WXV: Beijing Thunder

[Toga]

Just to make trade talks easier, here is how our current list sits position-wise.

Defenders:
C.Hooker, H.Taylor, M.Jaensch, J.Thurlow, T.Varcoe, S.Mayes, P.Davis, T.Jonas, M.Talia, L.Brown, D.Howe, T.Clurey, A.Carlile, T.Richards, C.Shenton

Midfielders:
O.Wines, L.Neale, L.Shiels, J.Caddy, J.Polec, T.Miller, J.Aish, M.Weller, M.Jones

Rucks:
B.Grundy, M.Kreuzer, C.Wood

Forwards:
T.Bell, E.Betts, K.Lambert, C.Petracca, T.Broomhead, S.Gray, B.Kennedy, A.Black, J.Stewart, D.Stanley, C.Dawes, M.Harvey, T.Pears,

Rookies:
Z.Webster, J.Ellis, R.Smith, B.Preuss, M.Karpany, Ja.Hunt

[Toga]

One thing I was surprised by when compiling that: only three of our senior players are yet to play a game in 2015!

Petracca (LTI), Mitch Harvey and Tayte Pears

[Toga]

Round 1: Toronto (132) d. by  Beijing (137) 5. E.Betts (156) 4. O.Wines (130) 3. T.Bell (115) 2. J.Polec (113) 1. C.Hooker (106) Round 2: Beijing (149) d. by Dublin (184) 5. C.Hooker (133) 4. J.Caddy (132) 3. B.Grundy (114) 2. L.Neale (108) 1. O.Wines (105) Round 3: Mexico City (129) d. by Beijing (137) 5. L.Neale (170) 4. C.Hooker (114) 3. T.Broomhead (108) 2. B.Grundy (98) 1.  H.Taylor (94) Round 4: Christchurch (140) d. Beijing (122) 5. T.Bell (143) 4. C.Wood (123) 3. H.Taylor (114) 2. C.Hooker (109) 1. B.Grundy (91) Round 5: Buenos Aires (113) d. by Beijing (138) 5. L.Neale (145) 4. H.Taylor (131) 3. B.Grundy (119) 2. E.Betts (113) 1. J.Thurlow (102) Round 6: Beijing (144) d. London (143) 5. T.Bell (143) 4. L.Neale (133) 3. E.Betts (117) 2. M.Jaensch (110) 1. J.Thurlow (104) Round 7: Cairo (116) d. by Beijing (138) 5. E.Betts (134) 4. L.Shiels (121) 3. J.Thurlow (119) 2. L.Neale (107) 1. T.Miller (98) Round 8: Beijing (130) d. by Rio de Janeiro (146) 5. L.Neale (141) 4. C.Hooker (115) 3. J.Caddy (113) 2. O.Wines (100) 1. L.Shiels (87) Round 9: Moscow (153) d. Beijing (129) 5. L.Shiels (124) 4. O.Wines (123) 3. J.Caddy (98) 2. B.Grundy (93) 1. T.Bell (81)

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Round 10: Cape Town (132) d. by Beijing (137) 5. H.Taylor (137) 4. O.Wines (124) 3. B.Grundy (105) 2. J.Caddy (95) 1. L.Neale (94) Round 11: Beijing (139) d. by Berlin (158) 5. L.Shiels (126) 4. J.Caddy (121) 3. L.Neale (117) 2. T.Broomhead (102) 1. C.Hooker (101) Round 12: PNL (155) d. Beijing (135) 5. L.Shiels (124) 4. L.Neale (109) 3. O.Wines (96) 2. E.Betts (92) 1. M.Kreuzer (92) Round 13: Beijing (137) d. by Seoul (149) 5. O.Wines (145) 4. L.Shiels (121) 3. M.Kreuzer (100) 2. C.Hooker (85) 1. H.Taylor (83) Round 14: Beijing (136) d. by Tokyo (153) 5. J.Caddy (171) 4. T.Miller (132) 3. T.Bell (108) 2. L.Neale (97) 1. T.Varcoe (96) Round 15: Beijing (131) d. by Pacific (139) 5. C.Hooker (128) 4. B.Grundy (108) 3. O.Wines (105) 2. K.Lambert (103) 1. J.Caddy (96) Round 16: Beijing (132) d. by New York (141) 5. J.Caddy (140) 4. M.Kreuzer (111) 3. L.Neale (110) 2. K.Lambert (86) 1. T.Miller (85) Round 17: New Dehli (112) d. by Beijing (147) 5. L.Neale (123) 4. J.Caddy (121) 3. C.Hooker (106) 2. M.Kreuzer (101) 1. S.Gray (98)

[ossie85]

Great count Toga, can't count though :P

[Toga]

Great count Toga, can't count though :P

Here comes the results ;)

[Toga]

2015 Best and Fairest Count

Fifth Place - Liam Shiels (24 votes)

After a few years in the WXV wilderness where he dropped off the map a little, Liam Shiels returned to form this year in style, posting career-best numbers. Averaging 98.6 points per game, Liam ended the season as our second highest-averaging midfielder, with his 5-week hot-streak between rounds 5 and 13 a highlight for him, hitting the 120+ point mark on 4/5 occasions. Amazingly Liam polled his 24 votes across only 6 WXV matches, at a huge 4 votes per game - however this highlights that consistency is still a key factor that he will have to work on ahead of next year to take his game to the next level.

Fourth Place - Oliver Wines (26 votes)

Our reigning best and fairest winner, Ollie had a bit of a disappointing year by his standards, mainly due to injury, but still finds himself among our better players for the year. Slightly down on his output from last year, but still at a fantastic average of 97 points per game, Oliver was our captain for most weeks over the season - a solid burden for a player in only his third year of WXV footy! The highlight of his season was his 145 point performance in our Round 13 loss to Seoul, however a dislocated wrist and then later a dislocated shoulder ended his season early, and he managed only 13 appearances for the year. Hopefully Ollie can get his body right and play a big part in a push for finals footy next year.

Third place - Cale Hooker (27 votes)

Another big improver for us this year, Cale Hooker was able to elevate himself from the level of consistently-scoring starter to a bona-fide premium defender this season. Averaging a career-best 92.1 points per game, Cale became the cornerstone of our backline after our high profile recruit Matt Jaensch went down with an ACL early in the season. Hooks scored over 105 points on seven occasions this year, and his ability to go big was highlighted by his 133 point performance against Dublin in Round 2. He has been incredibly durable and very consistent over the last few years so we hope he can continue to take his game to the next level in 2016.

Second place - Josh Caddy (31 votes)

A fantastic 2015 season has seen Josh increase his average by almost 20 points per game, from a respectable 77 average as a young midfielder/forward last year to a 96 average playing purely in the midfield this year. Josh really started to hit his straps around midway through the season, a hot streak of form saw him average close to 115 points per game across a seven-round stretch starting with our Round 11 defeat to Berlin. His season was highlighted by a 171 point performance against Tokyo which was the highest individual score by any of our players this year. We hope he can elevate himself to a premium-level midfielder next year and challenge Ollie Wines for the captaincy!

And finally, the winner of the Beijing Thunder 2015 Best & Fairest Award....
First place - Lachie Neale (41 votes)

Congratulations to young Lachie Neale who is the winner of our B&F for 2015! Trusted with the captaincy at stages during the year when our regular captain Ollie Wines was injured, Lachie really pushed himself to the next level in 2015. After a few years of threatening to break out into the premium category, Lachie elevated himself to the next level, breaking the 100 points per game average for the first time in his career. A very consistent performer, polling in 12 out of his 17 games during the WXV season, Lachie also put out big scores on a few occasions this year, highlighted by his best-on-ground 170 points in our upset win over premiership contender Mexico City. One of the core members of our young midfield brigade, we are hopeful that Lachie can continue his upwards improvement and take the club to our first finals appearance since rebuilding.

Congratulations Lachie!

[Toga]

And here is the final leaderboard for everybody to take a look at:

Leaderboard:
1. L.Neale (41)
2. J.Caddy (31)
3. C.Hooker (27)
4. O.Wines (26)
5. L.Shiels (24)
6. B.Grundy (18)
7. T.Bell (17)
=E.Betts (17)
8. H.Taylor (14)
9. M.Kreuzer (10)
10. T.Miller (6)
11. J.Thurlow (5)
=T.Broomhead (5)
12. K.Lambert (4)
=C.Wood (4)
13. M.Jaensch (2)
=J.Polec (2)
14. T.Varcoe (1)
=S.Gray (1)

[Purple 77]

Outstanding work Toges!

Totes nailed the prediction ;)

Should have pursued Hooker a little harder in the last trade period  :-\ I think I did ask about him at one stage.

[ossie85]

Looks great Togs

[Toga]

Thanks guys! :)

I definitely valued Hooker as a consistent 80ish performer last year and can remember a few enquired about him... But didn't expect him to improve as much as he has this year! Would be a bonus if he got D/F ;)

[Hellopplz]

Sensed Neale had it in the books. Nice to see Hooker going top 3, certainly started with a bang this season.

With Neale, Caddy, Wines and Shiels all top 4, the future is certainly bright for them 8).

[Toga]

  SHANGHAI STORM - 2015 WXV RESERVES PREMIERS! 

Congratulations to our reserves side the SHANGHAI STORM on winning the 2015 WXV Reserves Premiership. It has been a remarkable turnaround over the past 12 months, which has seen our reserves go from a 17th place finish in 2014 (with 829 points for the season) to premiers this year, scoring 1905 points across regular season games. TOM JONAS has been recognised for his standout performance on the day, winning the best on ground medal.

Yuzawa Yakuza (10.9.69) lost to Shanghai Storm (18.9.117)

Best
Yuzawa: Nil
Shanghai: Thomas Jonas, Touk Miller, Daniel Howe

The Premiership Players:
AARON BLACK
BEN KENNEDY
THOMAS JONAS
JAMES STEWART
LUKE BROWN
CAMERON WOOD
TOUK MILLER
DANIEL HOWE
TAYTE PEARS
TED RICHARDS

And the Premiership Coach:
TOGA

[Toga]

2015 Off-Season: Trade Period 1

Trade 1: APPROVED
Beijing give: E.Betts + S.Gray + M.Weller
Mexico City give: A.Christensen + T.Hunt

Trade 2: APPROVED
Beijing give: T.Miller + Pick 25
Toronto give: B.Lennon

Trade 3: APPROVED
Beijing give: L.Shiels + T.Varcoe + Pick 6 + Pick 61
Seoul give: B.Ellis + J.Jansen + Pick 8

Trade 4: APPROVED
Christchurch give: D. Zorko + B. Frampton + N31
Toronto give: R. Griffen + C. Ellis + B. Newton + N26
Beijing give: M. Kreuzer + T. Hunt + J. Stewart

Christchurch get: R. Griffen + C. Ellis + N26
Toronto get: M. Kreuzer + T. Hunt + J. Stewart + B. Frampton + N31
Beijing get: D. Zorko + B. Newton

Trade 5: APPROVED
Beijing give: T.Broomhead + P.Davis
NDT give: B.Hill

Trade 6: APPROVED
Beijing give: C.Shenton
NDT give: C.Beams

Trade 7: APPROVED
Beijing give: C.Hooker + T.Bell + N8 + B.Newton
Moscow give: C.Ward + J.Jenkins

Trade 8: APPROVED
Beijing give: J.Jansen + C.Beams + N44
London give: H.Lumumba

Trade 9: AWAITING APPROVAL
Beijing give: C.Dawes
Beijing receive: Pick 50 + Pick 76

[Toga]

2015 Off-Season: Senior List Update

Defenders:
H.Taylor, M.Jaensch, J.Thurlow, H.Lumumba
M.Talia, T.Jonas, L.Brown, T.Clurey, A.Carlile, T.Richards, T.Pears

Midfielders:
C.Ward, O.Wines, L.Neale, B.Ellis, J.Caddy, B.Hill
J.Polec, J.Aish, S.Mayes, M.Jones

Rucks:
B.Grundy
C.Wood

Forwards:
D.Zorko, A.Christensen, K.Lambert, C.Petracca
B.Lennon, J.Jenkins, A.Black, B.Kennedy, D.Stanley, C.Dawes

[Toga]

Post-Trade Period 1 Update

With the conclusion of the first trade period overnight, it's time to have a look at how the team is shaping up ahead of the drafts! After focussing on building our depth at the end of 2014, for the first time since beginning our rebuild a couple of years ago we have been able to recruit a few big-name recruits this year which is very exciting!

We would like to welcome Callan Ward, Brandon Ellis, Allen Christensen, Dayne Zorko, Bradley Hill, Ben Lennon, Heritier Lumumba and Josh Jenkins to the Thunder!

After struggling to field a competitive forward line at times this year, it was a big goal of ours to improve our forward star power heading into next year, which lead us to targeting Zorko, Christensen, Lennon and Jenkins. We also identified the need for another star midfielder, and are stoked to welcome Cal Ward who will join our leadership group next year!

Our team and depth chart now look something like this:
BEST XV:
D: H.Taylor, M.Jaensch, J.Thurlow, H.Lumumba
M: C.Ward, O. Wines, L.Neale, B.Ellis
R: B.Grundy
F: D.Zorko, A.Christensen, K.Lambert, C.Petracca
IC: J.Caddy, B.Hill

RESERVES:
D: M.Talia, T.Jonas, L.Brown, T.Clurey, D.Howe, T.Richards, T.Pears, A.Carlile, R.Smith*
M: J.Polec, J.Aish, S.Mayes, M.Jones
R: C.Wood, B.Preuss*
F: B.Lennon, J.Jenkins, B.Kennedy, A.Black, D.Stanley, M.Karpany*, J.Hunt*

DELISTINGS: Z.Webster, J.Ellis

The above leaves us with 33 players on our senior list and four players on our rookie list. We plan to use the following picks in drafting:
Senior list: N50, N76, N80, PSD5 and three supplementary draft picks at the end of the national draft.
Rookie list: R5, R23

So there you have it! That's our first trade period in a nutshell. How do you think we went?