Each week brings too many story lines to cover in depth. 3 Things is our weekly feature to rectify that, taking a shallow dive into three story lines that deserve more coverage.
New England is a Genuine Title Contender
Austin went back home after losing for the first time this year in Atlanta. The 23 was built to fight.
New England was traveling out west. With a massive match in Atlanta next of the schedule, Scott Mathie rotated his side, knowing that a win in the Snake Pit would be worth twice as much as a victory at Bold Stadium.
Since sport is the ultimate reality show, its Austin that goes home licking their wounds.
Suddenly, its the Gilgronis trying to figure things out. A two game slump against genuine contenders in March could be little more than a footnote by the playoffs, but they’ll need to get things right before they start slipping down the standings. Since fell in LA, Austin remains on top. However, another potential contender is on their heels…
Seattle Gets Right
Dallas is unofficially out of the playoffs, but they weren’t built to be winless at this point in the year. Seattle comes in a skid. Those two colliding in Dallas screamed banana skin. Seattle saw the banana and kicked it out of the way.
With both Austin and San Diego dropping points, Seattle is suddenly back in this hunt. With both the former teams headed into a bye, the Seawolves could find themselves atop the standings this time next week.
While Seattle has reasserted themselves into the Western playoffs, there’s a darkhorse emerging on the other side of the Mississippi…
Toronto Isn’t Out of the East
New York, New England, and Atlanta have a grip on the Eastern playoff spots, but the men north of the border aren’t going to make it easy.
The Arrows are just eight points out of the playoff picture despite having only played a single home game. seven of their last nine games. They also have a fantastic schedule to get back into this:
- 2 games against NY
- 2 games against ATL
- 1 game against NE
- 2 games against DC
- 1 game against DAL
- 1 game against NOLA
- 1 game against HOU
In other words:
- 5 games against teams you’re trying to climb above
- 3 games in which they’d be heavily favored
- 2 games against mid-table sides
The Arrows have work to do. They’re still on the outside looking in. But when you start thinking about who could crash the playoff party, Toronto should be at the top of your list.
RugbyFootballTalk 