WXV Qualifying and Elimination Finals

[ossie85]

Finals, Week 1

Home Team		Score		Score		Away Team		Location
Sao Paulo Pumas		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Buenos Aires Armadillos		Estádio do Pumas
Mexico City Suns		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Cape Town Cobras		Fireball Stadium, Mexico City
Wellington Warriors		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Toronto Wolves		The Basin Reserve
Beijing Bears		0.0.0	vs.	0.0.0		Moscow Spetsnaz		Beijing Olympic Park

The Final 8! Outstanding teams all.

PUMAS V ARMADILLOS

Replay of the RHYTHM CUP which is also on the line, but the 4 points are what these coaches care about...

Last time, Round 1....

Buenos Aires Armadillos (20.8.128) lost to Sao Paulo Pumas (23.15.153)

Best
Buenos Aires: M Boyd, C Cornes
Sao Paulo: G Ablett, H Hartlett, R Sloane, D Zaharakis, D Cross, S Jacobs

Prediction:

If Armadillo captain Dane Swan can match Puma Captain Ablett, who knows what could happen? Also of note is that the Armadillos have few Port Adelaide players, most of which could be fired up due to the week from hell they've achieved. It likely won't be enough though, with the Pumas oouzing class at every line. Pumas by 15 points.


SUNS V COBRAS

The likely challenger to the Pumas could be the winner of this match.

Last time, Round 7...

Cape Town Cobras (20.15.135) lost to Mexico City Suns (22.18.150)

Best
Cape Town: J Watson, J Selwood, T Cotchin, G Broughton, JP Kennedy
Mexico City: N Foley, A Sandilands, J Lewis, I Maric, B Goddard, Brad Ebert, P Chapman

Prediction:

From the last match, the Suns are missing Foley and Sandilands while the Cobras are missing Broughton. The midfield for the Cobras is the most damaging and consistent in the competition, and will be very hard to match. The Suns have experience on every line, and the surprise pack of the year in Ivan Maric who just keeps belting out scores. Cobras by 3.

WARRIORS V WOLVES

Both sides have had patchy form, but both sides can score monstrously.

Last time, Round 3....

Wellington Warriors (24.9.153) defeated Toronto Wolves (21.17.143)

Best
Wellington: M Murphy, L Hayes, H McIntosh, Leroy Jetta, R Nahas, J Brennan
Toronto: J Ziebell, P Ryder, A Edwards, A Carrazzo, D Hale, M Johnson

Prediction:

Toronto travel to New Zealand for the second time of the year, hoping to reverse the result. However, they are missing Ziebell and maybe Ryder from that outfit, while the Warriors Murphy continues to find form. The Wolves have disappointed in the last couple of outings, and the Warriors will take advantage of this. Warriors by 8.


BEARS V SPETSNAZ

Two of the most surprising teams of the years, but only one can progress.

Last Time, Round 16...

Beijing Bears (23.14.152) defeated Moscow Spetsnaz (21.12.138)

Best
Beijing: A Swallow, S Tuck, C Pearce, M Kreuzer
Moscow: N Naitanui, H Shaw, D Beams, D Martin, A Christensen

Meeting only 2 weeks ago in what was dubbed as a possible elimination final, the Spetsnaz recovered to make the final 8. A lot relies on the performance of the underrated Shane Tuck and Shaun Grigg for the Bears, while captain selection is crucial for Moscow who have rotated the role a lot this year. Spetsnaz by 4.

[CrowsFan]

Nice stuff as usual Ossie, but you mention the Suns oouze class on every line in the write up for the Pumas vs Armadillos. I assume that's a mistake? ;)

[CrowsFan]

Looks like my game has got a little easier with Dane Swan picking up a club suspension for 2 weeks. PB you must be furious with your number 1 pick to suspend him at such a crucial stage of the season?

[PowerBug]

Looks like my game has got a little easier with Dane Swan picking up a club suspension for 2 weeks. PB you must be furious with your number 1 pick to suspend him at such a crucial stage of the season?

Are you for real?

[CrowsFan]

Looks like my game has got a little easier with Dane Swan picking up a club suspension for 2 weeks. PB you must be furious with your number 1 pick to suspend him at such a crucial stage of the season?

Are you for real?

Yep - http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/143883/default.aspx

[PowerBug]

Looks like my game has got a little easier with Dane Swan picking up a club suspension for 2 weeks. PB you must be furious with your number 1 pick to suspend him at such a crucial stage of the season?

Are you for real?

Yep - http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/143883/default.aspx

ok, as shown in my comment on the DT board i care more about that than WXV's.

[ossie85]

fixed cf!

Armadillos - devastating news on Swan

[PowerBug]

Armadillos - devastating news on Swan

not really, just yet another reason why i don't want him at the club.

[meow meow]

Armadillos - devastating news on Swan

not really, just yet another reason why i don't want him at the club.

He'd fit in pretty well at Moscow.

[Holz]

Armadillos - devastating news on Swan

not really, just yet another reason why i don't want him at the club.

He'd fit in pretty well at Moscow.

He will fit in really well with the irish, we let our players drink if we win a game. So if hecomes to the club he wont be drinking much but more than anyone else.

[Maca24]

MEXICO CITY SUNS

Backs: B.Goddard (VC), G.Ibboston, S.Gilbert, S.Burgoyne.
Mids: L.Hodge, J.Bartel, B.Ebert, B.McLean.
Ruck: I.Maric (C)
Frwds: J.Waite, A.Goodes, J.Lewis, N.Riewoldt.
Bench: A.Didak, M.Firrito.
Emergency: M.White, M.Baguley, J.Sellar.

[ossie85]

^bringing in Dids for the final! Interesting Maca

[Maca24]

^bringing in Dids for the final! Interesting Maca

Has looked good in the reserves! Pfieffer and Firrito on standby though.

[meow meow]

Moscow Spetsnaz

B: Heath Shaw (vc), Dustin Fletcher, James Frawley, Steven May
C: Dayne Beams (C), Ryan Bastinac, Allen Christensen, Justin Sherman
R: Nic Naitanui
F: Dustin Martin, Harley Bennell, Tory Dickson, Jonathan Brown
I: Adam Treloar, Thomas Lynch

E: Jordan Roughead, Ben Sinclair, Jackson Allen


In: Dustin Fletcher, Steven May, Justin Sherman
Out: Brodie Smith, Tom Liberatore, Jordan Roughead

Very tempted to put the C on Heater this week. Beams will have the run of the midfield though, and I can't go past him. Sherman replaces Libba, and hopefully he can rediscover his early season form. Roughead is unlucky to miss out on a bench spot, but Dickson should snag a few this week, and Treloar takes the bench for mid cover. D4 was a tough choice. Marty Clarke and Brodie Smith are possibly wearing green, so Steven May gets the call up. Elite kicking young gun Jackson Allen was so close to getting the gig in his first AFL match. Allen's debut takes the number of Spetsnaz players to have played in the AFL this year to 39. Thirty nine!

[pothead]

Wellington Warriors Qualifying Final Team

Backs: Jed Adcock, Alex Rance, Sam Shaw, Reece Conca
Midfield: Marc Murphy (C), Scott Thompson (VC), Lenny Hayes, Jared Brennan
Forward: Taylor Walker, Robin Nahas, Brad Green, Luke McGuane
Ruck: Jonathan Giles
Interchange: Thomas Bugg, Liam Picken

Emergencies: Ryan Lester, Brandon Ellis, Dennis Armfield