Halibut preview

So over at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog they've been speculating about the revered Halibut tournament this weekend in sunny (?) Brisvegas. Not content with their preview of the teams, today I suddenly remembered that I have my own blog and I could do my own preview. I've also enlisted the assistance of my work colleague Beggsy, who knows as much about ultimate as he knows about his job, for his predictions.


Team: Plan B
Captain: Erin Wallis
Who dem?: Dingo/Firetail/Mundi rejects

Much like sterile couples in their 30s who buy expensive dogs as a replacement for children, this team will be treating Halibut as a replacement for their shattered Vancouver dreams. And much like the sterile couples spoil their dogs just like they would children, Plan B will treat Halibut like Worlds, complete with warm-ups, warm downs, tactics and a party curfew.

Simon's tip: 2nd
Beggsy's tip: 10th
Party finish: 6th



Team: iCarrot
Captain: Maylin Chuah
Who dem?: Sultry/Firestorm

With four non-carnivores on this team, they are risking an exposure to iron deficiencies this weekend. This can lead to on-field "brain farts" because according to experts, our ancestors eating meat unlocked vital proteins that led us to become smart enough to invent the wheel, use fire to our advantage, and create awesome television shows. However, Own Bed Advantage should kick in for these guys on Sunday and they'll finish strong.

Simon's tip: 3rd
Beggsy's tip: 1st
Party finish: 5th



Team: Goldigaz Revival
Captain: Mark Isherwood
Who dem?: Remnants of Eureka Goldigaz from WUCC2006

The original team was born in Ballarat, but only 3 out of the 11 players fronting up this weekend still call B-Town home, so it's really a team of nomads this time around. Traditionally Goldigaz players perform strongly on interstate turf, particularly evidenced by their inability to string three points together at Albert Park. While they will start slow due to being a while since they've played together, the strong on-field pairings of Bree & Blair, Woodley & Basil, Simon & Sezzy and Frank & in cuts will remind them all of how to play. They'll probably finish last in spirit, just like WUCC!

Simon's tip: 4th
Beggsy's tip: 2nd
Party finish: 1st



Team: Mellow Yellow
Captain: Jon Good
Who dem?: Brisbane league team

Not only did they spell it wrong, they probably can't even turn right, much like Cole Trickle in Days Of Thunder, who incidentally shared the same sponsor as this team. While an inability to turn right isn't much good on the frisbee field, they would smash Derek Zoolander in a walk-off, which puts them in good stead for the party. While there are no names on the team quite manly enough to be the lead character in a Jerry Bruckheimer film (Rafe McCawley, Herman Boone, Marcus Bennett - bonus points to whoever can name the films), their weekend should play out like Tom Cruise's career - great start, everyone wants to be them, then somewhere along the line they become a bit strange.

Simon's tip: 9th
Beggsy's tip: 6th
Party finish: 9th



Team: Pickup Team
Captain: Andrew McCasker
Who dem?: All the Nigels

I had a look at the team list and recognised zero names. The risk with pickup teams is that sometimes they'll have super-dooper imports who just haven't been noticed by club teams yet. The number of new AFDA members on that team concerns me a bit - they might be super-dooper imports, or they might be newbies who are yet to realise that despite me being 6'5", a deep cut does not result in me catching it.

Simon's tip: 11th
Beggsy's tip: 7th
Party finish: 11th



Team: Mind The Gap
Captain: Mat Ryan
Who dem?: Previous winners

Every tournament has their stalwart team - the one that's there every year, with the familiar faces, that usually win. Mind The Gap is that team for Halibut. Several recogniseable names are on the list, with plenty of Nationals experience under their belt. A squad of 18 suggests that either they'll run everyone else ragged, or they have kids and need to ensure there's players on the sideline to babysit while mum/dad are on the field.

Simon's tip: 1st
Beggsy's tip: 8th
Party finish: 10th



Team: UQ Lovers
Captain: Peter Allen
Who dem?: Uni kids

This team hasn't got Cunliffe. They'll be fine.

Simon's tip: 5th
Beggsy's tip: 11th
Party finish: 4th



Team: UQ Passion
Captain: Nathan Litzow
Who dem?: Uni kids

This team has Cunliffe. Take that for what it's worth.

Simon's tip: 7th
Beggsy's tip: 9th
Party finish: 2nd



Team: Slamtown Flatball Club
Captain: Stefan Rappazzo
Who dem?: Gold Coast

I'll be honest, I don't know a lot about the Gold Coast ultimate scene, but I do know that Stefan is quite capable of being an angry young man, so they might even take this weekend seriously. Sport in the Gold Coast is enjoying a boom with every sport ever invented trying to set themselves up with a presence there - the NRL, AFL, A-League, basketball, croquet and curling are all looking to have semi-professional clubs there in the next few years. However ultimate has jumped the gun on all of them and I predict that by August 2019 there will be approximately 2 million people playing ultimate in Surfers Paradise.

Simon's tip: 6th
Beggsy's tip: 5th
Party finish: 3rd



Team: Not Sure Yet
Captain: Peta McNaughton
Who dem?: Mix of Minx, Townsville and assorted locals

Their team name doesn't exactly bring forth visions of creativity and innovation. I'd expect this team to spend the weekend playing traditional mixed ultimate - vertical stack on O, man-force-flick on D, running a triangle drill on warm-up and looking off their women's long cuts. At the party all the guys will be dressed as Batman, and the girls will dress as Marilyn Monroe. They'll probably even be drinking XXXX, and reminding me that Queensland won State Of Origin while I look at them blankly and tell them I'm from Victoria.

Simon's tip: 8th
Beggsy's tip: 4th
Party finish: 8th



Team: The Pass
Captain: Andrew Badman
Who dem?: Byron Bay plus some locals

I can see their game plan already - Jangles catches the pull, throws to Badman who hucks to the Brothers Stone. Now that that's been exposed, they'll need to come up with something better and practice it before Saturday. I can also see Jangles doing everything he can to keep Wetnose away from Carissa Beu, who I assume is Jangles' sister and/or wife.

Simon's tip: 10th
Beggsy's tip: 3rd
Party finish: 7th



See you all Saturday morning.