National League Predictions Week Eight

National Central

Merseyside Nighthawks vs. Crewe Railroaders

Merseyside are enjoying a fine start to their National Division campaign, going 2-0 with a 39-7 win over Shropshire and an impressive 65-0 rout of Lincolnshire. Their 1-9 season last year is far behind them and the rookies from that season have gained much needed experience and clicked as a team unit.

Crewe meanwhile are sitting at 1-2 with defeats to Leicester and Staffordshire being propped up by a win against the Surge the week after. They’re going to struggle against Merseyside’s option offence and the match up with the Nighthawks’ quick receivers is going to be a nightmare for them.

Merseyside Nighthawks to win by 5 scores or more

Leicester Falcons vs. Lincolnshire Bombers

Lincolnshire’s struggle with injuries this year, including their starting quarterback, have seen them somewhat regress from the impressive season they had last year. But with the increased competition in the division this year it will be tough for the Bombers to bounce back from their 0-4 record.

Leicester meanwhile have struggled to match up with the division’s powerhouses themselves, with their only wins coming against Crewe and Staffordshire, with losses to Manchester (60-0) and Chester (37-0). If they want to turn their season around they must learn to score on the top end teams in the League. They should have enough to take down a beaten up Bombers side though.

Leicester Falcons to win by 2 scores 

National North

DC Presidents vs. Gateshead Senators

One of the games to watch in the National Division this year. DC are flying high on 2-0 at the top of the North this year whilst Gateshead aren’t far behind, the tie game against Glasgow holding them back on 2-0-1.

This is the first time these two North East teams have met but the game will no doubt be played like an old rivalry, with place in the division, our power rankings and pride at stake!

It’s made more interesting with the transfer of coach Jon Rooney heading to DC this past offseason from Gateshead. Rooney paired up with long time coaching partner Ben Johnson and have transformed the Presidents from mediocre last season to a genuine contender for playoffs this year. Home field advantage could be the difference here but never count out that strong Gateshead defence.

DC Presidents to win by one score

Premiership Predictions Week Eight

Premiership North

East Kilbride Pirates vs. Doncaster Mustangs

The first game of the season that sees two of the Premiership North’s big three square off when the Doncaster Mustangs travel up to Scotland to take on the East Kilbride Pirates.

It’s been a good start to the season for the Pirates so far. Two games, two wins by over 30 points and two shutouts. Now though, the team will face their first real test of the season when they take on the 4-0 Mustangs. Should the Pirates come out on top, they’ll be odds on favourites to win the Premiership North crown.

The Mustangs have got off to a flying start and have comfortably beaten all their opposition to race to a 4-0 start. However, despite being four games into the season, the Mustangs are yet to face a team who have won more than one game. If the Pirates defence can’t cover Martyn Lee, the Mustangs will lose the ranking of third best team in the north and improve their record to 5-0.

Pirates to edge it like last season. EKP by a score

Tamworth Phoenix vs. Nottingham Caesars

Tamworth extended their record to 3-0 last weekend with a 19-0 victory over the Coventry Jets. What’s impressive about the Phoenix 3-0 record is the fact they still haven’t conceded any points this season, and that stat probably won’t change this weekend when they take on the lowly Nottingham Caesars.

Considering their impressive run of form at the start of last season, the Caesars have been anything but impressive this year as they’ve slumped to a 0-3 record. Barring an upset that would throw the Prem North on its head, we’re expecting the Caesars to drop to 0-4 this weekend.

Phoenix by three scores

Irish Football Preview

Irish Football Preview

The Shamrock Bowl Conference North and South both have champions now but there is still a lot to play for in the top Irish division.

Meanwhile in the IAFL-1 the season is shaping up to be an absolute stormer. A big game that has been brewing into a rivalry for the past few years in the DV8s looms this weekend.

 

Premiership South Power Rankings Week Seven

1. London Blitz (1-0)

The last week in which some random prose has to be written to cover a team that hasn’t played in ages. They’ll be itching to play with so much time off, with the Cats their first opponent in a two game streak. Unless we see a shock result, we don’t expect to see a change in this power ranking until the final game of the season.

2. London Warriors (4-0)

Another high scoring shut out victory for the Warriors. With comparable scores, the score could have been in the 80's (given the Warriors beat the Cats by 50+, and the Cats beat the Saxons by 28), but we saw a little lower score. Judging by the score breakdown, with the majority of points coming in the 1^st half, it might be reasonable to assume the Warriors put their backups in early to improve their depth. The Warriors role on to another week in the second game of a three game stretch against Berkshire.

3. London Olympians (0-1)

The O’s may be 0-1, but any other team (with the exception of possibly the Blitz), if they had only played 1 game against the Warriors would also be 0-1. If the rankings were based on record, this would just be a league table.

Premiership North Power Rankings Week Seven

1. East Kilbride Pirates (2-0)
There is some debate in Double Coverage Towers as to whether East Kilbride are all that, but our man in the know is convinced last year's division winners haven't even got started yet. This weekend's game - where they welcome in form Doncaster - will be intriguing.

2. Tamworth Phoenix (3-0)
Three wins, zero points conceded. Whatever they're feeding them in Tamworth, it's working. Nottingham are next in line this weekend, so it looks like Caesar Salad is on the menu...

3. Doncaster Mustangs (4-0)
Are Doncaster the real deal? We should find out this weekend when they travel north top take on current #1 East Kilbride. If they win, we'll see a new team atop the rankings.

4. Sheffield Predators (2-0)
The Predators remain at #4 in the hit parade, still riding the crest of the wave they created by beating Yorkshire last weekend.