MILESTONES
150 games:
| Josh Kelly |  |
100 games:
| Jacob Hopper | |
GAME OF THE ROUND
This is an interesting round with no real definitive, undeniable, blockbuster matchup. So for Game of the Round I’ve opted for a game featuring two teams with identical records.
Threat Level Midnight have come back to Earth over the past fortnight, with losses to the Vipers and the suddenly red hot Taxmanian Devils. A loss to the last season’s grand finalists can be forgiven, but the Vipers loss stings, given they loom as a key competitor for a finals spot.
Your columnist has already blathered on about how all wins for TLM whilst without Gulden and Bontempelli are gravy, and to emerge with 3 after 5 rounds is cause for celebration. It seems Bontempelli will be return to the fold as soon as this weekend as well, which will be a welcome boon. Because despite the wins, this team sits 8th in the league for points scored so far – trailing Te Puke Pukekos. It will be hard to secure 6th spot if they can’t match it with the Pukekos, let alone the Vipers.
The Sparkles have had a rollercoaster start to the permiership defence. Last week they dispatched those aforementioned Vipers with ease, registering the second highest score the round. The weak prior they could only muster a 1706, which admittedly was an improvement on the 1609 in round 3. That round 3 score was a massive drop on the 1976 they managed in round 2.
So what Sparkles outfit will we get this weekend? There are no notable outs for them – this should be just about the strongest team this team can put out as currently constructed. Their stars have delivered mixed performances in the opening 5 rounds. Xerri is well down on last season’s standard, as is Jack Steele and Tom Stewart. But they’ve been getting stellar showings from Simpkin and Greene, who has turned back the clock and is averaging a smidge over 100 so far.
Perhaps it is Nick Daicos who is the barometer. He’s either been scorching hot (two scores of 136 so far) or mediocre (a 60 and a 76 on his scorecard). Perhaps Rowan can just tune in Thursday night to see how his opponent is likely to fair against him.
Key Outs
Sparkles: Nil
Midnight: Gulden, Prestia, Coleman, Bryan
Last time these two met
Was Round 13 last season, which the Sparkles won convincingly by 308 points.
DangerGawn votes
| Errol Gulden |  | 151 |
| Tristan Xerri |  | 128 |
| Bailey Williams | | 115 |
SNEAKY INTERESTING MATCHUP
After their past 3 weeks, a claim could be made that MaherShalalHashBaz should just be permanently entrenched in the Game of the Round slot until they show they shouldn’t be.
The pre-season favourites seem to be playing exactly to the level of their opponents of late, which makes for an interesting game this week as the Vipers, much like the Sparkles, have displayed a fair bit of variance in the quality of their showings. The difference is the Vipers have lived in this space for seasons now. 1900 or 1550? Either is on the cards.
Despite the heartbreak of a post-siren point adjustment induced loss last week, MaherShalalHashBaz are cruising along. They’re getting to test out a bunch of depth in the early going, as they wait for surefire starters like Yeo and Mills to return from long term injury later this season. With just the one blemish on their record, coach Burgess can afford to partake in mini-games like “can I pick the right weeks to field Mitch Georgiades?” and “do I field Steele Sidebottom by default because he appears to have unlocked the secret to ageing?”
With several outs for MSHB, and the upper ceiling we know the Vipers are capable of, there is upset potential here. I’d feel better about the Vipers if Caldwell was back on deck (switching Sparrow out for Caldwell in the middle would make things infinitely more attractive on paper). But even without him, there are enough players capable of going big to cause problems. If the Viper lesser lights can drop 60s instead of 40s, MaherShalalHashBaz could see themselves coming down to the wire for the fourth consecutive week.
A final note on this one. Round 6 is a rare “Fremantle not playing on Sunday” round, so the Vipers won’t be coming home with the Freo Heave-Ho at the death.
Key Outs
Vipers: Caldwell, Ugle-Hagan, O’Driscoll
MaherShalalHashBaz: Mills, Yeo, Houston, Schultz, May?
Last time these two met
Was a high scoring affair. Round 18 2024 saw the Vipers fall 27 points short of MaherShalalHashBaz. Peter Wright’s paltry 24 may have been the difference, though 3 other scores below 50 (Balta, Schultz, now repping MSHB, and Henry) wouldn’t have helped.
DangerGawn votes
| Darcy Cameron |  | 147 |
| Lachie Neale | | 136 |
| Tom Green |  | 127 |
STRAY OBSERVATION
I promise eventually this mob will graduate from stray observation to “actually interesting game”. But in the meantime, just a note to acknowledge Te Puke Pukekos have won two consecutive games for the first time since the 2021 season.
They’re only 44 points behind Threat Level Midnight so far on the season. And less than 100 points behind the Vipers, who are the sixth highest scoring team.
Could this team be a genuine finals chance? A win this weekend against a Taxmanian Devils side that has scored almost 4,000 points in the last fortnight would be an almighty statement…
