Get Excited, it’s Week 8 in GV!!

Well, I’m back again to give this whole predicting the results of games thing another try. While I was a perfect 3 for 3 last week, I happened to be a smidge off with the margins, so there is still plenty of room for Clairvoyant Improvement (If Tim “The Toolman” Taylor starred in a spin-off series about changing careers late in life to become a Fortune Teller, that’s what the show would be called).  Also making it a little easier is the fact that this week’s slate features the league’s first batch of return games, so at least I’ve got some historical (7 week old) data to crunch before making my picks. Without further ado, let’s get to the predicting.

Saturday, June 20 – The Cove, Corio

South Eastern Predators (4^th Place, 4-2) vs Western Crusaders (6^th Place, 2-4)

Last Time:           Predators 18, Crusaders 14

The Crusaders came crashing back to earth last week after a 39-9 demolition at the hands of Geelong, while the Predators were blanked by the Warriors 58-0. Both teams have gone through some important personnel changes since their week 1 match-up, which makes this return contest an extremely difficult one to call. I’m taking a different approach to this pick and referring to the game as the “Tyson Garnham Sweepstakes”. If he plays, it will give the Crusaders offence the consistent big play output needed to put up a winning score. If he’s resting up in preparation for his trip to Canton and doesn’t play, the underrated Predators defence will do just enough to get the W.

Stafford’s “Tyson Garnham Sweepstakes” Prediction:    Predators 18, Crusaders 16

Croydon Rangers (2^nd Place, 4-2) vs Geelong Buccaneers (3^rd Place, 4-2)

Last Time:           Rangers 37, Buccaneers 27

Did you know that on the only 2 occasions that the New England Patriots have not won the AFC East title since 2001 (New York Jets: 2002, Miami Dolphins: 2008), that both of those teams were quarterbacked by Chad Pennington? If I was the Buffalo Bills I’d be on the phone talking him out of retirement right now. You may be wondering what this has to do with the Buccs/Rangers game (Other than Chad’s post eight shoulder surgeries throwing arm resembling both mine and Daniel Noonan’s healthy throwing arms). In short, I’m not quite idiotic enough to predict a game I’m actually playing in, other than to say that I will always out-sneak Noonan.

Stafford’s “Pennington: The Giant Killer” Prediction:                    Rangers ??, Buccaneers ??

Saturday, June 20 – Tom Flood Sports Centre, Bendigo

Monash Warriors (1st place, 5-1) vs Melbourne University Royals (Last place, 0-6)

Last Time:           Warriors 60, Royals 0

The Warriors put the Predators to the sword last week in response to their first loss of the season, re-establishing themselves as the league’s most dominant team. The Royals were shutout by the Miners 20-0, as they continue their navigation through a most difficult season. This game isn’t as much about the result as it is about the Royals demonstrating some tangible improvement from a score line perspective. The Warriors will win this game, and the Royals need to tailor their game plan to limiting the scoreboard damage and developing their talent for another season in Division 1 next year. The Royals have a bright future in this league, but big losses are part and parcel of being the new kid on the block.

Stafford’s “Clairvoyant Improvement” Prediction:                          Warriors 52, Royals 8

I’ll be back next week for some more predictions, as well as some more obscure NFL fun facts in lieu of riding the Conflict of Interest train and tipping on games involving me (Take that Scott Pendlebury!).

Speaking of NFL fun facts, Wednesday nights just got a whole heap more fun with SEN America’s weekly NFL podcast, hosted by GV’s own Richard Garraway and James Arthur. Be sure to have your download finger ready to stay up to date with all the happenings in the NFL. You can find more info here, it truly is a great show.

Click to Listen to the SEN NFL Podcast

Peace Out!