DLE – A look at Third Season – SHC North

In this series, Hertha and Günther will have a look at the three divisions that directly affect the fate of our favourite team from Carroburg this season. First out is the SHC North Division.

Hertha: "Well, Günther. We have seen the first two rounds, and what thoughts does that give you on the four teams in the SHC North division? Who will take home the division trophy this season?"

Günther: (Laughs) "It may be just a tiny little bit early to know for sure, but one must admit that Carroburg looks very strong at the moment. They won both their first matches, and leads the whole League in TDs and casualties caused. You can't get much stronger than that. Numbers may be lying, though, as the teams they won against, the Greenskins and the Sharks, are no longer rated very highly in calculated team value. In fact, they are both among the worst teams in the league, and both lost their other match as well , against the Wreckers. On the other side, Carroburg improved their squad a lot through trading and drafting before season 3, and went from being rated 16th to being rated 9th. I think they will take home the division this time, barring injuries to key players."

Hertha: "And who do you think will be the hardest opponents this year?"

Günther: "Actually, all the other three teames seem strong, so it is hard to say. I believe the Grizzlies have the best Squad. Their hitting team is strong and they have the best running blitzer in the League in Jace Amaro, but they seldom seem to get the best out of their players, and it is symptomatic that they lost their first two matches. Granted, the Rangers look strong this season, but the Grizzlies need to be able to beat opponents such as the White Wolves to have a chance in the League. Vikings has met tough opponents in the Legion and particularly the Knights, who are reigning champions and probably the strongest team in the League. But with only 1 point to show for it, they are already three Points behind Cascade, and will need to pull off a lot of good matches to catch up. Wolfskins have a promising squad with a lot of strong players, but they are lacking in skills and experience. They are a coming team for sure, and will become stronger towards the end of the season when they have a little experience, if they can keep their players until then. They have started off well with 3 points in their first two matches, but two of them came against the Marauders, who with their 0-1-15 record is arguably the weakest team in the League. Thus, I think Cascade will win the division, with the Vikings once again being the strongest opponent. But anything can happen, and the other two teams will be right behind to challenge any of the other two who shows any sign of weakness."

Hertha: “We have also looked at some games that may be interesting in this showdown between SHC North and South, and we found some, didn’t we?”

Günther: “We certainly did. And it’s gonna get interesting from the start!”

Hertha: “Absolutely. It seems as if the Cascade can get much of the work done in round 3 and 4. With a victory against the Wolfskins in round 3, the round 4 game between the Vikings and Cascade can pretty much decide the division. Cascade win in that as well, and they will have a solid grip on the division with at least 3 points on any other team, and tiebreaker against both the Wolfskins and the Vikings.”

Günther: “That’s right. And then there are the matches against the Buccaneers, who I expect will be dominating the SHC South.”

Hertha: “So you think the Bucs will be it once more? They are behind both Wreckers and Avalanche at the moment…”

Günther: “That’s right, but their loss was to the Kemperbad Knights, which, as we mentioned earlier, is possibly the best team in the league and the defending champions. I think the Bucs will rise to the top of the division pretty quickly, so watch out for the Bucs, who are hosting the Cascade in round 5 and the Vikings in round 9. Both of them in Brionne, by the way .” (Günther shudders as he thinks about the foul weather there)

Hertha: "Right. So join us throughout the season. We have a lot of fun games in front of us!"

Brought to you by Hertha Wendlinger and Günther Schiele, Carroburg Tageszeitung