Guest League Update by Larry Kramer!

Legion (3-4-4) at Lasershow (2-7-2)

The Legion entered the week frustrated from several ties and other close losses. But with Jose Ramirez and a resurgent Paul Goldschmidt leading the way, the Legion served notice that they intend to stay in the race by soundly defeating the game, but outmanned Lasershow with a strong 9-0-1 week.

Chris’ team was led by Ramirez with 2 HR/6 RBI/4SB and Goldschmidt with 3 HR/6RBI.  The surprising Brandon Nimmo added 2HR/7RBI with Cody Bellinger chipping in a couple of solo shots.  The Legion had a good, steady week as they jumped to a lead and never let up.  They totaled 40 walks and had an outstanding .387 OBP for the week.

On the pitching side, Chris got great starts from Nick Pivetta (20Ks and only 4 runs allowed in two starts) and high strikeout starts from Clevinger and McCullers, and a strong effort by Blake Snell.  Raisel Iglesias provided 3 saves, and the Legion coasted to the win.

The Lasershow tried to put up a battle and managed to stay relatively close in HR, RBI, and WHIP, but ultimately could salvage only a tie in Saves.  Mitch Moreland, rejected Ranger, had 10 hits, a HR, and 5 RBI, Lindor added 2 HR/6 RBI, and David Peralta had a homer and 5 RBI to lead the Lasershow offense.

Trevor Williams led the pitching side for Sean’s team with only 3 runs allowed in 13 inn with 13 Ks.  Kyle Barraclough had two saves, but the rest of the staff managed only mediocre work, and the Lasershow couldn’t stay with the Legion.

 

Possums (8-2-1) at Goofballs (3-5-3)

The Possums have taken the league by storm so far, and show no signs of letting up.  They defeated the Goofballs (7-2-1) with an offensive barrage and enough  strong pitching performances to neutralize a similarly good pitching effort from the Goofball starters.

At the plate, Rick’s team got good at bats from Joey Votto 2HR/9RBI, Eugenio Suarez 2HR/6RBI, Aaron Hicks 2HR/4RBI, and C. Hernandez with a homer, 3RBI, and 2 steals.  Pitching wise the Possums had the usual dominating starts from Verlander, Kluber, Scherzer, J.A. Happ, and Trevor Bauer (twice) – the Possums starters have been amazing thus far.  But the bullpen also helped swing the week for the Possums as Sean Doolittle and B. Treinan combined for 5 saves.

The Goofballs made it close for most of the week.  Kevin’s hitters performed admirably.  He had 3 players with a pair of homers – Schwarber, M. Carpenter, and A. Rendon.  He also had 4 players with 4 RBI for the week – M. Carpenter, Rizzo, Freeman, and J. Baez – plus Rendon with 6 RBI.  The Goofballs had a strong .385 OBP for the week (with 38 walks).  However, this was the only category on the hitting side that they were able to pull out.

Pitching categories were closer than they appeared as the Goofballs got two great starts from Berrios (1 run/18Ks) and fine starts from Jon Gray, the recycled Tyson Ross, and recently acquired D. Kuechel.  Keone Kela added 3 saves, but it wasn’t enough

 

Armadillos (7-3-1) at PhoeGnomes (3-7-1)

Nolan Arenado and his PhoeGnomes teammates annihilated the hapless Armadillos 9-1.  And it didn’t even seem that close!  Arenado, a coveted trade target for the Armadillos for as long as he has been in the majors, teased his frequent suitor with a 4 HR / 12 RBI week.  The Gnomes were locked and loaded and they put everything together this week.

They had 6 other players with homers and easily swept all the hitting categories except RBIs.  Jose Altuve and Matt Olson had big weeks and Heather also had 5 different players with steals.

Heather’s team won all the pitching categories with ease.  Chris Sale went 14 inn with 2 runs given up and 24 strikeouts!  M. Bumgarner had a great game, and A. Chapman saved two games.

The Armadillos were awful.  They came in leading the league by a good margin in steals and saves.  They lost both categories – and weren’t able to record even one save as the Gnomes dominated the week.  G. Stanton came alive with a 3HR/7RBI week, but it was wasted as he had little help.

On the pitching side, J. Flaherty went 7 inn/1 hit/13 Ks and P. Corbin went 7 inn/ 3hits /12 Ks, but neither could even get a win.  Spot starters D. German , J. Teheran, and M. Soroka were all pounded.  The usually reliable bullpen had no answers, and the Armadillos suffered a humiliating defeat.  Larry’s team has released 7 players since Sunday in an effort to turn things around.

 

Lannisters (6-2-3) at Thunderwolves (4-6-1)

The best drama was provided by these two teams who battled back and forth all week, but on Sunday the whole matchup came down (as it has so often has this year) to the Sunday night game.  The Lannisters won all the hitting categories except steals.  So this was a matchup that would be determined on the pitching side.  The Wolves had taken the lead on Sunday afternoon (helped by a disastrous relief appearance by Pedro Strop for the Lannisters).  The defending champs only chance to overtake Kyle’s team was to win ERA – and the only pitcher with a chance to appear in a game was Wade Davis.  The Rockies went into the 9th inning down by three runs.  But miraculously for Jeff, they called on Davis to pitch the 9th inning, and he set the Marlins down in order.  And that 1-2-3 inning swung the ERA category — and the week to the Lannisters (6-4).  What a finish!

The Lannisters should feel fortunate for the victory, which was definitely a tribute to their strong bench.  Nellie Cruz carried the team (10 hits/3HR/8RBI) with some help from Asdrubal Cabrera and Jesus Aguilar who combined for 3HR/11RBI.

Incredibly, however, Trout, Harper, Machado, Bryant, and Ozuna went 20 for 96 (.208) with one HR!

The Lannisters pitching was strong with deGrom, Cole, and Morton combining for five solid starts.  And the bullpen was able to record 5 saves with strong stats.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Thunderwolves, who thought they had a tie for sure.  Kyle’s team had a good week from A. Beltre with 2HR/6RBI.  R. Hoskins and the surging Shin Soo Choo both chipped in 4 RBI, and Realmuto added 6 of his own before being injured.  On the negative side for Kyle, Eric Hosmer and Whit Merrifield went a combined 4 for 33 (.121) for the week.

The Thunderwolves pitching was excellent with nice starts from Greinke (two), Aaron Nola, Alex Wood, and C. Richard.  Cody Allen had two saves for the week.  But the Wolves were frustrated by the last minute heroics by Wade Davis, and they fell to the Lannisters.

Next Week

This week the league leading Possums will try to keep the momentum going in a matchup with the Lsasershow.  Sean’s team would love to pull off an upset.

The red hot PhoeGnomes will do battle with the Goofballs.  Neither team wants to lose this match.

The Armadillos will try to regroup against the Thunderwolves who will be looking for a big win after coming close to upsetting the Lannisters.

And the premier matchup of the week will be the Lannisters-Legion battle between two strong rivals who had to lose to anyone, much less each other.

RK Possums (7-2-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (3-6-1)

The Possums continued their hot streak against the PhoeGnomes.  Rick’s offense was stellar for the week:  The team led the league in home runs and RBI.  Evan Gattis was the star for the week.  He had four home runs, 10 hits, and 15 RBI.  The Houston DH was joined with three home runs apiece for Khris Davis and Xander Bogaerts.  Davis and Bogaerts represent two of the Possums’ better moves over the last few years.  Rick identified strong young players and kept them though some down periods.  Now they are rewarding the Possums with great stats each week.  Ten total Possums had home runs, which contributed to a strong SLG.  However, Heather put up a fight to the end.  Her team had an advantage in OBP thanks to great weeks from Jose Altuve and Matt Kemp.  Mitch Haniger added three home runs and Trea Turner contributed two steals.  This was enough to give Heather second category despite the Possums’ strong performance.

Neither team had outstanding pitching numbers.  Rick relied on a good week from his bullpen along with his usual high strikeout numbers.  Rick won both categories after a four save week from Arodys Vizcaino.  Max Scherzer struck out 10 in just 6.0 innings pitched, and Trevor Bauer added twelve in his lone start.  Heather enjoyed a good week from Junior Guerra and captured ERA with a middling number.  She also took wins.  However, WHIP slipped away after a disastrous Jake Arrieta outing.  Heather came up just short, and suffered a close 6-4 loss.  The rare downturn in pitching shows that the Possums are still vulnerable.  Heather was close, but her usual strong pitching couldn’t quite overcome a few bad starts.  The win vaults the Possums into first place ahead of the Lannisters and Armadillos.  The Possums hope that their rise continues, and the PhoeGnomes once again ask what they have to do to earn a victory.

LK Armadillos (6-3-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-2-3)

The week’s second most important match paired the Armadillos and Lannisters.  Despite a heroic effort from the Lannisters offense, the Armadillos scored a close win despite bad pitching on both sides.  Jeff’s offense rallied behind four home run weeks from Nelson Cruz, Mike Trout, and Marcell Ozuna.  Trout was on fire for the week with a 0.750 OBP and 1.368 SLG.  Ozuna finally emerged from his season-long slump and contributed ten hits and eight RBI.  The Lannisters were near the top of the league in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  However, they failed to generate as many RBI as several other teams.  The Armadillos had only ten home runs but still managed three more RBI from the week.  They were led by a strong week from Starling Marte.  Trevor Story added seven RBI.  The Armadillos had nine players with at least one homer and fourteen contributed RBI.  This indicates a strong week up and down the lineup.  The Lannisters had better stats, but the Armadillos had more contributions from the lower end of the roster on days with few games.  This delivered two categories, and made all the difference for the week.

Neither team had acceptable pitching stats.  The Armadillos used only four starters.  Patrick Corbin and Carlos Carrasco had disastrous outings.  On the plus side, Edwin Diaz had four saves.  This gave the Armadillos one easy category win.  The Lannisters suffered a series of injuries and bad starts.  Gerrit Cole had a rare down outing and Wade Davis suffered a meltdown in relief.  Overall, the pitching on both sides was atrocious and not championship caliber.  The Armadillos won a sloppy 6-3-1 victory.  The win puts the Armadillos in a tie for second.  The Lannisters have a slew of injuries and struggled to even find enough starters for the week.  Both teams are digging deep on the waiver wire to look for reinforcements.

KG Capital City Goofballs (3-4-3) vs.  CP Legion (2-4-4)

The Legion and Goofballs managed to record yet another tie for both teams.  On the positive side, the Legion’s offense was strong.  They were among the league leaders in OBP and SLG.  They also won home runs and RBI.  Carlos Correa led the way with three home runs and eight RBI.  Jose Ramirez, Paul Goldschmidt, and Brandon Nimmo each had three home runs.  Nimmo’s strong Sunday was a big part of what allowed the Legion to secure the category and the tie for the week.  Kevin had a great week from Freddie Freeman with three home runs.  Javier Baez and Lorenzo Cain added strong steals totals.  This gave Kevin a crucial category win.  Besides steals, the Legion were dominant and appeared to have an edge before pitching.

The Legion and Goofballs each had strong pitching stats relative to the rest of the league.  The teams were tied in saves.  Chris had two saves from Brad Boxberger, but his untimely blown save on Sunday cost the Legion the category and a win for the week.  The implosion also skewed the Legion’s ERA and WHIP.  The Lannisters had a similar problem with Wade Davis on Sunday.  The Goofballs were able to take strikeouts thanks to a big week from Jon Gray.  The Rockies’ starter had 19 strikeouts in 11.0 innings pitched.  However, Gray also allowed nine earned runs and had a bloated WHIP.  Chris got a great start from Luis Severino, but it wasn’t enough to affect the rate categories quite enough.  The teams had to settle for yet another tie, and both are left with questions around their pitching staffs.

SM Lasershow (2-6-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (3-6-1)

The week’s final match saw the Thunderwolves earn a strong win against the Lasershow.  Kyle’s squad had a good offensive week.  Eduardo Escobar and J.T. Realmuto each had ten hits.  Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins had three home runs each.  This contributed to a solid SLG number as well as wins in home runs and RBI.  The two teams tied in steals, but the Lasershow weren’t competitive in OBP.  Francisco Lindor had a great week with two home runs and a steal, but he didn’t have enough support outside of David Peralta.  Mitch Moreland was miserable with a 0.136 SLG in 22 at-bats.  This gave Kyle four solid category wins before pitching.

Neither team had strong pitching numbers, but the Thunderwolves were able to do enough to win the week.  Kyle’s strong point was his bullpen.  The team had six saves with four coming from Shane Greene.  Kyle Barraclough had a nice week for the Lasershow, but Kyle barely won the category.  He also dominated in strikeouts thanks to strong weeks from Chase Anderson and Aaron Nola.  Sean had a good pair of starts from Eduardo Rodriguez, but several other starters didn’t contribute much.  The Thunderwolves’ improved play had been evident for a few weeks, so Kyle is probably happy to earn a win.

Next Week

After the Possums moved into first place, they face a test against the Goofballs.  Kevin knows he needs to win and not fall further behind the league leader.  The Thunderwolves will try to stay hot against the Lannisters.  The Legion will try to rebound from their tie against the struggling Lasershow.  Finally, the PhoeGnomes and Armadillos will face off with both teams needed to build momentum.

CP Legion (2-3-4) vs.  RK Possums (6-2-1)

The Possums continued their hot streak this week against the Legion.  Despite a determined effort, Rick continued to dominate on both sides of the score book.  To their credit, the Legion did everything they could to try to at least tie the Possums.  However, the question must now be asked – are the Possums the front runners for the title?

On offense, both teams excelled.  They easily tied for the league lead with 16 home runs each.  Rick had a narrow edge in RBI, but Chris took steals with five.  Rick won OBP, but the SLG battle was close to the end.  The Legion enjoyed a monster week from Paul Goldschmidt.  After struggling for much of the year, he broke out with four home runs and 11 RBI.  His OBP was 0.680 for the week with a 1.524 SLG.  In total, 10 Legion players had at least one home run.  Cody Bellinger had a strong week with two home runs and two steals.  The Possums countered with a huge week from Khris Davis.  He had four home runs and a 0.870 SLG.  Max Muncy added three more home runs and a 1.500 SLG for the week.  The power explosion from both teams created a deadlock in home runs and a narrow win for Rick in RBI.  This gave the Possums a 3-1-1 advantage before pitching, but the numbers could easily have flipped in RBI and SLG.  Rick led the league in home runs, RBI, SLG, and OBP.  Chris was first in home runs and steals and second in RBI and SLG.

The Possums were even more impressive on pitching.  Corey Kluber as the star for the week with 15.0 innings pitched, two wins, and 15 strikeouts.  The only Possums pitcher with an ERA over 2.50 was Justin Verlander who gave up three earned runs and earned a victory in his start.  Seven of Rick’s eight starters earned victories.  The team picked up a relief win for eight total.  This led the league and it’s almost impossible to post a higher number.  The squad led the league in strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP as well.  They also won saves.  The Possums would have beaten every other team in the league with ease this week.  The Legion can take some comfort in the fact that they put up a solid effort.  The pitching was decent and Chris could have beaten several other teams this week.  The Possums were just too hot.  Rick is currently in second place behind the Lannisters, but they are clearly the most dominant team at the moment.  Whether they can keep up this torrid pace remains to be seen – they have three consecutive wins.

KK Thunderwolves (3-5-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (2-4-3)

There is an anomaly in the Goofballs/Thunderwolves score that is under investigation.  I will post more details soon.

JK Lannisters (5-1-3) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (3-5-1)

The Lannisters and Thunderwolves met in a competitive, close match-up.  The Lannisters are currently in first place but a series of injuries and suspensions have hurt the team.  Almost a quarter of the roster is either injured or day-to-day, and that’s not including two season-ending injury cuts.  Still, the team has persevered and searched for talent high and low.  This week’s hero was Jose Martinez.  The Lannisters added him mid-week and he rewarded them with four home runs and seven RBI, both team bests.  The rest of the Lannisters lineup was quiet, though.  Lesser names like Brandon Crawford and Francisco Cervelli were instrumental in helping the Lannisters reach ten home runs and a solid RBI total.  Heather didn’t have the power numbers that Jeff produced, but she had a more solid all-around attack.  She tied for the league lead in steals with five.  She also had the better OBP and SLG thanks to strong weeks from Andrew McCutchen and Jose Altuve.  George Springer was also solid all-around with a 0.609 SLG, a home run, and a steal.  Overall, the PhoeGnomes carried a 3-2 advantage before pitching.

The Lannisters were able to take control of the match thanks to solid pitching.  The staff posted the best numbers in the league besides the Possums.  No Lannisters’ starter had a two-start week, so the team went with several different names.  Gerrit Cole destroyed the Rangers and Jose Quintana had a nice 10 strikeout start.  Jon Lester and Jacob deGrom allowed just two earned runs combined in their two starts.  Heather tried to reply with a great week from Ross Stripling. However, Gio Gonzalez suffered a devastating outing and Jake Arietta was largely ineffective.  Aroldis Chapman had four saves, but that was the only category in which the PhoeGnomes were competitive.  The Lannisters earned a narrow 5-4-1 victory for the week.  The Lannisters are still on top, but they look more vulnerable than ever.  However, the improved pitching staff should cause concern for other teams, especially if the hitting gets back on track.

LK Armadillos (5-3-1) vs.  SM Lasershow (2-5-2)

The week’s final match paired the Armadillos and Lasershow.  Both teams are dealing with numerous injuries, especially on the pitching side.  Neither team posted good numbers, but the Armadillos were just a little bit better in aggregate.  The bullpen remained the Armadillos’ strength.  They easily won the week with five saves.  Andrew Heaney was also superb with a complete game one-hitter.  This was key for the week, as the Armadillos edged the Lasershow in ERA and WHIP.  The Lasershow had a nice strikeout total, though.  They also took wins.  The Armadillos only threw 36.1 innings for the week.  The Lasershow had 49, but the efficiency wasn’t there.  This left Sean with an uphill battle going into offense.

The Armadillos were able to pull away on offense.  Giancarlo Stanton and J.D. Martinez were strong and combined for five home runs and seven RBI.  Alex Bregman was another standout with two home runs and six RBI.  The team did just enough to take OBP and SLG.  The Lasershow lacked power, but managed for steals.  It wasn’t enough, though, and the Armadillos were able to cruise to a comfortable win.  However, the struggles on both sides of the ball should concern both teams.

Next Week

Next week features two big matches.  The Lannisters face the only team to have beaten them this season – the Armadillos.  The Possums face the PhoeGnomes.  The Goofballs and Legion meet and both want to gain ground on some of the leaders.  Finally, the Lasershow and Thunderwolves square off in an interesting matchup of improving teams.

RK Possums (5-2-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (3-4-1)

The ninth week of the season saw the Possums move into a tie for first place with a win against the Thunderwolves.  The Possums put together the most complete week of any team in the league.  They were rewarded with a dominant victory.  The Possums’ offense was anchored by Nomar Mazara.  He had two home runs and five RBI.  He had the highest SLG on the team for any player with over 20 at-bats.  Mazara is up to 14 home runs for the season on a bad Rangers team.  His emergence has been critical for the Possums since older sluggers like Joey Votto and Charlie Blackmon have been down (relatively speaking) this season.  Eugenio Suarez also had a good week, along with Evan Gattis.  Kyle suffered a tremendous power outage, with only three team home runs.  The Thunderwolves won steals, but this was the only offensive category in which they were competitive.

On pitching, both teams put up nice numbers.  Kyle had good starts up and down their rosters.  Zack Greinke, Aaron Nola, Felix Hernandez and others posted good ERA and WHIP numbers.  Cody Allen was a trouble spot in relief, but Kyle still posted the third best ERA in the league.  Unfortunately, the Possums led the league in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts.  Justin Verlander remained dominant over two starts.  Max Scherzer and Corey Kluber struck out 22 in just 14.0 innings pitched.  Trevor Bauer struck out 11 in just 5.2 innings pitched.  The two way effort was enough to Rick to earn a strong victory.  The win puts the Possums in a tie for first place, though they currently fall in second place in the standings since they have more losses than the Lannisters.  Pitching has been key for the Possums.  They lead the league for the season in strikeouts, wins, and WHIP.

KG Capital City Goofballs (1-4-3) vs.  LK Armadillos (5-2-1)

The other big winner for the week was the Goofballs.  After a slow start, Kevin’s team is showing signs of life.  This week the offense took center stage.  They led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG by significant margins.  There were second in OBP and steals.  The leader was Eddie Rosario who hit three home runs in just 10 at-bats.  Twelve Goofballs had home runs, including two each from Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Matt Carpenter.  The Armadillos were also strong on offense.  They had nine players with home runs including four from Edwin Encarnacion.  Dee Gordon added three steals, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Goofballs.

Neither team was as successful on pitching as they were at the plate.  However, the Goofballs did enough to earn a comfortable win for the week.  Chris Archer and Tyson Ross combined for four starts, 20 strikeouts, and a win.  The Armadillos got yet another poor outing from Carlos Carrasco and Patrick Corbin.  Mike Foltynewicz was excellent, but Clayton Kershaw was ineffective in his return to the rotation.  The Goofballs also suffered a setback when Alex Reyes went back on the DL with an injury.  Both pitchers were expected to be major contributors.  The Goofballs made the best of their injury woes and took the two categories they needed for  a victory.  The Armadillos won saves with ease, and somehow took WHIP despite having an ERA over 6.20.  It wasn’t enough, and they are left to ponder how to stabilize the staff.  The Goofballs are now gaining some momentum and hope to continue to come back strong next week.

CP Legion (2-2-4) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (2-5-1)

The league’s final decisive contest paired the Legion and PhoeGnomes.  Heather put together the second best all-around performance just behind the Possums.  Their pitching was outstanding behind two great starts from Trevor Cahill.  Other relative unknowns like Wade LeBlanc and Ross Stripling had great starts.  Jake Arietta and Gio Gonzalez didn’t strike out may batters but they also did not allow an earned run.  The Legion didn’t have terrible pitching numbers, but they did not match up with the PhoeGnomes.  Blake Snell was great over two starts but Nick Pivetta and Reynaldo Lopez struggled.  Heather’s strong bullpen ensured that she picked up a five category sweep.

On offense, both teams were solid.  Nine Legion and eight PhoeGnomes players had home runs.  Jose Ramirez stayed hot for the Legion with three home runs.  Heather countered with three home runs from Matt Kemp and Matt Olson.  Nolan Arenado had two home runs and seven RBI.  Chris led the league in steals, and also topped Heather in RBI, OBP, and SLG.  However, the PhoeGnomes were competitive in all categories and managed a tie in home runs.  Chris missed the sweep and a chance for a tie.  Although the Legion didn’t miss any home runs on Sunday, they did leave five on the bench on Saturday, including the beleaguered Paul Goldschmidt.  The PhoeGnomes strong week netted them a well-earned victory.  With both the pitching and offense showing signs of life, Heather has to hope better things are on the horizon.

SM Lasershow (2-5-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-1-2)

The week’s final match was a sloppy encounter between the Lannisters and Lasershow.  Neither team could get enough going to earn a victory.  The best performance belonged to the Lasershow’s pitching.  The staff tied for the league lead in wins and was third in ERA and WHIP with strong numbers.  After being held winless last week, the pitchers responded with six victories.  Michael Wacha was particularly strong.  He had two starts, two wins, and a 0.61 ERA and WHIP.  Jameson Taillon rebounded to throw eight shutout innings.  The Lannisters’ staff struggled.  Charlie Morton had two rough starts and Wade Davis was ineffective in the bullpen.  Fernando Romero was called upon for spot start duty and imploded, allowing eight earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched.  The Lannisters took saves and strikeouts, but the Lasershow easily won the other three categories.

The Lannisters were better on offense.  Manny Machado had three home runs, and nine Lannisters in total added homers.  The Lasershow didn’t have the same level of power and lost out in SLG, home runs, and RBI.  However, Christian Yelich had three steals and the Lasershow dominated the category.  The Lannisters were unable to get on base well enough to compete in OBP and the end result was a dreary 5-5 tie.  Neither team is happy with the result.  The Lannisters wanted a win to stay in first place, and the Lasershow were close to pulling off an upset.  Both will try to stabilize things next week.

Next Week

The Goofballs will try to stay hot against the Thunderwolves.  Things don’t get easier for the Lasershow, who must face the Armadillos.  The PhoeGnomes and Lannisters meet again, and Heather needs a victory to keep climbing in the standings.  The final match pairs the Possums and Legion.  This promises to be an interesting contest as the Possums try to remain on top of the league.