Discussion S36 Mid Season Survey - RESULTS

[TheInjuryFactory]

Welcome to the S36 Mid Season Survey results.

At severe risk of channeling my inner NaturalDisaster here. It's fair to say the response to the survey this season was tepid at best, with just 15 responses being at the absolute bare minimum end of the spectrum to warrant a results thread. Yet with 15 responses and a spread of respondents from 11 of the 13 clubs in the competition, we at least get a reasonable snapshot from a broadish cross-section of clubs.

It's also worth noting we did receive what could quite generously be considered a 'partial response' from some weird guy named SpecialBruce that was anything but. Needless to say it's unlikely I'll include the responses in the pies cos it's probably just The Foolback or some shit.

So to the club breakdown, and we can see 4 clubs with multiple respondents - Bombers, Demons, Furies & Old Boys. The Roys & Bears abstained in a move usually reserved for the Wonders.


PART A - PREDICTIONS

With the upcoming finals series looming large with just two H&A rounds to go in S36, we see four clear favourites emerge in the responses to who will win the S36 flag. Leading the way on 23% are the Warriors & Gumbies as respondents were unable to split the two top sides this season as the two clubs have traded top spot on the Sweet FA ladder several times in the past month or so alone.

On the second line of betting (please faux gamble responsibly) we suspiciously find the admin's club the Swamprats joined on 15% by the Wonders. Not bad from the Swampies considering they're currently sitting 8th with the 2nd worst percentage in the comp and 3 clubs nipping at their heels for the last available spot in the eight.

And now to the wooden spoon, and with quite possibly a league record points penalty applied to the club over the first two thirds of the season, it's no surprise to see that 71% have predicted the Old Boys will complete the ultimate fall from grace, as they look dead set certainties to claim the club's first wooden spoon the very season after their first premiership victory in S35. That said, the Royals are still in with a sniff just 2 points ahead with some nervous poopers at the Golden Throne desperate not to shit the bed and find their place amongst Sweet FA foiklore. The finals bound Dragons were curiously the 2nd highest response on 14%.

Now to the individual awards, and we find quite a tight Mobbs Medal field with just 7 players selected from the 15 respondents. The frontrunner is the Roys' tigs2010 with 36% of the vote, while the second favourite is S36 Bears returnee guero who is enjoying a charmed return to the game with 21% of the vote. In third place in the voting is perennial Gumbies glory hound GWS Goose, with 14% of respondents backing him to win his second Mobbs Medal in S36.

The beez Trophy predictions drew a wider field from the survey respondents with 12 individual players named from the 15 responses. It's worth noting I have included hedged bets as two individual responses in case someone like serial_thrilla sees fit to audit the numbers here.

The most popular response for the 'most popular' award was yours truly who clearly enjoyed the vaunted Mid Season Survey bump with 20% of respondents backing me in for a third. Second favourite is another former winner, the oft banned Old Boys skipper Tigerturbulance with 13% of the vote. The top 2 being a flashback to the S30 Mid Season survey, with Turbo and myself going on to finish 1 & 2 in the count that season.

Notable players backed to beez were Warriors skipper Tonga Bob backed to go back to back for the first time since JWS in S26, perennial bridesmaid serial_thrilla to finally salute, PhenomenalV1 to reap the rewards of his off topic but very high toil, critically acclaimed SFAEW series and quite randomly... Senor M because who knows? Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, he is exceedingly popular as we know.

Now to the EKA Medal, and we find ourselves with a clear favourite. Demons revelation Gralin has taken to the league like an old pro in his debut season and the punters have backed him in to salute with 41% of the vote. Dragons firebrand King Tenz the next best back on 24% and will no doubt be a contender, while the effervescent Warriors find Ocha905 has turned heads with 18% backing him for the win. DemurePrincess is considered an outside chance on 12% and unsurprisingly the omnipresent sausageroll even picked up a vote in keeping with the well worn but timeless meme.

The Fred Medal race appears to be a party of five, with the Warriors spearhead The Filth Wizard the clear favourite with 42% of the vote despite being a goal off the pace ahead of the Heritage Round clashes this weekend. The current Fred leader DenieD is the second favourite with 25%, while S35 winner the Bombers' gab213 rounding out the top three with 17%.

Lastly, the newly minted SFACA MVP Award (formerly the TFLUA-Tiger Award) sees the responses throw up a red herring, as I think most pundits believe nepotism will reign supreme with the admin's MVP award and 25% of respondents believe Kennedy Parker will handsomely reward himself in one of his final acts as admin. Watch this space I guess.

The second favourite is the Bombers' former admin hopeful Jabba73 on 17% which would see him add his second TFLUA/SFACA to the trophy cabinet at Abdu Prison. Other notable responses were Gumbies captain Falconista, Bears legend Dingster, the prevailing Demon Headless & the left field selection rye, who apparently plays for the Gumbies and I genuinely had to look that up. Thanks Hate - Sweet FA Plus to the rescue once again!



​

 

[Senor M]

Is this the start of my Beez run??

Maybe I’ll have to start writing media.

 

[tigs2010]

Wow it’s me vs my good mate guero for the Mobbs. The people have spoken

 

[PhenomenalV1]

I'd take just scraping into the top 20 as a Beez success.

 

[sante]

Who voted me to win the Fred medal? I’m playing on a wing

 

[TedDougChris]

Who voted me to win the Fred medal? I’m playing on a wing

 

[Yakker]

Can’t believe I wasn’t featured in ANY pie chart whatsoever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Headless]

Who voted me to win the Fred medal? I’m playing on a wing

I can't see how you don't win it from here.

 

[Wosh]

Can’t believe I wasn’t featured in ANY pie chart whatsoever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can’t believe I haven’t got pie
A slice of key lime would go down a treat right now.

 

[Gralin]

I can’t believe I haven’t got pie
A slice of key lime would go down a treat right now.

Still kicking myself

 

[Wosh]

Still kicking myself

I’m still kicking you too

 

[Gralin]

I’m still kicking you too

As you should

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

PART B - OPINIONS (PT 1)

Now onto the real stuff... the opinions. I'll be rolling out these ones over a couple posts mostly because my pretty 2D pies take a bit of baking. Will probably leave the 'most improved/most underrated/most overrated & best posters by club' last for dramatic effect.

The question of who is the best opposition captain sees 3 skippers share top honours. The Roys' TedDougChris, Old Boys' Tigerturbulance & Warriors' Tonga Bob all claimed 21% of responses each, with Demons skipper manangatang next cab off the rank with 14%.

Looking at the results there were a couple of headscratchers among the responses... and if you thought serial_thrilla was an odd choice given he's not even a captain anymore, one respondent actually nominated thewizardmelon.

The best run opposition club in the opinion of respondents sees the Warriors claim the lion's share of responses with 33%, while a further four clubs (Bears, Demons, Dragons & Bombers) were selected by 13% of respondents a piece. Interesting to note some of the variance between best oppo captains & best run clubs, make of that what you will I guess.

The best media creator in the Sweet FA unsurprisingly reads like a list of former beez winners (and a serial runner up), but promisingly does include a couple of notable up and comers with the Gumbies' Falconista & Bears' tony having proved to be strong contributors to the media landscape in recent seasons.

To the results, and 44% of respondents had yours truly at the top, which I rather faux humbly assume is purely based on the fact that I started the thread they were completing the survey for. GM, media prodigy and S28 beez winner manangatang claimed 13% of responses, joined by incoming admin & fellow beez winner Elton Johns Wig renowned for his famed WigMedia stylings also on 13%. Pleasingly, PhenomenalV1 has also been highlighted in what is surely a nod to his beloved & highly successful SFAEW franchise.

The most influential poster in the Sweet FA returned some curious responses, but the majority of the overall list contains several current/former admins & club leaders, the majority of whom are already members of the Sweet FA Hall of Fame. With 29% of responses, Hate fittingly tops the list, with outgoing admin Kennedy Parker and myself coming in second with 14% a piece.

Callums_Guns whilst undoubtedly a quality contributor who definitely brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the competition is a bit of a head scratcher, whoever selected Pickitt is just taking the piss.

The biggest campaigner in the Sweet FA surprisingly offers no clear standout from the responses, possibly more a reflection of the current 'nice' phase of the competition with genuine antagonism rarely playing a part in the general discourse of the league. It's no surprise to find the Nerd Club well represented, with serial_thrilla & Senor M expected to feature and Greenery & Pickitt also joining the party. Bonz is a bizarre call, and U2tigers whilst easily rustled is far from being the biggest campaigner at his club let alone the league.

ShaunDuggan is rightfully featured here after swining my SFAEW title, but Grand Uncle Horace hasn't even seen one since the 80s let alone actually being the league's biggest one of them all.

In an outcome that will surprise few, the biggest try hard in the Sweet FA has a clear standout with the Wonders' DenieD claiming 22% of responses. Old Boys skipper Tigerturbulance surprisingly catches a nice little drive-by here, while Falconista in my humble opinion has no business in featuring here, yet here we are.

It's worth noting the Wonders dominated the polling with 33%, leaping up to 44% if you consider that former Wonders skipper Cadsky is largely responsible.

The funniest poster in the Sweet FA was another to feature some bizarre responses, with 13 individual players nominated from 14 responses. That said, Bears skipper & shoop aficionado tony tops the polling with 14% of responses, while the Warriors are the most heavily represented club with 21% of responses across three Wazzas - skipper Tonga Bob, CursingFijian & spudmaster.​

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

OI TIF, I spotted that drive by.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

OI TIF, I spotted that drive by.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Diverse views expressed in the survey.


A pity imo that more posters do not avail of themselves of the opportunity to provide feedback.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

OI TIF, I spotted that drive by.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Cop that ya scamp.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

Cop that ya scamp.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

PART B - OPINIONS (PT 2)

Most improved poster for Season 36 is a wide open field according to the responses, with no clear standout from this season's survey but some quality shouts amongst the field. The return of Chat Pile has been a welcome one, as has Roys' veteran 3KZ is Football. The reincarnation of DenieD was recognised here, along with the reinvigorated Scythe94 who found their niche at the up and about Dees. Warriors teammates CursingFijian & spudmaster have been fittingly highlighted here, while Gumbies skipper Falconista is a slightly curious one as he has been a top flight contributor for some time now, but perhaps his newfound responsibility of the league's ladder has garnered further praise and recognition.

While a smaller field, the most overrated poster also has no clear standout from the responses with some curious results as more than half of the respondents nominated themselves. Former admin NaturalDisaster is always an easy target and features here, while league legend types Ljp86 & Wosh have clearly ruffled some feathers somewhere and find themselves on the pie.

The most underrated poster sees Dragons rookie King Tenz with the majority with 15% of the tally, which is a bit of a head scratcher given he's barely been around long enough to rate, let alone underrate but here we are. Other notable nominees include Frankston Rover Award winner Wosh, joined by teammates moginie and former EKA winner PMBangers with the Dees seeing strong representation here. Club favourite types Kilroy & Strigoi also feature, while the thankless toil of old school East Sider por_please_ya has been recognised, as has her fellow Hawks reviver & teammate Callums_Guns.

S36 saw a flurry of media early in the season, with a number of quality threads taking advantage of the Old Boys' fails. But the clear standout with respondents for best media of S36 was the expose of PMBangers that lifted the lid on the Wonders' inner turmoil after a procession of leaders leaving the club and hushed tones of disquiet seeping out into the open saw 25% of respondents give it the nod. The Furies' self deprecating work has also been highlighted courtesy of work from skipper James Colorado and up and comer Frederico_WA, while media mainstays serial_thrilla, Elton Johns Wig, myself and okeydoke7 all polling.

While the worst media of S36 sees Tigerturbulance rightfully recognised for his assault on the senses with 'Turbo didn't start the fire' the winner with 22% of the poll. Bonz's annual whoring of his services cracks a mention here, alongside any Ken shit dished up by DenieD, grumbleguts inoffensive 'Relevant or Not' series and surprisingly Elton Johns Wig features here with a rare miss with his 'Wiggins Weekly' piece. Honourable mention the wise respondent who slated any 50 game milestone thread here too, as everybody who knows anything about milestones knows that's a post in a team thread at best, not a media thread in it's own right.

To the opposition reviews now, and we see the Demons clear winners nominated by 29% of respondents as the favourite club to post against. Closely followed by the Wonders with 18% in a result that may turn some heads, while equal third in the tally sees the Warriors, Roys & Bombers with 12% a piece.

The least favourite team to post against sees the rebuilding Royals ahead of the rest with 21% in a surprising result, followed by the Phoenix, Wonders and interestingly the Bye next cab off the rank with 14% of the vote. One suspects the Dragons will be disappointed not to poll better here, as their campaign of purposeful obnoxiousness failed to adequately ruffle enough feathers with just 7% of the tally.

​

And lastly, we asked respondents what's most important when it comes to match posting, and in a result consistent with every Mid Season survey in recent memory, Humour comes out on top with 45% of the vote, although this result is down on recent seasons where it traditionally accounts for more than half of responses. Imagination the next most important in respondent's opinion with 18%, and when coupled with humour it speaks to a trend of clubs entertaining each other being the most important aspects of a match thread as opposed to a genuine head to head battle of wits with qooty & antagonism rating just 9% each in perhaps a sign of the times. Weird shit also managed 9% of the tally which will probably please your Bonz & Tigerturbulance types.

 

[The Majestic]

I was sure I'd get in there with worst post, or campaigner. Or something. I need to lift my game.

 

[Frederico_WA]

 

[Tigerturbulance]

worse media and the wooden spoon in the same season

 

[The Majestic]

worse media and the wooden spoon in the same season

Time to get a participation medal out for the Old Boys.

 

[Tigerturbulance]

Time to get a participation medal out for the Old Boys.

next season the Old Boys are going for #cuptospoontocup