British XV Finals - Week 1 Lodgement and Banter

[GoLions]

Finals are upon us! Our top 8 this year has some old faces, and some new ones. The Werewolves and the Hurricanes have continued their dominance of previous years, maintaining their positions in the top 4. However, it is the new faces that have made things interesting. After missing out on finals last year, the Dragons sit on top of the ladder, and the Steins and Bunnies have moved up to home elimination finals, as well as the Magic who are also making an appearance after missing out last year.



Fixture:

Dragons vs Hurricanes: The first of our qualifying finals features the best team of our H&A season in the Dragons, hosting the Hurricanes, who were undefeated halfway through the year, only to fall back with the other teams in the 2nd half due to injuries and just poor form in general. The Dragons have had an incredible run this year. Starting the year with a tight win over the Badgers in an extremely high scoring game, and then following that with a loss to the Owls in another very high scoring match. Since then, they have gone on to win every single game that they have played, which has resulted in them earning that #1 spot on the ladder. How were they able to do this though? Well, you only need to look at their midfield. Zerrett, TMitch, Duncan, Rocky (prior to his injury), Ebert, with backup from Crisp and Hall as well. It's nuts. The Hurricanes meanwhile had won their opening 10 games, before going on a 3 match losing streak against all of the other top 4 teams, dropping to 4th on the ladder, and losing that all important home final in week 1. But, they have proven over the last couple of years that they are a force to be reckoned with, and the last 5 weeks don't mean a single thing if they are able to perform each week. The Dragons seem to be making a statement by giving Rockliff a run in the reserves this week, in hope of finding his form of the first half of the year, but could this come back to bite them? Personally...I don't think it will. Dragons to win this and go on to hosting a prelim!

Leeches vs Werewolves: The Leeches have been one of the more consistent teams of the competition this year. This of course resulted in them winning the Rob Roy Knockout Cup Award on the weekend, which is a huge achievement! And while I'm sure they partied that night, their focus would have shifted straight to finals week the next day, with a home final against the Werewolves facing them. The breakouts of Oliver and Billings, the consistency of their backline, it's very hard to see them throwing up a poor score on any given week. And when Gaz is fit and playing, having him as captain is a huge advantage. The Werewolves however will be without star midfielders Dayne ZZZZZZORKOOOOOOOOOOOO and Patrick Cripps, which definitely puts them behind the 8 ball before the match has even started, let alone the fact that the Leeches have the home ground advantage. In saying this though, the Werewolves put up the highest score of the week last week, and it's no coincidence that this happened with Gray and Fyfe hitting some form as well, who have both struggled throughout the year. I'm quite tempted to back in the Werewolves away from home here, even without some of their stars...yep, Werewolves for me in a close one!

Steins vs Owls: The Steins are another team who have been very consistent most of the year. They did have a bit of a quiet patch for a small part, but mostly been very good. And in the last week, they were able to secure 5th spot, a home elimination final, and get to play the injury plagued Owls, as opposed to the Magic or Bunnies who would likely be a much larger threat. The returns of Gawn and Hogan over the last month have been huge for the Steins, and made sure that they were able to finish the season strongly, setting themselves up for a good finals series. The Owls, as previously mentioned, have been destroyed by injuries. Just to name a few this week they will be without Pendles, Sandilands, Christensen, Robinson, Jroo, and KK. Any team would struggle to cover outs such as that, so to still finish 8th is an amazing effort. But, their scores have recently dropped off lately, and with the Steins hosting this one, I think we will be saying goodbye to our 2016 Premiers. Steins to win this comfortably.

Bunnies vs Magic: This might just be the closest game of this first week of finals, and probably the one I'm most looking forward to. Both the Bunnies and the Magic have improved a fair amount from last year, posting some very respectable scores more often than not, and find themselves in this huge elimination final battle. The Magic were knocking on the door of the top 4 for a while as well, but were unlucky to drop a couple at the end of the season, losing their home final with it. The importance of home ground advantage in finals is massive as well, so they'll be hurting already. The youth in this Bunnies side is second only to the Giants you would think. Matty 'BTB' Crouch, Zac Jones, Isaac Heeney, Matt Kennedy, SPS, Ben Ainsworth...along with some of the more experienced players in Hurley, Murphy, Cunnington, and Ryder, this is exactly what you need to build a team that will compete for a number of years to come. The Magic's strength lies in its midfield. Sloaney, Ward, Gaff, Grigg, with support from Polec and Ellis. They were unlucky to cop an injury to Brad Crouch though, who would have been a huge asset in this game. Some of their forwards have also stood up though, in particular Cameron and Daniher, giving more support to Buddy up forward. Their defence could be their downfall however, especially if any of their big guns don't fire. Should be a great contest, but I'll back in the boys from Blackpool at home!

[GoLions]

For those in the bottom 8, feel free to modify your team each week if you want to take part in the 'Consolation Finals' set up in UF. This will have zero impact on ladder position and won't have HGA or anything, so just for a bit of fun :)

[Purple 77]

Finally, entering certain territory.

[kilbluff1985]

Birmingham Dragons

D: Matt Suckling, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Martin Gleeson ,  Robert Murphy
M: Brad Ebert, Tom Mitchell (C), Zach Merrett (VC), Mitchell Duncan
R: Tom Bellchambers
F: Josh Caddy, Josh Jenkins, Luke Breust, Will Hoskin-Elliott
I/C: Jack Crisp, Aaron Hall

Emerg: Ben McEvoy (R), Tom Rockliff (M), Mitch Hannan (F), Shaun Atley  (D)

[kilbluff1985]

Dragons have dropped Tom Rockliff he will not play  :o

[iZander]

Dragons have dropped Tom Rockliff he will not play  :o

I dare you :P

[SydneyRox]

Dragons have dropped Tom Rockliff he will not play  :o

Wow!! must be serious.... breach of team protocol?? was he out drinking after last weeks game?

[kilbluff1985]

Dragons have dropped Tom Rockliff he will not play  :o

Wow!! must be serious.... breach of team protocol?? was he out drinking after last weeks game?

nope just sick of his shower form

[Nige]

Dragons have dropped Tom Rockliff he will not play  :o

Wow!! must be serious.... breach of team protocol?? was he out drinking after last weeks game?

nope just sick of his shower form

Almost guaranteed to score like 200 and potentially even cost you the game now. Just ask Dave.

[SydneyRox]

Dragons have dropped Tom Rockliff he will not play  :o

Wow!! must be serious.... breach of team protocol?? was he out drinking after last weeks game?

nope just sick of his shower form

sounds like #tradetalk #letsmakeadeal #bunnies2018

[JBs-Hawks]

Jobe for Tom. Done!

[kilbluff1985]

sending a message to the rest of the team we don't accept piss weak efforts

and hoping he actually at a good team and cares next year

[iZander]

Def: Laird, Williams, Henderson, Salem
Mid: JPK (VC), Jelwood (C), Goddard, Newnes
Ruck: Trengove
Fwd: Petrie, Westhoff, Edwards, Towers
Util: Wells, May

Int: Dumont, Barret, Lobb, Simpson

[GoLions]

sending a message to the rest of the team we don't accept piss weak efforts

and hoping he actually at a good team and cares next year

So you'll trade him if he stays at Brisbane? Done.

[Vinny]

RIP. Riewoldt and Redpath out too this week. 

Defence: S.Docherty, J.Johannisen, Z.Tuohy, K.Kolodjashnij.
Midfield: S.Pendlebury, B.Gibbs, O.Wines, S.Thompson.
Ruck: A.Sandilands.
Forwards: J.Gunston, A.Christensen, J.Riewoldt, L.Jong.
Utilities: A.Swallow, M.Robinson.

Defence: S.Wellingham, S.Mayes T.Jonas, M.Talia, C.Delaney, K.Collins, B.Williams, J.Glass-McCasker.
Midfield: J.O'Meara, C.Guthrie, C.Ellis-Yoleman, R.Lester.
Ruck: Z.Clarke, J.Griffin, J.Ceglar, G.Nyuon.
Forwards: T.Cloke, J.Garlett, S.Lloyd, J.Redpath, P.Ambrose, T.O'Brein, A.Galucci.