BPL 2010-1 Grand Final Preview

Well the day of the big game is upon, and tension is in the air here at the BUB Manor. We have heard that the Maroons' captain Darryn Lockyer last night said "While our win in great, we can't wait to see what happens in the BPL final tomorrow night". Also, after winning game 6 of the NBA Finals yesterday, LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant said "While we are excited to send this thing into a decider, we probably will all be too tired from staying up watching the BPL final to play game 7". Some truly great, and undoubtedly truthful, endorsements of this highly anticipated clash.

Moving on though, we feel it is our duty to spread our thoughts to the wider community of how we feel the game will go down. Due to our slightly biased opinion on the match, we have enlisted the help of some "impartial" parties to help with the analysis.

Passion
Passion started of the season ridiculously strong, racing out to a perfect 5-0 record. They then lost their next 4 games straight to fall to 5-4, a losing streak that was started by Cobras. Their reliance on their big 3 of Cheese, Julz and Gref has been talked about in some circles, but the Passion roster goes much deeper than that. They also boost former BPL MVP Tom Daley, and Arrlann Christie can't be ignored either, along with his bellow that is belted out before every point. Dan Henbest is a name that wasn't familiar to many players before this season, but they have quickly learnt it as they see him flashing by them to the endzone. However, rumours have been circulating that Dan will be absent for the final. If you don't know who Dan is, his current facial hair makes him look a little bit like typical depictions of this guy.
Passion's obvious strengths lie with the aforementioned Cheese, Julz and Gref, but their style of play and constant movement mean that all players are necessary and all players are used equally. This style of play has meant that all players have to be able to play, and getting into the Grand Final shows that they are solid across the board.

Cobras
Cobras were many people's pre-season favourites, but have had the opposite season to Passion in terms of results. They didn't start out as strongly as they would have liked, and at one point had a record of 2-1-5 to sit 6th on the table and in danger of missing out on the playoffs altogether. Since that point, they have won 5 games in a row to win their place at the final table. Many people have noted that the Cobras lack major liabilities on the field, and this has been their main strength this season.
Cobras have managed to get to this point with 5 players playing in their first season of BPL, and this may be a weakness for them with these players not having experienced the atmosphere at a BPL Final before with the increased sideline, which is good for support and good for heckling.


Expert Opinions
While calling some of these people "experts" might be a bit of a stretch, we have nevertheless asked them to sum up their thoughts on what they believe might happen in tonight's game.

The Dojo with the Mojo: Pete Allen
Cobras:
Cobras started the season interestingly poorly (incl. loss to heroes), obvious lack of team discipline and understanding probably being the key factors in this. Although half way through the season this changed and they haven't really looked back. Their strengths are speed, age and enthusiasm. The weaknesses are age and lack of discipline and respect. The two main players to keep an eye out for in important points of a game are, Abra for his tactical thinking and handling, and a tie between Wetnose and Finn who can be expected to get the big D when necessary. Keep an eye on lack of respect for the marking rules in the younger players ;)

Passion:
Passion seem to be the exact opposite of Cobras this season, starting off exceptionally with 5 wins straight or something like that, then a post nationals slump with a heck of a lot of losses in a row. Luckily their early season form got them far enough to make the finals and they won their semi convincingly, which bodes well for the final, where they should IMO get their first major premiership under the belt after multiple attempts (no buggers this time). Team strengths are: experience as a team, some very exciting players, that extra level. Team weaknesses include: don't know how well they'll cope if they go down a few points, possibly some bad options.
Key playmakers apart from JMc, are Gref to make some ridiculous thumber lefty outside-out scoober to win the game, and Jules/Dan who will both make the endzone play fun to watch.

BUB Master Jdr
Much as it pains me, I'm have to tip the Cobras to win this one, purely on form.

I can only go on the scoreboards and blogosphere, but it seems the snakes had a tougher semi-final last week than the students. And in their final round matchup the week before, it was Cobras 13 Passion 10. In fact, I don't think the Cobras have had a loss since back in April. At this point, I am contractually obliged to mention Reece, Wetnose, Finn and Mike Nolan who occasionally read this blog.

Meanwhile, while Passion were "smashion" all before them earlier in the year, their only really notable win of the last two months was in their Semi against the Bugs, although I suspect that game was tighter than the scoreboard suggests. There are some who would argue that the Passion have a bit of softness inside, but John McNaughton is pretty good though, assuming he can get all his pulls to land in.

All that said, the BPL Final crowd could be a significant factor. Most games it is just yourselves and your opponents and maybe a couple of gimps and friends watching. The BPL Final sees at least one sideline filled, and usually brings out some of the city's noisiest (and occasionally funnier) hecklers. The extra eyes increase the pressure to both play hard and with the best spirit.

Can I add that I am saddened that neither Jon Good nor Rob Lowe will be available to one-handedly (no spillage please) manage the far-side scoreboard. This will be the first BPL Final in several years not to feature their entertainments. I hope Fluxie will step up.

Graham "Special G" Prickett
Cobras to win by 3,
Have too many good players across the park to shut down and their gritty will to win is just right to take out a final.
Key players
- Cheese for Passion - If he gets going he will devour the opposition like a rampaging mongoose
- Abra for Cobras - His popping tears apart zone defence like a fat kid opening Christmas presents

BPL LD Stuart Austin
Tomorrow nights final should be a good game with some quite different playing styles from each team; Cobras playing the big squad, aggressive, loud defence. While Passion calmly work things around and see what happens. The big match-ups to watch will be Abra v's Cheeseburger and Dan v's Jules. This will leave Gref with more responsibility down field and I'm not sure who on Cobra's will try and take him out of the game, Finn maybe? Cobras have a much deeper squad than Passion which they have recently being making advantage of in the last few games of the regular season.

I think Cobras will get off to an early start just by playing pressure D on some of the weaker Passion players, passion will keep it reasonably close and possibly rally back, depending on whether Cheese' can hold it together and not start throwing wild bombs!! With Passion's lack of legs and rumours of Dan Henbest being away, I'm predicting Cobra's will edge it out further and win the game 15-11.

Registered Sideline Heckler Al Don
Tightest season in BPL history as I recall.. Obvious contenders for the title going through midseason form slumps. Teams coming from nowhere to string games together at the right times.. Dojo choking one game earlier than in many previous seasons all adds up to a pretty good looking final.

Cobra's recent form has been hot and are athletic right the way down. Look out for big games from Abra, Reece and the big ginger Dan Young. A major negative for the cobra's will be the absence of the big flick from Trachter. I think the combination of well known passion stars JMac, Gref and Jules, the new boy on the block DanH being well supported by another solid line of athletes are going to be too much for the cobra's to knock over on thurs.

Passion to get over in a tight one..


Thank you very much to our esteemed colleagues for their opinions. We hope to see you all down at AJSC tonight for a good game, and stay tuned for our wrap up over the next few days.