Die Verdammten 15 Toledo Tigers 26

Toledo Tigers sit on top of the NC East with Die Verdammten two games behind. Realistically, The Verdammten must win this to have a realistic chance of winning the division but the Tigers seem to be mounting a fantastic challenge to take the Verdammten's title this season. The Verdammten seem to be really struggling against the better teams in Thunder 1:1 and the Tigers fit that description. As for the Tiger's themselves, they don't seem overly impressive but a steady performance most weeks can work wonders. Expect the Tigers to win this game and their division, whilst the Verdammten should be able to exploit their easy schedule in the last few weeks to challenge for a wildcard spot.

Severnside Cardinals 0 Deflators 38

Deflators should have an easy time of it this week, as their unbeaten season will continue. They have seen off more accomplished teams than cardinals with ease, and have only found the Patriots challenging in the league. They will still be keeping an eye over their shoulder with Inbhir Narann just one win behind them but if they can perform as well in the second half of the season as the first then the AC West title should be theirs. Severnside Cardinals, however, are in a group of around six teams that have a realistic chance on paper of claiming the second wildcard spot. This loss will leave them on 4-5 and pretty much end their season.

Ville Vikings 12 Inbhir Narann 42

This is pretty much as the game before but this time it is the team challenging Deflators for the AC West expected to win against a team that will also see their realistic chance for a wildcard spot evaporate with this loss. Narann are battling hard to stay with Deflators and this game will see them do just that. One game is all that separates them but it will not be easy for Narann to overhaul the undefeated Deflators. This week will just be about making sure the gap doesn't widen. As for Ville Vikings, they are having an average season, with good results and bad. Their win over Xu Da is the highlight so far and although they have been competitive in some of their defeats the defeats have been too regular. I don't see this changing in this game and like The Cardinals, this may be seen as the game when their challenge for the play-offs finished.

Hucknall Broncos 72 Ramsey Raiders 17

Hucknall Broncos are in the weak NC West and have dominated it for a few seasons now. They were almost guaranteed the division before the first ball was kicked this season, and every game that goes by brings the inevitable a little closer. Their only loss this season was at the hands of Basterds and although that result would have been embarrassing (47-13 @ Broncos), they have made up for it with impressive wins over Fraggles (pre-bot), Pirates, Tigers and Verdammten. There current record is 7-1 and they may find themselves with home-field advantage throughout the play-offs. Ramsey Raiders have been mainly concerned with trying to avoid relegation this season. Five wins should see them do that, so far they have three. They have two games left against The Green Machine and one against Cheese, none of the others seem winnable and after recent results the games against The Machines will be tough. In short they may need a win against an unlikely opponent but it won't be in this game. Expect the Raiders to finish 4-12 and hoping it's enough.

Bison City Nightcrew 41 Steelers 16

Bison City Nightcrew suffered one of the biggest shocks of the season last week, being beaten by The Green Machine at home. They should bounce back and defeat Steelers without much ado. Their division title may now be in question, even their play-off hopes but it is far too early for them to think about failure. If they can workout what went wrong last week and get back to impressive displays then the season will go beyond week 17. As for the Steelers, their season is looking more like a safe one and they should move from 3-5 to 5-7 over the next few games, which should be enough to see them avoid relegation. They can beat weaker teams but can't beat stronger ones and yet don't seem to play many in the middle category. This week they play a stronger one.

Budapest Wolves 26 Xu Da 24

Both teams in this game need to win it. For the Wolves it will keep them in the play-offs hunt, or even the chase for their division. They have been under performing so far this season, apart from their destruction of the Alligators. It almost to a point where they give the impression that some games they 'choose' not to win but can match anyone on their day. Xu Da on the other hand are atop of the AC South already, but with a 5-3 record and with Gaming sharing that record and Vikings just a game behind Xu Da can't afford many slip-ups. They seem, like Budapest, an inconsistent team, and difficult to predict. The two afore mentioned division rivals have both beaten Xu Da this season, yet in their last game they beat Squales by 52 points. This could go either way for two teams that need a win.

Flow Gaming 124 Dayton Tornados 0

Flow Gaming play Dayton Tornados, as Dayton are bot Flow Gaming will win. it'll help their PD and may seem them overhaul Xu Da at the top of the AC South.

Totoras Patriots 20 M. Divers 48

Totoras Patriots are a team underperforming severly at the moment. They have had a tough run of matches and that'll happen again here. Patriots don't lose to weaker teams but the better ones seem to have an edge at the moment. Indeed if they had scored ten more points in each game they would be 6-2 not the 2-6 they find themselves at. One of the games they would have lost either way was against Divers, a bruising 31-7 defeat at home and I don't see things improving for the Patriots this game. The Brightside will be that this is the last game in a run that has pitted the Patriots against play-off strength opposition. They should finish the season with at least 7 wins, avoiding any relegation fears. Next season they'll be a threat! Talking of threats M. Divers are looking very strong after a one game wobble early in the season. That loss was a ten point loss against the Narann, other than that their closest game was a twenty-four point win over the Patriots. Divers won't want it that close again! They have a tough run-in though and with them and Basterds sitting on 7-1, it could easily go either way for the division and at this stage a wildcard place isn't yet guaranteed.

PGI Andorre Solutions 0 Basterds 96

Basterd are fighting M. Divers for the NC South, and this is one of those games that you love to play when your in that predicament. An almost guaranteed win with a chance to add significantly to your PD. PGI are not having an easy time this season and look certain to be involved in relegation either directly or at least play a relegation game. This match wll most likely see them battered.

Pittsburgh Steelers 14 Wild Thangs 40

Pittsburgh are also having a torrid time. With only one win over a non-bot opponent, that win came against the Raiders. I don't see this changing here. Wild Thangs currently lead the AC East and nothing here looks like that will change this week. Their main weakness is a general lack of ability to dominate weak teams other than the Raiders but they can beat stronger teams. I expect a safe win but it may be a little closer than perhaps it should be on paper.

The SQUALES of Beach 45 Jac Team 17

The SQUALES have an impressive two game lead over the Wolves in the AC North and they could possibly increase that lead this week. The division is still on a knife-edge for SQUALES but this week they can relax with an easy win over inferior opposition. Jac Team are 1-7 and relegation is a real possibility for them. It's hard to see where they can get more victories from apart from against their one bot opponent. If panicking helped it would be a good time to start!

Chesterton Cheese 3 The Green Machine 36

Chesterton's position at the moment could be described as a relegation favourite if it weren't for them still having a couple of games against bot teams. As it is they will still have to rely on a little good fortune to avoid the drop. The Green Machine were also in the that boat until the last three results came in for them. A 48 point shut-out of Cheese, followed by a very respectable 16-3 loss to Tigers, then the shock of a 9-0 win over the play-off tipped Nightcrew. Next season could be a very interesting one for the unfancied Machines. This season is not going to be a struggle to avoid relegation as was originally thought by many but it also won't involve thoughts of reaching the play-offs. This game should be a strong win for the Green Machines and many will be keeping an eye on there future results this season to see just how well they are progressing.

Parma Horses 23 Wolflings 44

Parma Horses head coach, Monzter_Machine hasn't been seen for over three weeks, sparking rumours about the future of this club. The Horses have been struggling all season and their only wins so far have come against fellow strugglers, Jac Team and P-TOG-. This game is one of the easiest two they have left but without the proper preparation in goes from difficult to almost an impossibility for them to get anything from this game, a relegation match seems almost certain at this moment. For Wolfings, they're on 3-5 but have four things in their favour. Firstly, they are yet to be really taken apart by any team they've played. Secondly, they seem to be turning a corner in performances in general. Thirdly, they've recently been acquiring good new players. Fourthly, they have a lot of weaker opponents still to come. It looks like they will end up safely mid-table this season, in fact it is just about feasible that they will become more involved in a wildcard spot, or even a division title race. It may be too late for either of those two possibilities to actually result in fruition but it's a lot better than it looks at the moment. If nothing else, like The Green Machines, it will be worth seeing what happens in the rest of the season if only to gauge them for the new season, starting with just how easily can they dispose of Parma Horses.

Shropshire Swifts 13 UNTOUCHABLES 21

Two teams both looking to double the number in their wins column. This game is fairly unpredictable given that neither team is performing well at the moment. In the end The Swifts haven't scored in their last four games and are away, so I think UNTOUCHABLES are more likely to win. In the end though, Both teams will need to improve a lot to avoid relegation matches. But both have good enough squads to stay up when they play those matches. There are definitely worse teams than these two in the league, but not many are performing as badly.

Great stuff.

I wouldn't count the Deflators as having won their division yet. They have a one game lead and only 81 PD lead. That one game and PD is not big when you consider that the Deflators have Basterds and Divers to go through and one more game against Narann, this time at Narann's home.

Even if we assume that the Deflators beat both Divers and Basterds, two teams Narann doesn't have to play going forward and both that he beat, the 81 PD advantage could be non-existent as Narann should make up big points both of those games.. That means the game played at Narann's house between these two will most likely decide the division.

I put it at a coin flip.

Great write-up, thanks for that!!

Thank you for you comments. Please feel free to disagree with my predictions or interpretation of how results will effect the play-offs etc.

I will try to keep this a regular feature from now on. If anyone else want to do this column at any time, including next weeks games just leave a comment in the forum. First come, first served basis seems easiest. I would love for this to be done by several managers over each season, though I realise a lot of managers wouldn't have the time to it.

It took me about an hour and I deliberately didn't go into great depth about tactics and rosters as it would be too time consuming and potentially unfair if I ended up scouting opponents for different teams!

Finally, please don't be upset if I seem to insult your team, or your chances. It is only my opinion and I am often wrong!

I am glad that I am on a bye this week then

But seriously, absolutely great write up! Loved reading it!!

excellent write up, and all seems very fair to be honest. Whilst at best I am heading for a third straight 7-9 season, I am happy with the improvements my team is bowing, this was always going to be a slow building project but my team overall is a lot more stronger each year.

I am not got to beat Bova's boys, but I am hopefully going to perform better each season against them, these games for me are more about testing and learning about my team and looking at what they do and incorporate some within my game plans.

Edit to say thanks to SMOKERTEER for the efforts here

great work smoker

Good work and thanks for taking time for this.

You may have ruled me out way to soon. I know I'm not favourite to make any of it but I should be able to get another 5 wins or so which might me enough

Your team is improving greatly as evidenced in the close game you played against the Deflators. Had you pulled off the upset I would be inclined to agree with you.

Here's the problem, Pirates, Wolves, and Xu Da have a game and PD on you for final WC. Wolves and Xu Da have easy schedules making this tough. If you lose to Wolves you will be down 2 games and large PD, in effect a 3 game deficit and that will be too big a mountain to climb in my opinion.

This is a must win game if you want to stay reasonably alive in the WC race. Perhaps worthy of Game of the Week status in Thunder, hint, hint.