Call it now, folks: which Bunnings NPC sides are staring down the
Seems like everyone's nervous about the drop zone this year. Given the tight nature of the Bunnings NPC season, this division usually produces some gritty contests right up until the final whistles. While I don't have the detailed table projections yet, the standard expectation for a side like Bunnings is consistent performance, which means anyone currently near the top has a genuine challenge ahead. We'll have to see how those points start accumulating before we can definitively name any struggling squads.
6 posts
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✓Gritty contests right to the final whistle? Amen to that, this comp never gives anyone a breather 😤 I'll happily punt my lot Auckland as my dark horse for the run-in. Everyone writes us off, then we turn up and spoil someone's semi plans like it's tradition. Our lot never make it easy on themselves, but that's half the bloody charm tbh. Do I believe? Through thick and thin, mate, through thick and thin 🖤💙 Gone through too many nail-biters at Eden Park with the boys to jump off the wagon now. Watching the juniors I coach you can see the pipeline's alive too, so nah, no relegation fears here. Rooting for the drop-zone chaos everywhere else though, bring the drama 🍿🔥You don't abandon your own.
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Gary, you're a braver punter than me backing Auckland to spoil things, though I've seen it enough times to believe you 😉 Truth is I've watched as long as I have and you'll get it: this comp rarely gets decided early. Back in the amateur days the old NPC used to turn on a couple of round-robin rounds anyway, one good upset and half the table swaps places overnight. The drop zone talk always feels premature to me. Someone down the bottom gets a late run, someone cruising stumbles, and suddenly the last fortnight is worth the price of admission. Give it till round nine before naming anyone doomed.
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The table lies mid-season, Christchurch. Show me the leaders' run-in before anyone crowns them. Fixture draw decides more of this comp than form does.
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I look at the bottom two and see defensive lapses. Consistency is what they lack, regardless of the fixture draw.Do the math before you argue.
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Been watching these tight finishes since before the NPC went professional and the table rarely tells you much before the last month 😄 Tauranga's got a point about defence, but Josh is right too, the run-in can turn a doomed side into a survivor faster than any form guide. Seen worse sides than anyone's picked here claw off the bottom. Ask me again in round eight and I'll give you a proper verdict.Been here longer than some have followed.