WXV Round 15 - The Run Home

[ossie85]

Round 15

Home Team		Score		Score		Away Team		Location
Cape Town Cobras		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		London Royals		Newlands Cricket Ground
Berlin Brewers		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Seoul Magpies		Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Moscow Spetsnaz		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		New Delhi Tigers		Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Toronto Wolves		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Cairo Sands		Rogers Centre, Toronto
Wellington Warriors		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Beijing Bears		The Basin Reserve
Buenos Aires Armadillos		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Tokyo Samurai		Estadio de River
Sao Paulo Pumas		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Dublin Destroyers		Estádio do Pumas
Pacific Islanders		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Paris Nice Lyon Reindeers		BSP Stadium, Suva, Fiji
Mexico City Suns		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		New York Eagles		Fireball Stadium, Mexico City

1. Sao Paulo, 13-1, 113.43%

Comfortable victory over the Bears, and all smooth sailing from here. Almost going to give the Minor Premiership to the Pumas now.

R15: Dublin (H)
R16: New York (A)
R17: Pacific (H)

2. Mexico City, 12-2, 111.57%

With many of there starting XV injured, the Suns limped over the line against a spirited Dublin. Almost guaranteed top 4, and need only 1 win to secure 2nd place. But with the amount of injuries they have, and possibly no starting ruck, the Suns could be in trouble.

R15: New York (H)
R16: Pacific (H)
R17: Buenos Aires (A)

3. Cape Town, 10-4, 107.06%

Smashed the Brewers to go one step closer to finishing top 4, with a small chance of climbing into 2nd spot and getting a home final. Will face London with a new coach this week, a desperate Seoul the week after, before finishing the season against New Delhi who maybe out of contention by then.

R15: London (H)
R16: Seoul (A)
R17: New Delhi (H)

4. Buenos Aires, 9-5, 105.63%

With the Warriors breathing down there neck, the Armadillos can't afford to lose a match if they want to stay in the top 4. Will start favourites against Tokyo and PNL, and maybe even against an injury plagued Mexico City.

R15: Tokyo (H)
R16: PNL (A)
R17: Mexico City (H)

5. Wellington, 9-5, 101.58%

Will find it difficult to claw back the percentage on Buenos Aires, and a desperate Beijing will be a challenge this week. Finish off the season against bottom 4 teams Dublin and New York, but have to hope the Armadillos slip up to finish in the top 4 and secure that 2nd chance.

R15: Beijing (H)
R16: Dublin (A)
R17: New York (H)

6. Toronto, 8-6, 105.41%

Season defining victory against Seoul last week, in what many coaches are calling the match-of-the-year. Paddy Ryder is there major concern, but with the return of Scott Pendlebury it is hard to see them losing against any of Cairo, Tokyo or PNL, seem finals bound, and a difficult team to face in the finals!

R15: Cairo (H)
R16: Tokyo (A)
R17: PNL (H)

7. Beijing, 8-6, 101.42%

Big boost in percentage this week after a spreadsheet error was found, makes the Bears a much more comfortable prospect. Though a loss in any game could still see them miss the finals, with Wellington, Moscow and London all having the capacity to surprise.

R15: Wellington (A)
R16: Moscow (H)
R17: London (A)

8. Moscow, 8-6, 98.61%

Moscow should count themselves extremely lucky to register a win against the demoralised London Royals, would have lost against most other teams last week. A poor percentage could mean that losing any of its last 3 could see them fall out of the 8, but are still in strong position. New Delhi and Dublin are matches that Moscow should win, but the match against Beijing in Round 16 could act as an elimination final for both.

R15: New Delhi (H)
R16: Beijing (A)
R17: Dublin (H)

9. Seoul, 7-7, 101.41%

Sitting in 9th spot with a healthy percentage. The Magpies were impressive in defeat last week, scoring the highest for the year, and are in good form despite what ladder position suggests. Win all 3 matches and Seoul will make the finals (they would over take the loser of Moscow v Beijing), lose 1 and fate is no longer in the Magpies hands. Will start strong favourites against Berlin and Cairo, but the most difficult is the Cape Town match in Round 16.

R15: Berlin (A)
R16: Cape Town (H)
R17: Cairo (H)

10. Pacific, 7-7, 97.85%

2 wins a row keeps finals hopes alive, with the match against PNL and now suddenly Mexico City looking winnable! Before finishing off the season against ladder-leaders Sao Paulo away. Unfortunately, the fate Pacific lies a lot in the scoring power of captain Chris Judd, who has just been suspended for 4 weeks. Meaning the rest of the regular season, and the first week of the finals if the Islanders are to make it. Will be a fairy tale if they make it.

R15: PNL (H)
R16: Mexico City (A)
R17: Sao Paulo (A)

11. London, 6-8, 99.16%

The Royals "rested" Tom Bellchambers and Robert Murphy who dominated in the reserves. This cost them the match against Moscow, the coach has been sacked, and remain only a mathematical chance of making the top 8. The new coach is yet to be announced, but has some work to do in the off-season.

R15: Cape Town (A)
R16: New Delhi (A)
R17: Beijing (H)

12. New Delhi, 6-8, 94.88%

Only the calculator can help New Delhi now, but they can do there chances no harm by winning the last 3. Unfortunately, all three teams are currently above them on the ladder, and they have lost 8 of the last 10.

R15: Moscow (A)
R16: London (H)
R17: Cape Town (A)

13. Tokyo, 5-9, 97.17%

Preparing for next season now, and Tokyo can only hope to upset the apple cart by trying to upset Buenos Aires and Toronto, before ending the season with an away game against Berlin.

R15: Buenos Aires (A)
R16: Toronto (H)
R17: Berlin (A)

14. Cairo, 5-9, 95.77%

Would struggle against the in form Toronto and Seoul, but Berlin looks winnable. A season to forget for the Sands, can they finish with some pride?

R15: Toronto (A)
R16: Berlin (H)
R17: Seoul (A)

15. New York, 4-10, 93.78%

Play 2nd, 1st and 5th in the last 3 weeks! But New York won't give in just yet. Can they cause an upset, and avoid finishing bottom 4?

R15: Mexico City (A)
R16: Sao Paulo (H)
R17: Wellington (A)

16. Berlin, 4-10, 93.10%

A smashing against Cape Town sees the Brewers slip further down the ladder on percentage, and would like at least one more win to finish the season. Seoul will be difficult this week, but Cairo and Tokyo are games the Brewers could win.

R15: Seoul (H)
R16: Cairo (A)
R17: Tokyo (H)

17. PNL, 3-11, 94.68%

3 from 5, and PNL have some momentum going into next season. A Judd-less Pacific could get them a 4th win, before tough matches against finals bound Buenos Aires and Toronto.

R15: Pacific (A)
R16: Buenos Aires (H)
R17: Toronto (A)

18. Dublin, 2-12, 87.78%

Heart-break against Mexico City, as they went down valiantly. The victory by PNL has all but guaranteed the spoon the the Destroyers needing to win 2 of the last 3 to avoid it. Playing the 1st, 5th and 7th ranked teams is tough.

R15: Sao Paulo (A)
R16: Wellington (H)
R17: Moscow (A)


ossie85's Prediction at Final Ladder
1   Sao Paulo Pumas   16   1
2   Mexico City Suns   14   3
3   Cape Town Cobras   13   4
4   Buenos Aires Armadillos   12   5
5   Wellington Warriors   12   5
6   Toronto Wolves   11   6
7   Moscow Spetsnaz   10   7
8   Beijing Bears   10   7
9   Seoul Magpies   9   8
10   London Royals   7   10
11   Pacific Islanders   7   10
12   Tokyo Samurai   6   11
13   Cairo Sands   6   11
14   New Delhi Tigers   6   11
15   Paris Nice Lyon Reindeers   4   13
16   Berlin Brewers   4   13
17   New York Eagles   4   13
18   Dublin Destroyers   2   15

[PowerBug]

I feel like i'm being robbed. In both Worlds and Euros my rival is the top team. :( At least here i don't need to play them twice. :P

You have me beating Mexico ossie??? :o Maybe some Swany magic will get me over the line. :D

[ossie85]

I feel like i'm being robbed. In both Worlds and Euros my rival is the top team. :( At least here i don't need to play them twice. :P

You have me beating Mexico ossie??? :o Maybe some Swany magic will get me over the line. :D

I do, I'm starting to doubt the Suns flag prospects. As it stands, they don't have a ruck!

[Maca24]

It's a bit of a tragedy really. I rate my full side as better than Sao Paulos. :P
Goddard returns this week from suspension. And fingers crossed Ivan Maric can return from a groin injury.
Bartel (1 week) and Matt White (2 weeks) are still suspended, while Hodge, Waite and Didak are still going to be a while.
Sandilands and Foley will both miss the remainer of the season which is unfortunate.

Mexico City Suns

Backs: S.Burgoyne, S.Gilbert, G.Ibbotson, M.Firrito
Mids: B.Goddard (C), B.Howlett, B.Ebert, B.McLean
Forwards: P.Chapman, A.Goodes, J.Lewis, N.Riewoldt
Ruckman: I.Maric (VC)
Bench: M.Mattner, M.Baguley
Emergencies: D.Pfieffer, A.Toovey,T.Milera.

[CrowsFan]

It's a bit of a tragedy really. I rate my full side as better than Sao Paulos. :P

Well that's a bold statement considering if we were to have our full strength team playing against each other, going by this years averages I would win 158 to 154 (assuming no HGA) :P

[ossie85]

Mids: B.Goddard, B.Howlett, B.Ebert, B.McLean

Goddard in the mids speaks volumes on your lack of midfield depth at the moment Maca! But Howlett and McLean continue to score well, and I think Brad Ebert is one of the picks of the year

[Maca24]

It's a bit of a tragedy really. I rate my full side as better than Sao Paulos. :P

Well that's a bold statement considering if we were to have our full strength team playing against each other, going by this years averages I would win 158 to 154 (assuming no HGA) :P

Hodge and Lecras have't even played this year :P
Thanks Ossie, I reckon that midfield line can score 400 no doubt. Brad Ebert and McLean have been getting tonnes regularly.

[CrowsFan]

LeCras has only ever averaged 86 at his best, and that isn't good enough to get in your forward line anyway. Let's say Hodge was playing and averaging 106 like last year, well then you still lose by 2 points :P

[Maca24]

LeCras has only ever averaged 86 at his best, and that isn't good enough to get in your forward line anyway. Let's say Hodge was playing and averaging 106 like last year, well then you still lose by 2 points :P

Bugger :P
Definitely targeting a big midfielder in trade week.

[roo boys!]

LeCras has only ever averaged 86 at his best, and that isn't good enough to get in your forward line anyway. Let's say Hodge was playing and averaging 106 like last year, well then you still lose by 2 points :P

Bugger :P
Definitely targeting a big midfielder in trade week.

I have an overflow of midfielders, not sure how many are defined as big though...could use with a defender ;)

[meow meow]

Moscow Spetsnaz

With 24 players to pick from this week, plus another 5 named as emergencies, competition for spots is still strong late in the season. The backline looks particularly healthy with 9 seniors and 2 emergencies. One backman will make his debut for Moscow this week.

Allen Christensen was the only significant injury last week. He joins Justin Sherman, Tory Dickson, Tyrone Vickery and to a lesser extent Alex Sexton as the only players in contention of a spot in the starting XV who find themselves on the injury list.

Christensen's loss will be more than offset by the return of our prized 2nd recruit after his non-Smirnoff related crime. We expect him to repay us with a big performance after his rest, and we'll give him the responsibility of captaining the side.

The word "lucky" has been used to describe our win last week. We'll be sure to remind everyone that Moscow is a force to be reckoned with and that we don't rely on chance or luck to get the job done.




B: Heath Shaw, Dustin Fletcher, James Frawley, Kelvin Moore
C: Dustin Martin (C), Dayne Beams, Tom Liberatore, William Hoskin-Elliott
R: Nic Naitanui
F: Shaun Higgins (vc), Jonathan Brown, Adam Treloar, Harley Bennell
I: Steven Morris, Brandon Matera

E: Ryan Bastinac, Tom Williams, Ben Sinclair

In: Dustin Martin, Kelvin Moore, Will Hoskin-Elliot, Brandon Matera, Steven Morris
Out: Allen Christensen, Brodie Smith, Ryan Bastinac, Ben Sinclair, Justin Sherman




Reserves

B: Tom Williams, Tom Young, Jordan Russell, Brodie Smith
C: Paul Seedsman, Ben Sinclair, Ryan Bastinac
R: -
F: Tom Lynch, Nathan Wilson

[ossie85]

The team was strong last week, so we have minimal changes. Only change is Jack Steven returns from suspension, replacing the injured rising star nominee Stephen Coniglio, while James Kelly takes over the Vice-Captaincy.

The Brewers face a team looking to cause some pain.

D: B Deledio (Capt), M Scarlett, J Gram, C Yarran

M: R Griffen, J Kelly (V-Capt), J Bolton, J Steven

R: B McEvoy

F: P Dangerfield, Alwyn Davey, H Ballantyne, L Power

I: B Gibbs, T Scully

E: L Anthony, N Maxwell, C Dixon

In: J Steven

Out: S Congilio (injured)

[PowerBug]

Backs: Scotland , Hurn , P.Stewart , Nicholson
Mids: Swan {C} , Boyd {VC} , Boak , K.Cornes
Rucks: J.Jenkins
Fwds: M.Robinson , S.Crameri , J.Westhoff , K.Bradley
Int: J.Petrenko , C.Smith
Em: B.Jacobs , B.Smedts , D.Rodan


I Struggled to find a 15 i was happy with, had to make do with this side. :-\ McKenzie out is annoying, but may free up Boak so could be the awesome 1 backward/2 forwards movement. :D Surely Gysberts isn't too far off playing.... Johncock has another week on the sidelines, along with Wojo, space in that backline is hard to find now that P.Stewart has sewn up the D3 spot. :)

[Justin Bieber]

Parisian Nice Lyon Reindeers.

Def - Chris Newman, Jarrod Harbrow, Christian Howard, Heath Grundy.
Mid - Matt Priddis (C), Nathan Jones, Tendai Mzungu, Rohan Bail.
Fwd - Matthew Pavlich (VC), Cyril Rioli, Steve Johnson, Levi Casboult
Ruck - Matthew Lobbe.
Int - Luke McPharlin, Andrew McInnes.

Emg - Farren Ray, Jarrad Grant, Chad Wingard.

IN: Luke McPharlin, Andrew McInnes, Levi Casboult, Rohan Bail.
OUT: Daniel Rich, David Myers, Beau Wilkes, Dylan Shiel.

Quite a few changes this week for the Reindeers! Debutants into the first team in McInnes and Casboult. McPharlin comes in for Rich who has been replaced on field by Mzungu. Shiels being out means that Bail has been called upon who has been in decent form. Some big changes which is risky but hoping that the big guns are able to pull us through with youngsters showing something for the future 8).

[Boomz]

Def: M Suckling, P Davis, J Carlisle, B Stratton
Mids: L Jetta, K Jack (C), T Mckenzie, S Selwood
Fwds: T Cloke, B McGlynn, L Dahlhaus, K Tippett(VC)
Ruck: A Cordy
Inter:  A Collins, J Gunston
Emer1: J Patton
Emer2: A Kennedy
Emer3: J Sheringham