Round 11 Preview brought to us by Jordie
This round seems a little plain. The two cellar dwellers and the two attic dwellers play two mid-table teams. At least that does leave one match…
GAME OF THE ROUND
Taxmanian Devils vs Threat Level Midnight
The two teams with the worst history in the league (9th and 10th in total wins over the journey) have both been putting in good performances this season. They face off in an intriguing match-up: 3rd vs 4th.
TLM have scored more points. The Devils have two more wins. It is delicately poised.
Threat Level Midnight are near-locks for finals. They have ridden some waves to be the fourth-placed side this season, rapidly ascending the ladder given their 8th-place finish last season. They remind me of MaherShalalHashBaz in 2024, taking that leap from bottom four to finals with a bevvy of improved performers.
Taxmanian Devils are a lock for finals. Amazingly, they have only lost two games, and are equal with first place on wins. They are reminding me of last season’s Love Sparkles. Not quite with the top two in total scores, but winning just as much as them and every chance for a grand final berth, and maybe victory.
The match-up should be tight, and will have big ramifications. The Taxmanian Devils are the next club that Midnight are trying to chase. If Coach Rowan can orchestrate a win, a push for a top three spot becomes a reality. If they lose, the best case for the remainder of the season is standing pat till finals.
Coach Max have long been associated with the power and the blues. And this week, the power play the blues. That match up will be critical. His six players in that game include Horne-Francis, Butters and the found-form-again Cripps. Threat Level Midnight have two games where they have four players, including Thursday’s tussle and the Collingwood v WCE game, where he will be hoping his four pies can cash in on lots of easy ball.
Key Outs
Threat Level Midnight: Errol Gulden
Taxmanian Devils: Connor Rozee, Jack Viney
Last Time They Met
Taxmanian Devils 1942 defeated Threat Level Midnight 1912, round 2
An epic encounter from early in the season. TLM had six hundreds – but also Jai Culley and Mitch Owens scoring in the 40s. The Taxmanian Devils were a model of consistency – only the four hundreds, but only three didn’t reach 70, with two of those in the 60s. A game where Rowan was the favourite going in, with Josh Daicos’ 141 bye score looming large, but Max managing to turn it to his favour game by game after that.
My Thoughts
I’m predicting some big scores from Threat Level Midnight and that they will come up big here, avenging their early season loss in an even tighter tussle than last time.
SNEAKY INTERESTING MATCHUP
I’m glad the word “sneaky” is a feature of this section. None of the other match-ups shape as interesting. The predictor has a 200+ margin predicted for all bar one. So I guess we look at that one.
MaherShalalHashBaz vs Defenestrators.
MSHB have had a good season. More 2000s and more points than any other team. But twice now, they have utterly flopped, scoring in the 1700s and losing. They are gettable. Gulp. And losing this round could mean a drop to third if the Taxman salutes.
The case for the Defenestrators isn’t that hard to make. They almost outscored MaherShalalHashBaz last week. There was just one point in it. They have won 5 of their last 6, with MSHB having won 4 of their last 6. They are in form.
And match-ups may help. His bastion of magpie defenders (Maynard, Howe and Quanor) only have the eagles to contend with. Wardlaw faces Gold Coast, and the suns always have plenty of stoppages. Archie Roberts only faces the tigers and is the betting favourite to be top scorer in this one.
Also sneaky interesting is that I have decided to field Nick Vlastuin, purely so he gets another grudge match against the team that cut him. The team that has him in their team of the decade. (I played Vlastuin last time in my match-up with Paul and he was my worst on ground with 55 and hasn’t played since). The Jack Sinclair and Max Gawn factor is also technically a revenge angle, but we kinda know what to expect from that pair.
Oh and a certain player with a certain golden number will represent too. What can he get up to?
The other sneaky interesting thing about this game is that it is happening at the same time as Paul’s OKC Thunder play my San Antonio spurs in the Western Conference Finals of the NBA. I love Wembanyama (if you know, you’d understand I had to get that in there).
Key Outs
MaherShalalHashBaz: Jack Gunston, Toby Nankervis, Sam Darcy
Defenestrators: Tom Green, Peter Wright, Adam Treloar
Last Time They Met
MaherShalalHashBaz 2088 defeated Defenestrators 1626
Back when MSHB looked unbeatable and Defenestrators looked in the league of Solomon’s Soldiers, this game in round 2 was an utter destruction. Eight hundreds for MSHB, including Zorko’s 142, Gawn’s 127 (thanks) and Sinclair’s 122 (thanks). Eight scores of 60 or less for Paul and you can see how this result unfolded.
My Thoughts
I expect to win. Not by the same amount as round 2. But surely, I bounce back from a loss with a win around 150 points. If not, expect some rashness and rage trades.
STRAY THOUGHTS
How good is having fantasy football in your life? It means you can look at the Richmond-Essendon match-up, 17th vs 18th, and say “ooo, interesting, I wonder if Ben Miller will score well against them”. Games that would hold little appeal, can still give us something.
Enjoy this round folks. It’s the last sane round before the mid-season byes.