WXV Round 14: Pacific & Seoul battle for Finals

[Purple 77]

PARTIAL LOCKOUT on Thursday night, followed by a FULL LOCKOUT on Friday night :)

Round 14, AFL Round 16

Home Team	Away Team	Venue	Head-to-Head
Berlin Brewers	Mexico City Suns	Berlin Olympic Stadium	1  v  4
Buenos Aires Armadillos	Beijing Thunder	Estadio de River	2  v  2
Dublin Destroyers	PNL Reindeers	Crooke Park, EurAsia, Europe	3  v  2
London Royals	Cairo Sands	London Olympic Stadium	2  v  2
Moscow Spetsnaz	Christchurch Saints	Luzhniki Stadium	0  v  1
New Delhi Tigers	Rio de Janeiro Jaguars	Tata Stadium	0  v  1
New York Revolution	Cape Town Cobras	Michigan Stadium, AAP Alliance	3  v  1
Pacific Islanders	Seoul Magpies	Oakley Arena	1  v  3
Tokyo Samurai	Toronto Wolves	Tokyo Olympic Stadium	2  v  2

The Brewers season has been amazingly disappointing, and that continued last round with a close 20 SC point loss to the Reindeers. Berlin won against the Suns last year, in which was their season defining moment if you ask me. But, the downing of Fyfe was the season defining moment for Berlin this year, in that they no longer believed that they could go on to be a force in finals. But really, 5-8 is disastrous and everything, including your face, is bull crap. The focus now would be 1) keep limping on in the season and upset one of the better teams they face in the last 4 weeks, 2) keep surviving in the World Idol and 3) DON'T WIN THE GOD DAMN EUROPE SPOON FOR THE 5TH STRAIGHT TIME! The Suns have been in amazing form, coming off three consecutive 160+ scores and the biggest winning margin of the year against Moscow (64 WXV points). Although, coach JROO is coming off a pretty disappointing loss coaching the AAP Alliance to a comprehensive loss against EurAsia. But, it's a huge achievement receiving that honour and he should be proud for doing it in consecutive years. There's nothing much else to say about the Suns though... other than to please be gentle with your thrashing.

This game was a contender for my MOTR, but not quite. This is a pretty big deal for both teams, with Buenos Aires (6th) and Beijing (7th) susceptible to slipping out of the eight with a couple of losses. Buenos Aires is amazingly in touch with the top 4, which really is quite remarkable seeing as they started the season 0-4! With Captain Pendles at the helm and his Carlton first mates, Buenos Aires pose a unique challenge to pretty much every team, but really the 'Dillos need to work on consistently scoring 140+ to A) make the finals and B) not just make the numbers if they make the finals. Beijing are probably one of the more exciting teams in the comp, with that star quartet midfield, plethora of quality young players and a win against Dublin giving their fans plenty of encouragement going forward. However, a loss here would certainly make for a tense run home as they sit nervously in the see-sawing nature of the eight. Who will win? I actually think this winning culture at the Dillos has played a factor in my tip, and I just think Pendlebury is a great leader for this team.

Another contender for MOTR, but again, not quite. Coach Holz continued his very successful coaching career with another win at the helm of EurAsia last week, which was more convincing than ever. Dublin meanwhile continues its winning ways; its most recent victory breaching the 170 point barrier against Christchurch. Its most meaningful battle at the moment however is its one with Mexico City in securing the minor premiership, with only 1.74% separating them at the top of the table. PNL is just unrecognisable from its early season form, and it's quite amazing really. Once 2-5, the Reindeers extended its winning streak to 6 last round against Berlin and now finds itself back in the top four! Given that the Reindeers rank #4 in points scored in the past month, you'd have to give them a shot against the might of Dublin, but at Crooke park, it's a tough ask. I'll have to tip the Destroyers here.

The Royals have struggled a little of late, with just one win coming from its past 5 matches and one score breaching the 130 barrier. But hey, they've got the same wins as Berlin (whom have scored 129 more WXV points) so far this year and with a great opportunity to overtake them on the ladder this week (as they play Mexico City) against bottom-placed Cairo. That title is only 1 round old for the Sands as Toronto overtook them with an inspired win over New York. The Sands now find themselves quite a chunk of percentage behind the Wolves and also have scored the same amount of WXV points as them this year. The only way to avoid getting the wooden spoon, is to win another match, and really, London are quite gettable because as I've said, they've only scored 130+ once in their past 5 games. The Sands will likely get Pick #1 as a priority pick this year, so really the benefit of finishing last is arguably less than the indignity of receiving the wooden spoon, so the motivation is there to win again. I'll tip the Royals at home, but the Sands are a big chance here.

The Spetsnaz are coming off the biggest losing margin of the year against Mexico City last round, but as mentally scarring as that must have been they've got to come out and redeem themselves against a winnable match against Christchurch this week. The Spetsnaz are still a mathematical chance at making finals... but really, they probably won't. That's not to say they can't still hurt the teams vying for a place in finals, with Christchurch delicately placed at 8th spot and in the middle of some truly dour form. Although the Saints have improved every week since Round 9, they still have only scored more than 140 on two occasions this year with the most recent case being as far back as Round 7 against New Delhi. The Saints desperately have to win this game to stay in touch with the finals, especially with PNL, Berlin and Mexico City still to come. I think though, that some Saints are starting to come back for Christchurch and I'll back them to win this match. Meanwhile, Moscow would be thrilled that Jaeger O'Meara's return might finally be on the horizon.

New Delhi really can't afford to make any more mistakes if they are to make the finals from where they find themselves. At 11th position and 6-7, they'd have to win all 4 of their remaining games to achieve the magic 10-7 win/loss record to make the finals, but with the 5th best percentage in the comp (the top 4 have better percentages), maybe 9-8 will be enough to sneak into the eight? Either way, a win here against Rio de Janeiro (another ripping btw) would be a HUGE result and would set themselves up for a fairy-tale appearance in the finals. The Jaguars however, are BACK in town with consecutive 160+ scores and their highest score of the season last round against Beijing. There was a time during Rounds 5-10 that doubts started to linger about whether this was a false dawn over at Rio, but I'm confident that with a fit GAJ alone, this team CAN win the premiership! But they have to lock themselves in the top 4 first, and although they are easily two games clear of 4th position, a win here would make it a guarantee and set themselves up for the perfect launching pad at a premiership assault. Big game here, and although New Delhi have a shot, I can't ignore Rio's recent form. The Jags for me.

Ouch. That one might be felt come-september. The Revolution were at the receiving end of the biggest upset of the year against formerly bottom-placed Toronto last round, to go along with their loss against the currently bottom-placed team in Cairo. That's... kinda funny really, sorry New York :P luckily for the Revolution, their rest of the year has more or less made up for these blunders as they sit in 5th position with every possibility at making the top 4. Still, I do wonder if that loss against Toronto will have determined whether they'll make the top 4 in the end... anyway. The Cape Town youngsters looked like they hit the wall last round with their lowest score of the season against Pacific. That score came off the back of an impressive month where they scored the 8th most amount of points in the competition in that month! The Cobras do have a good ceiling on them, with three 140+ scores showing that they have the arsenal to beat most teams on their day. But if Toronto & Cairo could do it, then why can't another fellow bottom 6 team do it as well? But I'll tip on the probabilities, and say New York will have a point to prove.

It's 9th v 10th, a 7-6 team v a 7-6 team and my MATCH OF THE ROUND! The Islanders are in the one position no team wants to be in; 9th. With an unfortunate percentage thanks to 160+ scores from Dublin, Rio and Mexico City, the Islanders may as well be a game outside the eight despite sharing the same win/loss record as the 8th placed Christchurch. That means, the finals formula is likely to require a 10-7 win/loss record, which means that Pacific can only afford to lose one more game. With a game against New York next week posing the Islanders only game against a higher placed team, this game against Seoul is EXTREMELY crucial. I'd almost go as far as saying, that if Pacific lose this match, they won't make finals. For Seoul... it's THE EXACT SAME SITUATION! With a game against New York in Round 16 the only game they'll go in as heavy underdogs and also with a inferior percentage, they also need a 10-7 record and also desperately need to win this match. If they lose, I'll also say they won't make finals. This game is pretty much like a final IMO! The stakes are incredibly high, hence it's my MOTR. Who will win? Well, that more or less depends on Danger, as I think I like Pacific's team better as a whole, and that's why I think the Islanders will get the job done. But damn, it'll be a tense encounter!

The Samurai have had a very rocky season with some unbelievable highs (#floweryou #neverforget) and some terrible lows. Overall, I'd say they have a promising core of players to work with going into the future; one that includes the returning Jason Johannisen. But they also have a huge discrepancy between their best and worst scores and huge reliance on regular captain Luke Parker. Recently, their absence of a fourth defender (even a third one) has crippled their chances at victory, but with the return of JJ and a clash against 17th placed Toronto, they have a great opportunity to notch up their 4th win of the season. That's right, I said 17th placed! The Toronto Wolves were the feel good story of last round by completing the upset of the season against the then 4th placed New York! As such, they've moved off the bottom! Whoo! But, Cairo could win this week and condemn Toronto to the spoon, so better keep winning just in case am I right Wolves fans? But I think I'll tip the Samurai here anyway.

[Holz]

Backs:  A.Rance, G.Birchall, H.Grundy, J.Weitering
Mids: J.Selwood (CC), R.Sloane (CC), A.Treloar, N. Dal Santo
Ruck: T.Goldstein
Fwds: D.Martin, L.Franklin, J.Gunston, J.Riewoldt
Interchange: O.McDonald, L.Jetta

Emg:N.Jetta, J.Silvagni, R.Williams

[RaisyDaisy]

So being a partial lockout, we can put the VC on Lewis and if he does well we can then do what? Put a non playing player on field and make them C, then get our first emergencies score?

[meow meow]

Your Captain can only come from your leadership group.

[RaisyDaisy]

Your Captain can only come from your leadership group.

Ah yes, of course

Well that's just balls.

[meow meow]

CHRISTCHURCH SAINTS

B: Boyd (vc), McVeigh, Reid, Roughead
M: Mitchell, Gibbs, Griffen, Blakely
R: McKernan
F: Breust, Smith, Stringer, Dickson
I: Montagna (c), Stevens

E: Heartless, Gilbert, Cox

[My Chumps]

The Cape Town youngsters looked like they hit the wall last round with their lowest score of the season against Pacific. That score came off the back of an impressive month where they scored the 8th most amount of points in the competition in that month! The Cobras do have a good ceiling on them, with three 140+ scores showing that they have the arsenal to beat most teams on their day.

Proud to show we still well and truly compete with that middle-teir of teams!

[JBs-Hawks]

Danger hasnt gone 150 in the last two rounds, he's due!

[Toga]

BEIJING THUNDER:
D: S.Mayes, H.Taylor, L.Brown, N.Broad
M: C.Ward (C), L.Neale (VC), O.Wines, B.Ellis
R: B.Grundy
F: D.Zorko, J.Jenkins, K.Lambert, C.Petracca
I/C: B.Kennedy, J.Aish

Emg: B.Hill (m), M.Jones (f), T.Clurey (d)

[Jroo]

Mexico City Suns
D: Heath Shaw, Kade Simpson, Jimmy Bartel, James Gwilt
M: Tom Rockliff (C), Trent Cotchin (VC), Brad Ebert, Brendon Goddard (R)
R: Shaun Hampson
F: Brett Deledio, Brent Harvey, Eddie Betts, Nick Riewoldt
U: Adam Cooney, James Rose

EMG: Matthew Broadbent, James Sicily, George Hewett

[RaisyDaisy]

New York Revolution

D: Josh Gibson
M: Jordan Lewis (CC)
R:
F:
U:

EMG:

[Ricochet]

New Delhi Tigers


DEF Daniel Rich, Phil Davis, Tom Bugg, Sharrod Wellingham
MID Steele Sidebottom (VC) Stephen Coniglio (C), Kieren Jack, Mitch Wallis
UTI Tom Scully, Seb Ross
RUCK Stefan Martin
FWD Jack Darling, Jack Martin, Jeremy Cameron, Jeremy Howe

EMER: Matt Crouch, Nathan Krakouer, Jarman Impey

[Adamant]

Toronto Wolves

D: J. Pittard
M:
R:
F:
U:

E:

[meow meow]

Can we get one thing sorted? Are we meant to name utilities or interchange? And what's with naming forwards and defenders? It should be forwards and backs or attackers and defenders if there was any order in this chaotic universe.

[RaisyDaisy]

Can we get one thing sorted? Are we meant to name utilities or interchange? And what's with naming forwards and defenders? It should be forwards and backs or attackers and defenders if there was any order in this chaotic universe.

And I thought my OCD was bad!