WXV Mid-Season

[ossie85]

Moscow

Current position: 5th, 5-3

Best Win: Although they knocked off Sao Paulo in Round 2, I've gotta say Round 8's victory over PNL was the team's strongest. It was 5th v 6th in match where the loser would find it very hard to push for the top 4, and Moscow responded with a mammoth 156 and a 22 point victory.

Worst Loss: Spetsnaz only have the 3 losses, and 2 of those were against the current top 2 in the comp. The 3rd was against a London side they were clearly better than on paper, and the Spetsnaz will be hoping this match doesn't cost them too much.

The story: Inconsistency is the story. The last 4 weeks have had them score 124, 146, 132 and 156. I feel Nic Naitanui is the key, if Nic Nat can return to his century scoring ways, this side will be hard to beat.

Remaining fixture: The good news for Moscow is the draw opens right up for them! They run straight into Dublin right after the break, but after that play only 2 more current top 8 sides (Seoul and Berlin). If Moscow fix its consistency, they could legitimately win 8-1 or 7-2 over the last 9 rounds to give them every shot at a surprise top 4 spot.

[ossie85]

New Delhi

Current position: 16th, 3-5

Best Win: Sneaking by Seoul in Round 3 came after a dire first 2 rounds from New Delhi, they also posted a decent post-130 score, showing the kind of thing they can produce.

Worst Loss: Had a farcical round 1, with poor coaching decisions meaning they couldn't even push 100 against Tokyo. It was an early wake-up call for them!

The story: New Delhi have vastly improved its depth - proven by the fact its reserves team Mumbai are currently undefeated - but they lack some star power. Leigh Montagna has performed admirably for them, but the form of its midfielders Gaff, Bastinac and the suspended Greene, is a disappointment. They have managed to win 3 matches - against Seoul, Pacific and Cape Town - and look to have improved from last year. Although they sit 16th, they are only 1 match out of the 8!

Remaining fixture: The next 4 weeks are simply from hell. They face all 4 of last year's preliminary finalists in succession! And it's hard to find a win amongst that. The last 5 weeks are a bit better, with New York, Beijing and Wellington winnable games. I think 5 wins is a reasonable target.

[ossie85]

New York

Current position: 14th, 3-5

Best Win: In Round 3, New York arrived with an epic 150 to shock London and shoot up the ladder! Any team that can score 150 should be taken seriously.

Worst Loss: Had a slow start in Round 1, with an extrememly disappointing effort against the Pacific. This is a game they could live to regret!

The story: Despite a round 1 disaster, New York looked like an unlikely final 8 aspirant with midfielders Treloar, Liberatore and Stokes in strong form! However, the last four weeks they have been plagued with injuries and suspensions, and only had 15 players. In Round 8, Tom Liberatore scored a whopping 28% of its total :/

Remaining fixture: The last four weeks they played 4th, 5th, 7th and 1st. Next week they play 9th, a brief respite with Beijing, followed by 8th and 3rd. So times have been tough for sure! Finals look unlikely, but I imagine they will cause an upset here and there.

[ossie85]

Pacific

Current position: 15th, 3-5

Best Win: Round 2 had Pacific face off against Beijing in what shaped as a battle to potentially avoid the wooden spoon. In one of the matches of the year, the vocal Pacific crowd edged out Beijing by a point.

Worst Loss: An epic 62 point thrashing at home against Buenos Aires was very embarrasing, as the Islanders really highlighted the difference between the best in the comp, and the last.

The story: Pacific won its first 2 matches, but unconvincingly, but wins are wins and it took the pressure off them to perform. However, they have only the 1 win from its last 6 and the focus is starting to come down on them. The question is what can they achieve for the remainder of the year?

Remaining fixture: After the break they have Wellington. This shapes as its best chance for a win, because after that they have very few winning games and will have to rely on upsets. I can't see any more than 2 wins, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win any.

[Toga]

Q/Toga - what are your thoughts?

Definitely looks like a difficult fixture to end the season, but we're confident we might be able to steal another couple of surprise wins. NYR can be a bit inconsistent at times so if our team all fires as one we might be able to knock them off, while NDT are a young side, same as us, so hoping we can put up a good performance against them.

Our win over Seoul is definitely the highlight for our season I think, the disappointments are clearly Kreuzer & Taylor performing well below expectations this year after being our best two players last season. The loss against Pacific, which we would have won on neutral ground, was also a bit disappointing.

[ossie85]

PNL

Current position: 8th, 4-4

Best Win: An 18 point victory over Cairo in Round 4, and suddenly the unlucky PNL look finally to have broken out!

Worst Loss: Hard one to pick, because the Reindeers generally only lose due to the other team playing great! But last round's loss to Moscow with a potential top 4 spot on the line was disappointing, and they scored the lowest of the year.

The story: PNL entered the top 8 for the first time ever this year! But in a lot of ways it was the same old story. The Reindeers, again, have had the most points scored against them - and the 4 matches they have lost this year they have lost with scores of 142, 149, 138 and 134. Hardly embarrassing scores.

Remaining fixture: A tough draw home still, as they still haven't played the top 3 yet. I think they will need to beat at least one of them to make the finals, which is why the Moscow loss was so disappointing.

[ossie85]

Sao Paulo

Current position: 4th, 5-3

Best Win: At 1-2, the Pumas faced off against a Wolves team determined to win, and came away with 154-147 victory. A Loss here would have had people really questioning them and they came out smiling.

Worst Loss: Only managing 133 against Moscow in Round 2, and a stretched defense, and the reigning premiers were winless. But they have recovered nicely!

The story: The reigning premiers kept largely the same list that took them to a flag last year, and some were questioning that decision early on with the Pumas having particular struggles in defense. However a 5-match winning streak from Rounds 3 to 7 showed they are still a powerhouse. My question is that Gary Ablett has averaged 151.50 (or 303 as Captain), what happens if he goes down?

Remaining fixture: A dream final run, with only 2 top 8 teams left to play (Seoul and Buenos Aires) should see the Pumas make another top 4. But a slip up and Moscow could take them down. I'd back the Pumas in.

[ossie85]

Some statistics.... Top 5 game holders at each club

* No longer at club

Beijing

Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Taylor   Harry   41   3568   87.02
Betts   Eddie   37   2611   70.57
Kreuzer   Matthew   31   2870   92.58
Hooker   Cale   29   2414   83.24
Wines   Oliver   25   2168   86.72
*Guerra   Brent   25   2040   81.60

Berlin
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Wells   Daniel   42   4063   96.74
Hibberd   Michael   36   3298   91.61
Trengove   Jack   35   2608   74.51
Garland   Colin   35   2603   74.37
Jackson   Daniel   34   3023   88.91

Buenos Aires
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Cornes   Kane   44   4350   98.86
Swan   Dane   42   4843   115.31
Scotland   Heath   39   3534   90.62
Boyd   Matthew   36   3997   111.03
Schulz   Jay   34   2712   79.76

Cairo
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Hanley   Pearce   40   3682   92.05
Puopolo   Paul   28   1825   65.18
*Armitage   David   28   2529   90.32
Malceski   Nick   27   2512   93.04
Breust   Luke   27   2353   87.15

Cape Town
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Kennedy   Josh P   46   5281   114.80
Cotchin   Trent   45   5064   112.53
Hawkins   Tom   43   3468   80.65
O'Keefe   Ryan   37   3908   105.62
*Watson   Jobe   34   3992   117.41

Dublin
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Mundy   David   39   3724   95.49
*Atley   Shaun   33   2362   71.58
Selwood   Joel   25   2867   114.68
Goldstein   Todd   25   2624   104.96
Boak   Travis   25   2591   103.64

London
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
McVeigh   Jarrad   42   4367   103.98
Mayne   Chris   40   3281   82.03
Stanton   Brent   39   4005   102.69
Pearce   Danyle   39   3275   83.97
Mackie   Andrew   39   3223   82.64

Mexico City
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Ebert   Bradley   48   4762   99.21
Lewis   Jordan   47   4467   95.04
Bartel   Jimmy   45   4578   101.73
Riewoldt   Nick   45   4547   101.04
Goddard   Brendon   44   4632   105.27

Moscow
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Martin   Dustin   44   4176   94.91
Shaw   Heath   38   3722   97.95
Naitanui   Nic   35   3434   98.11
Frawley   James   35   2545   72.71
*Treloar   Adam   32   2706   84.56

New Delhi
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Podsiadly   James   34   2615   76.91
Giansiracusa   Daniel   33   2236   67.76
Mullett   Aaron   25   1844   73.76
Bastinac   Ryan   24   2071   86.29
Montagna   Leigh   23   2563   111.43
Palmer   Rhys   23   1573   68.39

New York
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
*Gaff   Andrew   33   2707   82.03
Pyke   Mike   33   2685   81.36
*Heppell   Dyson   31   2774   89.48
Dempsey   Courtney   28   2199   78.54
Liberatore   Tom   25   2686   107.44
*Birchall   Grant   25   2404   96.16

Pacific
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Elliott   Jamie   31   2220   71.61
Gibson   Sam   28   2387   85.25
de Boer   Matthew   25   1863   74.52
Mohr   Tim   25   1666   66.64
Howe   Jeremy   23   1720   74.78

PNL
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Jones   Nathan   41   3985   97.20
Priddis   Matt   39   4050   103.85
Simpson   Kade   38   3594   94.58
Rioli   Cyril   34   3321   97.68
Harbrow   Jarrod   34   2909   85.56

Sao Paulo
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Sloane   Rory   46   5010   108.91
Ablett   Gary jnr   45   6040   134.22
Minson   Will   45   4685   104.11
Roughead   Jarryd   45   4364   96.98
Houli   Bachar   45   3829   85.09

Seoul
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Dangerfield   Patrick   40   4537   113.43
Gibbs   Bryce   38   3571   93.97
*Deledio   Brett   34   3738   109.94
*Bolton   Jude   34   2847   83.74
McEvoy   Ben   33   3366   102.00
Scully   Tom   33   2510   76.06

Tokyo
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Jack   Kieran   41   4633   113.00
Dahlhaus   Luke   40   3369   84.23
Selwood   Scott   38   3825   100.66
Carlisle   Jake   38   2704   71.16
Parker   Luke   36   3239   89.97

Toronto
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Riewoldt   Jack   45   3861   85.80
Johnson   Michael   45   4050   90.00
Pendlebury   Scott   42   5260   125.24
Ryder   Paddy   34   3340   98.24
Ziebell   Jack   34   2929   86.15

Wellington
Surname   Given   Games   Points   Ave
Murphy   Marc   37   3840   103.78
Hayes   Lenny   36   3672   102.00
Smith   Isaac   32   2556   79.88
Golby   Mitch   29   2110   72.76
Lester   Ryan   26   1817   69.88

[Jroo]

Great stuff, ossie!
As you mentioned, we're looking for a strong finish to the season.

[Jukes]

Nice stuff oss!

I'd reckon 8-1 + 4th could happen, but more realistically 7-2 to make us 12-5 and get a home semi-final would be great for such a young side, especially seeing how crap our "star player" Nic Nat has been.

[ossie85]

Seoul

Current position: 6th, 4-4

Best Win: Round 1 Seoul came our firing, scoring 150 and knocking out a stunned PNL.

Worst Loss: Hard to see where it came from, but a Round 4 capitulation to Beijing could really hurt in the jostle for finals position. The 118 they scored looks like a fluke though, with no other score below 131.

The story: Not many people rated Seoul at the start of the year, and I had tipped them to slump towards the bottom 4 as they aggressively chased draft picks. But they have drafted smartly, and with a player like Dangerfield, you can not underestimate them. They are a chance of making there first final series ever.

Remaining fixture: The problem for Seoul is that over the last 9 matches they have no guaranteed victories. Everyone of it's last 9 opponents has the capacity to score 150+, so they will need to lift its game. 5 wins would bring them to 9-8 for the year, which may not be enough, they may need 6 wins.

[Justin Bieber]

Awesome reads so far Oss! Just caught up on them today.

Agree we have been unlucky but some of the losses we could have scored more to get us in there. Certainly need to snare a win against one of the current top three if we want a shot at finals for the first time in history!

[Ricochet]

Amazing stuff Oss, awesome read. Hopefully we can beat your prediction of 5 wins for the year

[CrowsFan]

Nice write up of the Pumas ossie, but please don't even suggest GAJ goes down injured!! Fair to say he is carrying this team a lot more than he did last year as others just aren't meeting the required standards at the moment. Hopefully they will find some form in the back half of the season :)

Scary thought for the others that I have so many under performing, yet still in the top 4 ;)

[Nige]

Nice write up of the Pumas ossie, but please don't even suggest GAJ goes down injured!! Fair to say he is carrying this team a lot more than he did last year as others just aren't meeting the required standards at the moment. Hopefully they will find some form in the back half of the season :)

Scary thought for the others that I have so many under performing, yet still in the top 4 ;)

Back in your box, Honey Fan.  :P