Welcome to Aussiezone 236!

Dear reader,

Welcome back for another edition of The Zone.

It’s our fourth edition since our comeback and it’s probably a bit lighter than the past three due to the season rollover, and personal time constraints. Nevertheless, we’ve got the usual stuff, but a big shoutout to chucky06 on his outstanding A-League preview. You don’t want to miss it!

We cover all things A-League, Div 1, AIHL,  if you’re game enough to up against rubiton111 and his generous U18 bounty challenge, there’s some incentive there to be had. There’s not much going on in the national team of late so we’ve left that off the map for now until there’s newsworthy pieces.

Again, leaving this call out for anyone who’d like to contribute to our wonderful Zone, please just shoot me a message in my guestbook with anything you’d like to write. We welcome all of these contributions across the realm of MZ Australia.

Enjoy the read!
Damo11

https://gph.is/g/EJJQ9oE

 

A-League Season 70 Preview

by chucky06

A-League Preview- Season 70

 

The A-League action begins again on Tuesday with four new teams promoted to fight for top league honours. Last season’s winner Crimson Eagles will be hoping to go back to back but it may not be that easy. Below I’ve previewed each side and had a guess where I think they will likely finish. I’ve also got a few predictions from some of the top managers and where they think everyone might end up.

Abbotsford FC

– The most consistent performer in the A-League over the last 10 seasons again showing this with a 4th place finish last season.

– Abbotsford hasn’t acquired any new players for the season but with last season’s starting X1 average age of only 26.45, his team will likely be just as good as last season

Prediction: 3rd

Bes Mudi Bandits

– Bes Mudi Bandits are back in the A-League, having won Division 1.1 last season. After their recent hiatus from the top division, they will be looking to lock down a permanent position in the top flight.

– They’ve made no notable transfers and may struggle a little to compete with the top teams but wouldn’t be shocked if they pulled off some surprises.

Prediction: 6th

Bindi FC

– Since going the A-League a few seasons ago, Bindi looked at home amongst the company of Australia’s elite.

– Finishing a strong 5th last season and making one addition to the starting line up in the off season, I’m sure they will be highly competitive once more.

Prediction: 4thChelsea Dream

– Chelsea Dream fought hard in a relegation play-off to remain in the top league this season.

– They sold two ageing players and replaced them with younger options.

– It will be hard to see Chelsea Dream finishing higher than their 9th place finish last season.

Prediction: 11th

Collingwood

– Collingwood won Division 1.3 convincingly last season. They have a solid squad on paper but I’m unsure of their quality or how they will fair against the countries best.

– They haven’t made any additions to their squad but only losing two matches last season they clearly have class, but it’s unknown if that will translate to victories in the top league.

Prediction: 9th

Crimson Eagles FC

– Last season’s winner Crimson will be looking to go back to back after tasting victory again after a long absence.

– Crimson has sold two starters, 9.6 million worth of talent but is yet to fill that void.

– Expecting Crimson to be highly competitive again and wouldn’t be surprised if they went back to back.

Prediction: 2nd

Flying Hellfish

– Flying Hellfish was unlucky last season finishing in 3rd but did taste success in the Nation Cup.
– Arguably has the best starting team in the A-League and will be hard to hold out this year, especially after making a few key transfers in the back end of last season.

Prediction: 1st

Glasston– Glasston has been a solid competitor for seasons now in the top flight finishing a solid 6th last time out.

– They’ve made one key addition in the off-season but has an ageing squad and I expect this consistent performer to possibly struggle a little this season

Prediction: 7th

Harry Cool

– Harry Cool won Division 1.2 last season only losing one game on the way up.
– They’ve made one key addition to the squad in the off-season but are a big unknown talent.

– Harry Cool might find the step up in class a little too much but I’m happy to be proven wrong.

Prediction: 10th

Jimmy Pizza

– Jimmy had absolutely no luck last season with easily the best squad last time around.

– They finished the season 2nd and also finished runner up in the National Cup.

– Jimmy Pizza had an off-season rage sale and sacked his entire squad.

– He’s made a heap of transfers but is looking at a younger market to build a squad around.

– Depends how he spends his war chest of funds will determine what he achieves this season.

Prediction: 5th

SYDclub

– SYDub sold three of his starters with no editions to the team sheet yet.
– His squat is quite a young squad with an array of older guys. I think it might be a challenge for SYDclub to stay up this season.

Prediction: 12th

The Obscurials

– Finished 2nd last season. In Division 1.1 and went up in promotions.
– Made a few upgrades to replace previous starters in the offseason.
– Young squad all under 24 except 2 players
– Highly successful u23 campaign last season winning two U23 Official Cups but will find it difficult to compete with the top teams especially looking to camp a few starters throughout the season.

– Middle/Lower end of the table finish at best

Prediction: 8th

Fellow Manager Predictions:

senile_old_men 

 

1. Flying Hellfish

2. Crimson Eagles

3. Abbotsford FC 

4. Jimmy Pizza

5. The Obscurials 

6. Bindi FC

7. SYDclub

8. Harry Cool

9. Glasston

10. Bes Mudi Bandits 

11. Collingwood 

12. Chelsea Dream 

 

maccorosso

1. Crimson Eagles 

2. Flying Hellfish

3. Collingwood 

4. Bes Mudi Bandits 

5. Harry Cool

6. Glasston

7. Bindi FC 

8. Abbotsford FC

9. The Obscurials 

10. SYDclub

11. Chelsea Dream

12. Jimmy Pizza 

 

pureowen

1. Crimson Eagles FC 

2. Jimmy Pizza 

3. Flying Hellfish 

4. Abbotsford FC

5. Glasston

6. Bindi FC

7. Harry Cool

8. Collingwood 

9. SYDclub

10. Bes Mudi Bandits 

11. The Obscurials 

12. Chelsea Dream 

damo11

1. Jimmy Pizza 

2. Flying Hellfish 

3. Crimson Eagles FC 

4. Glasston

5. The Obscurials 

6. Abbotsford FC

7. Harry Cool

8. SYDclub

9. Bindi FC

10. Bes Mudi Bandits 

11. Collingwood 

12. Chelsea Dream 

Good luck for the upcoming season everyone and I look forward to be proven wrong.

Written by

chucky06

Love the article? Why not leave chucky06 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.

Division 1 Season 70 Preview

by damo11

There’s not much to report on here as we’ve just seen a number of teams come and go throughout the offseason.

Div 1.1

Dropping down to div 1.1, Close family will have their work cut out for them as they try to get back up to the A-League. The Obscurials were the only team to gain promotion through playoffs, and thus the extra team comes into the league. Rounding out the new teams are a run of div 2 clubs including

Div 1.2

The biggest chopping and changing comes from the middle tier having half the clubs in the league switch divisions. Headed by  Brisbane Roar and Welford from the A-League, this will be one mighty tough competition to play in this season. Excelsior United, Scoffing Down United, Manilla and  Aussie Polo & Gents Club are the other clubs to come up from div 2.

Div 1.3

Just the standard four club changes in this comp as Ayreon regrettably drops down to div 1 again. Melbourne City, Ryde City FC, and Pina Colada FC are all promoted and will face a challenge from relegation survivors Redbacks FC, and HASSELHOFF BABES.

Love the article? Why not leave damo11 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.

AIHL Season 62 Preview

by damo11

After a lacklustre season to compare to, most notbale teams are staying up with the exception of Kangaroo Crusaders who are replaced by kernal’s Ravensfield HC from div 1.3.

diesel-7’s Auckland Anvils survived their playoff relegation and will hopefully look to cement their position in the AIHL again with a relatively young squad.

Rounding out the newcomers are the division winners, Aussie Ice Tourist (div 1.1), Kalpowar (div1.2) and Tahmoor (div1.3)

There’s little doubt that The Jugular Vein will be at the top of the ladder again with sustained success still to come, so it’s really just a matter of filtering out the also-rans. I’m happy to be proven here wrong of course, but here’s my unguided predictions on the season and how it may play out.

1 The Jugular Vein
2 Finlandia HC
3 Dunedin Thunderbirds HC
4 Ice Aussies Pucks
5 Harry Cold
6 Polar Bear Club
7 Aussie Ice Tourist
8 Kalpowar
9 Caboonbah
10 Tahmoor
11 Auckland Anvils
12 Ravensfield HC

Love the article? Why not leave damo11 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.

U18 Bounty and Rewards

by rubiton111

NOTE: All bounties and rewards are not the responsibility of the Zone or anyone apart from Rubiton111

Please report to the Zone Leader if a bounty is not paid and this will be shut down. The bounty is on my head! Defeat me (Rubiton111) in any part of the U-18 Australian Cup Finals and you get

—————100 Tokens gifted—————-

Achievement for excellence! Anyone who starting next season reaches Div 1 in the U-18 League (not World League). You can’t already be in the Div 1 League at the start of next season. Anyone demoted from Div 1 and reenters Div 1 the following season gets paid!

—————-50 Tokens gifted—————-

Achievement for excellence 2! Anyone who reaches Div 2 of the U-18 World League. You can’t already be in the Div 2 League at the start of next season.

—————-50 Tokens gifted—————-

Bounty 2 on my head! Challenge me in my guestbook. Defeat me twice in 3 games using U18s

Rules of engagement

1. I will play the challenge games in the order they are placed in my guestbook. No more than 2 challenges will be played per day.
2. I will challenge your team using scout Match 2 or 3 times and make the matches visible in my results page,
3. In your Challenge suggest times preferred to play the matches,  I will message your book and let you know the games are about to start, I will leave 10 min intervals for your viewing. Be aware is up to u to find a way to not see if 2 or 3 games are played. (I suggest a piece of cardboard 🙂
4. You are allowed to try again if you win or fail however, you can not challenge in my guestbook for 24 hours after a fail or loss.
5. If the first 2 games are losses the 3^rd will not be played,
6. No Challenge games will be played between Day 78 of a season and Day 21 of the following season
7. Beat me twice in a season and well done but no more Challenge until next season,
8. You must have a team in the Australian Leagues.

—————20 Tokens gifted—————-

Love the article? Why not leave rubiton111 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.

MZ Flashbacks Part 2: How to manage your Hockey team

by damo11

Remember back in the day when there were screens like that? I’m talking 2003 here when a few of us first started playing MZ. Yes, we feel like fossils, but that’s what the theme is here for MZ Flashbacks. What we do is regurgitate content that you may have forgotten, sometimes relevant, sometimes effective in today’s game. Other times it’s just interesting to see where the game has gone.

In saying that, this article below is from Zone 222 with a guide on How to manage your Hockey team (part one).

That’s enough from me, so enjoy the nostalgia that comes with the read!

Welcome to Aussiezone 235!

Dear reader,

Welcome back for another edition of MZ Australian Zones. We’re doing our first end of season reviews in a long time so bear with us as we take an extra day or two to get things moving again.

As well as our regular contributions from myself and chucky06 covering all things A-League, Div 1, AIHL, all grades of National Cups, and National Teams, we’ve also got a couple of volunteer U18 pieces from rubiton111 in this edition.

Again, leaving this call out for anyone who’d like to contribute to our wonderful Zone, please just shoot me a message in my guestbook with anything you’d like to write. We welcome all of these contributions across the realm of MZ Australia.

Enjoy the read!
Damo11

https://gph.is/g/EJJQ9oE

 

A-League Season 69 — End of season review

by chucky06

A-League- Season 69 Rounds 18-22

Round 18:
This round was set to be season-defining for the top teams but didn’t quite live up to it those predictions. The top 3 teams all had draws keeping the top of the table looking the same in the chase for glory. The league was well and truly still in the balance at this stage.

Round 18 – 10-03-2019 09:30

Bindi FC	2 – 8	Brisbane Roar
Ayreon	2 – 3	SYDclub
Flying Hellfish	3 – 3	Glasston
Abbotsford FC	5 – 0	Chelsea Dream
Crimson Eagles FC	0 – 0	Jimmy Pizza
Close family	4 – 0	Welford

Round 19:
A huge 3-0 upset from relegation positioned team Close Family over titles favourites Jimmy Pizza really threw their title defence into disarray. This played directly into Crimson Eagles hands edging them closer to a second A-League title with the title now in their sights. 

Round 19 – 13-03-2019 13:30

SYDclub	1 – 8	Flying Hellfish
Glasston	2 – 3	Abbotsford FC
Chelsea Dream	1 – 4	Crimson Eagles FC
Jimmy Pizza	0 – 3	Close family
Welford	0 – 2	Bindi FC
Brisbane Roar	2 – 4	Ayreon

Round 20:
Jimmy Pizza’s side was again disappointing, having only managed a draw with Bindi FC. Flying Hellfish took all three point from his game reminding Crimson Eagles he will be there to take advantage of any slip up’s. Crimson Eagles were on their A-game though easily disposing of Chelsea Dream 4-1. Without a huge surprise or two, it was looking likely Crimson was going to be taking home the title.

Ayreon	4 – 1	Welford
Bindi FC	1 – 1	Jimmy Pizza
Close family	1 – 3	Chelsea Dream
Crimson Eagles FC	5 – 0	Glasston
Abbotsford FC	3 – 0	SYDclub
Flying Hellfish	3 – 2	Brisbane Roar

Round 21:
Jimmy Pizza finally got back into winning ways but it was all too late with Crimson again securing victory. The title was wrapped up with the last round being insignificant on the top teams. The bottom few teams still had a lot to play for with SYDclub and Brisbane Roar still looking to secure their place in the top flight.

Round 21 – 20-03-2019 15:00

Welford	2 – 9	Flying Hellfish
Brisbane Roar	1 – 3	Abbotsford FC
SYDclub	0 – 6	Crimson Eagles FC
Glasston	4 – 2	Close family
Chelsea Dream	3 – 6	Bindi FC
Jimmy Pizza	7 – 0	Ayreon

Round 22:
Jimmy Pizza had a win over rivals Hellfish to get one back for the National Cup and to finish in 2nd place with Hellfish 3rd respectively. Abbotsford FC again were again a model of consistency finishing in 4th. Bindi FC and Glasston both had solid season finishing the season in 5th and 6th. SYDclub managed to hang on to 7th position securing another season in the A-League. Brisbane Roar finished 8th and Chelsea Dream 9th both now having to fight it out in the Play-OffPromotions to play A-League football next season. Close Family, Ayreon and Welford finished 10th, 11th and 12th all will need to fight their way back up through division 1 next season all being directly relegated.

Crimson Eagles FC took home the A-League title having only lost one match all season. They were the most consistent team all season scoring a whopping 25 more goals than closest rivals with the leagues second best defence. Congratulations Crimson Eagles FC on their second A-League title after a 38 season drought!

Round 22 – 24-03-2019 10:45

Flying Hellfish	0 – 1	Jimmy Pizza
Abbotsford FC	5 – 1	Welford
Crimson Eagles FC	8 – 2	Brisbane Roar
Close family	2 – 3	SYDclub
Bindi FC	3 – 2	Glasston
Ayreon	1 – 2	Chelsea Dream

Love the article? Why not leave chucky06 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.

The U21 Socceroos – Season 69 Confederations Cup – Round of 16 + Quarter Finals

by damo11

U21 Confederations Cup 2019

Australia – The Road to Victory

Filling in for grinner again this week (we want you back!), the Aussie U21 squad met expectations and then a little more by bowing out in the Quarter Finals of the U21 Confederations Cup.

Again, with no insight to the Aussie U21 Socceroos whatsoever, I can categorically say that after the group stages, it was always going to be tough for the country to compete against the big wigs.

A great Round of 16 matchup against MZ Country saw the side win 2-0 in what was a largely one-sided contest. The 4-4-2 formation worked well to provide 17 scoring shots on target, while retaining much of the possession. An early and a late goal to Neville Burmeister did the trick as the Aussies went to the Quarter Finals.

The Quarter Finals saw the Aussies face off against the Brazillians, in what was always going to be a tough matchup. Outclassed by a much larger country, there was little room for any continuity as they peppered in a 0-5 win thanks to 23 shots on target  to 5.

Pearce Hines went from 10th to 12th in the Golden Boot leaderboard after failing to score in the final two matches, however, Neville Burmeister would be equal 15th, had the tables allowed to show all equal scorers on 5 goals.

In the end the Brazillians went on to the final but fell short. To come up against the best along the way is no easy feat and the Aussies should be proud of their efforts.

The future is still bright for U21 Aussies as 20-year-olds Steve Panetta, Eliot Aroege, Brayden Orvad, Andrew Mckay, Aaron Argoud, Martyon Everett and Carmichael Bungaard are all eligible for U21 World Cup Qualifiers next season.

Love the article? Why not leave damo11 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.

Division 1 Season 69 — End of season review

by damo11

A follow up to the mid-season review, the race for promotion has gotten even more exciting across the three Division 1 competitions.

DIV 1.1

It all came down the final round as the BES MUDI BANDITS decided to once again choke up and make their manager seat on the final game of the season. The Obscurials were hot on their heals with just the two points behind in the end, as the Bandits threw away a 2-0 game against Green Sheep in Round 21 to ensure there were no easy wins left. The only saving grace for the premiers was a 2-2 draw in the same round to the runner up as they now face Playoffs alongside Darwin Saville FC. Gunyah and Green Sheep can consider themselves unlucky not to be involved in the playoffs but should feature around the mark next season.

Bandits key striker Howie Hogan nailed the Golden Boot with 78 goals for the season, however, Amerigo Rossini from The Obscurials more than deserved the award in runner up thanks to 64 goals from just 11 matches.

DIV 1.2

Harry kept his Cool throughout the final stages of the season, even extending that 8-point buffer out to 10 points by the final round, but had a mishap in round 18 against Duffield United, losing 2-1. Catanzaro FC and Mount Pleasant held on with wins in the final round to take them to the playoffs, as Stone Eagles were forced to draw with the unlikely Selbourne (who managed only the one point in five rounds), giving them no chance of promotion after the result.

The Cool’s Wilson Santana snapped up Golden Boot easily with 63 goals from just 14 games – 17 goals ahead of the next best.

DIV 1.3

Collingwood kept their winning streak going into the final six matches to take the crown. Only Safety Squad proved a threat in the end as Warburn F.C fell away with losses in the last two rounds to cost them a spot in the playoffs on goal difference. The good news story is that Elite FC got the chocolates over them in Round 21 with a 1-2 victory that took them to third place by the last round. At the other end, Redbacks FC climbed out of automatic relegation and into playoffs with three wins from their final five games.

Collingwood’s Gualterio Avellaneda notched the Golden Boot with 70 majors, just 7 ahead of Rodney Lord from Safety Squad.

Six Div1 clubs now look to playoffs for a chance to get to the A-League, while another six try to cement their places inside Div1 for Season 70. You can follow all of those matches in the Div 1 Playoffs tab this offseason.

Love the article? Why not leave damo11 some love in this user’s guestbook and thank them for valuable review here in The Aussie Zone.