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2006 was one of the Arrows most successful seasons ever. A perfect 10-0 regular season record (only the second the club had ever
achieved) saw them reach the semi finals in the play-offs only to lose in a thriller to the very good West Coast Trojans.
The season started at Oxford with a match up against old rivals the Saints. The Arrows upset the form book and came away with a
great 19-12 win. Early Arrows pressure saw them a comfortable lead but in the end they had to survive a Saints onslaught to get the victory.
Right from the start of the season hold field advantage in the play-offs was a goal that all teams were striving for especially
as the Central Conference were due to face their counterparts from Scotland and the long trip North. To achieve this the Arrows has to ensure that not only did they post a perfect record but also concede
less points that West Coast Trojans – no mean feat!
The Arrows next game was against Plymouth with the Arrows running out comfortable 35-7 victors. The biggest challenge to the
Arrows looked as if it was to be Chester and in a tough game the following week the Arrows put themselves in pole position when they grabbed a come from behind win in Chester 22-14.
The Arrows were now in full flow and comfortable victories were achieved over Merseyside (twice) Reading and Manchester (twice).
The away at Manchester however was not without its scares when Manchester scored twice to come within 2 points of the Arrows before the Arrows pulled away in the final quarter.
This set up a top of the table and in effect championship decider against Chester. The Arrows took control from the start and
blew Chester away with a 28-0 half time from which they never recorded and to give the Arrows the championship.
The following week they wrapped up the season with a 44-0 win at Reading to seal the 10-0 record.
In the last 2 games the Arrows had to concede less than 28 points to seal home field advantage and their success in this quest
meant that in the Quarter Finals they faced the highly rated Dundee Hurricanes at home. In one of the tightest defensive battles in the clubs history a Dave Mills touchdown with only 5 minutes left
sealed a 6-0 win and the matchup against West Coast.
The Arrows started the semi-final against West Coast in fine form opening up a 17-0 lead, however their Scottish visitors scored
late on the half to give them hope. A great offensive performance in the second saw the momentum change to the Scots and for once the Arrows had no answers as West Coast finally wore the valiant Arrows
down. Despite being over powered the Arrows however hung in and tied up the scores at 30-30 only to see West Coast snatch the winning TD in the last few minutes. Despite losing this will go down as one
of the greatest matches the Arrows have ever been involved in.
Despite the final disappointment 2006 will go down as a great success on and off the field with the club gaining an increased
media profile through both regular radio and TC coverage from the BBC.
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