Can GDF defend title against Police?

Sep 23, 2010 Sports

FLASHBACK!!! The Guyana Defence Force during its March Pass at the Police Sports Club, Ground in 2008-the team will return to the venue this year where they will take on the Guyana Police Force in an effort to retain their 2009 overall title.

By Edison Jefford

The chief question at the back of the mind of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Head Coach, Robert Chisholm will be whether his team that upset rivals, Guyana Police Force (GPF), on the last day last year, can repeat a similar performance beginning next week.
The Defence Force carefully orchestrated its victory last year, plotting over the previous days to overthrow their rivals, GPF, who took advantage of them in 2008 at the Police Sports Club. Well the Championships return there this year and the battles resume.
Never mind the participation of the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Fire Service and a united force of other armed forces, the competition is always between the soldiers and police. It will not be any different this year from September 28-October 1 at Police. Several factors will contribute to who succeeds this year, but one of the most imposing elements will be the strength and depth of the two forces. Only an analysis of that can adequate tell which team has the edge in the gruelling contest for bragging rights.
Looking at the sprint events, a fit Michael Saul will be a definite weapon for the Police, however as was the case in his last three performances, once in Linden and twice at the Police Sports Club Saul is far from the 10.4 seconds 100m fitness he had last year.
In fact, Saul was a major reason why the Police lost last year. Much was depending on him when Defence Force’s, Quincy Clarke stunned him in both the 100m and 200m races, triggering lots of talk about a niggling injury he had sustained during the 2009 event.
Saul has never really recovered this year. For much of the 2010 Season, Defence Force’s, Rupert Perry has been the man to beat. Clarke has hardly competed as well. Perry and Patrick King have been the men to beat over the 100m and 200m races this year.
Both Perry and King are from the Defence Force, which means that Police’s Saul, Keith Roberts and Cordell Mentore has an uphill task disposing of them in the two sprint events. The edge goes to the GDF in the male sprint events for those reasons above.
In the female sprint races, Police will regain some momentum with Rushell Coates from Defence Force unlikely to match strides with a quality sprint unit from the Police that include Leota Bobb and Nadine Rodrigues, two seasoned former national athletes.
Bobb and Rodrigues will lead the rout in the female sprint events for the Police. It seems kind of balance with the Defence Force having the edge in the male sprints and Police looking a lot more solid in the female sprints, but lets move upwards in events.
Coming to the middle distance and distance events, Wilbert Mingo will lead the Defence Force’s challenge against an equally potent male unit of distance runners from the Police. Those athletes include Dennis Horatio and his senior counterpart, Larry Josiah.
While these athletes are expected to have the major points because of their placing in the events, it seems as though the battle will be among those unknown athletes, who will obviously have the task of putting their team ahead on points with higher placing.
For instance, Ashanti Scott will be a definite trump for Defence Force, but if she wins and no one else from the GDF occupies the next major places, it means that Police or another competing unit will run away with those valuable points in the female distance races.
Therefore, the team that strategically plans its placement of athletes and how it will counter most of the balances that exist in the competition will win.
For now, judging from the sprints and most of the distance events, GDF and GPF head into battle on even grounds.