MILESTONES
150 Games
- Jake Lloyd (Love Sparkles)
It doesn’t look like the Sparkles are going to put Lloyd on field this weekend, but I had to note it here just in case that changes. 150 games! He’d be the second to reach that milestone, after fellow Swan Luke Parker.
100 Games
- Dyson Heppell (Love Sparkles)
Gee it’s a real milestone weekend for the Sparkles here…
GAME OF THE ROUND
Sometimes when I turn my attention to the round preview, I need to wade through the matchups to work out which fit where.
This was not one of those weeks.
We’ve got a barnburner here. First v Second. The only two undefeated teams go heard-to-head in what could be a Grand Final preview (though we’ve thought this before…)
The Sparkles go in with the round zero chocolates up their sleeve. A 111 from Daicos, a 78 from Lipinski, and 76 from Jordon, already in the bank. Not astronomical numbers, but handy – none of them are going to cost you, that’s for sure. It only takes one guy dropping a sub-50 to make you crave a nice number in the 70s (looking at you, Connor Macdonald).
The Soldiers appear to be heading in with a blank slate, all 22 players will take the field this weekend. Well, not so much the weekend, per se. More than half their midfield is playing Thursday night, with Dayne Zorko also in the mix. The Sparkles just have Alex Neal-Bullen taking the field. Coach Burgess will be hoping for the lowest scoring encounter of all time.
This should be a great game between arugably the two best teams in the land. Last week’s match of the round certainly delivered (commiserations to Max). Lets hope this one lives up to that very high standard.
SNEAKY INTERESTING MATCHUP
The other match-up this weekend featuring two teams in finals positions. The Defenestrators had a minor fright last weekend as some of the Vipers’ big dawgs came to life, but they did enough to bank the win, and will be craving another this weekend knowing one of their major rivals above them is coping a loss regardless.
Threat Level Midnight haven’t gotten out of first gear yet. In fact the past two weekends they’ve been travelling at almost the exact same speed – dropping a 1675 followed by a 1673.
So I guess the score to beat for the Defenestrators is a 1671.
Much like the Vipers though, they have some stars who can do real damage – and most of theirs are in form! Sheezel and Serong are putting up great numbers to start the season, and last weekend Gulden and De Goey went 125+. If all four of them can do it in the same week, they’ll threaten. And if they can tidy up those bottom 5 or so scores each weekend, look out.
STRAY OBSERVATION
Last week I predicted at least one upset from a trio of games, and that came true. Fan-tastic. Great stuff. Love it.
Time to double down. This Roughnecks v Vipers game has a similar whiff about it. The Vipers are going in with a 131 from Darcy Cameron already locked in – though it’s somewhat negated by Grundy’s 118.
A win here could really bring the Vipers season to life after a disappointing start. And a loss for the Roughnecks would raise serious concerns about what 2024 holds for them.
Eliminator
The Chiefs got the win, but their 1624 wasn’t enough to stave off elimination. The Vipers escape with their 1675, as do the Defenestrators with a 1726.
Still in it:
- Defenestrators
- Lethal Vipers
- Love Sparkles
MaherShalalHashBaz (Round 3)Puttanesca Chiefs (Round 4)- Roughnecks
- Solomon’s Soldiers
- Taxmanian Devils
Te Puke Pukekos (Round 1)Threat Level Midnight (Round 2)