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Well here we go again Div II.3ians, a brand new season is about to kick off. We have a number of freshly promoted teams ready to test their skills against a tougher comp. We also have one team relegated from the ABBL (something we avoided last season) who should make most C's tremble with fear. Below is a little run down of all new teams to join our competitive league.

Big 8 Newbies

ABBL - Relegate:
Pheonix 5- Manager: Andy Bogut - Well if you don't know already Pheonix 5 has been in the ABBL for a number of seasons now and is an old rival of mine from my previous Div II league (if you can call me getting reamed again and again a rivalry). Andy Bogut started his team up way back in season 2 and spent season 12 to 15 battling with the best. For a long time running this team has been lead by one of Australia's very own national legends, Rudolph Radford. Even Smeltz/Nascimento would be worried but by the looks this 28yo is up on the trade market and will likely move elsewhere. A Div II team just can't sustain a $295k salary player, especially with a couple of younger $100k & $80k big boys eager and ready to take his place. Expect to see some moves made as the coffers of Pheonix 5 would be deeper than any team we have seen in some time, especially once the mighty RR sells!

Div III.12 - Promotee:
The Dons - Manager: Donnyb - This team is coached by my other brother (some of you would remember West Coast Steel from season 14). Don took over this team back in season 8 and has been biding his time until he finally made it to the top and has achieved his first promotion. The Dons have been carried well by their two big men Isaak and Malbasa who Donnyb has been training for some time. These guys were able to dominate Div III but at $39k and $38k a piece, they may find the jump up to Div II a bit daunting. With the addition of a new PG, The Dons could do enough to remain afloat.

Great 8 Newbies

Div III.15 Promotee:
Aussie Pride - Manager: aussie dude - Aussie Pride is another team that joined back in season 8. These guys started in Div IV but have also twice been up in Div II relegating from both II.4 and more recently II.1. Aussie Pride have the experience and also boast a country rank of 52 which may suggest relegating is not an option this season. This is a fairly well rounded team probably lacking in a genuine PG and SF but I wouldn't be surprised to see some new additions before the season is out.

Div III.4 Promotee:
lazio@ - Manager: LazioAU - This will be one of the younger sides in the comp this season, only coming about in season 12. Lazio@ have been up and down from Div IV to III twice already and this is the team's first shot at Div II. Not a bad starting 5 by any means but probably lacking in genuine depth. They also have a Singapore National at SG who could cause some trouble. Looks like a couple of starters are on the market so perhaps LazioAU is making some final tweaks to make this more than a season holiday in Div II.

Div III.5 Promotee:
Team Lordy - Manager: lordy - Another Div II virgin that took over this team in season 10. It also appears Team Lordy already has a decent rivalry with All Sorts which will be entertaining to watch through out the season. With 4 decent starters and one massively, gaping hole at SF, lordy will need to patch things up quickly to compete in this league. Especially with no bench to speak of to cover injuries that may occur. I'm sure this is on the mind of lordy and if not, better late than never!



Last edited by Violator at 4/19/2011 8:51:29 AM

smeltz hopes to have at least one battle with this legendary figure of aussie bb ;)

Hmm I can't really see that happening considering he's in the Big 8 (though I can't see him selling at $3mil, i'm sure he'll go before the cross over games). Mind you, Chelsea looks fairly likely to "enjoy" the experience of being schooled by an Aussie BB Hall of Famer. Personally I won't be losing any sleep if I don't get to share in that joy... :-P

please, do carry on with your excellent season previews, its what i look forward to every new season

You can count on me providing season previews so long as I remain in the league. Once I bow out of finals, for that week or two I am hanging out to see the updates. The new season is always refreshing and you get to see how well you trained your young guns. I also enjoy dissecting the new teams and then displaying their current strengths for all to see. Welcome to the Div new guys! ;-)

Hopefully I can find time to add semi regular award races, ideally I'd like to do them every 4-5 games.

Looking at my schedule I expect I will have a slower start compared to my last two seasons. I am confident I can come home strong though especially if I can save the cashola that I plan to.

I have a request :> can you do a preview for all the team

But all the teams in the league should already know everyone else's teams like the back of their hand (or is that just me?). The whole point of me doing previews on the new teams is so that we can all get a basic glimpse of what they bring. If I were to do every team it would be a waste of time because many teams will trade players in and out and make my previews irrelevant.

It's also supposed to be a bit of a initiation for the new teams. It's kinda like parading all the newbies around stripped naked, for all the other teams to see. Can't let them roll in here thinking they own the place! ;-)

But what I can do is this... Based soley on current country rankings (pre-game 1), Conference rankings with overall league ranking in brackets!

Again it looks as though the Big 8 hold the stronger teams with the top 3 sides residing in the "blue corner", surprise, surprise Beechy is again the early flag favourite based (on these rankings). Haggards looks to lead the "red corner" with the Nasciboys and Smeltztroopers in close support.

Big 8
1. Beechy: CR-22 / (1)
2. Chelsea Seagulls: CR-25 / (2)
3. Stone Slashers: CR-31 / (3)
4. Pheonix 5: CR-35 / (5)
5. Crush Lakers: CR-58 / (10)
6. VictoriaMages: CR-60 / (11)
7. Moosas Mad Men: CR-61 / (12)
8. The Dons: CR-97 / (14)

Great 8
1. Haggards: CR-33 / (4)
2. Downboys: CR-39 / (6)
3. Sastroopers: CR-43 / (7)
4. Vio's Violationers: CR-46 / (8)
5. Aussie Pride: CR-52 / (9)
6. Allsorts: CR-83 / (13)
7. Team Lordy: CR-107 / (15)
8. Lazio@: CR-112 / (16)

Last edited by Violator at 4/19/2011 10:32:02 AM

Good luck boys, last season HA made a split from the main pack fighting for promotion. I wonder if someone will do the same again this season or will it be an even fight till the end?

Good luck boys, last season HA made a split from the main pack fighting for promotion. I wonder if someone will do the same again this season or will it be an even fight till the end?

Congrats on managing to hold your spot up in the ABBL!

I reckon after your championship and HA's we are starting to figure it out. Might find a few more ppl trying the same tactic this season. Who it will be we will just have to wait and see!

My wages went up nearly $50k on last season's so my income won't be as good. Hopefully I can put myself in a fair enough position to have a crack. I expect Pheonix 5 may make some purchases that will put a dark cloud over most hopeful team's heads.

Thanks for your preview. I hope I can hold the spot in this league.
Good luck everyone!