WXV Preliminary Finals: Magpies v Islanders, Suns v Wolves

[Purple 77]

I wasn't able to get around to previews sorry! But I did want to point out...

Seoul has the equal largest number of wins against an opponent! 11 v 1 is an almighty mental advantage.

It also looks grim for Toronto - Mexico City have outscored them 15 out of 18 weeks this year!

[upthemaidens]

Williams a let down after a good first half.    Bont/Mitch CC were solid, but could have done with another 10 pts each.
  O'Brien 125 sitting on the bench, oh joy.

[Purple 77]

After Saturday

We have an all time classic on our hands!

The Magpies v Islanders are currently on track for the game of the year! The Islanders have been SUPERB and have not had a single weakness emerge so far. The Magpies have had a couple of wobblers, but nothing disastrous; HGA is a bloody good comfort for them at this stage.

The Islanders would have been relieving its 2020 GF nightmare, with Dangerfield going bananas, but Lyons and Aliir responded. They will be hoping potential-spud-scorers Wright or Taberner are a late withdrawal to get O'Brien on the field.

As it stands, Pacific have the advantage. But, Seoul have its greatest weapon yet to play - Clayton Oliver. He comes up against Adelaide, a team he has enjoyed playing against considerably having double-tonned the last time he did. If he posts 110, I say Pacific win. If he posts 120-135, it's anyones game, and if he goes 135+, I reckon the Magpies win. Hold onto your hats!



The Suns v Wolves is also interestingly poised... but the Wolves will need another Kelly/Darling clutch performance, and for Petracca to have a quiet game. If everyone posts their average then Mexico City should win comfortably, but that's not the world we live in!

	Seoul Magpies					Pacific Islanders
POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ	POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ
D1	Jack Crisp	124		124	D1	Rory Laird	0		0
D2	Nick Haynes	99		99	D2	Aliir Aliir	137		137
D3	Samuel Collins	0		0	D3	Bailey Williams (WB)	71		71
D4	Josh Rotham	0		0	D4	Andrew McPherson	0		0
M1	Clayton Oliver	0		0	M1	Marcus Bontempelli	114		114
M2	Jack Steele	100		100	M2	Tom Mitchell	117		117
M3	Ed Curnow	53		53	M3	Jarryd Lyons	152		152
M4	Matt Rowell	0		0	M4	Andrew Gaff	0		0
R1	Jonathon Ceglar	90		90	R1	Zac Smith	0		0
F1	Charlie Dixon	74		74	F1	Peter Wright	0		0
F2	Joe Daniher	103		103	F2	Harrison Himmelberg	87		87
F3	Luke Jackson	0		0	F3	Tom McCartin	98		98
F4	Curtis Taylor	69		69	F4	Matt Taberner	0		0
U1 (DEF RUC)	Ben McEvoy	90		90	U1 (MID)	Harry Perryman	92		92
U2 (MID FWD)	Patrick Dangerfield	169		169	U2 (MID FWD)	Zac Bailey	110		110
E1 (FWD)	Zac Fisher	84	0	0	E1 (FWD)	Tim O'Brien	125	0	0
E2 (DEF)	Jed Bews	51	0	0	E2 (DEF)	Connor Idun	49	0	0
E3 (MID FWD)	Bailey Scott	50	0	0	E3 (DEF)	Jake Kolodjashnij	36	0	0
E4 (DEF)	Jordon Butts	0	0	0	E4 (RUC)	Lloyd Meek	0	0	0
C	Clayton Oliver	0		0	CC	Marcus Bontempelli	114		57
VC	Jack Steele	100		0	CC	Tom Mitchell	117		59
HA		0		0
		Total:	971	10			Total:	1094	9

	Mexico City Suns					Toronto Wolves
POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ	POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ
D1	Jacob Weitering	72		72	D1	Ryan Burton	50		50
D2	Nic Newman	75		75	D2	Alex Witherden	0		0
D3	Hayden Young	0		0	D3	Michael Hibberd	0		0
D4	Thomas Cole	0		0	D4	Tom Williamson	37		37
M1	Christian Petracca	0		0	M1	Jack Macrae	136		136
M2	Sam Walsh	115		115	M2	Travis Boak	106		106
M3	David Mundy	0		0	M3	Tim Kelly	0		0
M4	Lachie Hunter	54		54	M4	Dion Prestia	70		70
R1	Nic Naitanui	0		0	R1	Rowan Marshall	73		73
F1	Aaron Hall	127		127	F1	Isaac Heeney	87		87
F2	Shai Bolton	80		80	F2	Tom T Lynch	0		0
F3	Jake Stringer	0		0	F3	Jack Darling	0		0
F4	Aaron Naughton	51		51	F4	Jesse Hogan	51		51
U1 (MID)	Jack Graham	74		74	U1 (MID)	Luke Shuey	0		0
U2 (MID)	Luke Davies-Uniacke	83		83	U2 (MID)	Connor Blakely	0		0
E1 (MID)	Bradley Hill	45	0	0	E1 (MID)	Justin McInerney	78	0	0
E2 (FWD)	Mitch Georgiades	62	0	0	E2 (MID FWD)	Tom Phillips	67	0	0
E3 (RUC)	Nathan Vardy	0	0	0	E3 (MID)	Dan Hannebery	71	0	0
E4 (DEF MID)	Jordan Clark	0	DNP	0	E4 (DEF)	Tobe Watson	0	0	0
C	Christian Petracca	0		0	C	Jack Macrae	136		136
VC	Sam Walsh	115		0	VC	Rowan Marshall	73		0
HA		0		0
		Total:	731	9			Total:	746	8

[upthemaidens]

I’d like to once again remind our contestants that there are proper bathroom facilities located in the studio.
    We’ve got a real barn burner on our hands.

[upthemaidens]

Taberner is bringing us home.  Grand Final bound.

[Purple 77]

Pacific Overpowers Seoul

Wow, what a performance!

Seoul put in a very worthy preliminary performance, but wow, the amazing consistency throughout the Islanders was just way too much!

In what could be Pacific's greatest win, they overcame the mental odds, having lost to Seoul 11 times over the last 10 years, AND confronted their Grand Final demons when Dangerfield threatened to win the game all over again.

Pacific go into the Grand Final as a very deserving team. Can they claim their first premiership?

For Seoul... this wasn't in the script! The first team to claim an undefeated H&A season almost seemed certain to make the Grand Final... I've never seen a team get so many things right in one season! Alas, it was not meant to be. Farewell Magpies... see you this time next year.

Seoul Magpies (24.10.154) lost to Pacific Islanders (26.6.162)

Best
Seoul: Jack Crisp, Jack Steele, Joe Daniher, Patrick Dangerfield   
Pacific: Rory Laird, Aliir Aliir, Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Mitchell, Jarryd Lyons, Andrew Gaff, Matt Taberner, Zac Bailey 

Late Changes
Seoul: Josh Rotham replaced by Zac Fisher
Pacific: Nil

WXV Debut
Seoul: Nil
Pacific: Nil

Club debut
Seoul: Nil
Pacific: Nil

PACIFIC progresses to the GRAND FINAL
SEOUL finishes 3rd

PATRICK DANGERFIELD wins a FINALS CHAMPION Medal

[Purple 77]

Suns eclipse Wolves

Whilst on paper the Wolves were still in it this morning, I think we suspected Mexico City would put them to the sword on Sunday. The Wolves got maximum value out of their list in 2021 and did a wonderful job to make the prelim! But the Suns are, and were, too good.

Mexico City officially comes full circle! A premiership under Maca in 2012, another under JROO in 2015... will it be PK in 2021? If they do it, they may establish themselves as WXVs greatest club.

Mexico City Suns (25.8.158) def Toronto Wolves (21.7.133)

Best
Mexico City: Christian Petracca, Sam Walsh, David Mundy, Nic Naitanui, Aaron Hall, Jake Stringer   
Toronto: Jack Macrae, Travis Boak, Luke Shuey     

Late Changes
Mexico City: Nil
Toronto: Tim Kelly, Connor Blakely replaced by Justin McInerney, Tom Phillips

WXV Debut
Mexico City: Nil
Toronto: Nil

Club debut
Mexico City: Nil
Toronto: Nil

MEXICO CITY progresses to the GRAND FINAL
TORONTO finishes 4th

JAKE STRINGER wins a FINALS CHAMPION Medal

[Purple 77]

Prince Power

Imperial are absolutely unstoppable at the moment, having had 13 representatives overpower the Suns 12. It was a fairly even contest in that respect... which just goes to show the depth at England! A very worthy premiership contender.

Guadalajara Wolves (16.8.104) lost to Imperial Princes (23.10.148)

Best
Guadalajara: Nil       
Imperial: Charlie Spargo, Jack Newnes, Luke Dahlhaus, Max Holmes, Orazio Fantasia     

IMPERIAL progresses to the GRAND FINAL
GUADALAJARA finishes 3rd

[Purple 77]

Weta lost in the Fog

Another fairly even contest, with 9 Chollimas going up against 8 Weta. The difference was only 9 SC points, and it's fair to say they came from Darcy Fogarty (103).

If only he could have helped the seniors!

Wellington Weta (14.6.90) lost to Pyongyang Chollimas (14.8.92)

Best
Wellington: Callum Ah Chee, Josh Thomas     
Pyongyang: Darcy Fogarty       

PYONGYANG progresses to the GRAND FINAL
WELLINGTON finishes 4th

[Purple 77]

And ze proof:

	Seoul Magpies					Pacific Islanders
POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ	POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ
D1	Jack Crisp	124		124	D1	Rory Laird	105		105
D2	Nick Haynes	99		99	D2	Aliir Aliir	137		137
D3	Samuel Collins	98		98	D3	Bailey Williams (WB)	71		71
D4	Josh Rotham	0	DNP	0	D4	Andrew McPherson	69		69
M1	Clayton Oliver	93		93	M1	Marcus Bontempelli	114		114
M2	Jack Steele	100		100	M2	Tom Mitchell	117		117
M3	Ed Curnow	53		53	M3	Jarryd Lyons	152		152
M4	Matt Rowell	62		62	M4	Andrew Gaff	116		116
R1	Jonathon Ceglar	90		90	R1	Zac Smith	54		54
F1	Charlie Dixon	74		74	F1	Peter Wright	75		75
F2	Joe Daniher	103		103	F2	Harrison Himmelberg	87		87
F3	Luke Jackson	90		90	F3	Tom McCartin	98		98
F4	Curtis Taylor	69		69	F4	Matt Taberner	106		106
U1 (DEF RUC)	Ben McEvoy	90		90	U1 (MID)	Harry Perryman	92		92
U2 (MID FWD)	Patrick Dangerfield	169		169	U2 (MID FWD)	Zac Bailey	110		110
E1 (FWD)	Zac Fisher	84		84	E1 (FWD)	Tim O'Brien	125	DNP	0
E2 (DEF)	Jed Bews	51	DNP	0	E2 (DEF)	Connor Idun	49	DNP	0
E3 (MID FWD)	Bailey Scott	50	DNP	0	E3 (DEF)	Jake Kolodjashnij	36	DNP	0
E4 (DEF)	Jordon Butts	55	DNP	0	E4 (RUC)	Lloyd Meek	44	DNP	0
C	Clayton Oliver	93		93	CC	Marcus Bontempelli	114		57
VC	Jack Steele	100		0	CC	Tom Mitchell	117		59
HA	Ed Curnow	53		53
		Total:	1544	15			Total:	1619	15

	Mexico City Suns					Toronto Wolves
POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ	POS	Traditional	SCO	PEN	ADJ
D1	Jacob Weitering	72		72	D1	Ryan Burton	50		50
D2	Nic Newman	75		75	D2	Alex Witherden	96		96
D3	Hayden Young	71		71	D3	Michael Hibberd	64		64
D4	Thomas Cole	65		65	D4	Tom Williamson	37		37
M1	Christian Petracca	126		126	M1	Jack Macrae	136		136
M2	Sam Walsh	115		115	M2	Travis Boak	106		106
M3	David Mundy	134		134	M3	Tim Kelly	12	DNP	0
M4	Lachie Hunter	54		54	M4	Dion Prestia	70		70
R1	Nic Naitanui	130		130	R1	Rowan Marshall	73		73
F1	Aaron Hall	127		127	F1	Isaac Heeney	87		87
F2	Shai Bolton	80		80	F2	Tom T Lynch	89		89
F3	Jake Stringer	147		147	F3	Jack Darling	83		83
F4	Aaron Naughton	51		51	F4	Jesse Hogan	51		51
U1 (MID)	Jack Graham	74		74	U1 (MID)	Luke Shuey	103		103
U2 (MID)	Luke Davies-Uniacke	83		83	U2 (MID)	Connor Blakely	15	DNP	0
E1 (MID)	Bradley Hill	45	DNP	0	E1 (MID)	Justin McInerney	78		78
E2 (FWD)	Mitch Georgiades	62	DNP	0	E2 (MID FWD)	Tom Phillips	67		67
E3 (RUC)	Nathan Vardy	34	DNP	0	E3 (MID)	Dan Hannebery	71	DNP	0
E4 (DEF MID)	Jordan Clark	0	DNP	0	E4 (DEF)	Tobe Watson	70	DNP	0
C	Christian Petracca	126		126	C	Jack Macrae	136		136
VC	Sam Walsh	115		0	VC	Rowan Marshall	73		0
HA	Aaron Naughton	51		51
		Total:	1581	15			Total:	1326	15

Reserves

Player	WXV Club	F3
Callum Ah Chee	Christchurch Saints	82
Josh Thomas	Christchurch Saints	72
James Stewart	Christchurch Saints	66
Lewis Young	Christchurch Saints	62
Tom Cutler	Christchurch Saints	58
Easton Wood	Christchurch Saints	49
Zaine Cordy	Christchurch Saints	33
Ryan Byrnes	Christchurch Saints	30
Luke Dahlhaus	London Royals	97
Orazio Fantasia	London Royals	84
Charlie Spargo	London Royals	83
Max Holmes	London Royals	71
Jack Newnes	London Royals	70
Darcy MacPherson	London Royals	66
Alec Waterman	London Royals	58
Keidean Coleman	London Royals	51
Conor Nash	London Royals	44
Kyle Hartigan	London Royals	41
Jack Petruccelle	London Royals	34
Maurice Rioli	London Royals	22
John Noble	London Royals	18
James Aish	Mexico City Suns	66
Oliver Henry	Mexico City Suns	64
Mitch Georgiades	Mexico City Suns	62
Adam Kennedy	Mexico City Suns	60
Archie Perkins	Mexico City Suns	47
Bradley Hill	Mexico City Suns	45
Trey Ruscoe	Mexico City Suns	40
Nick Larkey	Mexico City Suns	39
Mitch Hannan	Mexico City Suns	35
Nathan Vardy	Mexico City Suns	34
Zac Langdon	Mexico City Suns	15
Hugo Ralphsmith	Mexico City Suns	15
Darcy Fogarty	Seoul Magpies	103
Levi Casboult	Seoul Magpies	69
Charlie Curnow	Seoul Magpies	57
Jordon Butts	Seoul Magpies	55
Jed Bews	Seoul Magpies	51
Bailey Scott	Seoul Magpies	50
Connor Downie	Seoul Magpies	44
Liam Henry	Seoul Magpies	29
Oscar Clavarino	Seoul Magpies	3