Now that we’ve all played each other once, it’s a good time to look back on the year so far and see what has happened, as well as try to predict what is to come.
Highest Score
2173 – Puttanesca Chiefs VS Defenestrators, Round 2
Talk about making a statement early. After an easy win over the Soldiers week one, Mark decided to exert his authority as the back to back premier and show the league he wasn’t going anywhere. Paul has been a beacon of high scores for this league over its history, yet he was powerless against this complete performance. 11 Centurions plus one on the bench showed why this team would go big, as was seen by another 2 scores above 2100 rounds 3 and 4.
Highest individual score
190 – Lachie Whitfield (Puttanesca Chiefs) VS Love Sparkles, Round 9
Two weeks off certainly didn’t do young Lachie any harm, getting a warm up match against VFL side Carlton before resuming his AFL season in round 10. Playing off the half forward line and running through the midfield, the navy blue training cones didn’t even get close to impeding his 40 touches, 18 marks and 3 goals. 200 is an admirable ambition, and at this rate Lachie seems to be one of a handful of players that could get there.
Best win
There are a couple of contenders for best win. Chris knocking off the highly fancied Adam with a barrage of tiger tons was as unexpected as they come. Nelson scraping over the line against Greg round 1 was a surprise – especially as this year 2 coaches backed the Scourers to miss finals for the first time. However, the winner of best win is
Rico’s Roughnecks (2058) Defeats Puttanesca Chiefs (1848)
While this game doesn’t look close on paper, you need to take previous form into account. Adam was on the ropes for season 2019 after 3 close losses in a row, and up against the undefeated Chiefs. To pull this one out showed that Mark could be beaten, and also that Adam wouldn’t give up on this season just yet. Mark seems to have shaken off this loss with another 3 wins to round out the first half of the season, while Adam has dropped 2 of his last 3 to still be questioning where he fits in this season.
Worst loss
Take your pick from most of Adam’s losses for your honourable mention here. Two losses in a row by 12 points show just how close our competition is, and then lately losing to the rampaging tigers will hurt when every win matters in the position 3-7 log jam on the ladder. However there could only be one winner of the worst loss, and that is
MaherShalalHashBaz
(1826) Defeated by Puttanesca Chiefs (1819) (1827)
Once the round completed, we all sat back and took a breath. 4 of the 5 game had been decided by less than 45 points, with the closest being Jordan’s 7 point win over Mark. And then the fatal score refresh took place. The stats gurus for the AFL found two extra tackles that were laid in a Sunday afternoon game – both by Chiefs. 8 points allocated later, and Jordan was left sobbing into his West Coast premiership jumper (so you know, everything is terrible); while Mark was left gobsmacked that he had avoided 2 losses in a row. This left MSHB fighting with the Scorers and Roughnecks for 5-7 spots on the ladder, and with 8 games to go the fight is still on to avoid an August holiday.
Team by team
1st – Puttanesca Chiefs (8-1, 112.2%)
The team to beat for season 2019. Has taken all in his stride, and while there was a hiccup against Adam, is still the raging favourite to once again lift the premiership cup come the last week of August. Has the highest averaging defender and ruck, while the forward line and midfield are still peppered with potential all Australians.
2nd – Defenestrators (7-2, 103.9%)
A couple of wins by less than 50 show the evenness of this league, but sure enough the cream rises to the top when the chips are down. Paul sits outright second with a 7-2 record, with his only losses to the currently 1st and 3rd teams. Tom Mitchell is still missed in that midfield, however with 3 mids still averaging over 110, there doesn’t seem to be too much wrong with them. Highlight of the year is clearly the number 1 selection Sam Walsh and how he has integrated into this premiership threat of a team, though you wonder if he will tire come season’s end (hopefully reflective of Carlton as a whole, to give the Crows the number 1 pick, but I digress).
3rd – The Love Sparkles (6-3, 103.2%)
If you take out the beating that Mark gave him (which I think is fine to do, as Mark does that to everyone), his only 2 losses came by a total of 52 points. Greg has unearthed a solid team across the board, with 3 players averaging 100, and very few spuds being carried. This team first mentality has worked in various sports in the past (the New England Patriots come to mind, as do the San Antonio Spurs), but can it work to deliver the ultimate success in fantasy sports? Time will tell, but there is certainly a chance.
4th – Solomon’s Soldiers (6-3, 101.7%)
The Soldiers sitting second is the second most unexpected position of any team to this point in the year. The percentage of 101.7 sums up their season. They’ve been able to get the job done (a couple of wins under 50 points always help), but they haven’t been able to blow anyone away. Patrick Cripps is leading the midfield alongside Lachie Neale, with plenty of potential for big scores throughout, though they are yet to deliver on the same week.
5th – MaherShalalHashBaz (5-4, 104.6%)
Wins against the Soldiers and the Scourers who have presented headaches to other teams have been what have kept MSHB well in the finals race this year. Zach Merrett and Max Gawn have found form after a shaky start to the year, and this will give Jordan hope that the second half of the year will net a better result than the first. In such a close year for finals spots, that percentage might prove valuable when all is said and done.
6th – Shire Scourers (5-4, 98.5%)
We’re 9 rounds into season 2019, and I still can’t get a read on the Shire Scourers. They’ve had some good wins against the Roughnecks and the Sparkles, yet with a percentage of 98.5 when they lose they tend to lose big. The midseason byes will do wonders for this team with all the injuries they have, and hopefully that can help propel them up the ladder to make a 4th straight finals appearance. Zac Jones is a big out for the near future, but we learned a while ago never to rule out this squad.
7th – Rico’s Roughnecks (4-5, 103.4%)
This is the most unexpected of any of the positions at this point in the season. A breathtaking win over the otherwise undefeated Mark the clear highlight of the year, with the flip side of that being the three straight close losses that came before. The reigning highest scoring forward being ruled out for the rest of 2019 was not the news Adam wanted to hear this week, but at least his younger generation of midfielders seem unaffected. Two crucial games to come before the bye rounds, win both and finals are well alive still. Lose one or both, and plans for 2020 may well begin early.
8th – The Redshins (3-6, 92.5%)
Coming into round 9, they were where I expected them to be. I don’t think anyone saw the avalanche that was the Tigers game coming, and with the resulting 5 Tiger tons, the upset win over Adam provides the feel good story of the year. This is certainly a team you can’t field your “B” side against, and if another couple of results fall their way finals aren’t out of the picture yet (though they don’t get a chance at 2 straight wins over Adam in the same year, much to his relief).
9th – The Lethal Vipers (1-8, 90.1%)
The rebuild is well and truly on in Viper land. Several older players have been shown the door this year, and with the focus on youth and draft picks for the upcoming seasons, coach Nathan will be spending the rest of this year watching his young brigade and seeing who is worthy of moving forward with. A couple of close games rounds 7 and 8 show there is life in this unit, but more wins seem few and far between for 2019.
10th – The Taxmanian Devils (0-9, 90.6%)
A rough start to team management for coach Max, with his Devils yet to offer a single torture to any of his competitors. As with the Vipers, there have been a couple of close losses this year, but still no chance for us to hear the new team song. Harry McKay scoring 3 points on 89% game time to cost the match against Adam will still be haunting his nightmares, though it at least shows on the right day he’s no pushover. A game against the Vipers this week has us hoping this bloke named Owen will shut up for the year, and give the spoon race new life.
Predicted Ladder
- Puttanesca Chiefs (15-2)
- Defenestrators (14-3)
- Love Sparkles (13-4)
- Solomon’s Soldiers (11-6)
- Rico’s Roughnecks (10-7)
- MaherShalalHashBaz (8-9)
- Sire Scourers (7-10)
- Redshins (5-12)
- Taxmanian Devils (1-16)
- Lethal Viperss (1-16)
In a great quirk of the fixturing, Jordan plays Nelson round 20 (the final H&A round). My projections (yes, I did project every remaining game) show that both teams will be on 7-9 prior to this game, so we may well have a “win and you’re in” scenario to keep a close eye on that final weekend.
Adam is tipped to have a change of fortunes in the second half of the year, winning 6 of his last 8, while there has been no reason to expect any of the top teams to stop doing what they’re doing. The race for the spoon could be decided this week – if Nathan wins Max will be 2 wins behind, which we feel is too far, but a win to Max means percentage could be a determining factor.