Menace (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Menace is a tournament paintball team originating in New Zealand, with later involvement in Western Australia. The team competed in the professional division of the Australian Super 7s, finishing second in the inaugural 2006 championship before winning the professional series titles in 2007 and 2009.[1][2]

Menace developed from players associated with earlier New Zealand teams, including Team Insane, Phantom and Marksmen. Its early playing group was associated with Auckland's competitive paintball community.

Matt Storey captained Menace during its New Zealand period and subsequently continued his involvement with the team after moving to Perth, Western Australia.[2][3]

History

Origins in New Zealand

Menace emerged from the New Zealand tournament paintball scene during the 2000s.

Its early players included individuals previously associated with Team Insane, Phantom and Marksmen. These teams appeared in New Zealand tournament records during the early 2000s, including the 2001 Valhalla National Rankings.[4]

Players associated with Menace's early development included:

Neil Morris, formerly of Team Insane.
Andy Lunt, formerly of Team Insane.
Matt Storey, formerly of Marksmen.
Gavin Harrison, formerly of Marksmen.
Wayne Morris, formerly of Phantom.
Tower, associated with earlier New Zealand tournament teams.
Jono Clark, a New Zealand tournament player.

These associations are based partly on historical participant accounts. A complete founding roster has not been independently established.

Auckland paintball connections

Several early Menace players were associated with Auckland paintball businesses and playing fields.

Gavin Harrison was involved with Marksmen Limited and Red Alert Paintball Games Limited.[5]

Harrison and Wayne Morris were also associated with A Paintball Adventure, an indoor paintball venue at 80B Hunua Road, Papakura.

A contemporary WARPIG listing dated 4 August 2005 described the facility as having an indoor astroturf playing area of approximately 1,000 square metres, spectator facilities and compressed-air filling equipment.[6]

Wayne Morris was also involved in organising tournament competition at Kumeu, northwest of Auckland.

Australian Super 7s

2006 season

Menace entered the professional division of the inaugural Australian Super 7s series in 2006.

The team finished second behind Sydney SWAT at the opening round before winning Round 2.

Australian Paintball Magazine described the Round 2 victory as the first win by a New Zealand team at a major Australian tournament.[2]

Menace finished second again at Round 3, leaving the team level with Sydney SWAT on championship points entering the final round.

The final event took place at Paintball Pete's field at Mount White, New South Wales.

Captained by Matt Storey, Menace reached the professional final but was defeated by Sydney SWAT.

Sydney SWAT won the 2006 championship, with Menace finishing second overall.[2]

2007 championship

Menace won the 2007 Australian Super 7s professional series championship.

The team accumulated 184 ranking points, finishing two points ahead of Sydney SWAT.[1]

Menace won the opening round and finished second, third and third in the remaining events.

2009 championship

Menace won its second Australian Super 7s professional series championship in 2009.

The team accumulated 144 ranking points across three rounds, winning the first and third events and finishing third at Round 2.[1][9]

At Round 2, Menace finished behind Extreme and STK and ahead of fourth-placed Hostile Intentions. The result earned Menace 44 championship ranking points.[1][9]

Extreme finished second in the championship with 142 points.[1]

A report published by the Waikato Times on 30 January 2009 identified Matt Storey as Menace's captain.

The report covered a visit to New Zealand by American professional players Brandon Short and Alex Savino.[3]

The 2009 Super 7s records also identify Menace Kids in the semi-professional division.

Menace Kids won Round 2, earning 50 ranking points. Its precise organisational relationship with the professional Menace team has not been established.[1][9]

2010 season

The 2010 Australian Super 7s professional rankings recorded two separately named Menace entries.

Menace NZ competed in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, accumulating 82 championship points.

Menace WA competed in Round 2, receiving 24 points after a two-point ranking penalty associated with fielding a second imported player.[1]

These entries demonstrate the use of the Menace name by separate New Zealand and Western Australian squads during the same season.

The available records do not establish that the two entries used identical playing rosters or management structures.

2010 Australian Super 7s Masters

Menace NZ competed at the Australian Super 7s Masters in November 2010.

The team's lineup included New Zealand player Matt Wong, also known as Stick, and American professional player Ryan Greenspan of San Diego Dynasty, who appeared as a guest player.

Their participation is documented in tournament photographs preserved in Wong's Flickr album, Paintball - 2010 S7 Masters, with player identifications supplied through historical participant accounts.[7]

The album contains 58 photographs, including images credited to photographer RedMan and references to the original Round 4 tournament photo archives.[8]

The official Super 7s professional rankings record Menace NZ earning 26 ranking points at Round 4 and finishing the 2010 season with 82 points.[1]

The available sources do not establish the team's complete Masters roster or final event placing.

Western Australia

Relocation and continued competition

Matt Storey subsequently moved from New Zealand to Perth, Western Australia, where he continued his involvement with Menace.

The Menace name remained associated with Australian tournament paintball during the 2010s.

The relationship between individual New Zealand and Western Australian squads varied across seasons, and complete organisational records have not been recovered.

2017 season

Menace appeared in the professional division of the 2017 Australian Super 7s.

The team competed in Round 4 and received 16 championship points.[1]

2018 season

Under the name WA Menace, the team participated in all four rounds of the 2018 Australian Super 7s professional championship.

WA Menace finished eighth overall with 64 ranking points.[1]

Selected players

Player	Association
Matt Storey	Team captain during the New Zealand period; later associated with Menace in Perth
Neil Morris	Early Menace player; formerly Team Insane
Andy Lunt	Early Menace player; formerly Team Insane
Gavin Harrison	Early Menace player; formerly Marksmen
Wayne Morris	Early Menace player; formerly Phantom
Jono Clark	Associated with Menace
Matt Wong	Menace NZ player at the 2010 Australian Super 7s Masters
Ryan Greenspan	Guest player for Menace NZ at the 2010 Australian Super 7s Masters

The table identifies documented or historically reported associations rather than a single tournament roster.

Tournament results

Year	Competition	Team name	Result
2006	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	2nd overall; Round 2 winner [2]
2007	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	1st overall (184 ranking points) [1]
2009	Australian Super 7s Round 2 — Professional	Menace	3rd (44 ranking points) [1][9]
2009	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	1st overall (144 ranking points) [1]
2010	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace NZ	82 season points [1]
2010	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace WA	24 season points [1]
2017	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	16 season points [1]
2018	Australian Super 7s Professional	WA Menace	8th overall (64 points) [1]

The results retain the team names recorded by the tournament organisers. They do not establish identical playing rosters across different seasons.

References

External links