Seasonal Rugby; A New Era.

Discussion in 'Archive of Seasons Past' started by CCG, Feb 16, 2010.

  1. CCG C Golding

    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Seasonal Rugby; A New Era...Again?[/FONT]
    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]By Chris Golding[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Seasonal Rugby has been quiet in recent months; the last time there was real activity was when the controversial folding of the Giants was done and the new franchises, the Hurricanes and the Sharks, were announced to the public. Giants' then owner, CCG, copped much deserved flack for this incident and not informing the players, something he apologised for and tried to explain that it all happened much faster than intended but this did not change the situation. Regardless of the situation, the Giants won the normal season comfortably, only to be reduced to Semi-Finals with the points deduction that they'd received earlier in the season for not registering SDR Laing's and SM Morgan's Contracts with Seasonal Rugby officials; Spartans RFC President Marcuss Deane reported this and, again, took much criticism but eventually the situations died down. The question remains whether or not the Giants will go out with a wimper or a bang, although the latter is hoped by many players and supporters.[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]But now, there is more interest being taken in the new sim that will be organising the competition. Owner Ed Ames has said it will “revolutionise” Seasonal Rugby and, similar to Cricsim's Robert Cribb, allow the matches to occur more regularly on a better schedule. Many are waiting in anticipation for it, and the competition appears wider than ever, with the new Sharks and Hurricanes coming in. This time around, the Hurricanes haven't managed to recruit a “super team” like their last recruitment, but still have a solid team based around owner Ed Ames at FlyHalf. With recruits like the maestro Gary Weaver and Damien Taylor in the Backs, and Brett Gemmell and Jason Denton in the Forwards, they are no doubt a force to be reckoned with. The Vikings have suffered the most, losing Damo and Humble, two key figures, whereas the Spartans have only lost a few players. [/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]This has possibly resulted in next year's title race being tossed up in the air, since many would've expected the Vikings to continue their strong form this season into next season; many critics actually expect that they will be the weakest of the four teams next year, with the title being a three-way battle between the Spartans, Hurricanes and Sharks. The Spartans have managed to knab big Winger Alex Farnikolo from the Giants fallout, a signing that is expected to strengthen their backline significantly. Winger-cum-Fullback AJ Son has signed for the Hurricanes, whereas Dion Alessi has signed on with the Vikings, it has been said. Pilgrim and Green have agreed contracts with the Hurricanes as well. However, CCG was found weeping when news filtered through that KP Glensor had signed with the Hurricanes, some say he'd become attached to the young prop, either way, he was certainly upset! Miokovic heads off to the Vikings, along with Morgan Burridge, and the rest have not reportedly signed contracts, although there may have been verbal agreements with other teams.[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]The Sharks come into next season's competition perhaps the dark horses for the title. They have certainly a strong foundation with Golding, McDougal, Graham and Morris all in the starting lineup, with excellent lock Sam Verigotta signed on as well. Sam Bakkum is expected to start at Scrum Half with superstar Fly Half Matt Scoble expected to be at Fly Half. Jordan Logan has not been quite as special as he was expected to be, although some say this will be his big season. Zakaron lines up with Skippos and Yates in the backrow, with Welker bolstering the Front Row. Some thing he may have a star season to come, although some think the scrum is still lightweight when compared with the massive Spartan pack. Deane reportedly took them out into the Sahara desert to toughen them up recently, and has booked them in again for the offseason. [/FONT]


    “[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]I wanted to make sure that they remained the hardest men around” remarked Deane. “They eat raw chunks of meat that I import, sometimes I even bring in a live sheep or something for them to fight over, but it ensures they are lean mean scrummaging machines.” As questions surrounding the firepower of his Backs filter through, he thinks for a second and then responds.[/FONT]


    “[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Well, I think losing Ames from Fly Half will obviously set us back a bit, his goal kicking has been exceptional this season and attributed to much of our success, however Luffers has stolen a pair of his Adidas Boots (don't tell him though) and has learnt how to kick in them so hopefully that's taken care of. With Farny's signature we'll have an experienced finisher, and hopefully we'll keep hold of Schaw as well, he's been a real gem this season, giving us mature performances from Fullback week in week out. I think we'll do just fine, so watch out for us.”[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]The Hurricanes & SR owner, Ed Ames, did spare a few words regarding the forthcoming season, and what he expected from his own team.[/FONT]


    “[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]I want fluent attacking rugby from the boys this season. We've got the pack to turn it over and the backs to score hundreds of tries. In the pre-season, I've been making sure the majority of them play some Ice Hockey. That'll harden them up. I've also had Gemmell sit on their stomachs. They can take anything after that. I'm still not so sure how he scores many tries from No. 8 and how the Giants scrummaging coach didn't make him a Prop but, yeah, the boys will be hard as nails after this preseason.”[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]He was also asked who he expected to have big seasons.[/FONT]


    “[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Chris Golding is my tip to take the step to become really elite. I also think that Lucas Schaw and Jason Denton will have huge seasons as well. Golding's first season was a bit of a disappointment, I think he felt the hype but he's really taken it on the chin since Season 1's Final and matured as a player, and likewise with Denton. Both can become world class players. Schaw has been excellent, but I think he'll step up even further and challenge Fung and Blunder as the best Fullback around.”[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]And finally, we wanted to know who his tip for Season 3 was.[/FONT]


    “[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]After the signing of Farnsworth, I'll go for the Spartans. I've heard he's been maximuscling a bit after Gemmell tricked him into thinking they were milkshakes and he's absolutely huge now, so I expect him to finish off many moves for them and allow them to take the crown.”[/FONT]


    [FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]It's certainly a big season ahead; should the sim live up to potential, Seasonal Rugby could finally take off big time, but it's still a game of wait and see. Come late March we'll hope to have seen it in full flow, and then we can judge whether this period of inactivity was really worth it. I will return in due course to review the season and offer a breakdown of what's to come in Season 3, but until then, it's goodbye.[/FONT]
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2010
  2. Eds E Ames

    Gun read. Cheers CCG.
     
  3. CCG C Golding

    No problem, enjoyed writing it TBH and as I said I'll do some more this week if I get a topic to talk about since I'm off my feet all week due to the ankle! :D
     
  4. Eds E Ames

    Only thing is; Herd is staying at the Vikings.
     
  5. Marto RK Fittaman

    The Middle C stands for Courier
     
  6. CCG C Golding

    Ok, thought he was moving, so I'll alter that.
     
  7. Verigoat S Verigotta

    Nice read
     
  8. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    Fung is not the best Fullbac around. Blunder is, quite obviously. :confused:
     
  9. CCG C Golding

    That's not the word on the street :ninja:

    Sorry, I'll add you in, you'd gone from mind since I haven't seen a Spartans lineup in ages.
     
  10. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    Also Schaw rarely plays at fullback... Marcuss has no idea :p
     
  11. Eddie EI Morris

    Good Write up :)
     
  12. BoyBlunder BOY Blunder

    Good read though lol.
     
  13. Baxter MJ Deane

    He didn't actually interview me :laugh:
    Good read though.
     
  14. Baxter MJ Deane

    He didn't actually interview me :laugh:
    Good read though.
     
  15. CCG C Golding

    Sshhhh!

    Yeah, you weren't online at the time of writing but I thought that'd be something you'd say anyways :p
     
  16. Farny AP Farnsworth

    I'm actually pretty excited about SR getting going again. Shocker.
     
  17. Eds E Ames

    Farnilagi to come back?!
     
  18. BigDougy DG Dafter

    Nice write up mate. Looking forward to SR getting up and running again with regular simming.
     
  19. Farny AP Farnsworth

    Possiblement. You're the one who killed him by insisting we use cricsim names :p
     
  20. Eds E Ames

    Nah. I insisted on CricSim names on the current site. He died in the transition over to CricSim.
     

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