This league keeps on giving. 5-0 to Tawa, 6-1 to Seatoun and 4-0 to PNM.
7 points between 1st and 7th. Bring on next week!
7 points between 1st and 7th. Bring on next week!
spottswood wrote:
Just for Shits and giggles i thought I'd try and predict the final league standings. I've seen most teams in the league play, but this league is so crazy this might be a disaster.
1.Taradale. look strong and have a lead
2.North Welly. Predicting a strong finish
3. PN Marist. Undefeated in 6.
4.Tawa. Could be a dark horse
5.PNU. Big form dip sadly
6. LowerHutt. Inconsistent
7.Seatoun. OK team. Mid table
8. Douglas Villa. Can be very good or very bad
9. Stop Out. Probably should be better
10. Wainui. Thought they were ok when i saw them, but someone has to be bottom.
observerfromuh wrote:
Sorry the lack of relegation in CL and CL2 has kinda made it less interesting. Do reserve teams play CL2 next season because SO could be in a lot of trouble if LHC are playing CL minimum.
SO drop off is quite insane.
LT01 wrote:
Will it be 3-4 teams going up? Since teams from the central league currently will join full season national league?
spottswood wrote:Tyler wrote:PNU are missing a few players. So much so the coach has had to play the last few games.
Palmy on a stinker run. Haven’t won in 4 games. Anyone know what the gossip?
Maybe NW have turned the corner
bigfudge wrote:spottswood wrote:Taradale also haven't won in 3 games (last win was the 3-1 home win against PNU). Somehow still top of the table.Tyler wrote:PNU are missing a few players. So much so the coach has had to play the last few games.
Palmy on a stinker run. Haven’t won in 4 games. Anyone know what the gossip?
Maybe NW have turned the corner
Palmy North Marist now sitting second, a point ahead of United. Only three points between 1st and 4th, and the fourth placed team, Tawa, has a game in hand on the rest.
League is shaping up into a top 4 (Dale, PNU, PNM, Tawa), middle 3 (North W, LHC, Seatoun) and bottom 3 (SO, DV, Wainui). Although, any team can push their way up with a 2-3 week stretch of good form.
Ultimately, finishing top 4 is what matters so will be interesting to see who pushes their way in and who risks dropping out.
Also, has anyone heard what promotion to CL2 looks like yet?
Bigboot wrote:
It could be top five yet!
At the moment there is consultation between clubs for the make up of CL2 next season. It appears to be a discussion between reserves teams being allowed in or not.
If I had to guess, I would say National League reserves sides will be allowed in. Therefore the makeup of the league would be the bottom 6 (maybe 5) CL2 teams, the top 2 from Cap Prem (currently Olympic and Phoenix thirds) then some sort of playoff between the winner of the East, West and 3rd in Cap Prem (currently Greytown), where two will go up.
Either way, decisions need to be made fast.
zonknz wrote:Bigboot wrote:
It could be top five yet!
At the moment there is consultation between clubs for the make up of CL2 next season. It appears to be a discussion between reserves teams being allowed in or not.
If I had to guess, I would say National League reserves sides will be allowed in. Therefore the makeup of the league would be the bottom 6 (maybe 5) CL2 teams, the top 2 from Cap Prem (currently Olympic and Phoenix thirds) then some sort of playoff between the winner of the East, West and 3rd in Cap Prem (currently Greytown), where two will go up.
Either way, decisions need to be made fast.
I am not personally convinced if 3 Central Teams go up that CL2 will exist - i think if/when the Gisborne teams are promoted, the Capital based sides will back away from the comp quickly and we'll end up with a fed league/Cap prem second tier, due to the ginormous travel and costs.
(7 hours driving between Gisborne and Welly). Limited daily flights, and its 3 hours via Auckland by flying.
bigfudge wrote:zonknz wrote:I'd say a return to Fed League is extremely unlikely. The only reason the number of clubs in the league increased in 2024 was because of the chance at CL2 promotion. The year before there was 5 teams. I think the return to East and West Prems makes the most sense out of all of this. The only downside is that the quality of the teams your are facing is declining compared to the quality of the clubs in fed league, which was one one of the main issues plaguing the league. East and West Prems solves one issue (being the travel involved with driving cross country for some games), but lessens the quality of matches for teams.Bigboot wrote:
It could be top five yet!
At the moment there is consultation between clubs for the make up of CL2 next season. It appears to be a discussion between reserves teams being allowed in or not.
If I had to guess, I would say National League reserves sides will be allowed in. Therefore the makeup of the league would be the bottom 6 (maybe 5) CL2 teams, the top 2 from Cap Prem (currently Olympic and Phoenix thirds) then some sort of playoff between the winner of the East, West and 3rd in Cap Prem (currently Greytown), where two will go up.
Either way, decisions need to be made fast.
I am not personally convinced if 3 Central Teams go up that CL2 will exist - i think if/when the Gisborne teams are promoted, the Capital based sides will back away from the comp quickly and we'll end up with a fed league/Cap prem second tier, due to the ginormous travel and costs.
(7 hours driving between Gisborne and Welly). Limited daily flights, and its 3 hours via Auckland by flying.
An example would be Whanganui slipping up at the last second last year. Dominated the West, arguably had a far better side than Wainuiomata (no offence to Wainui but this Athletic side was bringing players in from overseas for the sake of playing Prems football), and lost the final game. You could argue this would be down to the level of games they were playing in preparation for this playoff.
If CL2 does go under, it will basically hamstring the Central region forever. There's no way you would have teams like Taradale, and both Palmy teams challenging for CL without it (even if there wasn't 4/5 promotion spots available)
bigfudge wrote:zonknz wrote:I'd say a return to Fed League is extremely unlikely. The only reason the number of clubs in the league increased in 2024 was because of the chance at CL2 promotion. The year before there was 5 teams. I think the return to East and West Prems makes the most sense out of all of this. The only downside is that the quality of the teams your are facing is declining compared to the quality of the clubs in fed league, which was one one of the main issues plaguing the league. East and West Prems solves one issue (being the travel involved with driving cross country for some games), but lessens the quality of matches for teams.Bigboot wrote:
It could be top five yet!
At the moment there is consultation between clubs for the make up of CL2 next season. It appears to be a discussion between reserves teams being allowed in or not.
If I had to guess, I would say National League reserves sides will be allowed in. Therefore the makeup of the league would be the bottom 6 (maybe 5) CL2 teams, the top 2 from Cap Prem (currently Olympic and Phoenix thirds) then some sort of playoff between the winner of the East, West and 3rd in Cap Prem (currently Greytown), where two will go up.
Either way, decisions need to be made fast.
I am not personally convinced if 3 Central Teams go up that CL2 will exist - i think if/when the Gisborne teams are promoted, the Capital based sides will back away from the comp quickly and we'll end up with a fed league/Cap prem second tier, due to the ginormous travel and costs.
(7 hours driving between Gisborne and Welly). Limited daily flights, and its 3 hours via Auckland by flying.
An example would be Whanganui slipping up at the last second last year. Dominated the West, arguably had a far better side than Wainuiomata (no offence to Wainui but this Athletic side was bringing players in from overseas for the sake of playing Prems football), and lost the final game. You could argue this would be down to the level of games they were playing in preparation for this playoff.
If CL2 does go under, it will basically hamstring the Central region forever. There's no way you would have teams like Taradale, and both Palmy teams challenging for CL without it (even if there wasn't 4/5 promotion spots available)
Bigboot wrote:
On we go to Round 12 of this wonderful league. Weather again could play its part, but hopefully no more postponements! Every game has some sort of significance to the final make up on the top 4.
Douglas Villa v Wainuiomata
Lose or draw and your hopes of CL football next year is probably over. A thrilling 5-4 win to Wainui in the first game, marred by another Josh McMenamin red card. This time over the hill in Masterton, could yet be transferred to the turf. DV for the win at home
Seatoun v Palmerston North Marist
A very interesting return fixture. A 10 man Seatoun held on for a 1-0 win away. PNM are on a tear at present, the last league loss was back in April, one week after the loss to Seatoun. I am picking a tough battle at Seatoun Park, probably with a bit late drama. Im predicting a WIN to Seatoun to keep them in touch with the top half of the table.
Palmerston North United v Stop Out
Before last weekend, I’d be picking a PNU massacre, but Stop Out appear to have some fight in them yet. Last time these two met there were plenty of goals and a couple of red cards. I’m picking PNU WIN back at home
North Wellington v Lower Hutt
Another 6 point game for the winner of this one. NE has found form, but LH has a back of taking points when you least expect it. I’m picking a DRAW
Taradale v Tawa
Game of the round. A win for Tawa will take them ahead of Taradale with a game in hand. Taradale having a hiccup against Stop Out, I wonder whether the extra week off was good or bad timing for them. I’m picking goals and drama and a Tawa WIN.
These games are getting more tough to pick. Love someone else’s perspective!
bigfudge wrote:
Isn't specifically CL2 related but does anyone know if Wairarapa United will ever try to develop a senior mens programme again? They're doing great work on the women's side as they seem competitive in Cap Prem, and it looks as though they've got a good partnership going on with the other Wairarapa teams for this new youth setup.
Seems like a bit of a shame considering they used to be the perennial next best team in CL outside of Miramar, Olympic, Rovers and Wests. Lots of good players came through that youth setup as well. Some of the notable players include Scott Morris, Noah Boyce, Jonty Roubos, Duddley, Grover, who have all done well at the National League level.
Founder
Feverish wrote:bigfudge wrote:No Keinzley. No party
Isn't specifically CL2 related but does anyone know if Wairarapa United will ever try to develop a senior mens programme again? They're doing great work on the women's side as they seem competitive in Cap Prem, and it looks as though they've got a good partnership going on with the other Wairarapa teams for this new youth setup.
Seems like a bit of a shame considering they used to be the perennial next best team in CL outside of Miramar, Olympic, Rovers and Wests. Lots of good players came through that youth setup as well. Some of the notable players include Scott Morris, Noah Boyce, Jonty Roubos, Duddley, Grover, who have all done well at the National League level.
Bigboot wrote:
Lower Hutt City v Stop Out
Probably the hardest two teams to pick results for. Incredibly inconsistent, but both mathematically still in contention for promotion. Stop Out have won both fixtures this season (one in the cup), the latter being at Fraser Park. After two draws against two of the top teams away, I’m picking Stop Out WIN
Simon B wrote:Bigboot wrote:To my shame I've never made it to a CL2 game, but this one's at Fraser Park straight after the Nix Reserves play NCR in the CL so it's tempting to stay and check it out.
Lower Hutt City v Stop Out
Probably the hardest two teams to pick results for. Incredibly inconsistent, but both mathematically still in contention for promotion. Stop Out have won both fixtures this season (one in the cup), the latter being at Fraser Park. After two draws against two of the top teams away, I’m picking Stop Out WIN
Bigboot wrote:
These two teams are probably not the best advertisement for the league, but should be entertaining!