Games to Watch
Balanced Game of the Week
(N.M.I) Pagan Fire Eaters @ Auckland Old Gold & All Blacks
NMI has had an up & down season so far, with big wins over WSR & Bay City and close losses to Brisbane & Christchurch. They’ve done well offensively ranked 8th in the passing offense and 14th in rushing. Defensively they are ranked #6 against the Pass & 11th against the run. Their FG unit has been money this season as they are ranked #1. Auckland has proven there capability to compete at a high level in Alpha, with their only loss being to Tasmania of the Zeta Conference. Statistically the only things Auckland have going for them is their #1 Passing Defense and their 10th ranked Passing offense. They have struggled thus far on the ground and stopping the run. This is an area they’re going to need to address if they want to stay afloat but so far what they’re doing has worked for them. Both of these teams are very capable of walking away with a win. For both of these teams, it’ll come down to who can take the better advantage of the other teams weaknesses.
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Underrated Underdog Game of the Week
Guadalcanal Gunners @ Knox Nightmares
The Gunners go on the road this week as the favorites to win. GG has played virtually lights out everywhere on the field. They’ve brought solid game plans to the table and more than likely to some degree, used the criticisms against them prior to week 1 as fuel to prove others wrong and that’s exactly what they keep doing. Knox has struggled this season but they also haven’t had the easiest of schedules either. This week it doesn’t let up. They’re going up against a team that has a great defense and a great offense. Knox has a very good defense but their offense is a bit below par. They are going to have to step up offensively and score some points against the Gunners, otherwise this is going to be a very long day for them.
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Powerhouse Game of the of the Week
Cascade Cajun Crushers @ Gold Coast Vipers
Cascade has destroyed everything in their path. They are clicking everywhere within their roster. The one thing that perhaps you could argue is the strength of their schedule at this point. It hasn’t been the toughest teams in Alpha but never the less they’ve won all of them. GCV has their work cut out for them. They are going to have to play mistake free football to beat Cascade, as they’ve been about middle of the road statistically and they’ve lost 2 of their 4 games this season. If GCV can pull off an upset here, in my book, that makes them the team to beat.
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Middle of the Road Game of the Week
German Wilddogs @ Christchurch Fighting Maori
Statistically, it seems this would be 1 struggling team against another. Later in the season I expect this game will mean more as I am expecting at least one of these teams to squeak into the playoffs. Neither team has mind-blowing stats, both are 2-2, so its going to be a matter of who plays the best in the final minutes of the game because I expect this one to be back and forth through the first 3 quarters.
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Oceania Pro Alpha ‘Blitzorade’ Game of the Week
Molokai Lavastorm @ Fiji Ventures
This is another one of those times when neither team is turning heads statistically. But the sole loss Molokai has, is not in Alpha. Within the conference Molokai has played lights out and they are focusing their energy on doing the same thing this week. Adam Fletcher and company are going to have their work cut out for them as Fiji attempts to control that ML Offense and pull off a big Alpha win this week.
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Oceania Pro Zeta ‘Tostito Goal’ Game of the Week
Tasmania Tigers @ Samoa Flying Foxes
Two teams playing lights out so far this season with not a single loss on their record at this point. Someone is going home with a chip on their shoulder and a loss on their record. Both of these teams are led by great defenses and great offenses. It is almost too hard to suggest who’ll have an advantage here. But one thing is for sure, this one could be very high scoring or very very low scoring. I look for a FG to clinch it here in the final seconds of the game.
Oceania Pro Zeta ‘4th Quarter Pounder” Game of the Week
Sydney Jellybirds @ Olden Swillers
Another week, another update on the Jellybird Mystery. Early reports coming in suggest it is a jelly fish with wings. The majority of the local scientists are hunting for these so-called jellybirds to perform further research. One resident in Sydney even suggested “they taste like chicken.”
Olden has dropped just one game this season against the Gunners, and has pulled out some upsets or what some may refer to upsets against teams such as the Samoa Gangers & SIA, teams who received a lot of attention early. But OS has gained a lot of that attention from other teams. Sydney needs to improve their play defensively however, they’ve done enough to win games to this point, although they are coming off of a huge loss to Tasmania just last week. Defensively they are going to have to keep the Swillers in check, otherwise the Swillers are going to put up another big L on the record of the Jellybirds. Both teams are gunning for a top 3 spot in Zeta, the winner here, just might get it.
Balanced Game of the Week
(N.M.I) Pagan Fire Eaters @ Auckland Old Gold & All Blacks
NMI has had an up & down season so far, with big wins over WSR & Bay City and close losses to Brisbane & Christchurch. They’ve done well offensively ranked 8th in the passing offense and 14th in rushing. Defensively they are ranked #6 against the Pass & 11th against the run. Their FG unit has been money this season as they are ranked #1. Auckland has proven there capability to compete at a high level in Alpha, with their only loss being to Tasmania of the Zeta Conference. Statistically the only things Auckland have going for them is their #1 Passing Defense and their 10th ranked Passing offense. They have struggled thus far on the ground and stopping the run. This is an area they’re going to need to address if they want to stay afloat but so far what they’re doing has worked for them. Both of these teams are very capable of walking away with a win. For both of these teams, it’ll come down to who can take the better advantage of the other teams weaknesses.
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Underrated Underdog Game of the Week
Guadalcanal Gunners @ Knox Nightmares
The Gunners go on the road this week as the favorites to win. GG has played virtually lights out everywhere on the field. They’ve brought solid game plans to the table and more than likely to some degree, used the criticisms against them prior to week 1 as fuel to prove others wrong and that’s exactly what they keep doing. Knox has struggled this season but they also haven’t had the easiest of schedules either. This week it doesn’t let up. They’re going up against a team that has a great defense and a great offense. Knox has a very good defense but their offense is a bit below par. They are going to have to step up offensively and score some points against the Gunners, otherwise this is going to be a very long day for them.
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Powerhouse Game of the of the Week
Cascade Cajun Crushers @ Gold Coast Vipers
Cascade has destroyed everything in their path. They are clicking everywhere within their roster. The one thing that perhaps you could argue is the strength of their schedule at this point. It hasn’t been the toughest teams in Alpha but never the less they’ve won all of them. GCV has their work cut out for them. They are going to have to play mistake free football to beat Cascade, as they’ve been about middle of the road statistically and they’ve lost 2 of their 4 games this season. If GCV can pull off an upset here, in my book, that makes them the team to beat.
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Middle of the Road Game of the Week
German Wilddogs @ Christchurch Fighting Maori
Statistically, it seems this would be 1 struggling team against another. Later in the season I expect this game will mean more as I am expecting at least one of these teams to squeak into the playoffs. Neither team has mind-blowing stats, both are 2-2, so its going to be a matter of who plays the best in the final minutes of the game because I expect this one to be back and forth through the first 3 quarters.
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Oceania Pro Alpha ‘Blitzorade’ Game of the Week
Molokai Lavastorm @ Fiji Ventures
This is another one of those times when neither team is turning heads statistically. But the sole loss Molokai has, is not in Alpha. Within the conference Molokai has played lights out and they are focusing their energy on doing the same thing this week. Adam Fletcher and company are going to have their work cut out for them as Fiji attempts to control that ML Offense and pull off a big Alpha win this week.
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Oceania Pro Zeta ‘Tostito Goal’ Game of the Week
Tasmania Tigers @ Samoa Flying Foxes
Two teams playing lights out so far this season with not a single loss on their record at this point. Someone is going home with a chip on their shoulder and a loss on their record. Both of these teams are led by great defenses and great offenses. It is almost too hard to suggest who’ll have an advantage here. But one thing is for sure, this one could be very high scoring or very very low scoring. I look for a FG to clinch it here in the final seconds of the game.
Oceania Pro Zeta ‘4th Quarter Pounder” Game of the Week
Sydney Jellybirds @ Olden Swillers
Another week, another update on the Jellybird Mystery. Early reports coming in suggest it is a jelly fish with wings. The majority of the local scientists are hunting for these so-called jellybirds to perform further research. One resident in Sydney even suggested “they taste like chicken.”
Olden has dropped just one game this season against the Gunners, and has pulled out some upsets or what some may refer to upsets against teams such as the Samoa Gangers & SIA, teams who received a lot of attention early. But OS has gained a lot of that attention from other teams. Sydney needs to improve their play defensively however, they’ve done enough to win games to this point, although they are coming off of a huge loss to Tasmania just last week. Defensively they are going to have to keep the Swillers in check, otherwise the Swillers are going to put up another big L on the record of the Jellybirds. Both teams are gunning for a top 3 spot in Zeta, the winner here, just might get it.
GCV has a better chance against CCC than we have against the Gunners, though not by much. In any case, Knox can't qualify as underrated if we're still receiving Owner votes in the power rankings.
