After musing about it briefly over at Ultitalk, I thought I'd actually put a bit of thought into who is actually going to be in Perth at the end of April.
Flights booked already
Fakulti X & Fakulti Y - After taking home the shield last year, Fakulti are returning to their traditional even split teams this year. Whether they can go back to back is anyone's guess.
Fyshwick United - They came oh so close last year, and after smashing shit up at Share The Love, it seems they're prepped for a big season.
I-Beam - The ongoing success of I-Beam makes the Deathstar experiment seem funnier every year. Anything less than quarters would be disappointing. Not sure I'd back them in for semis though.
Chilly - Will take #1 or #2 in South.
Heads of State - Will take #1 or #2 in South.
Karma - Probably 3rd.
Firestorm - Well someone from North are gonna be there.
Sublime - Shouldn't have to explain this one.
Hot Chilly - I was going to put these guys as a 'maybe' but I think they're going to be a lot more experience and talent than Hot Chilly's of the past and should comfortably get themselves spot #3 or #4 from South.
Will have to wait until March 15th
Manly - With Barefoot's absence, that opens up a spot for a 'new' 5th place team from the East. I'm putting Manly up there as the best shot since they were part of the show in Melbourne two years ago.
Hills - The women have been, the mixed have been, but the open has never quite made the cut. Same boat as Manly, this year is their best chance so far.
Slamtown - It really depends on if they want to go or not. North will be competing with West to get numbers to Regionals and therefore a second spot via wildcard. Firestorm have said they'll only have one team, but if their second team come 2nd at Northern Regionals, that's gonna fuck up their eligibility to get on the team that goes. It's a long shot, but Slamtown could very well come in 2nd.
Fear - Their best shot is the AFDA giving West a second slot because they're hosting. I think North may get the edge in the wildcard stakes with more players competing.
Sublime B - Similar to Firestorm's predicament, they could either go even split to get the two spots and risk not being able to shift players if one misses out, or go A/B and let the B team fight their own battle.
Karma B, HoS B & Tassie Tiggers - It's gonna be a shitfight between these three to finish 5th at Southern Regionals and earn a (potential) wildcard. If I had to make the call today I'd pick HoS B, but that's because I have no idea what Tassie's team might look like.
Singapore & Phillipines - These are the two rumoured international teams making the trip. Since they aren't likely to be attending a qualifier any time soon (what region would they count as? NZ?) they'll have to wait and see if there's room for them. Affordability isn't likely to be an issue as it is surprisingly cheap to get to Perth from anywhere in South East Asia.
Sorry lads, not this time
Umlaut & Westies - these teams were formed simply to play some enjoyable open ultimate without the aim of going to Nationals. And good on them - it's what the sport needs more of.
Brisbane Barbarians - see above.
Ultimate Evolution - again, see above.
Thor - unless they have some first born children around to sell, I don't see them getting the capital together to make it happen.
GFUC - these boys lack the tournament experience needed in the open season, especially in an increasingly tough region. Give it two or three years and we'll see Geelong challenging for spots.
Roflcopter - Regionals fodder. They said it themselves.
Happy Pig - I think this team might be forming to try and get numbers towards a wildcard spot for Perth. Still, it's good to see Western Regionals actually happening this year.
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5 comments:
"Roflcopter - Regionals fodder. They said it themselves."
A lil blunt mate, but being the captain I probably can't put it any other way (^_^)
You reckon we'll get lucky at Southerns and come 2nd last like at GCC? :P
Just checked up on the AFDA policy, and if a player is on a team that either doesn't qualify or choose not to go (which is what you are talking about with Firestorm & Sublime) then that player can play with any other team in that region that is going or any other team that they have played with in the past year.
That is what is happening up here in the North. Firestorm is taking 2 even split teams to regionals, with the intent of only taking one A team to Perth.
Also, North will have 2 spots before wildcard allocations due to both Firestorm teams coming in the top 11 last year.
Yeah I got that ass about. I forgot the "choose not to go" bit.
It's still tricky with Sublime. If they have even teams and end up with both spots, they either have to keep them as is (I think 3 changes are allowed) or only take the one team.
Then again, they've said they're splitting A/B, so we can ignore all that. Looks it's between Fear and Sublime B in the West for spot #2.
Will there be a 2nd team out of North? The Pass? Thor? If not there's another wildcard, plus I reckon West are a shoe-in for the AFDA spot.
Slamtown are a no go. Best bet for second spot from the north is THor/byron combo led by badman but who knows not a lot of talk on the cards.
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