Games of the Week - Round 4
As we approach the final dodgeball national league meet of 2022, we have some tasty predictions once again. Many of the leagues have seen some exciting results in the 22-23 dodgeball season so far, but will we see anymore?
Women’s Super League
Stafford Raptors 14 v 10 London Storm 2
Win: 64,2%, Draw: 18,4%, Loss: 17,4%
Manchester Queen Bees 15 v 9 London Storm 2
Win: 68,8%, Draw: 16,8%, Loss: 14,3%
There's always great showdowns at the top Women's Super League *cough* (Spartans v Valkyries) but this week I want to focus on the scrap at the bottom. It would be hard to say this about any team especially in this division, but Storm 2 might have sealed their fate if they don’t pick up points this league meet.
They currently sit 10th and have Stafford Raptors (9th) and a weakened Queen Bees (7th), after some mid-season transfers. With two losses they would be 4 points adrift from 9th and could be as far as 6 points off safety. This is the week for them to show up!
Women’s League 1
Leeds Owls 19 v 5 Leamington Spartans 2
Win: 97,9%, Draw: 2,2%, Loss: 0,6% (no pressure Leeds)
Wessex Wolves 14 v 10 Norwich Nighthawks
W 67.3% D 18.5% L 17.6%
Oh boy Wolves and Owls put on a show! There were only 2 sets that ended with all of one team out, it comes down to a 1.24 set and ends with a no catch call for the tie! Who cares whether it was the correct decision or not?
Now can both teams keep this up? Wolves have Nighthawks and Leeds have serial drawers Spartans 2. Spartans have drawn 10-10 three times in three meets; I want to predict that for them here, but the system does the predictions not me. I expect it to be a lot closer than above!
Men's Super League
Manchester Killers 10 v 14 Leamington Spartans
Win: 62,4%, Draw: 18,9%, Loss:18,6%
London Storm 1 13 v 11 Nottingham Sheriffs
Win: 51,8%, Draw: 21,4%, Loss: 26,8%
Step aside Women's Super League, this is now the closest division. WSL has 5 points between the top five teams. Men's Super League has 4 points separating the top seven! On top of that Rangers who finished 3rd last season are 6th and Derby dropped from 3rd to 7th in one league meet. Personally, watching Derby throw three catches in less than 5 seconds to ice the game makes me shiver.
To get excited about the first match, all you need to do is look at the last two meetings between these two teams. At the end of the 2021/22 season, Killer Bees lost a 1-minute set so that Spartans could steam a point to ultimately clinch the title. Then at the British Championships, Killer Bees vanquished the demons and won a 1-minute set to ultimately knock Spartans out of the competition. Can I predict another 1-minute set?
In terms of the other match to watch here is Storm 1 v Nottingham Sheriffs. As Spartans and/or Killer Bees will drop points then Storm could go level on points with one of them and really throw their name in the hat for medals. With Sheriffs, it's about not plummeting down the table as they have Meteors in their other match. However, they could make the table look a lot different with two wins!
Men's League 1
Bedford Mighty Eagles 15 vs 9 Bedford Rangers 2
Win: 70,2%, Draw:16,4%, Loss: 13,4%
Bewdley Virtue 13 v 11Thunderdodge
Win: 48,8%, Draw: 21,9%, Loss: 29,4%
Another round of “What colour is Bedford?”... wooo! Mighty Eagles are due a loss but they keep winning. They are getting results any way they can and that is shown by having the third highest set difference behind Nighthawks and Spartans, who have loss a match as well. Expect a lot of support from the Teal army but Mighty Eagles are the favourite to win here.
Then we have another team that might seal their fate, Thunderdodge. They are not in as precarious position as London Strom 2 in WSL, but if they don’t pick up a point from Virtue Empire they are 4 points off safety with a strong Nighthawks team still to play until the halfway mark.