Soupnasty
Chris McKivat (8)
Halfway point and a quick report card
A
Rats: Sitting more than a game in front with a young team. Performing well across all grades. Would have been targeting finals at the start of the season, but will be resetting their goals now.
Wildfires: Used to be close to a lock for 5 ladder points when playing them, to be sitting in the top 6 at the halfway mark is a great achievement. Should be aiming to make the finals now, and no one will be excited about facing them. Recent announcements on partnerships will only make the program stronger in the coming years
B
Randwick: An experienced team sitting in 2nd place. Could be marked as an "A", if the gap between 1st and 2nd wasn't more than 5 points. In a great place to finish strong and feature well in the finals. Their next up game against the Rats is a big one for them. Lose and they lose touch with the Rats and fall back into the field.
West Harbour: Not really final contenders, but nobody expected them to be. They are improving each season and appear to be making a real effort to improve their Colts program
C
Sydney Uni: They're in the mix. Had some close losses and could easily be sitting in the top 2. For a club without juniors, on the one hand, they do well, but on the other, they rely heavily on recruiting well. May struggle when the mid-year uni holidays hit. And have lost fewer players this year to playing grade than they did last year. Pass mark at this stage.
Eastwood: Another young team who appeared to struggle with the step up to Colts from school. Have looked better recently, notably the win against Manly. However, unless they have a big improvement in the 2nd half of the year, they are unlikely to feature in the finals
Manly: Very close to a "D", however, the only team to beat the Rats this year has been very inconsistent and has paid for that by being outside the 6 on the ladder.
D
Easts: Last year's premiers have recruited even more stars this year. Despite what must need an actuary each week to pick a team within the points cap, they haven't gelled and sit outside the top 3, which is not good enough for the reputations of the players they have.
Gordon: Maybe a tough call on them, perhaps a win against Easts in the last round would have bumped them to at least a C. Last year's grand finalists have a mature team and what looks like enough players to field 5 teams. Came into this season as favourites with Easts and haven't yet lived up to it.
Souths: After an upset win over Easts to start the season, have struggled since and sit on 2 wins for the first half of the season. Any team that can beat the star-studded Easts should be placed higher than they are currently on the ladder.
E
Two Blues: Firmly last on the ladder with only 1 bonus point to their name. Would be an F except for the fact that they have managed to field 2 teams each week after forfeiting 1's games last year. Hopefully, they can keep the playing group together and finish the year with 2 full grades, and if they do, that will jump them to a "C".
F
Norths: How does a team with their location and catchment do so poorly in Colts year after year. Just 1 win (against 2 Blues) to show for the year. And only 1 win in 2nd grade and 0 in third grade. Just not good enough.
Agree or Disagree?
A
Rats: Sitting more than a game in front with a young team. Performing well across all grades. Would have been targeting finals at the start of the season, but will be resetting their goals now.
Wildfires: Used to be close to a lock for 5 ladder points when playing them, to be sitting in the top 6 at the halfway mark is a great achievement. Should be aiming to make the finals now, and no one will be excited about facing them. Recent announcements on partnerships will only make the program stronger in the coming years
B
Randwick: An experienced team sitting in 2nd place. Could be marked as an "A", if the gap between 1st and 2nd wasn't more than 5 points. In a great place to finish strong and feature well in the finals. Their next up game against the Rats is a big one for them. Lose and they lose touch with the Rats and fall back into the field.
West Harbour: Not really final contenders, but nobody expected them to be. They are improving each season and appear to be making a real effort to improve their Colts program
C
Sydney Uni: They're in the mix. Had some close losses and could easily be sitting in the top 2. For a club without juniors, on the one hand, they do well, but on the other, they rely heavily on recruiting well. May struggle when the mid-year uni holidays hit. And have lost fewer players this year to playing grade than they did last year. Pass mark at this stage.
Eastwood: Another young team who appeared to struggle with the step up to Colts from school. Have looked better recently, notably the win against Manly. However, unless they have a big improvement in the 2nd half of the year, they are unlikely to feature in the finals
Manly: Very close to a "D", however, the only team to beat the Rats this year has been very inconsistent and has paid for that by being outside the 6 on the ladder.
D
Easts: Last year's premiers have recruited even more stars this year. Despite what must need an actuary each week to pick a team within the points cap, they haven't gelled and sit outside the top 3, which is not good enough for the reputations of the players they have.
Gordon: Maybe a tough call on them, perhaps a win against Easts in the last round would have bumped them to at least a C. Last year's grand finalists have a mature team and what looks like enough players to field 5 teams. Came into this season as favourites with Easts and haven't yet lived up to it.
Souths: After an upset win over Easts to start the season, have struggled since and sit on 2 wins for the first half of the season. Any team that can beat the star-studded Easts should be placed higher than they are currently on the ladder.
E
Two Blues: Firmly last on the ladder with only 1 bonus point to their name. Would be an F except for the fact that they have managed to field 2 teams each week after forfeiting 1's games last year. Hopefully, they can keep the playing group together and finish the year with 2 full grades, and if they do, that will jump them to a "C".
F
Norths: How does a team with their location and catchment do so poorly in Colts year after year. Just 1 win (against 2 Blues) to show for the year. And only 1 win in 2nd grade and 0 in third grade. Just not good enough.
Agree or Disagree?
