No sooner did the South Central Series begin than it was over. It was here then it was gone and it won’t come again… hopefully not anyway. The SCS only existed in the first place because the top third of the country got stuck behind the covid border. That led to some Wellington dominance as Miramar Rangers and Wellington Olympic met in the grand final for a golden Team Welly Derby. The new era of club based National League ushered in with a reminder of the old era of franchise stuff. Rangers laid the beat down with a 7-2 victory in that final to gain a trophy they presumably won’t ever have to give back.
Only two XIs for the Teams of the Season this year because of the limited number of clubs involved. Need them Aucklanders to fill out a third team. All the qualifications here are the same as offered in the women’s version: teams are selected in a loose 4-3-3 but the formations don’t really matter. None of this really matters, don’t take it too seriously. It’s an excuse to celebrate the top performers of another National League season and not some kind of definitive statement so if your boy ain’t there then so it goes. All a bit of fun.