The Strategic Offensive principle of war may state that “the best defence is a good offence,” but the Allard School of Law would probably maintain that the best defence is, instead, a good defence. Even Harry Potter himself advocates strongly on behalf of defence (against the Dark Arts). When our own law faculty and Hogwarts are in agreement, it becomes clear that this is a position worth exploring in the newest edition of the T-Birds 5-on-5.
Ali Norris (AN): basketball
Bryan Fong (BF): soccer
Nathan Rees (NR): rugby
Thomas Roche (TR): rugby
Tyler Mertens (TM): soccer
1) Who is your favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?
AN: See, I would have understood this reference to Harry Potter, but I didn't have the patience to sit through the movies.
BF: Severus Snape, because I recognize him from most of the Harry Potter movies.
NR: All my professors — they are far more knowledgeable than me.
TR: Mad-Eye Moody, even though it was technically Barty Crouch Jr. the whole time. Still counting it.
TM: Definitely Remus Lupin! He was one of my favorite characters in the series, and glad he stuck around in the books towards the end! Plus he's a werewolf.
2) If you could play any other position, which would you play?
AN: I'd play the five position so when I switched onto a big, they wouldn't say “mouse in the house.”
BF: Holding midfield because I used to play there. Also because our current holding midfield is not very good. He takes too many touches on the ball, which ruins our flow of attack and is the reason why we have not been scoring many goals this season. His name is Karn [Phagura].
NR: I’d play scrum-half. We could do with someone over 5’2”.
TR: Flanker. Not being overly drained after scrums would be nice.
TM: Probably as a kicker for the football team.
3) Which teammate of yours is the best to follow on Instagram, and why?
AN: I'd say @chompingwithcherub because I feel inspired to use her healthy food recipes, but realistically, I have no willpower.
BF: Jacob [Quail], because he always thinks of funny captions for his pictures.
NR: Chris Taylor's yoga page … Follow him @yogawithfathead.
TR: Patryk Zuk or Adam McQueen — prairie boys’ adventures in the big city, relatable content.
TM: This one has to go Titouan Chopin. He's just a great looking guy with awesome hiking posts! Check him out @titouanchopin!
4) Who would win in an arm wrestling competition on your team?
AN: Probably Maddi [Penn]. She trained against the kangaroos in Australia.
BF: Manraj [Bains], because his opponents would get lost staring into his good-looking face and forget about the arm wrestling match.
NR: I would, without breaking a sweat.
TR: Clint Lemkus — monstrous.
TM: Our team has had over three broken hands in the past year, so maybe not the best question for us... But definitely Manraj “good-looking” Bains. He's been hitting the gym!
5) How do you measure your success as a defender?
AN: Well, if I look around and my check is scoring, then I'd say I'm not doing a great job.
BF: As a defender, getting a clean sheet or no goals against would be considered a success because that means we have done our job as defenders and it gives our attacking players an opportunity to win the game.
NR: Body count.
TR: How tired and sore I am at end of the game. If I'm dead, then usually I put in the work. Probably the number of tackles per game as well.
TM: Being a player that the team can rely upon in the back, and at the end of the day, the ability to keep the opponent's scoresheet looking like doughnuts.