Off-season project number two: trying to come up with a way of capturing head-to-head histories between clubs.
This has been an illuminating exercise so far, and I’ve noticed several things of varying degrees of intrigue whilst doing it.
Some of my favourites are captured here.
Like this sequence of tight games between the Defenestrators and the Sparkles during the 2020 and 2023 seasons.
Oh, and this run between them and the Roughnecks.
This surprisingly long run of mostly tight games between the Vipers and the Sparkles… with an almighty tank job in the middle of it.
The Vipers somehow being one of the only clubs with a winning record against the Chiefs. And a draw!
The Sparkles and MaherShalalHashBaz have a distinct pattern going on.
A run of tight results between the Sparkles and Roughnecks in recent seasons.
A bit similar to this run of results they also had with Te Puke Pukekos.
MaherShalalHashBaz and the Soldiers only do streaks.
The then newly competitive Soldiers finally get over the hump against the Chiefs in 2022.
The Chiefs lost to Te Puke Pukekos the first time they played, and then decided to never lose to them again.
The Chiefs and Threat Level Midnight had a very competitive 2016 season.
The Roughnecks win the one that matters against the Soldiers in 2019.
The Devils and Midnight have a very underrated history of gripping contests. Only 3 of their matchups, ever, have had a margin greater than 100 points.
