3. Anglican Church Grammar School – 121.110
After Churchie’s horrible Centenary year premiership drive, many people predicted Churchie would finish somewhere towards the bottom of the table, lost in the mediocrity of the lesser teams as they lacked the execution to win games.
With only a few injuries, the new addition of one of the competition’s best 10s in Mack Mason and outside center Izaia Perese has seen the Viking’s experience all the highs and lows of GPS Rugby in their 5 week campaign, starting with an embarassing 4 point loss to State High in round 1. Churchie rebounded when Toowoomba came to visit, putting on a 30 point demonstration of why they are not to be underestimated. And then, the magic started. Churchie thrashed top seated Nudgee on Nudgee’s hallowed home field of Jack Ross Oval, handing the butcher stripes their first defeat at home since 2005 2012* (When Brisbane Grammar defeated Nudgee in the famous “Grand Final). With belief in themselves soaring, Churchie played their biggest game of the season, reversing a 17 point halftime deficit to tie with Southport.
Their Power Ranking is reflective of this. A narrow loss, 2 big wins and a tie have given Churchie a 0.625 winning percentage, the competitions biggest average winning margin of 13, and one loss on the season so far. The only really significant detractor from this Churchie side is their relatively low SOS rating of 0.495. This isn’t really reflective of the strength of the teams they’ve played though, as BSHS and TSS all play much better Rugby then their winning percentages would show.
I’m struggling for an NBA equivalent, but I think the 4th placed LA Clippers are a pretty good match for this Churchie side. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are reminiscent of the playing prowess of Mack Mason and his 2 star centers, and with a solid ensemble cast is also a very good match for Churchie.
I expect Churchie will close out this season very strongly.
