In the second edition of Beyond Regulation for 2014, we review the first eight weeks of the CABL women’s and men’s competitions, and discuss how each club is travelling. Check out my second segment on “I didn’t see this coming” – what has shocked me this time? And of course, the Power Rankings are back, right next to the teams of the season so far.
 
Could it be third time lucky for North women?
 
The Rockets have lost two successive Grand Finals to the Flames, but this year’s team may be the most legitimate challenger of the past three seasons. They fell just seven points short of the Flames on April 12, then followed up with three excellent victories. With a stingy defence and career years from Shannon McKay and Lauren Badenoch, they are making sure the Flames have something to think about come the post-season.
 
Speaking of the Flames, they are now up to 30 games since that last loss, against the Rockets in the 2012 Second Semi Final. However, their average winning margin over the past month is down to 16 points, compared to almost 51 points for the first four games. Is that a sign the gap between the best and the rest is closing, or have the Flames simply taken the foot off the pedal a little? The next month or two should tell the tale.
 
With the arrival of Natalie Novosel, the Sabres have gone from a team that would have struggled to make the playoffs, to being probably the best chance of preventing another Norwood v North Grand Final. Novosel had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals in her debut against the then-unbeaten Panthers, and has continued to dominate the league since. The Sabres’ only blemish in the last five weeks was a loss to West.
 
The Eagles have bounced back nicely from their horror loss to South that kicked off 2014. They have gone 5-2 over the last seven weeks, with a 13 point loss to Norwood and a close defeat at Sturt the only letdowns.
 
The Panthers are just 2-3 since that 3-0 start to the year, losing to each of the top trio. The good news is that Janae Howard has had no more than three fouls in her last three appearances, after being disqualified in the three games prior. If she can stay out of foul trouble, the Panthers will always have that scoring threat they need.
 
Hot on the Panthers’ heels are the Bearcats, who have put together a three game surge. It hasn’t been any star signings that have seen the Bearcats rise up the ladder; instead it is a case of their own players getting better. A win at Sturt has been the highlight of the campaign so far. If a couple of close ones had gone their way early, they could have been as high as third.
 
Something similar could be said for Woodville. The Warriors are a game back from the Bearcats, and have dropped thrillers at South and Forestville. Carmen Reynolds and Katherine Perkas have been outstanding offensively, but they are going to need some more scoring from elsewhere if they are to catch up those two games on the top five. Perhaps getting Rachael Griffiths more shots would help – she is 13-16 from the field this year.
 
Rounding out the bottom three are Southern, Eastern and Centrals. The Tigers started promisingly, but have dropped their last five. As a result, they have fallen out of the playoff picture. Still, they have the league’s leading rebounder in Shayde Quintrell, and to be top of the competition in that category is no mean feat. The Mavericks (one win) and Centrals (zero wins) have never been in contention for finals, but each team may have found something for the future. Emma Hooley (11.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg) has been a shining light for the Mavericks, while Aimee Herriman (11.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg) has had some good games for the Lions.
 
The last time...

The last time Norwood missed the finals, it only took two years to get back to the Grand Final. There is a chance that it could happen in one this time.
 
The Flames are the hottest team in the men’s league right now, having won five of their last six. Their offence is clicking, as shown by the 90 points they put up against a Woodville team that has been regularly keeping opponents to 55 or under. They hit 10 threes in that game, five of which came off the hand of Ian O’Boyle. At the other end, they have five time DPOY winner Todd Matthews leading the charge.
 
Round 9 may give an idea of just how far the Flames can go. They will be taking on ladder-leaders West Adelaide, who are unbeaten away and sitting pretty at 6-2. The Bearcats are a deep and dangerous team, led by Jason Dawson, who continues to find a way to have an impact. Only a week after going 1-9 from downtown, Dawson hit 5-5 in a big win over Southern. My preview of that game suggested the Tigers let him shoot from beyond the arc because of his low percentage. Well, that percentage took a massive boost to a more than respectable 34.9 per cent. Talk about answering your critics! What a game Norwood v West is promising to be!!
 
Up until succumbing to the Flames last week, the Warriors were looking like the team to beat. Their defensive statistics had been tremendous, while the offence had been consistent and smooth. But sometimes it only takes one bad quarter to change the complexion of things. The Warriors actually outscored the Flames by one after quarter time, but were defeated 14-29 in the first period. Is it just the case of one poor start, or is there a new recipe for taking down the Warriors? It will be interesting to see how the Warriors recover. For their sake, they will be hoping it is in a positive fashion, as there is only one game between their second seed and seventh placed South.
 
The last of the 5-3 teams is Centrals, whom no one would have expected to be in this position 3.5 games ago. A stunning second half against Eastern has turned into a league best four game winning streak, which has included triumphs at Port Adelaide and Pasadena. Kyle Miller is back at his best, and is receiving plenty of support. Is this just a twist in momentum, or can the Lions turn temporary form into permanent class?
 
Sturt, Southern and South all have four wins, while the Eagles and Rockets are breathing over their shoulders at 3-5. It is difficult to get a read on where any of these teams are really. Sturt and Southern have dropped four of five, after irresistible 3-0 starts. They will tackle each other in Round 9, with one set to fall below .500 for the first time this year.
 
South looked like the Wooden Spoon favourite after being blown out their first two games, but won four of five, before suffering another flogging at the hands of the struggling Rockets. The Eagles have lost a few games they probably would have won in years gone by. Picking the result of a Rockets game is like trying to pick a joker out of a pack of playing cards – occasionally you’ll score, but the odds are stacked against you. There is absolutely no pattern to their results.
 
I guess if you fire enough shots, eventually you’ll hit, and that must be what it’s like being a Rockets player because when they are on, they are very on! They are the only team to beat Norwood in the last six games, but also the only one to have lost to Eastern. Make that one out!
 
Eastern Mavericks Coach Will Smith said prior to the start of the 2013 season that his sole focus was on coaching, but suited up late last season and led his club to one of their rare wins. After another difficult start, Smith rejoined the playing ranks a little earlier in 2014, and was victorious within two matches. Since Smith “retired”, the Mavericks are 2-24. With Smith playing, the Mavericks are 2-8. A stat like that and you could be forgiven for thinking he’s The Fresh Prince of Mount Barker!
 
I didn’t see this coming (Part 2)

I started this little segment in the last Beyond Regulation edition, thinking I could find something bizarre to right about as each month of the season goes by. Last time, I picked out a couple of South Adelaide results. This time, there are too many to choose from.
 
Perhaps I could go with a generalisation of the men’s competition for Round 6. Norwood snapped South’s three game winning streak, just a week after losing to ninth ranked North. After that upset victory and putting two straight together to get their season back on track, the Rockets lost at home to Eastern for the first time since April 23, 2006.
 
The Lions, who only half a game ago had looked finished for 2014 - when they were being beaten by the Mavs - snapped a four game losing streak at West. This meant the Bearcats had lost twice the number of home games as in 2013 (even though there were still 12 rounds left in the season).
 
And now, to cap it all off! On a night where they were missing their two top scorers, Southern upset Forestville by a point at Wayville. It was their first win over the Eagles since 2008.
 
What this means is that there is now only one club who is unbeaten against a rival, at home or away, in the last decade. It happens to be a tri-factor too!
 
The Sturt Sabres have not lost at Centrals since prior to 2005, nor have they gone down at Eastern. They haven’t lost at home to South in the last 10 years either. The record at Eastern will stand beyond this year, but with the way things are going, there is a chance June 28 (v South) and July 26 (@ Centrals) could be history making dates.
 
With so much unpredictability surrounding this year, this season is shaping up to be possibly the most intriguing ever.
 
 
Women All Star Team                             
Natalie Novosel (Sturt)                                               
Carmen Reynolds (Woodville)                      
Janae Howard (South)                                                
Amy Lewis (Norwood)                                  
Jessica Mahony (South)                                  
                                                                       
Coach: Barry Mansfield (North)                     
                                                                        
Women Power Rankings                                                            
1. Norwood (-)                                                                   
2. North (+1)
3. Sturt (+4)
4. Forestville (-)
5. West (+1)
6. South (-4)
7. Woodville (-2)
8. Southern (-3)
9. Eastern (-)
10. Centrals (-)

Men All Star Team                                   
Jason Dawson (West)                                     
Alexander Starling (Woodville)                           
Bradley Reid (South)                                      
Kyle Miller (Centrals)                                     
Dexter Moore (Sturt)                                     

Coach: David Cooper (Norwood)
 
Men Power Rankings
1. West (+3)
2. Norwood (+4) 
3. Centrals (+4)
4. Woodville (+1)
5. Sturt (-3)
6. South (+2)
7. Southern (-6)
8. Forestville (-3)
9. North (-)
10. Eastern (-)