BUAFL Results: Week 16

North

Conference Final: UWS Pyros (8-1-1) 12 @ Newcastle Raiders (10-0) 50
Conference Final: Loughborough Aces (8-2) 26 @ Staffordshire Stallions (9-1) 24

South

Southern Final: Southampton Stags (9-2) 7 @ Birmingham Lions (11-0) 13

Challenge Trophy Final

Challenge Trophy Final: Sheffield Hallam Warriors (7-3) 8 vs Bath Killer Bees (7-3) 13

Well BUAFL Week 16 certainly lived up to the hype as the season reaches its crescendo.....That started with many peoples game of the week, with last years Champions the Stags making the trip to face the unbeaten Lions. What it lacked in points it made up for with drama as Birmingham held off a late Stags surge to book their place in the Bowl. The Lions now have and extra week of preparation and well deserved rest which may only add weight to their label as favourites to take the Title home.....The Conference 2 Final was even closer as the visiting Aces won by just 2 points against the Stallions at the Stables. It was a dramatic turn around from their 31 - 8 loss to Staffs earlier in the year and a testament to the strong vein of form Loughborough have hit as it comes to the business end of the season. The Aces are red hot right now and primed for what should be a scorching Northern Final.....The Raiders refused to conform this week, bucking the trend of close games by putting 50 on a weary Pyros team. Its hard to gauge exactly where they are in terms of form right now after whats arguably been a soft late regular season and post season schedule. What certainly wont be in any doubt is their desire to get a shot at the Bowl after coming so close last year.....Finally, Bath wrote their names in the history books by winning the inaugural BUAFL Challenge Trophy after a hard fought victory against the Warriors. It leaves the score at South 1 - North 0 for the moment with the all important National Championship around the corner. Its definitely nice to see another team walk away with silverware and i think the Challenge format will be a real asset to the league in coming years, giving more teams something to aim for as the regular season draws to a close.

Lets see how the Predict-o-matic fared with just 4 fixtures to call:

Overall: 3-1 (75%)

You could argue that with so many close games 3 in 4 isn't a bad score. I doubt the 'Matic will see it that way, however, and no doubt will be checking and double checking his calculations for the lone matchup of week 17. Check back on Wednesday to see who he thinks will be representing the North in the National Final.

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