He was telling me that in big games when he is sweaty and under the pump that it is like being in a sauna.
From the man himself:

“You can’t touch your face at all. But it’s extremely light weight and you forget you have it on you face. As after a game at Nats in Perth I slammed a beer into the fish bowl.”

Rob once again testing Teds ice hockey mask. Teddy Boy bought this off ebay for cheap cheap cheap in the days before nationals, he wore it a little but said it was uncomfortable. To be honest I think it cramped his reckless style. Ether way we got his moneys worth for him in one night of drunken antics pre AHBPC12. This looks to be a great budget option.

This is Jamie attempting to punish himself after asking Ted to put the mask on, then punching him hard in the face. No Ted’s were hurt in the making of this photo. Nor in the testing of these masks. Nor in the pre AHBPC12 celebrations.

If DIY is your thing, or you want some more options or discussion have a look at the LoBP thread on this matter.

In conclusion: if you want to protect your pretty looks, get a face cage.
There are plenty of options out there, just be smart and weigh up the pros and cons, or as Wikipedia just taught me the “pro et contra” – (the original Latin, meaning for and against.)

By Ollie Wykeham