MILESTONES
100 Games
- Tom Liberatore (Lethal Vipers)
- Christian Salem (Defenestrators)
- Mark Blicavs (Puttanesca Chiefs)
- Brad Hill (Love Sparkles)
50 Games
- Bailey Dale (Love Sparkles)
- James Rowbottom (Puttanesca Chiefs)
- Mason Redman (Lethal Vipers)
GAME OF THE ROUND
There is a lot of competition this week for game of the round. It’s looking real juicy.
In the end I’ve deferred to 2nd v 3rd. The Defenestrators took care of the Sparkles last week, surpassing them on the ladder in the process. The Roughnecks, improbably, currently occupy a top two position.
The Defenestrators took care of the Roughnecks comfortably back in round 3. Both teams have four wins from their last 5 games. The Defenestrators are perhaps slightly more impacted by the byes, having lost Sinclair and Rich down back. But for the most part, both teams fair well with the byes this week. This has all the makings of a cracking content – and the Roughnecks demonstrate their mettle?
SNEAKY INTERESTING MATCHUP
Apologies to the Love Sparkles v Lethal Vipers matchup, which I’ll be watching with great interest this week. But it’s hard to go past the battle between the Taxmanian Devils and Threat Level Midnight.
This game looms large in the race for finals. The Devils had a huge win against the Vipers last week, but still surrended their 6th spot to TLM after they destroyed Pukekos and added a healthy chunk of change to their percentage.
Honestly, I’m sorta thinking I should’ve made this game of the round.
TLM are copping the brunt of the bye impact here, losing Serong and Gulden, two of their best 3 players at this point of the season (and a few others from the best 22 on top). The Devils lose the in form Luke Jackson, and several members of their backline. It’s advantage Devils on this front. Can they land a massive blow on what appears to be their chief competition for a finals spot?
STRAY OBSERVATION
Te Puke Pukekos went on a big trading spree on the eve of the season, bringing in a haul of draft selections in the process. As we approach the midway point of the season, I thought it would be worth looking at how those trades have played out so far.
Here’s who they shipped out.
Elliot Yeo to the Soldiers. He’s yet to play for the Soldiers this year.
Ollie Wines to Threat Level Midnight. He’s played 11 games for TLM at an average of 77.45
Jack Crisp to the Lethal Vipers. He’s played 11 games for the Vipers at an average of 75.09
I think we’d say advantage Pukekos and their three additional first round picks at this stage…