AIC Rugby 2012

[xxxx]

Well for all of the huffing and puffing that goes on on this forum about players not playing their "full sides" in trials, it would appear to me that much of the pre season trial form has held up in the first round, the only exception being Ashgrove, whose form against Sydney opponents was difficult to gauge anyway.
This comp appears to be quickly emerging as a two horse race - Ashgrove and Eddies, whose results thus far seem to be establishing them as about 20 points superior to the other sides. (Ashgrove over Iona by 18, Eddies over St Peters by 22 and Eddies over Padua by a slightly higher margin). Then there is a group of 5 who I think can beat each other on any given day (Iona, Peters, Villa, Lauries and Padua) - the close results in trials and round one show this (Villa v Padua, Villa / Lauries, Iona/Lauries). Then Paddies bring up the rear, going down by convincing margins to Peters (twice) and Lauries.
AIC fans may notice that this week, the winners from round one all play off (Ash v SPLC and Eddies v Villa). This means that after this weekend there will only be two undefeated teams and I don't think there are any surprises for guessing which two that will be. So after that we will just be going through the motions until round six when the blockbuster takes place. Sure there will be some very close games in the meantime, most notably between the "middle five" teams but overall this is looking like a two horse race. Thoughts??

yeah i wouldn't read to much into the scoreline of ash v iona game.
imo it wasn't that ash was a much better side rather they played smarter in the wet, in fact perhaps on a dry surface result may have been different or at least much closer,
i think you are spot on about round 6 should be a cracker

 

[Scatpatrick]

can i get a detailed report on the eddie's v padua game? from rumors so far an unsung hero on the wing brought the game to a new standard. Who is this unknown character?!

 

[rugby1768]

I disagree. In my opinion, the only side that has shown throughout pre-season and in round 1 that they are "20 points above" the rest of the competition is St Edmunds. They have consistently put in excess of 30 points or so on opposition teams, as well as conceding very little points. And yes... Ashgrove may have put 23 points to 0 on Iona yesterday, but by all reports the scoreline does not reflect the true nature of the game. By all accounts it was certainly not a flawless performance from the bumblebees, nothing that would have troubled St Edmunds anyway. Also, I disagree with the "group of 5" idea. Iona put 23-0 on Padua a week ago and St Peters are expected to smash Villa and Lauries, will probably belt Padua too. Playing at their best, I could see St Peters' backline causing an upset against Iona or Ashgrove. As for Villa and Lauries, their 22-20 result on Saturday shows they are basically on a par with each other, and as for St Pats, they are yet to produce anything this year to prove they will not be 2012's wooden spooners.

So, if you were to be disecting 2012's AIC competition at this stage of the season, it would appear something like this:
Tier 1 - St Edmunds
Tier 2 - Ashgrove, Iona, Peters
Tier 3 - Villa, Lauries
Tier 4 - St Pats.

Regardless, if round 1 was anything to go by, 2012's AIC season will be one of high-quality and entertaining schoolboy rugby. I certainly look forward to the future fixtures.

I think its much too early in the season to be grouping sides into 'tiers'. Yes Eddies have looked the goods so far, but we are only 1 game in! Granted Eddies are favourites this year and the game vs Ash will be huge, but to put Eddies in their own 'tier' at this stage is laughable. Whatever happened to taking it one game at a time?

 

[rugby1768]

also didnt get to see the Iona vs Ash game, but will get down to the peters game this weekend. Should be an interesting contest against a much improved St Peters setup.

 

[sharpeyes]

I attended the St. Eddies vs Padua game on the weekend with my family, i left the game totally blown away by the number 11, after researching who this true marvel was, i found his now was Fitzpatrick. WOW, i was blown away. This jogged my memory to five years ago, Fitzpatrick, then a fullback easily the most dominating player in AIC. He had a game to remember on the weekend, countless linebreaks, a solid pair of hands and mesmorising defence... He dopped one shoulder into his opposing winger, the winger was left flat on the floor to think if that was a freight train or the large bulky shoulder of the man named Spencer. Eddies scored one particular try from there own half where outside centre humphries and number 4, ROE glided down the wing passing between each other. the final pass could have been thrown to fitzpatrick however humprhies decided to kick the ball into the middle of the field for inside centre to score.

this game cemented fitzpatrick into any representative sides he makes himself avaliable for this year, however i question whether he is a winger... I think i he is a shoe in for AIC 1 10, fitzpatrick at flyhalf gives him a lot more oppourtunity for a running game and let me tell you now that this man can throw a long ball. Put him in the QLD and AUS teams now, he has broken the curse baaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyy !

Sounds Like someones talking themselves up here! hahahahahahhaha what a joke! first game of the season and this guy talks himslef up on this forum. to much smack talk mate

 

[Scatpatrick]

Sounds Like someones talking themselves up here! hahahahahahhaha what a joke! first game of the season and this guy talks himslef up on this forum. to much smack talk mate

mate this guy is legitimate, you didnt see him play

 

[John Kesey]

Eddies round 1 against Padua played great footy. Their hard work and commitment towards training have paid off. They showed great team work on the field and Blackman was the highlight to watch. Eddies is my pick for AIC.

 

[Marbig]

Silly to put teams into tiers after one round played in terrible conditions. Hopefully things will be sunnier this weekend. Also disagree that St Peters will "smash" Lauries and Villa.

 

[BaysideBird]

Definatly eddies for the premiership. Don't think Marist will match them.

 

[hotman]

iona forwards were not going forwards and in a wet weather match that killed iona. ashgrove forwards dominated the breakdown in attack and defense, this cause ionas backline to be getting ball on the backfoot at every stage of the game and defend non stop. ionas centres hola and corcoran never got a chance to show what they had on the weekend because of poor ball from the inside

 

[windle]

footy on weekend, good, fun. had fun time. good.

windle... yes, ten more decisive.

Agreed

 

[tigerland12]

As an old boy, how does Villa look this year? Do they still have that dick Hourigan as head coach?

 

[GoldenEye]

i like rugby

 

[AICfan12]

Predictions for this weekends games:

Villa vs Eddies - Eddies will be too big and too strong, expect Manu to have a big game and chew up some metres. Eddies by 20
Padua vs Iona - should be close, but tip Iona to show some form. Iona by 10
Lauries vs Patties - cant see the league players they were missing against peters making much of a difference. Lauries by 17
Ash vs Peters - Match of the round. Will be won and loss in the pigs, if Peters forward can hang on against the well drilled Marist boys, it might just give their extremely fast backline enough time and space to operate. tipping an upset, Peters by 12

 

[rugby1768]

Predictions for this weekends games:

Villa vs Eddies - Eddies will be too big and too strong, expect Manu to have a big game and chew up some metres. Eddies by 20
Padua vs Iona - should be close, but tip Iona to show some form. Iona by 10
Lauries vs Patties - cant see the league players they were missing against peters making much of a difference. Lauries by 17
Ash vs Peters - Match of the round. Will be won and loss in the pigs, if Peters forward can hang on against the well drilled Marist boys, it might just give their extremely fast backline enough time and space to operate. tipping an upset, Peters by 12

Agree with all those predictions apart from Ash vs Peters. I think it will be very close, but Ash will pip them. They've got that Marist Ashgrove winning mentality, losing never enters their minds.

 

[BrisbaneRugby93]

Round 2 predictions:

Villa vs Eddies - Eddies' forwards will be far too big and well drilled for Villa's pack, and their backs will dominate undoubtedly. Centres will be ruthless, as will those outside. Eddies by at least 30.

Padua vs Iona - Iona's well-structured forward play will reak havok against Padua's pack made up predominantly of league boys. Expect line-breaks from the centres and good counter from the back 3. Iona by 20.

Lauries vs Patties - as mentioned above, by the sounds of Patties performances this year, a couple of players returning will do little to help the team's cause. Lauries at home will be very difficult to beat, and expect them to show some good form. Lauries by 15.

Ash vs Peters - As much as everyone would love to see an upset, realistically, Ashgrove will win and will probably do it quite comfortably. Their forwards are too disciplined and well-coached to be upstaged at home, and their backs will do the job. Still, St Peters have it in them to do the unthinkable, and at their best they are capable. Momentum in the forwards and execution in the backs will be key for an upset. St Peters by 3.

 

[don't_go_latho]

Villa v Eddies: Eddies will win, however I believe Villa will keep it competitive playing at home. Eddies by 17.
Padua v Iona: Both sides will be hurting but Iona and a few of their key players will be wanting to send a message after last weeks shocker. Iona by 15.
Lauries v Pats: Will be closer than what is being predicted if Pats have their full strength team playing. Lauries will be keen to avenge last years loss and prove to everyone that they will be a competitive side this year. Lauries by 10.
Ash v Peters: This game has a simular feeling to when Pats played Ashgrove last year and after going into the game confident, got belted. Peters are a decent side though and although an upset would be great for the competition, Ashgrove don't lose at home often. Ashgrove by 6.

 

[Marbig]

Villa v Eddies: Eddies by 5-14
Lauries v Pats: Lauries
Padua v Iona: Iona by 20
Ash v Peters: Ash by 15

 

[xxxx]

Villa v Eddies: Eddies by 5-14
Lauries v Pats: Lauries
Padua v Iona: Iona by 20
Ash v Peters: Ash by 15

looks right to me
have read in a few post about pats being under strength, leaguies not available??? what is that about? what happen to school before club?
anyone?

 

[rugby1768]

looks right to me
have read in a few post about pats being under strength, leaguies not available??? what is that about? what happen to school before club?
anyone?

not sure exactly, but rumour has it that a few of Patties players were playing in the Mal Meninga Cup. They couldn't play school until the MM season was over. I know for a fact that at Marist you are not aloud to play club of any sort during 1st XV season. Aren't Patties a bit of a league school these days? probably has a lot to do with them allowing their better players to play rep. league.