Dav
Hotel? Trivago.
10k Posts
Koala
SFA State of Origin
Coney Island Warriors - Sweet F.A.
Pantskyle
SFA Fight For MND
SFA Daffodil Day Fund Raiser
Brisbane Dolphins Player - BFFCL
BFFCL Club Captain
Blue Mountain Bounders Player - BFFCL
The season's first Match of the Round will take place at the Hippodrome between the Fighting Furies and the Coney Island Warriors, two of the stronger teams of Season 26 for periods of time. The Furies have undergone a massive brand change and new leadership, with so much to prove, whilst the Warriors will be hoping to repeat their early season form from last year rather than continue their horrid run in the back half of the season.
SIGNINGS
The Furies are in somewhat of a precarious position in Season 27, coming off one of their most inactive seasons in some time. They lose their captain in NaturalDisaster to the Hawks, as well as the ever reliable JackNah_8 to the Roys and Helen Wheels to retirement. Much like the Gumbies and Dragons, they have staked their success this season in rookies, with Edmund hunt, UAWM, Carson Dial and TigerTime_89 entering the league in pink. EagleOz is a returning player, and it's worth mentioning the additions of PieLebo87 and fightingfury_88 late in Season 26 giving them an impressive squad turnover.
Meanwhile the Warriors, as usual, have had a relatively quiet off-season and have made just one addition to the squad, with miss_kate18 choosing not to sign with the Bears and instead play with her brother-in-law at the Warriors. No rookies, and no major departures, means we should expect to see much of the same from Van Cortlandt Park this season.
KEY PLAYERS
The Furies will be heavily reliant on their 3 core posters in TJASTA, Tigerturbulance and rfctiger74, whilst the elevation of PieLebo87 to the leadership group after just 6 games indicates that he too will likely command a strong position in the line up. They have a number of veterans able to plug holes, including Hate, Wacky Tiger, Michaels and Chappyuk, but may become too reliant on those core posters as the season goes on.
Meanwhile, the visiting Warriors saw just how damaging their best players could be in their #streak last season, and with such an unchanged lineup, expect the same players to be key to their success this season. Freofalcon was the competition's form player in the first 2 months, whilst Wooshette was the league's best full back all season, eventually winning All-SFA selection as captain. BigJoeD_ won the FRED Medal for the competition's leading goalkicker and will almost certainly line up in the goalsquare again for the Warriors, whilst midfielders pantskyle and TheInjuryFactory should both build on solid first seasons at the club.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Season 26, Round 8: Coney Island Warriors 14.15 (99) were defeated by Fighting Furies 18.16 (124) at Van Cortlandt Park
In a Heritage Round match at the Outback Arena, it was the Furies nabbing the win and ending a 7 game winning streak from the Warriors in what would turn out to be a season-changing loss for Wooshette's unit. Stevi_Tigers and Sterge kicked 5 goals each for the Furies, with rfctiger74 (23 touches, 10 tackles), TJASTA (23 touches, 8 frees for) and Hate (29 touches, 7 marks) dominating through midfield. Tiger Toffee had one of the best half back displays of the season with 25 disposals and 10 marks, whilst BigJoeD_'s bag of 5 and DapperJong's 29 disposals helped the Warriors stay in the game despite trailing by 5 goals at three quarter time.
PREDICTION
Furies by 9 points.
Captains, please post your team sheets by 11:59pm AEDT Thursday.
