Magpies Stay in the
hunt for 2004 MAAFL title
Staff Writer, Bubba
Strangles.
With three games played of
the season, the Magpies are gearing up for the remaining three, which will
decide who takes home the MAAFL Cup.
And, at this point it is still up for grabs.
Round four, which will likely
blow the MAAFL standings wide open, should be a great weekend of Australian
Football, as the two remaining undefeated teams are set to square off,
Milwaukee and Atlanta. After that weekend, there will be only one.
|
|
Dallas must travel to
Nashville for their first ever game in Tennessee. In 2003, Nashville traveled to Dallas to play the two clubs’
first ever game against each other.
Dallas, the home team, won a spectacular game to come from behind in
the final quarter to nip Nashville at the final siren. The final score was 11.11 (77) to 11.3 (69). Nashville typically draws the largest
crowds in the United States with the help of a very active Administration and
Marketing team, so traveling to Nashville is always a daunting task. |
|
|
Cincinnati Dockers VS St. Louis Blues (at Cincinnati) |
||
|
Milwaukee Bombers VS Atlanta Kookaburras (at
Milwaukee) |
||
|
Nashville Kangaroos VS Dallas Magpies (at
Nashville) |
||
|
Chicago Swans
(bye) |
Any number of scenarios could play out:
Historically, the home team
has won over 70% of all MAAFL games since inception. This could mean that Milwaukee might beat Atlanta in Milwaukee,
and if the Magpies could beat Milwaukee when they come to town in September,
then the two road games for the Magpies against Atlanta and Nashville would
prove very important.
|
Figure 1: Seth Haesecke |
|
|
With a win in Milwaukee in
Round 4, Atlanta could put a strangle hold on the MAAFL Cup. With a 1 game buffer, losing a game
against Dallas or St Louis would still likely give them the top spot. The same applies to Milwaukee, but they
have a tougher schedule the rest of the way home, with games on the road
against Dallas and St. Louis. St. Louis is far from being
out of the running, as well. With
only one loss on the season and what seems to be a very favorable schedule
the rest of the way (Milwaukee and Atlanta at home), St Louis could possibly
sneak out of the season with only one loss.
This might be enough to take home the cup in back to back years. With Cincinnati all but out
of the race, they would have to play a spoiler role and win all their final
games to keep Chicago in the running.
Chicago can’t afford another loss on the season. But, their schedule the rest of the way
opens up, having already played the current top three teams: Dallas, Atlanta
and Milwaukee. |
Of course, it is too early to
tell what might transpire in this year’s MAAFL race, but what is certain is
that any of the top clubs can still take home the cup, even with 1 or possibly
2 losses on the season. This I do know,
however: It is going to be a very interesting finale indeed.