First a recap of the week just gone.
Results:
Fullerton Fury 17 Erkner Razorbacks 14 (Prediction Razorbacks win 24-10)
Montgomery Wildcats 14 Brisbane Bogans 42 (Prediction Bogans win 30-7)
Black Sea Night Stalkers 9 All Voracious Wolverines 3 (Prediction Stalkers win 10-3)
New York Masons 31 RFL Boys 0 (Prediction Masons win 7-3)
Regina Rebels 3 Dallas Annihilators 10 (Prediction Dallas wins 17-3)
Texas State Fightin Armadillos 31 Charlotte Panthers 3 (Prediction Panthers win 20-7)
Well there is only one game to talk about this week and that's Fullerton toppling the Razorbacks. It was a tight game but Fullerton just controlled possession too well, this combined with some poorly timed turnovers led to the Razorbacks first league loss of the season and second ranked loss in a row.
1. Brisbane Bogans (League 4-0, Ladder 43)
There's a new top team in town. The Bogans move into the number 1 slot after the Razorbacks shocking loss to Fullerton. The Bogans themselves put on a clinical display against the Wildcats with early MVP candidate QB Igor McFarlane putting up over 400 yards passing. Season 2 recruit WR So Imba continued his impressive start with 100+ yard and a TD. Tricky game next week against Texas but the Bogans should move to 5-0 (Prediction Brisbane 35 Texas 10)
2. Erkner Razorbacks (League 3-1, Ladder 59)
The defending champions lost for the first time in season 2 and they'll be feeling nervous after losing their latest ladder game as well. A nice match up this week for them to bounce back with but they'll be treading carefully for the rest of the season. Key for them now is to get a passing game to keep up with the rest of the league. If they keep the 9th rank attack look for them to struggle to defend their title. (Prediction Erkner 21 Wildcats 14)
3. Dallas Annihilators (League 3-1, Ladder 97)
After their week 2 loss to Brisbane Dallas have been quietly working away and are sitting pretty at 3-1. QB Troy Aikman came back from suspension and had a good game, though in a 2 QB system the numbers are never going to be particularly heady (Troy being a team player doesn't mind of course!). Dallas also moved in to the top 100 ladder ranks with last weeks win over Regina and have the second best overall record in the league with 6-1. Up next are last weeks hero's Fullerton and a win here will cement them in the top 3 as well as keep the heat on the Bogans in Beta division. I still feel Fullertons roster weaknesses will hurt them long term. (Prediction Dallas 14 Fullerton 9)
4. Fullerton Fury (League 3-1, Ladder 132)
Well I'll be damned these guys pulled out a huge win last week. It looks like they have some top notch playcalling which could further be enhanced by roster improvements! As I pointed out last week there are still serious holes for teams to take advantage of and I feel like their luck may be running out sooner rather than later. A win this week against Dallas and they'll be my Alpha Div favourites and potentially move to number two. If WR Julie Jett can continue her amazing season and the Fury pass defense continues to play at its peak then they have a strong chance. At the moment though I still think they're pretenders (Prediction Fullerton 9 Dallas 14)
5. New York Masons (League 2-2, Ladder 141)
It may have been against RFL but the Masons offense finally came to life! Reapers move to head coach has seen a few roster moves as well with a new QB from the owner of the top team to partner S1 MVP Zane as well as a switch at TE. Although Zane won't be happy about the timeshare he can't complain about wins and TDs. I'm expecting the Masons to start matching the play I thought them capable of at the start of the season. A 5-2 record heading in to a week 8 matchup against the Bogans will be the goal here. The difficulty of the match up this week will depend on the severity of wine's rage quit. (Prediction Masons 24 Panthers 10)
6. Black Sea Night Stalkers (League 3-1, Ladder 126)
Stalkers offense struggled once again against Beta div cellar dwellers the Wolverines. Only once this season has this team scored more than 10 points in an outing and that was in game 1 when Fullerton were still sorting out their team. Expected a much stronger performance than this although their defense did limit the Wolves to 100 yards and also scored a safety. Week 6 is the match I'm looking forward to for these boys and until then I'll have mixed feelings about their chances to compete when it matters. jeditommy and PS3 should look to use some of the cap space available to them as well as taking a hard look at the inactive players on their roster. Remember folks you don't train, you don't play! (Prediction Stalkers 10 - RFL 0)
7. Texas State Fightin Armadillos (League 2-2, Ladder 136)
An important win over the Panthers helps Texas keep pace with the newly resurgent Masons and the stagnant Stalkers. I said last week that if they emerged from a four game stretch with 2 or 3 wins they'd be looking good and they've started well with a very solid win. They'll be looking for the upset this week but with no passing game to speak of it'll be hard for them to keep pace with Brisbane. (Prediction Texas 10 Brisbane 35)
8. Charlotte Panthers (League 1-3, Ladder 158)
It seems wine may have departed for the season after a big loss to Texas. Although the team is publicly blaming a lack of chemistry as the problem there seem to be much bigger problems than that; for example an O-Line giving up an average of 11 sacks a game. I still like these guys (it may just be because they're Beta boys now) but it's going to take hard work rather than time for them to be a force in any season. New look Masons too strong for the Panthers (Prediction Panthers 10 Masons 24)
9. Regina Rebels (League 1-3, Ladder 142)
Reginas loss this week will be softened by Erkners similar loss keeping them in range of the Gamma Div title. They play the winless Wolverines this week and a loss will mark their season as essentially over. If they can harness their decent passing game then perhaps they begin to move up. (Prediction Regina 10 Wolves 6)
10. Montgomery Wildcats (League 1-3, Ladder 150)
The Bogans were too much for the Wildcats who now have another hard matchup against the Razorbacks. At 2-5 total for the season this experiment has to be called a failure (at least with sophomore non-superstar players). It will be interesting to see how their reasonably decent passing game goes against Erkner who have struggled against the pass the last few weeks. (Prediction Wildcats 14 Erkner 21)
11. All Voracious Wolverines (League 0-4, Ladder 146)
Tough season for the Wolves and I don't see it getting any better. Lets hope they use the rest of the season to hone a gameplan which will get the competitive in season 3. (Prediction Wolves 3 Regina 10)
12. RFL Boys (League 1-2, Ladder 152)
Nothing to be said; would be nice to have them try though. (Prediction RFL 0 Stalkers 10)
Results:
Fullerton Fury 17 Erkner Razorbacks 14 (Prediction Razorbacks win 24-10)
Montgomery Wildcats 14 Brisbane Bogans 42 (Prediction Bogans win 30-7)
Black Sea Night Stalkers 9 All Voracious Wolverines 3 (Prediction Stalkers win 10-3)
New York Masons 31 RFL Boys 0 (Prediction Masons win 7-3)
Regina Rebels 3 Dallas Annihilators 10 (Prediction Dallas wins 17-3)
Texas State Fightin Armadillos 31 Charlotte Panthers 3 (Prediction Panthers win 20-7)
Well there is only one game to talk about this week and that's Fullerton toppling the Razorbacks. It was a tight game but Fullerton just controlled possession too well, this combined with some poorly timed turnovers led to the Razorbacks first league loss of the season and second ranked loss in a row.
1. Brisbane Bogans (League 4-0, Ladder 43)
There's a new top team in town. The Bogans move into the number 1 slot after the Razorbacks shocking loss to Fullerton. The Bogans themselves put on a clinical display against the Wildcats with early MVP candidate QB Igor McFarlane putting up over 400 yards passing. Season 2 recruit WR So Imba continued his impressive start with 100+ yard and a TD. Tricky game next week against Texas but the Bogans should move to 5-0 (Prediction Brisbane 35 Texas 10)
2. Erkner Razorbacks (League 3-1, Ladder 59)
The defending champions lost for the first time in season 2 and they'll be feeling nervous after losing their latest ladder game as well. A nice match up this week for them to bounce back with but they'll be treading carefully for the rest of the season. Key for them now is to get a passing game to keep up with the rest of the league. If they keep the 9th rank attack look for them to struggle to defend their title. (Prediction Erkner 21 Wildcats 14)
3. Dallas Annihilators (League 3-1, Ladder 97)
After their week 2 loss to Brisbane Dallas have been quietly working away and are sitting pretty at 3-1. QB Troy Aikman came back from suspension and had a good game, though in a 2 QB system the numbers are never going to be particularly heady (Troy being a team player doesn't mind of course!). Dallas also moved in to the top 100 ladder ranks with last weeks win over Regina and have the second best overall record in the league with 6-1. Up next are last weeks hero's Fullerton and a win here will cement them in the top 3 as well as keep the heat on the Bogans in Beta division. I still feel Fullertons roster weaknesses will hurt them long term. (Prediction Dallas 14 Fullerton 9)
4. Fullerton Fury (League 3-1, Ladder 132)
Well I'll be damned these guys pulled out a huge win last week. It looks like they have some top notch playcalling which could further be enhanced by roster improvements! As I pointed out last week there are still serious holes for teams to take advantage of and I feel like their luck may be running out sooner rather than later. A win this week against Dallas and they'll be my Alpha Div favourites and potentially move to number two. If WR Julie Jett can continue her amazing season and the Fury pass defense continues to play at its peak then they have a strong chance. At the moment though I still think they're pretenders (Prediction Fullerton 9 Dallas 14)
5. New York Masons (League 2-2, Ladder 141)
It may have been against RFL but the Masons offense finally came to life! Reapers move to head coach has seen a few roster moves as well with a new QB from the owner of the top team to partner S1 MVP Zane as well as a switch at TE. Although Zane won't be happy about the timeshare he can't complain about wins and TDs. I'm expecting the Masons to start matching the play I thought them capable of at the start of the season. A 5-2 record heading in to a week 8 matchup against the Bogans will be the goal here. The difficulty of the match up this week will depend on the severity of wine's rage quit. (Prediction Masons 24 Panthers 10)
6. Black Sea Night Stalkers (League 3-1, Ladder 126)
Stalkers offense struggled once again against Beta div cellar dwellers the Wolverines. Only once this season has this team scored more than 10 points in an outing and that was in game 1 when Fullerton were still sorting out their team. Expected a much stronger performance than this although their defense did limit the Wolves to 100 yards and also scored a safety. Week 6 is the match I'm looking forward to for these boys and until then I'll have mixed feelings about their chances to compete when it matters. jeditommy and PS3 should look to use some of the cap space available to them as well as taking a hard look at the inactive players on their roster. Remember folks you don't train, you don't play! (Prediction Stalkers 10 - RFL 0)
7. Texas State Fightin Armadillos (League 2-2, Ladder 136)
An important win over the Panthers helps Texas keep pace with the newly resurgent Masons and the stagnant Stalkers. I said last week that if they emerged from a four game stretch with 2 or 3 wins they'd be looking good and they've started well with a very solid win. They'll be looking for the upset this week but with no passing game to speak of it'll be hard for them to keep pace with Brisbane. (Prediction Texas 10 Brisbane 35)
8. Charlotte Panthers (League 1-3, Ladder 158)
It seems wine may have departed for the season after a big loss to Texas. Although the team is publicly blaming a lack of chemistry as the problem there seem to be much bigger problems than that; for example an O-Line giving up an average of 11 sacks a game. I still like these guys (it may just be because they're Beta boys now) but it's going to take hard work rather than time for them to be a force in any season. New look Masons too strong for the Panthers (Prediction Panthers 10 Masons 24)
9. Regina Rebels (League 1-3, Ladder 142)
Reginas loss this week will be softened by Erkners similar loss keeping them in range of the Gamma Div title. They play the winless Wolverines this week and a loss will mark their season as essentially over. If they can harness their decent passing game then perhaps they begin to move up. (Prediction Regina 10 Wolves 6)
10. Montgomery Wildcats (League 1-3, Ladder 150)
The Bogans were too much for the Wildcats who now have another hard matchup against the Razorbacks. At 2-5 total for the season this experiment has to be called a failure (at least with sophomore non-superstar players). It will be interesting to see how their reasonably decent passing game goes against Erkner who have struggled against the pass the last few weeks. (Prediction Wildcats 14 Erkner 21)
11. All Voracious Wolverines (League 0-4, Ladder 146)
Tough season for the Wolves and I don't see it getting any better. Lets hope they use the rest of the season to hone a gameplan which will get the competitive in season 3. (Prediction Wolves 3 Regina 10)
12. RFL Boys (League 1-2, Ladder 152)
Nothing to be said; would be nice to have them try though. (Prediction RFL 0 Stalkers 10)
