WXV Round 1: This is a New One

[Purple 77]

(subject to AFL announcement on Round 1 being delayed)

Thursday night partial lockout at 7.25pm AEDST

Friday night full lockout at 7.50pm AEDST



They say it started in Hobart, Tasmania.

We shouldn't be surprised, given the musty, dark conditions of the local environment in Room 113. Add in a crazy, bored young man in his early 20s with his own computer and nothin but time... something like this was bound to happen.

Patient zero - ossie85.

WXVs spread throughout the globe, and 8.5 years later it is still persisting, even recently infecting new coaches who may have thought they were previously immune.

Coincidence or not, you'll find most coaches self-isolate themselves in order to focus on the things that matter most - nailing that trade, draft pick, captain selection or perhaps just looking forward to the admins weekly PMs, posts and outbursts.

For some, it took many years to overcome the WXV virus. They say a premiership is the only true cure, as it was for last years' premiers and WXV legends Ricochet and elephants. But for others, WXVs may be lifelong infection, and there's no shaking it.

Well, unless that other virus has something to say about it!

Round 1, AFL Round 1

Home Team	Away Team	Venue	Head-to-Head
Toronto Wolves	Dublin Destroyers	Neutral, Melbourne Cricket Ground	3  v  6
Beijing Thunder	Seoul Magpies	Neutral, TIO Traeger Park Oval, EurAsia, Asia	4  v  4
Pacific Islanders	Rio de Janeiro Jaguars	Neutral, Adelaide Oval, AAP Alliance	4  v  1
New York Revolution	Buenos Aires Armadillos	Neutral, Manuka Oval, AAP Alliance, Americas	5  v  3
PNL Reindeers	Berlin Brewers	Neutral, Blundstone Arena, EurAsia, Europe, Europe Cup	4  v  5
Tokyo Samurai	Moscow Spetsnaz	Neutral, Optus Stadium, EurAsia, EurAsia	2  v  6
New Delhi Tigers	Christchurch Saints	Neutral, Metricon Stadium	3  v  3
London Royals	Mexico City Suns	Neutral, GABBA	3  v  5
Cape Town Cobras	Cairo Sands	Neutral, Sydney Cricket Ground, AAP Alliance, Africonia, Africa Cup	6  v  2

To kick us off in season 2020, we have an updated Rivalry Round!

Epic clubs, Toronto & Dublin, are etched into history, controversy, and my MATCH OF THE ROUND. Whilst Dublin Melbourne'd itself somethin fierce in 2019, Toronto were clearly the best team in the Home & Away season before again succumbing to the minor premiers curse, failing to win the ultimate prize. Both teams are tipped to go big again, and the rivalry will only grow greater. Toronto though, for now.

Asian powerhouses Beijing & Seoul have been sizing each other up for years now, both with a strong argument for the best midfield in the comp. The Thunder had a very strong season in 2019 before going down to eventual premiers New Delhi in a prelim, whilst Seoul would have felt they had more to give in 2019. Personally, I think Seoul have the best lookin list of the lot. Having just reminded myself of this weird bias I have tipping the Magpies... I don't see that changing. Seoul for me!

The Islanders had to grit their teeth a bare it without 2018 Jim Stynes Medalist Tom Mitchell. A loss like that would significantly hurt any team, and I suppose missing the finals reflected that. The Islanders will be expecting a change back to normal broadcasting now that he is back, but they're coming up against the team that pulled the trigger on the biggest trade of the off-season. Rio - identifying a need for a serious midfield boost - acquired the revered Nat Fyfe and the now fit, primed and ready to go Jack Viney in exchange for Cripps. It would have been a tough move, and I think it's going to pay dividends for them. Rio to win.

The Revolution - never interested in having the same list for too long - again face-lifted their squad through an active trade period which they will hope sees them at the gate of the 8, if not in it. But beware of the sleeping giants. The young pups at Buenos Aires are one year older, and one year closer to breaking out. It's just a matter of time for Buenos Aires, we just don't know if it's tomorrow, or in 2 years! I'll tentatively book in the Revolution.

The Reindeers went hard at the trade period and most certainly improved their best XV, with notable inclusions Steele Sidebottom, Robbie Gray and Sam Jacobs adding a much need back-bone to a growing list. The Brewers... yeah look, I dunno about this year. The off-season has NOT gone my way, with a lot of my players having gotten injured, or flowering retired. Still, I've got Cripps & Gawn, which means I'm automatically a chance in every game I play. I suspect I might rue (more than I do every god damn day) last years missed opportunity at a flag - this may be a 'treading water' year. I'll back us in tho until proven otherwise.

Take a look at the Samurai list and you'll notice that 6 of their players averaged 97+ last year, with Dunkley & Whitfield in the perma-captain territory of 110+. They've been this middle-of-the-road team for a little while now, but they went out and recruited  gun player Michael Walters, sorted their rucks out with Peter Ladhams and fixed their mid depth with Isaac Smith. These were their key issues in 2019, and I really do think the Samurai will step up this year. Moscow... IS THIS THE YEAR?! Do you have any LTIs?! I DON'T THINK SO! Moscow made the finals without a key contingent of their list for god knows how long, but with Docherty and others now fully fit, we'll finally get to see the real Moscow. I think that Moscow wins this match.

It's a NEW New Delhi, going full circle from rebuilding under legendary duo Ricochet & elephants, to premiers, back to rebuilding under new coach KB. Say what you will about the approach, but this is most certainly KBs team now, and I look forward to see how they unfold in the coming years. Christchurch, having suffered through the post-kamikaze effects of meow, were tidied up immensely by new(ish) coach Koop who enjoyed his first off-season as coach. These two teams are genuine peers now, and like New Delhi & Beijing before them, I'm sure they will compare each other for years to come. I'll back in the Tigers though, purely because they own the one truly (and current) elite player in this game in Jake Lloyd.

Having recruited the likes of Jack Redden, Touk Miller and Darcy MacPherson, there's a new vibe at London, but they'll be mostly relying on the natural improvement of their 2019 players to take the next step in 2020. The Suns finished 2020 really strongly as their young guns really started to take their stride. Whilst JROO will go down as a WXV Legend, the Suns will enjoy a fresh start under new coach PK whom has seriously big shoes to fill. He is the Suns 3rd coach, and their first two both won premierships! This list though is well on its way, and I'll back them in this game.

And finally, perhaps the most memorable rivalry of them all: Kate v Karen. The bitter rivals have long measured their success on these performances against each other, and both have cause for optimism and improvement going into 2020. Cairo, amazingly falling short of a top 4 placing and then going down in an elim, will regret that finish to an otherwise impressive season, whilst Cape Town enjoyed the fruits of an aggressive trade campaign which saw them shoot up from 18th to 10th. Whilst I think Cairo will win, I'm expecting big things from Cape Town this year!

[Purple 77]

Hey everyone!

With the announcement by Gil that the AFL will be reduced to 17 rounds, that places us in a unique situation.

There isn't enough games for a full season!

There is heaps of ways we could address this. But, given next years fixture is dependent on the H&A make-up of this year, we will still be having a 17-game H&A season. But, I'm still big on having a finals series. So, this means we will have simultaneous rounds.

These will be conducted against teams not in your tier. Meaning Rounds 1, 7, 15, 16 and 17 (where you play against a team from your tier) will be done as normal.

The EurAsia v AAP Alliance clash will not happen this year, to allow us to have just 4 simultaneous rounds.

An example of a simultaneous round might be Rounds 2 + 3 happening at the same time.

There will be a max of two rounds in a simultaneous round, and I'll be tinkering with the fixture to ensure an even balance of opponents from the same tier, and that the simultaneous rounds are spread evenly throughout the year.

I'm going to spend this week fine tuning what this looks like for us, but Round 1 will be unaffected, so you can rest assured at least for this week (or whenever Round 1 happens).

If any questions, fire away.

[Purple 77]

Also, coaches need to be on standby to respond to the upcoming events as they unfold. The AFL might not give us much notice.

So I stress further, get your list preferences in order!

[PowerBug]

Rio de Janeiro Jaguars
Def: Daniel Rich, Brayden Maynard, Hamish Hartlett, Luke Brown.
Mid: Nathan Fyfe (C), Elliot Yeo (VC), Jack Viney, Karl Amon.
Ruck: Matthew Kreuzer.
Fwd: Jeremy Cameron, Jack Ziebell, Mason Wood, Tarryn Thomas.
Util: Reece Conca (Mid), Shaun McKernan (Fwd).

Emerg: Jeremy Finlayson (Fwd), Isaac Cumming (Def), Callum Sinclair (Ruck).

Out: Bailey Dale (Rested).
New: Nathan Fyfe, Jack Viney (Berlin Brewers), Mason Wood (Mexico City Suns), Reece Conca (Cape Town Cobras).

[upthemaidens]

       Pacific Islanders  -The virus free islands-  Toilet paper free of charge when you stay in one of our wonderful resorts.

DEF: Rory Laird, Michael Hurley, Bailey Williams, Aliir Aliir 
MID: Tom Mitchell (CC), Marcus Bontempelli (CC), Andrew Gaff, Jarryd Lyons
RCK: Jarrod Witts
FWD: Devon Smith, Matt Taberner, Harris Himmelberg, Peter Wright
UTL: Harry Perryman (Mid), Adam Tomlinson (Mid)

EMG: Matt Suckling (Def), Zac Smith (Ruck), Mitch McGovern (Fwd) 

[Pkbaldy]

Mexico Suns

DEF: James Sicily, Nic Newman, Jarryn Geary, Jacob Weitering
MID:Lachie Hunter (CC), Sam Walsh (CC), James Worpel, Jackson Hately
RUCK:Nic Naitanui
FWD:Christian Petracca, Aaron Naughton, Jake Stringer, Chayce Jones
UTIL: Bradley Hill (M), Jack Graham (M)

EMG: Hayden Young (D), Shai Bolton (F), Tom Hickey (R)

[JBs-Hawks]

Seoul:

Def: Haynes, Salem, Tuohy, Weller

Mid: Dangerfield (C), Kelly, Oliver, Curnow (VC)

Ruck: McEvoy

Fwd: Dixon, Ceglar, Elliot, Fisher

Int: Rowell, McGrath

Emg: Murphy, Marchbank, McLean

Resting: Shiels

[Holz]

Backs: Shannon Hurn, Dane Rampe, Jeremy Howe, Robbie Tarrant
Mids: Brad Crouch, Rory Sloane, Matt Crouch, Josh P Kennedy (CC)
Ruck: Todd Goldstein (CC)
Fwds: Dustin Martin, Toby Greene, Justin Westhoff, Jack Riewoldt
Interchange: Jack Gunston,Trent Dumont

Emg: Grant Birchall (D), Connor O'Riordan (D), Lachie Schultz (F)

Resting: Majak Daw

Notes:
Gunston, Roids might be out
Mark O'Connor, ,Brandon Starcevich, Jack Mahony, Allen Christenson, Lachlan Hosie monitor

[Torpedo10]

Moscow
D: Docherty (VC), Crisp, MacMillan, Petrevski-Seton
M: Treloar (C), Pendlebury, Coniglio, Liberatore
R: Bellchambers
F: De Goey, Lipinski, Hawkins, Rozee
U: Acres, Hewett

E: Sinclair,Redman, Clarke, Draper

Resting: Daniher

[fanTCfool]

Toronto Wolves

Wayne Milera, Ryan Burton, Alex Witherden, Kade Simpson
Jack Macrae (C), Dion Prestia (VC), Tim Kelly, Travis Boak
Rowan Marshall
Isaac Heeney, Jack Darling, Tom T. Lynch, Gary Ablett Jnr
Jaeger O'Meara, Dan Hannebery

Rupert Wills, Paddy Ryder, Michael Hibberd

Resting: Marlion Pickett

[Koop]

Christchurch Saints

D: Phil Davis, Mark Blicavs, Callum Wilkie, Tom Clurey
M: Trent Cotchin (vc), Ricky Henderson, Josh Daicos, Tom Scully
R: Sean Darcy
F: Brandon Parfitt, Sam B. Reid, James Rowbottom (c), Cameron Zurhaar
U: Cam McCarthy, Jack Henry

E: Callum Ah Chee, Brent Daniels, Easton Wood

[iZander]

Def: Cerra, Bonner, Talia, Atley
Mid: Parker (C), Hopper, Berry, Green
Ruck: ROB (VC)
Fwd: Wingard, Parish, Brayshaw, Rayner
Int: Florent, Gibbs

Emg: Hayward, Scrimshaw, Bonar, Coffield

[Purple 77]

Some clarifications raised in Discord earlier today:

• You can name different team submissions in simultaneous rounds e.g. if Rounds 2 + 3 is a simultaneous round, you can name separate submissions for each game.
• If you rest a player in a round before a simultaneous round, you only get the resting bonus in the first of those two simultaneous games
• Further, you could 'rest' a player in the first of two simultaneous games, and receive their resting bonus in the second of those games
• Think of simultaneous rounds as two weeks in 'WXV time' but only one week in 'our' time.

[Purple 77]

OP updated.

Have gotten excited about the year again now!

[Toga]

BEIJING THUNDER:
D: Caleb Daniel, Heath Shaw, Tom Jonas, James Aish
M: Lachie Neale [VC], Dayne Zorko, David Swallow, Tom Rockliff
R: Brodie Grundy [C]
F: Kane Lambert, Jy Simpkin, Josh Caddy, Luke Breust
IC: Brandon Ellis, Tom Cutler

EMG: Taylor Walker (fwd), Marcus Adams (def), Daniel Rioli (fwd)