WXV: Toronto Wolves

[roo boys!]

After fighting valiantly the Wolves went down in the semi final this week. A solid first season, finishing inside the top 8 and winning our first final. Would have liked to go a bit further, especially with players coming back from injury but just some very poor performances from senior players meant it was just too big of a hill to climb.

Now looking to get active in the trading period, have a few negotiations going on at the moment but the priority at the moment is just securing a gun defender. Willing to offer just about anyone on my list if the price is right. Contact me if you want anyone or have any players who you think may be of interest.

[roo boys!]

Scott Pendlebury announced as the inaugural Best & Fairest winner, surprising no-one.

The Toronto Wolves are getting active at the trade table, so far only one trade conducted which saw champion defender Sam Fisher head to the Wolves in return for promising youngster Taylor Adams. There are many other trade negotiations happening as we speak though, including Maca trying to steal my players :P

[Maca24]

Scott Pendlebury announced as the inaugural Best & Fairest winner, surprising no-one.

The Toronto Wolves are getting active at the trade table, so far only one trade conducted which saw champion defender Sam Fisher head to the Wolves in return for promising youngster Taylor Adams. There are many other trade negotiations happening as we speak though, including Maca trying to steal my players :P

Do what I want ;)
You better keepa close eye on them! Have a player kidnapper lurking around Toronto Headquarters.

[roo boys!]

In breaking news, Scott Pendlebury, Andrew Carrazzo, Jack Riewoldt and Kieran Harper have been taken to a top secret location away from Maca's kidnappers. We believe Harper is the most at threat, as apparently the Suns are still reeling after their shocking trade move getting rid of him for Jordan Lewis. ::)

[roo boys!]

The Toronto Wolves have completed their second trade of the trade window, reaching an agreement with Dublin earlier in the week. Vice captain Nathan van Berlo headed to Dublin along with youngster Josh Bootmsa and pick 68, in return for Nathan Grima. We believe that Grima completes a solid defence and with Andrew Carrazzo likely to be solely in the midfield next year Nathan's work will be greatly relied upon. Welcome to the club Narni.

While it's sad to see van Berlo leave, we believe that it is in his best interest that he sought opportunities elsewhere and wish him the best of luck at his new club. Seeing as Nathan was one of three vice captains, along with Sam Mitchell and Jack Ziebell his leadership will be sorely missed at the club but we believe that it provides an opportunity for some younger players to stand up, particularly Ziebell who we see as a future captain of the Wolves. For the time being the Wolves haven't elected a third vice captain to replace van Berlo.


Shortly after announcing their trade with Dublin, the Wolves have reached another trade agreement, this time with Tokyo. This trade sees defenders Jared Rivers and Ted Richards head to Japan, in return for Liam Shiels. There was also a swapping of draft picks. We wish Liam the best of luck at the club for what promises to be a long and productive career in Toronto.

Pre-Season Best 15
This is assuming the following positional changes occur, which I expect them all to.
-Andrew Carrazzo loses D/M status, becoming purely midfield.
-Michael Johnson loses D/F status, become purely defence.
-Paddy Ryder regains R/F status.
-David Hale retains R/F status.
-Robbie Gray retains M/F status.

Backs: Sam Fisher, Nathan Grima, Michael Johnson, Matt Maguire/Cam Pedersen
Mids: Scott Pendlebury, Sam Mitchell, Jack Ziebell, Andrew Carrazzo
Ruck: Ben Hudson
Forwards: Robbie Gray, Jack Riewoldt, David Hale, Paddy Ryder
Interchange from: Matt Maguire/Cam Pedersen, Andrew Embley, Liam Shiels, Angus Monfries, Ash McGrath, Sam Wright

Leadership
Captain: Scott Pendlebury
Vice-Captain: Sam Mitchell

[roo boys!]

The Wolves 4th trade of the off-season has been completed, again with Tokyo. It sees vice-captain Sam Mitchell leave along with a couple of draft picks, in return for Matthew Leuenberger and a couple of downgraded picks. While it is sad to see Mitchell leave after such a successful first season as Vice-Captain for the Wolves and even captain for a fair chunk while Pendles was out, we believe that it is an important trade for the club moving forward.

It's believed Leuenberger hasn't even bothered catching a flight to Toronto as he has been informed that his stay will be shortlived, but no further details about his future location have been revealed.

[roo boys!]

SWALLOW IS AT TORONTO!

The man on top of the most wanted list at Toronto for a while now has been snared, and while it's sad to say goodbye to youngster Liam Shiels we are really excited about securing Andrew to fill the void left by the departing Sam Mitchell.

[CrowsFan]

So excited about the trade you're not going to bother waiting to see if it is accepted or not :P

[roo boys!]

So excited about the trade you're not going to bother waiting to see if it is accepted or not :P

I did that for my first trade but no-one else did in their threads so I decided just to go for it the minute my trading partner agrees to the trade :P

If people say no to that trade....look out :o :P

So far this trading period:
IN: Swallow, Fisher, Grima, Cunnington, Jolly, Greenwood, Butler
OUT: Mitchell, Adams, Rivers, Richards, van Berlo, Bootsma, Bewick

[roo boys!]

My 6th and 7th trades were both completed today.

Talented youngster Ben Cunnington came to Toronto along with veteran ruck Darren Jolly and tagger Levi Greenwood, along with a few draft picks as well. Matthew Leuenberger was not at the Wolves for long, but he understood all along that it was not going to be worth the trip to Canada and he went straight to some sunnier weather.

Rohan Bewick has also left the club, in return for defender Sam Butler. We wish Rohan all the best in Wellington.

Leaving my best 15 looking like:
Def: Grima [27], Johnson [27], Nicholson [21], Pedo [25]
(Maguire, Morris, Butler, McGrath, Jamison, Shaw, Joseph, Hine)
Mid: Pendles [24], Swallow [25], Ziebell [21], McLean [26]
(MacMillan, Jones, Rodan, Johnson, Davey, Greenwood, Bell, Crichton, Dale)
Ruc: Jolly [30]
(Pedo, Hickey, Mabon)
Fwd: Robbo [23], JRoo [23], Zorko [23], Ryder [24]
(McGrath, Edwards, Walsh, Hall, Gilbee, Curran)
Int: Young (26)], Cunnington [21]

(age in brackets)

This is more just a way of me checking how my squad is progressing :P

Picks: 39, 50, 61



Have added the ages of every player there and going by my recent trades I think it's pretty obvious what my targeted age bracket is, not going a complete rebuild like many and not going old like a few. Sitting on the fence, low to mid 20s is nice!

Obviously guys like Jolly  bump up this average age, Jolly is only there for a year or two until Hickey develops so not part of my long term plan.

Grima and Johnson a bit older but still think both have a lot of footy left in them. You can see why I'm so proud of my midfield :)

Average age is 24.4, but could be lowered considerably if I decided to put Hickey on instead of Jolly :P

[roo boys!]

Out With the Old, In With the New

Late in the recent trade period the Wolves completed two trades in quick succession. After many long weeks of negotiations, National Draft pick #5 was secured along with promising forward Tommy Walsh. The loses were significant though, with star forward Robbie Gray and cult hero (:P) Kieran Harper moving to Dublin.

Pick #5 was then on traded to the Armadillos along with Andrew Carrazzo, in return for young stars Mitch Robinson and Dan Nicholson. We believe that Mitch fills the void left by the departing Gray and Nicholson allows for an older defender to be traded off (hence the title).

Trades certainly have not ceased for the Wolves...watch this space.

Best 15 has been updated in the above post.

[roo boys!]

Out With the Old, In With the New Continues!

In a dramatic week in the World WV's comp the Toronto Wolves managed to get a few trades done.

First off talented forward Angus Monfries was traded to Moscow for NAT draft pick 14. Shame to see Gus go as we think he is on the verge of breaking out but pick 14 is important for us to allow a sequence of trades to occur.

Recently acquired pick 14 was then traded to New Delhi, along with no-longer-required defender Sam Fisher and promising defender Josh Toy in return for Dayne Zorko and Ben Mabon.

From the coach:
"Dayne and Ben are two of the players that we have been chasing for a while and we are absolutely stoked to get them both. Dayne fills the void left by Carrazzo in the midfield and may be able to swing forward to get on the end of a few too. We still believe that Ben is still a while off but we have been watching him for a while and he certainly has talent. Provides a great personality off the field too."



But the Wolves weren't done there. Talented midfielder Richard Douglas was secured along with young defender Steven Morris in return for Sam Wright and Ben Hudson. Hudson was no longer needed with Mabon at the club and I've finally been able to look past my bias in a trade by giving up Wright. It was hard, but I really rate the two players I got in return so I'm happy.

Pick 86 was also traded to Buenos Aires for David Rodan. David will be a handy player for the Wolves if given the chance.

All in all, a productive week or so of trading and a very happy head coach. Best 15 has been updated.



IN: Swallow, Robinson, Zorko, Nicholson, Grima, McLean, Cunnington, Young, Morris, Jolly, Greenwood, Butler, Mabon, Walsh, Rodan
OUT: Mitchell, Carrazzo, Gray, Hale, Harper, Wright, Hudson, Monfries, Adams, Rivers, Richards, van Berlo, Bootsma, Bewick

[roo boys!]

Drafting Completed

With the International, Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts now completed, the Wolves have gotten closer to finalising their playing list for 2013.

We welcome the following players to our club:

International Draft
Pick #39 - Mason Shaw
Pick #48 - Jesse White (re-drafted)

Pre-Season Draft
Pick #10 - Nick Hayes

Rookie Draft
Pick #13 - Nick Salter
Pick #31 - Thomas Jonas
Pick #49 - Mark Whiley


We would also like to announce that Tom Curran has been placed on the rookie list for the 2013 season.

[roo boys!]

Toronto Wolves Rd1 Review

With Round 1 of the WXV's season done and dusted the Toronto Wolves find themselves sitting in 5th place on the ladder and the reserves sitting in 2nd. Despite the successful weekend, rumours are head coach roo boys! wasn't overly impressed by the performance of his players.

"While it's always nice to get a win, I believe our boys played well below their capabilities and did not meet the lofty standards set by the club. We will review our performance throughout the week and look to improve our scoring against the Magpies next week. We felt we relied on too few to get us across the line and will struggle to compete with the top sides if we keep performing like that. But for now we will take the 4 points and are still content with the win. The Bears are a proud club and it was never going to be easy"

Toronto Wolves 20.11.131 defeated Beijing Bears 17.10.112
A relatively low scoring affair, with the Wolves the lowest scoring victor in the comp. Captain Scott Pendlebury lead from the front with a dominant performance and was aptly supported by vice captain Andrew Swallow for the Wolves. A real positive to take out of the game from a Toronto point of view was the 8 players who debuted for the club, over half of the side playing their first game in the red and white.

Player Review:
Nathan Grima - 57
A disappointing effort from a man the Wolves have invested a lot of responsibility into. Hoping this is a once-off performance.

Michael Johnson - 49
Again, very disappointing from a senior member of Toronto's defence, next week more will be required.

Dan Nicholson - 74
Not a bad match all things considered by Nicholson and performed courageously in his sides heavy defeat. Content with his performance but we all know he is capable of more once his side achieves some more success.

Cameron Pedersen - 65
The Wolves were hoping a change of clubs could prove very beneficial for Pedersen, but it didn't prove so this week. He will need to improve his performances over the coming weeks or else his spot is in jeopardy.



Scott Pendlebury - 160 (320)
A magnificent game by the captain of the side, leading from the front as usual and delivering to a very high standard that has come to be expected of him nowadays. Top stuff.

Andrew Swallow - 137
Same thing goes for Spitta in his first game in Toronto colours. Very impressive and showed why he was our number 1 target all pre-season.

Jack Ziebell - 81
Solid performance but we expect more from Ziebs and are hopeful of a 95+ average year in 2013.

Brock McLean - 67
A very disappointing game by the new recruit to the club, hoping that he can bounce back strongly for a big one against the Pies.



Paddy Ryder - 54
Abysmal. Expect a lot higher from this man, and he has already been told that we have no shortage of ruck depth and his spot isn't going to be guaranteed to him all season if he doesn't up his game.



Jack Riewoldt - 71
Quiet in a winning side and was lucky to reach the score he did. Wasn't disgraced but more is expected.

Dayne Zorko - 64
The Zork was quiet in his first game for the club but we believe that he will return to his form of 2012 this week against Seoul.

Mitch Robinson - 20
Robbo was unlucky with a concussion sustained early in the piece, hopefully he'll be back to his bruising best soon.

Ash McGrath - 40
A very poor game from a senior player and he has found himself dropped from the 15. Is encouraged to continue working hard to get back there



Ben Cunnington - 98
A good performance by young Cunners, very pleased.

Darren Jolly - 89
Good by the old fella, if he can continue pumping out high 80s/90s all year I'll be pleased.




Reserves
Toronto Wolves 19.12.126 def Beijing Bears 5.4.34
A strong performance by the Wolves reserves convincingly beating a severely undermanned Beijing.

Player Review:
Matt Maguire - 43
Poor from a senior figure at the club and won't work his way back into the 15 with that sort of form.
Steven Morris - 20
Had a horror night but still promises to provide solid young backup in defence.
Michael Jamison - 84
Very good performance by Jamo and could push for senior selection if he keeps it up.
Matt Shaw - 61
Not a bad effort by the young man, I'd take a season of 60s from him.
Aaron Joseph - 26
Horrible in a loss and is not doing himself any favours after just surviving the axe at season's end.
Thomas Jonas (R) - 45
Rookie listed Jonas didn't have a great game but just for him to be getting a gig at this stage is pleasing.
Andrew Embley - 23
Unfortunately the sub vest is limiting what we believe is some serious scoring potential. Hopefully gets more of a chance in weeks to come.
Clint Jones - 106
A huge performance in a losing side finds himself very close to senior selection again, he has made the emergency list.
Jamie MacMillan - 44
Not good from a man who the Wolves hierarchy rate highly. Loses his spot in the 18.
Ben Johnson - 36
At least he's out on the park. Has the ability to score a lot better than that.
David Rodan - 65
In a losing side, impressive from Rodan considering he came for virtually nothing. Not a bad swap for pick 86 hey?
Aaron Hall - 41
Wasn't great and at the moment doesn't look like anything more than a reserves player. Time will tell.
Tom Hickey - 28
Disappointing, hopefully he can up his game as he is being groomed as Jolly's replacement in the not too distant future.

Did Not Play:
Clinton Young, Aaron Edwards, Sam Butler, Tom Bell, Ben Mabon, Taylor Hine, Nick Salter, Mark Whiley, Tom Curran, Levi Greenwood, Jesse Crichton, Frazer Dale, Jesse White, Tommy Walsh, Mason Shaw, Nick Hayes, Jacob Gillbee

Best and Fairest Voting
3 - Scott Pendlebury
2 - Andrew Swallow
1 - Clint Jones

[Purple 77]

Wow, great write up rb!

I will no doubt do one of my own, the trouble is that I get sick of writing them by about round 3 lol