Murderball: Head to Head With Australia's Toughest Team

by Will Swanton

They call it Murderball. An impossibly brutal game that you can't believe is a Paralympic sport. Players in reinforced steel chairs smash into each other with deadly intent and animal ferocity. You expect massive casualties in every game. But as one of the players says," What have we got to lose? It's not like we're going to break our necks again!" Australian Ryley Batt, a 20-year old who was born with no legs and webbed hands, is considered the world's best player. He and his colleagues are determined to become the No. 1 Murderball team in the world. And after what they've been through in their lives, no one could question their ability to smash through all obstacles in their path. But Murderball's more than a game. It's these players' lives. Each and every one of these men has a hell of a story to tell, a story of courage against overwhelming odds and humor in the face of despair. This uncompromising, take-no-prisoners team's dream to achieve world domination will give you an adrenaline rush-and move and inspire you like no other.

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Nate Bragg · Rating 3 out of 5]

There really aren't many non-academic and/or non-children's books about Wheelchair Rugby or Paralympic Sports in general, so I'm really glad that this book exists. That being said, I didn't find it that great of a read and it seemed like the author had limited knowledge of wheelchair rugby, or parasport prior to writing this book.

It is titled and reads like an Australian copy of Murderball, the 2005 documentary that covered the Americans leading up to and during the Athens Games.

Does a great job of capturing the competitiveness and personality of the Australian athletes though and could serve as a great intro to the sport for a specific type of fan.

Glad to see the sport and the athletes get coverage and attention, just wish the book had less disability tropes.