MILESTONES
150 Games
- Patrick Cripps (Taxmanian Devils)
100 Games
- Blake Acres (Taxmanian Devils)
50 Games
- Justin McInerney (Te Puke Pukekos)
- Adam Tomlinson (Love Sparkles)
GAME OF THE ROUND
Heading into the home stretch, the top 5 are in a tight competition for top two spots and that finals bye. Games between that current 5 will be good old-fashioned “8 pointers” – this is the first of several we’ll have over the next month. Strap in.
Games between these two always seem to wind up in the game of the round spot. Real showdown energy. Form guide goes out the window. That sorta thing. Must be the fact they’re related.
But lucky for us the form of these two heading into this one is good. Real good.
MaherShalalHashBaz are riding high after an epic triumph over the Devils, and have won 6 of their last 7. The Sparkles are back on top thanks to their upcoming opponents, and have won 5 in a row.
Both teams are coming in relatively healthy – to the point they’ll probably have capable emergencies on each line. It would be surprising if this one wasn’t great.
With both teams relatively matched in the middle, it may come down to which area of strength is more dominant. MaherShalalHashBaz possess what is perhaps the most dangerous forward line in the league. The Sparkles have an advantage down back. Will one of these lines prove the difference?
SNEAKY INTERESTING MATCHUP
The Defenestrators play all the teams around them on the ladder in the home stretch (oh, and a freebie against Pukekos). So if they’re going to climb back into the top 2, they probably can’t afford to drop this game.
The good news for them is they’ve steadied the ship with 3 straight wins. And their opponents this weekend haven’t been putting the wins on the board of late.
But the Chiefs did give the Sparkles a bit of a fright last week. What’s that word I keep using to describe them…
And fortunately for the Chiefs, Threat Level Midnight have not been able to take advantage of their rough form over the bye period – despite the monster form of Gulden and Bontempelli. An upset win for the Chiefs this weekend could go a long way to securing a finals berth.
And a loss for both the Chiefs and Midnight could leave the door ajar for the Vipers… watch this space.
STRAY OBSERVATION
League’s not doing half bad if this is the team in 8th spot.
