There's been a lot of chat this week and recently about Will Townley and his Snake-like attributes. See the instagram for some genuinely narcissistic commentary from the man himself.

So let's see what other animals players of the M1s remind us of. Suggestions and disputes of my opinions are welcomed.

Will: Let's start with the big man himself. Will Townley, the snake, but which snake is he? A King Cobra, waiting for his opportunity to strike on the pitch. Or maybe he's a slow worm, just minding his own business and wrongly identified as a snake? I think Will optimises the Black Mamba, the fastest and one of the most venomous snakes in the world. Today he showed it with some cracking runs into the D and pressure in the middle. Only stopped in his tracks when he was rudely felled by the opposition. 

Stanley: Our stalwart at the back today, Stanley proved himself to be solid once more, only conceding from two quality short corners from Peterborough. But making some cracking saves in the 70 minutes. Stanley reminds me of a Brown Bear, strong, ferocious and formidable when he's at full stretch.

Mark: A wombat, now before you accuse me of being rude, Mark is literally the hockey equivalent of a wombat, incredibly territorial, has a weapon of an arse that he uses perfectly to shield the ball from predators or peterborough wingers, and if cornered becomes very dangerous.

Stu: Stu reminds me of a howler monkey, makes all the noise on the pitch and warmup but has the arms to perform some ludicrous shave and jab tackles. Also managed to reach near post for a lovely back to injector short corner goal.

Scott: A Giraffe, wait a moment, before you say "You've just said he's a Giraffe because he's tall", that's true but it's more that when you watch a Giraffe run you think, how does that even work. And when you watch Scott play you think. How does that even work? But it does and is quite effective. Would he have put in the phantom flick? We will never know.

Ethan: He reminds me of a shark. But not one of those sharks that bites surfers at the beach, he's far too nice for that. No, the basking shark, known for opening its wide mouth and literally consuming anything in its path, Ethan does this, but with his stick and any forward driving towards him. Some quality tackles today from him.

Connor: Wherever you look on the pitch Connor is there doing Connor things, making tackles, scoring goals, falling over and generally being a nuisance. That's why I think he most resembles the mountain goat, whenever a forward thinks he's beaten him, Connor just pops up again, like a mountain goat, and tackles them.
 
Harry: What is the most tenacious creature? Always taking on opponents bigger than it? Can literally escape any tackle? That's right, the Honey Badger, every player that comes across Harry underestimates him and thinks any contest will be a push over. But then Harry is there, elbows out and messing up any midfielders day. Especially today where he ran rings around the Peterborough midfielders.

Matt: On the outside a kind, caring person who plays sensible fluid hockey. But on the inside Matt is a killer (I'm certain of it) and that's why I think he's a Bunny Rabbit, but not a normal rabbit, the Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Played well today under alot of pressure and had a few back post chances that could easily have gone in for the win.

Nik: With speed and grace, closing in on unsuspecting midfielders and pinching the ball, Nik reminds me of a Sparrowhawk, able to turn on the spot and pick any ball from anywhere in the air, he catches many an opponent off guard.

Sam: El Capitan, now you'd think I'd pull out all the stops here with a majestic beast of some kind. Maybe even something mythical but no. Sam is best summarised as Jack Russell like in his approach to hockey, always nipping at the heels of opposition and being everywhere all the time with unlimited energy.

Chris: Based on how he completely flattened that player today, Pearson is like a Highland Bull. Crashing through unsuspecting players all over the pitch and creating plenty of chances for overloads and counter attacking hockey with his pace.

Jacko: So far most of these animals have been, seems nice on the outside but then suddenly a dangerous beast. I think Jacko is more like a crocodile. Everyone looks at him and know he's going to be dangerous but then they still poke him with a stick and wonder why they get a leg chewed off. Jacko showed this today with a high workrate across the pitch and a nice Short Corner goal. Just a like a crocodile, proving that even with a few years behind you there's still plenty for an unsuspecting defender to worry about. 

Tim: Which big cat is considered the best? Is it the Lion? Is it the Leopard? Or even the Cheetah? Tim is none of these, he's actually the Tiger, always turning up with the best looking kit and ready to pounce on any ball and opportunity and sometimes disappearing before a game has finished like an endangered species. Tim was unlucky not to score a great goal to seal the win for us or atleast get a flick for his efforts.

Tom: Finally onto myself, I didn't think it would be fair to assign myself an animal. So I asked my wife, and she said... a frog. Because, and I quote. "You always pop up randomly in places where you are least expected and probably not wanted. Plus if its hot you always look like you are drying out a bit too much and need to find some water." So there you have it. A frog. Pretty much guaranteed Lemon for this game as I lasted just 20 seconds before pulling my calf, atleast I managed to get out of the sun nice and early.

If you hadn't worked out the score from this detailed analysis, then we went 1-0 up to a nice back to injector deflection short corner. Conceded to go 1-1 from another short. Went 2-1 up before the break from a Jacko short corner strike. Then nearly held on until a last play of the match shortie that saved Peterborough. 

If you disagree with any of these animals feel free to dispute down below, we also need some animal suggestions for those players missing this week, don't want anyone feeling left out.