A most improbable Preliminary Final awaits us this weekend. Six weeks ago, you would’ve gotten very, very long odds indeed on the Devils making it to the Preliminary Finals. They were more likely to finish 8th. Yet here they are.
And awaiting them are the juggernaut.
Form Guide
I believe that’s what people refer to as an outlier. But what a beautiful, beautiful outlier it is. Could they do it again? Could you imagine? Are you imagining it? I think I would react more dramatically than I did when Sam Kerr’s rocket hit the net.
Though I imagine the Soldiers would respond in a very English fashion.
Last time they met…
Was way back in Round 13. The Devils put up one of their stronger scores of the year that week, an 1814. Unfortunately for them, they still managed to lose by more than 400 points. The Soldiers went huge, with 2233. That squad had 11 players drop triple figures, with 2 more in the 90s. 7 of those tones were scores of 120 or more.
So yeah, you’re not beating that. Even the Devils’ astronomical score last week would fall short.
As you might expect, the recent history between these two is awfully one sided. The Soldiers seem to particularly like going 2000+ against the Devils.
Of interest though is their clash in Round 8 of last season, which the Soldiers won, but only by 53 points. That’s sorta where most clubs are at with the Soldiers at the moment, celebrating getting close.
Path to Victory
I don’t think we need to spend too long on this. For the Soldiers, it’s easy. Keep doing what you’re doing, avoid donuts, and hope you don’t suffer injuries mid-way through the second quarter.
For the Devils, a bit more needs to swing their way. Dropping another 2000+ score would be a wonderful start. After that, they sorta just need to hope for some breaks. It’s certainly not impossible – we saw last week how quickly an unlikely result becomes reality. But the Soldiers are sturdy. They can suffer a couple of very disappointing scores and still win comfortably. A Devils win here would, very simply, be the biggest upset in the league’s history.