May Edition

In the inaugural edition of Beyond Regulation, your monthly guide to the rounds that were, the flavour of the month is streak-busters and curses. Is there a changing of the guard? Also, keep an eye on the Team of the Month and Power Rankings - do you agree?

A changing of the guard?

Five rounds into the season. Surely by now, in no particular order, the top five for the men’s league would be Sturt, Norwood, Forestville, West and North?

Um... not this time!

Last year’s Grand Finalists the Sabres are sitting in the bottom three with just one win, having suffered home losses against Centrals and Southern. Centrals had not beaten the Sabres at all since prior to 2005, while the ratio of Southern losses to Sturt losses over the last eight seasons is about the same as the number of sporting articles dedicated to the Heat, the Lakers and Knicks compared to every other team in the NBA put together.

The Flames have won just two of their five games. The Flames have already had two long winning streaks crushed. Their Round 1 loss at home to Southern was their first since July 4, 2006 and their Round 3 defeat at Mars to Woodville was their first since April 23, 2006. The poor old Eastern Mavericks must be cursed – for all Southern and Woodville’s exploits, the Mavericks have still not beaten Norwood at home since March 5, 2005. Yikes!

The Rockets, like the Flames, have won just twice so far. One of those losses was at Norwood, while they are again struggling at home. I guess Pero Vasilijevic’s two-handed missed dunk in last week’s loss to Forestville sums up the Rockets’ home court advantage. And let’s throw in how the Rockets’ last win over Woodville, a club who has not made the finals since 2005, at Hillcrest was April 20, 2008. Ouch! (And they’ve beaten the Eagles just once in that time.)

Speaking of the Eagles, well, they are 3-2, but have not been convincing. Like Sturt, they have been conquered by the Mighty Lions for the first time since Burke’s Backyard ended, while Round 1’s loss to West was one they will remember for all the wrong reasons. There is definitely hope amidst their Charles Newland-led win over North, but so far they are yet to prove they are a legitimate chance of a three-peat.

The only one of the big five on track right now is the Bearcats. Even they are vulnerable, as shown by a 7-26 third quarter against Woodville, but a 5-0 start for the deepest team in the league – can’t ask for anything more than that! They have already been three of the other top four sides as well.

With Forestville, North, Norwood and Sturt all looking weaker than usual, that means someone must be taking their place. Enter Woodville, Centrals and Southern.

The Warriors are not exactly immune to slow starts, but the biggest question for them is whether they can overcome the mental challenge of having finished ninth five times in the last seven seasons. Does that just apply for those who have been there during that time, or is it a club culture thing? Darren Ng’s never missed the finals in his Central ABL career, neither has Aaron Wyatt (albeit in his first season lol), and these are the guys taking the team by the scruff of the neck and getting them off to this all-promising start.

Not sure if the Lions have ever begun a campaign 4-0? Throw in the fact they have already beaten Sturt and Forestville and it makes it even sweeter for the men from Gawler. Is there a better two man combination than Kyle Miller and Chris Clausen in the competition? They could not quite get the job done against Woodville, but it will be interesting to see them against Daniel Johnson and Jason Cadee when they meet West on the 18th of this month.

The Tigers... well, Rashad Tucker played two seasons in the competition, and – won two titles. Could he do it again as a coach? The Tigers, who have won three of their five matches, may just have nicked the game off Centrals if not for playing less than 24 hours earlier, and almost scored a huge W against the all-conquering ’Cats. Performances against the best teams always give an indication of where a team is at, and the Tigers have nothing to be disappointed about thus far.

Streak-busters and curses summary

Round 1:

• Centrals def Sturt for first time since prior to 2005
• Southern ends 12 game losing streak overall against Norwood, and wins for the first time in eight attempts

Round 2:   

• Woodville wins fifth straight over North at Hillcrest; 10th consecutive tie won by the away team  
• Norwood wins 16th straight match against Eastern, and 10th consecutive at Adelaide Hills
• Sturt defeats South at Pasadena for ninth consecutive season

Round 3:   

• North ends four game home losing streak against Sturt
• West wins seventh straight home game versus Eastern

Round 4:

• Woodville ends 12 game overall losing streak against Norwood, and wins first game at Mars in seven years
• Norwood breaks three game home losing streak to North

Round 5:   

• Centrals defeats Forestville for first time since prior to 2005
• Southern overcomes Sturt for first time since 2010
• Woodville wins seventh consecutive game against Centrals, their fourth triumph in a row at Starplex

 

Team of the Month

G	Kyle Miller (Centrals)	20.8 ppg, 5.4 apg, 4.8 rpg, 1.6 spg, 44.2% FG
G	Jason Cadee (West)	18.8 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg, 44.6% FG, 37% 3FG
F	Aaron Wyatt (Woodville)	22.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 48.3% 3FG, 47.9% FG
F	Chris Clausen (Centrals)	17.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 46.3% FG, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg
C	Daniel Johnson (West)	24.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 49.4% FG, 42.9% 3FG, 1.2 bpg
Coach	Rashad Tucker (Southern)

 

Power Rankings	Ladder Pos.	Record	Streak	Next 4 Matches
1. West Adelaide	1	5-0	Won 5	v North, @ Centrals, v South @ Sturt
2. Woodville	2	4-1	Won 1	v South, @ Sturt, v Forestville, @ Southern
3. Central Districts	3	4-1	Lost 1	@ Norwood, v West, v North, @ South
4. Southern	5	3-2	Won 2	v Forestville, @ North, @ eastern, v Woodville
5. Forestville	4	3-2	Won 1	@ Southern, v Eastern, @Woodville, v Norwood
6. Norwood	7	2-3	Lost 1	v Centrals, @ South, v Sturt, @ Forestville
7. North Adelaide	6	2-3	Lost 2	@ West, v Southern, @ Centrals, v Eastern
8. Sturt	8	1-4	Lost 3	@ Eastern, v Woodville, @ Norwood, v West
9. South Adelaide	9	1-4	Won 1	@ Woodville, v Norwood, @ West, v Centrals
10. Eastern	10	0-5	Lost 5	v Sturt, @ Forestville, v Southern, @ North

 

By James Woite

Photo by Tania Fielding