Round 3 - Premiers Melbourne Lose Again, Newcastle Clear On Top

Newcastle have stormed two points clear at the top of the ARTTSL First Division ladder after only three rounds, with a dominant 11-4 home win over Illawarra. Illawarra were loose and lazy and put up little resistance against the Pre-Season Trophy winners.

Newcastle now lead the table on six points, clear of five teams equal second on four points.

Premiers Melbourne lost their second straight match, going down to in-form Canberra 11-8 at home after a neck-and-neck encounter.

Singapore secured their first win of the season, downing Brisbane, who continue to disappoint despite their potential, 11-6 in front of a huge Singapore crowd.

North New Zealand played their first home match in Wellington under the rotating home match agreement between Auckland and Wellington, and didn't disappoint, downing top-of-table Sunshine Coast 11-7. The match was close until some skilled shots from North New Zealand appeared to leave Sunshine Coast rattled and off their game.

Arguably the match of the round was Perth's second home match at their new table, where they led South New Zealand 8-2 and later 10-7, only to lose in extra time 14-12. Perth's young players caused more controversy when they dacked (ie: pulled pants down) South New Zealand's mascot the Big Peter Jackson (recently revealed to be the real Peter Jackson) to cheers from the crowd. An internal investigation into this behaviour is underway.

Asked for his take on the situation, Jackson simply replied, "Well, that's table tennis. We got the win, I'm happy".

Finally, Gold Coast-Tweed played their first home match in Tweed Heads and beat Sydney 11-8 after Sydney played well early, only to crack later in the game. It was Sydney's 3rd straight loss and leaves them languishing by themselves at the bottom of the table.

ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Singapore 11 d Brisbane 6 (at Singapore)
North New Zealand 11 d Sunshine Coast 7 (at Wellington)
Newcastle 11 d Illawarra 4 (at Newcastle)
South New Zealand 14 d Perth 12 (at Perth)
Canberra 11 d Melbourne 8 (at Melbourne)
Gold Coast-Tweed 11 d Sydney 8 (at Tweed Heads)

ROUND 4 DRAW:
Brisbane v North New Zealand (in Brisbane)
South New Zealand v Newcastle (in Christchurch)
Illawarra v Perth (in Wollongong)
Sydney v Melbourne (in Sydney)
Canberra v Gold Coast-Tweed (in Canberra)
Sunshine Coast v Singapore (in Sunshine Coast)

South NZ Upset Premiers, Newcastle & Sunshine Coast On Top

South New Zealand have pulled off the upset of the season so far, beating premiers Melbourne 11-9 in the final match of ARTTSL First Division Round 2.

With the Big Peter Jackson revving up the crowd, South New Zealand pulled out a narrow lead early, but Melbourne clawed back. Two pivotal points towards the end made the game memorable and gave South New Zealand their edge: The first case was where a point was replayed as the referees and touch judges all admitted they did not see whether a Melbourne shot hit the table before or after crossing the net. A video replay clearly showed the ball fell short. The situation raises again the question of whether ARTTSL should consider implementing a video referee, however Director Bernard Elksteine has been firmly against such a proposal.

The second memorable point was where Melbourne captain Camrahn Smythe allowed a South New Zealand serve that clipped the net through, having forgotten the let rul was aboloshed as at the end of Round 1.

In other matches, Gold Coast-Tweed thrashed Illawarra 11-2, Sunshine Coast racked up their second win 13-11 over Canberra, Brisbane narrowly pushed out Sydney 12-10 (leaving Sydney at the bottom of the table), Singapore join Sydney on zero points after going down to Perth on Perth's long-awaited new home table, while Newcastle join Sunshine Coast on four points at the top of the table after beating North New Zealand 11-5 in Auckland.

ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Gold Coast-Tweed 11 d Illawarra 2 (at Gold Coast)
Sunshine Coast 13 d Canberra 11 (at Sunshine Coast)
Brisbane 12 d Sydney 10 (at Sydney)
Perth 11 d Singapore 9 (at Perth)
Newcastle 11 d North New Zealand 5 (at Auckland)
South New Zealand 11 d Melbourne 9 (at Christchurch)

ROUND 3 DRAW:
Singapore v Brisbane (at Singapore)
North New Zealand v Sunshine Coast (at Wellington)
Newcastle v Illawarra (at Newcastle)
Perth v South New Zealand (at Perth)
Melbourne v Canberra (at Melbourne)
Gold Coast-Tweed v Sydney (at Tweed Heads)

Identity Revealed. The Big Peter Jackson Is... Peter Jackson!

South New Zealand fans were shocked yesterday to learn the true identity of their beloved mascot, the Big Peter Jackson.

South New Zealand management released a statement on its website revealing "The Big Peter Jackson is none other than himself, (Lord of the Rings and King Kong Director) Peter Jackson".

This was followed by a video address by Jackson in which he told fans, "I decided it was time to show my hand. That's not a guy in a suit dressed as me, it's actually me... What can I say, I love Rebound Table Tennis and I want to be part of the action, and I'm not nearly as good with a paddle bat as I am with a camera, so this is the best way to get right in among things. Also I like getting down to the South Island (Jackson lives in Wellington) and this is a great excuse to do so. I also enjoyed last week, despite the result, I've never been to the 'Gong. It was great to see Wayne and the Dell at the game too".

Jackson also quipped that the Lord of the Rings trilogy would have been ready one year earlier, had it not been for his table tennis table in the garage of his home-come-production facility, at which he and the LoTR crew spent a great deal of time "procrastinating".

No reason for the timing was given, but with South New Zealand to play their first home match of 2010 in Christchurch next week, it's highly likely this revelation will boost attendances.

Jackson did joke however that the reason he decided to reveal it was really him was because "I was sick of kids pulling my beard, thinking it was fake. Kids: It's real, and it hurts. I'm not bloody Santa Claus, alright?".

Round 1: Newcastle Strike Back, Premiers Melbourne Scrape Home

Newcastle have struck back in what is emerging as an arch rivalry with Perth, defeating the Pre-Season Trophy Final winners 11-6 in a highly charged match in Newcastle.

Newcastle cruised to an early lead of 4-0, with Perth showing some hope of catching them as their young players rallied, but the match slipped away in the dying points.

In other matches, 2009 Premiers Melbourne scraped home in a see-sawing home match against Gold Coast-Tweed.

Canberra dealt out a surprise thrashing to an out-of-form Sydney 11-2 in the National Capital.

North New Zealand were lucky to find their way to Singapore amid the air traffic chaos caused by the Icelandic Volcano, but landed with an hour to spare and, rallied by their mascot the Big Pippie, jumped from 5-all to 9-5, and ran out comfortable winners 11-7.

In somewhat of a local darby, the Sunshine Coast gave last year's runners-up Brisbane a disappointing start, beating them 11-8 in Brisbane.

Finally South New Zealand had no issues with flights to Wollongong (via Sydney) but they and their mascot, the Big Peter Jackson, came home empty-handed, losing a close and high-speed, hard-hitting match 11-9 to Illawarra.

ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Melbourne 11 d Gold Coast-Tweed 9 (at Melbourne)
Canberra 11 d Sydney 2 (at Canberra)
North New Zealand 11 d Singapore 7 (at Singapore)
Sunshine Coast 11 d Brisbane 8 (at Brisbane)
Newcastle 11 d Perth 6 (at Newcastle)
Illawarra 11 d South New Zealand 9 (at Wollongong)


ROUND 2 DRAW:
Gold Coast-Tweed v Illawarra (in Gold Coast)
Sunshine Coast v Canberra (in Sunshine Coast)
Sydney v Brisbane (in Sydney)
Perth v Singapore (in Perth)
North New Zealand v Newcastle (in Auckland)
South New Zealand v Melbourne (in Christchurch)

2010 ARTTSL First Division Draw Announced

ARTTSL Director Bernard Elksteine has announced the 2010 ARTTSL First Division Draw.

The season will run for eleven rounds, with each side playing five home and five away matches. Round 6 has been deemed an "Exhibition Round", with matches to be played in regional areas across Australia and New Zealand, and possibly in other countries.

The top six finishers will enter the 6-way finals series similar to that used in the 1997 Australian Super League series.

When asked, Mr Elksteine said it was just coincidence that Newcastle and Perth were scheduled to play each other in round 1, a replay of the Pre-Season trophy final, however to be played at Newcastle instead of Perth.

"The draw was finalised a week before the match was decided", Mr Elksteine assured the media scrum at the press conference. "But needless to has it will be a highly charged match and the Newcastle players and fans will be eager for revenge".


Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Super League (ARTTSL) First Division Draw, 2010

Round 1
Melbourne v Gold Coast-Tweed (in Melbourne)
Canberra v Sydney (in Canberra)
Singapore v North New Zealand (in Singapore)
Brisbane v Sunshine Coast (in Brisbane)
Newcastle v Perth (in Newcastle)
Illawarra v South New Zealand (in Wollongong)

Round 2
Gold Coast-Tweed v Illawarra (in Gold Coast)
Sunshine Coast v Canberra (in Sunshine Coast)
Sydney v Brisbane (in Sydney)
Perth v Singapore (in Perth)
North New Zealand v Newcastle (in Auckland)
South New Zealand v Melbourne (in Christchurch)

Round 3
Singapore v Brisbane (in Singapore)
North New Zealand v Sunshine Coast (in Wellington)
Newcastle v Illawarra (in Newcastle)
Perth v South New Zealand (in Perth)
Melbourne v Canberra (in Melbourne)
Gold Coast-Tweed v Sydney (in Tweed Heads)

Round 4
Brisbane v North New Zealand (in Brisbane)
South New Zealand v Newcastle (in Christchurch)
Illawarra v Perth (in Wollongong)
Sydney v Melbourne (in Sydney)
Canberra v Gold Coast-Tweed (in Canberra)
Sunshine Coast v Singapore (in Sunshine Coast)

Round 5
Brisbane v Perth (in Brisbane)
Sunshine Coast v Newcastle (in Sunshine Coast)
Melbourne v North New Zealand (in Melbourne)
Gold Coast-Tweed v Singapore (in Gold Coast)
Canberra v South New Zealand (in Canberra)
Sydney v Illawarra (in Sydney)

Round 6 (Exhibition Round)
North New Zealand v Perth (location TBA)
Melbourne v Illawarra (location TBA)
Gold Coast-Tweed v South New Zealand (location TBA)
Canberra v Brisbane (location TBA)
Sydney v Sunshine Coast (location TBA)
Singapore v Newcastle (location TBA)

Round 7
Singapore v Melbourne (in Singapore)
North New Zealand v Gold Coast-Tweed (in Auckland)
Illawarra v Canberra (in Wollongong)
South New Zealand v Sydney (in Queenstown)
Newcastle v Brisbane (in Newcastle)
Perth v Sunshine Coast (in Perth)

Round 8
Gold Coast-Tweed v Sunshine Coast (in Tweed Heads)
Canberra v Newcastle (in Canberra)
Sydney v Perth (in Sydney)
Singapore v Illawarra (in Singapore)
North New Zealand v South New Zealand (in Wellington)
Melbourne v Brisbane (in Melbourne)

Round 9
Perth v Canberra (in Perth)
Newcastle v Sydney (in Newcastle)
South New Zealand v Singapore (in Christchurch)
Illawarra v North New Zealand (in Wollongong)
Sunshine Coast v Melbourne (in Sunshine Coast)
Brisbane v Gold Coast-Tweed (in Brisbane)

Round 10
Sydney v Singapore (in Sydney)
Brisbane v South New Zealand (in Brisbane)
Sunshine Coast v Illawarra (in Sunshine Coast)
Melbourne v Perth (in Melbourne)
Gold Coast-Tweed v Newcastle (in Gold Coast)
Canberra v North New Zealand (in Canberra)

Round 11
Illawarra v Brisbane (in Wollongong)
South New Zealand v Sunshine Coast (in Christchurch)
Newcastle v Melbourne (in Newcastle)
Perth v Gold Coast-Tweed (in Perth)
Singapore v Canberra (in Singapore)
North New Zealand v Sydney (in Auckland)

Preliminary Finals
3rd v 6th [Game P1]
4th v 5th [Game P2]

Quarter Finals
1st v 2nd [Game Q1]
Winner P1 v Winnner P2 [Game Q2]

Semi Final
Loser Q1 v Winner Q2 [Game S1]

Grand Final
Winner Q1 v Winner S1

Perth Clinch Pre-Season Trophy

An injury and suspension-ridden Perth side have swept aside a week of controversy, defeating Newcastle 12-10 in the Pre-Season Trophy Final.

The match was neck and neck all the way to 10-all, when Perth fans couldn't believer their eyes as the dream of the Semi-Final victory over premiers Melbourne repeated itself as Newcastle hit the net twice, handing Perth the 12-10 victory.

The morning before the match started badly, with several players suspended, as well as captain Jimmy Twix, over the scandal that ensued in Melbourne after Perth's semi-final victory.

The captaincy was ironically handed to rookie Ian McGovern, who had been the intended butt of the prank gone wrong.

McGovern accepted the Pre-Season Trophy on behalf of the team in a subdued ceremony afterwards.

Eyes now turn to the regular First Division ARTTSL season which is about to commence, with the final draw to be announced any time soon.

Gus Gold's Pre-Season Analysis

Heading into its second regular season, ARTTSL faces a number of major issues, the two most prominent of which are, although at first not clearly, related.

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day. It also wasn’t built in two years. ARTTSL is never going to reach the scale of Rome, but it’s certainly set an ambitious growth agenda within its first two seasons, one that would make Caesar green with envy.

Let’s consider how this all happened: Launching its first season with a modest eight First Division licenses, the last of which were fought over pre-season by several marginal clubs, ARTTSL surprised everyone by announcing just one month later the establishment of a Second-Division Challenger League with another eight licenses, with the opportunity for the top six to progress to First Division in 2010 at the expense of the two most lowly-ranked First Division sides, expanding the total number of First Division licenses to twelve. Then, at the end of the season, they announced a further four Second Division licenses, to facilitate expansions in Australia’s three largest cities, forced the merger of Wellington and Auckland to allow the entry of Singapore, and talked it all up as they bravest agenda in sport in the Southern Hemisphere. Certainly the biggest agenda. Brave is an interpretation. Foolish remains to be seen.

Did you find that previous paragraph unnecessarily complicated and convoluted? If so, sorry, but that’s about the best way to represent the development of ARTTSL to date: unnecessarily complicated and convoluted. There’s no systematic and clear way to describe it as there is no systematic or clear approach in the management of the fast-expanding multi-national league.

Now anyone who follows my oft-maligned commentary would know I’ve been a strong advocate for a cross-continental Rebound Table Tennis League for some time, with the inclusion of a limited number of international teams in nearby countries such as New Zealand or Indonesia. On paper, this is what has been achieved. In reality it’s anything but, because such a thing needs to be built gradually, possibly over a period of five to ten years, or more. Not two. This has led to a range of issues, from logistics (coordinating multiple fly-away matches is expensive and complicated, and not easily honed in the short-term), to club issues due to the number of new clubs in large but relatively remote areas relative to the rebound table tennis heartlands on the eastern seaboard of Australia and in New Zealand.

Furthermore, not content with targeting nearby northern neighbours such as Indonesia, a strong rebound table tennis-playing nation, they targeted Singapore, a major centre with many flights, but it’s seven thousand kilometres away, a long flight, and hardly part of the Australasian region. With such long travel and the tricky logistics this brings about, I fear Singapore will become the Canberra Raiders of ARTTSL – strong at home, a push-over away. A 50% win ratio allows for reasonable seasons but you’re very unlikely to win a Premiership. So how excited will Singaporeans get over their new local side is not a great bet for mine.

The prime example of remote club establishment difficulties is Perth. Rebound table tennis is still in its relative infancy in the western capital, and the club is hardly flush with funds, and are still struggling to finish an up-to-ARTTSL-standard home table. Hence the new Perth club have bought mostly cheap, young players from across Australia, many from country and regional areas. With few senior players, or ex-players tied to the club, to guide the young players in the big city environment, there is what Perth Director Samuel Thompson recently described as a leadership vacuum. This has led to a number of scandals, including the most recent involving players acting up in Melbourne after their surprise Pre-Season Trophy Semi-Final victory.

Of course Perth are not the only club to have discipline issues, and ironically to some degree their problems have been magnified by their exposure due to their success, having finished second on the ladder in the 2009 regular season (only to crash out of the finals in two games and finish fourth). If Perth can win the upcoming Pre-Season Trophy Final against Newcastle it will hopefully turn some of the negativity around and allow the club to capitalise on a positive outcome.

Another clear down-side of the fast expansion is the potential for dissatisfaction among Second-Division clubs, with everything from the structure of the Pre-Season Trophy draw to the price of eggs in China able to antagonise them. I’m not saying I agree with all of their concerns, or even many of them, but this is where the two-tier competition is somewhat of a poor compromise, because it runs the risk of disillusioning Second Division sides and potentially driving them to form a competing break-away rebel league, and such whispers have reportedly already started. If ARTTSL are so sure they want their twenty-team competition, which effectively saturates every major population centre on Australia and New Zealand, they may be better off accepting all sides as First Division, and this could be achieved with a parallel two-conference system similar to that of the American NFL’s NFC and AFC. However this still leaves the problem of trying to keep twenty sides afloat.

My own sense is that the Australasian region can support at most sixteen teams, with twelve or fourteen possibly being an optimal number for long-term sustainability. Time will tell if the nature of the free market can prevail over the enforced expansion and the competition retracts by natural attrition with teams collapsing and closing or merging. This of course has its down-sides in failed investment and dissatisfied shareholders.

On the plus side, the Pre-Season Trophy has shown the 2010 rule changes will provide more exciting rebound table tennis. Most of all, the new ten centimetre gap between the net and the backboard has opened up the play, reducing the value of close, careful play and over-backspinning of the ball. It has allowed the big topspin hitters normally more comfortable in regular table tennis to come to the fore. Some have been critical of this, saying it makes it less a game of skill and more one of power. I disagree. I think it allows for both styles of play as there are still plenty of points that end up tight and close to the net. It’s allowed for more variety in the game which can only be a good thing.

Sorry however to finish on a sour note but it would be remiss not to mention the poor standard of refereeing overall in the Pre-Season Trophy. There have been so many errors it’s hard to know where to start, so I’ll just mention the one that gets the furthest up my goose. The interpretation of the double-touch rule has been misread again and again and again. To me it’s clear: If a player is making a continuous movement without a change in momentum of the bat, then double-contact is to be considered a single shot and not penalised. How hard can it be? But no, the refs just wanna jump on it and give the point to the opposition. No no no no no. I hope they can improve in this area as the regular season gets underway.

So now we come to the final of the Pre-Season Trophy. I must admit I’d prefer to see Newcastle win as they’re the most professional of the new clubs and they haven’t had the scandals of Perth. That said I think Perth rightly hold the favourites tag and a win would be popular with many. If they can pull it off I won’t begrudge them their success, but would hope they would use the success as a spring-board to foster a new sense of focus in the club, clean up their discipline issues and stop bringing the game into disrepute.

Finally, I’ve been asked again and again and again who I think will be ARTTSL Premiers for 2010. Have you noticed how everyone wants to say who they think will win but backs it up with if and buts? Well, here’s a no-frills prediction you can hold me to:

Newcastle.

Scandal Taints Perth's Surprise Victory

Perth's sensational upset victory over Melbourne in last night's Semi-Final clash has been tainted after a drunken prank gone wrong.

Out celebrating in down-town Melbourne, an unnamed group of Perth players decided to order a male stripper to attend the home of injured Perth rookie Ian McGovern, where they expected him to be home recouperating.

The prank went horribly wrong as it turned out McGovern was watching the match on TV at the home of a friend, and the door was answered by McGovern's mother Janelle, who was minding his pet cat Garbage Guts.

Mrs McGovern spoke briefly to ACB News, quoted as saying "It was horrible. He was dressed as a nurse and came out with some poem along the lines of being 'the nurse who likes to...', well I don't know what because I slammed the door".

ARTTSL management this morning established a committee to investigate the allegatons. Meanwhile all Perth players have been ordered to return home immediately to assist with the investigation.

In a short statement, ARTTSL Director Bernard Elksteine stated there were a range of possible sanctions ranging from a warning or a fine to exclusion from the Pre-Season Trophy final at the worst, but he said the latter was an extreme and highly unlikely.

"We've been trying to stamp this sort of behaviour out. I'm sick of it. On behalf of the whole of ARTTSL I sincerely apologise to Ian McGovern, his mother Janelle and his cat, who also witnessed the incident", Elksteine said.

This is the latest in a number of scanals at the Perth club, with the issue being widely blamed on the club's difficulty retaining senior players, leading to a "leadership vacuum" as Perth President Samual Thompson described it a few weeks agon.

Thompson has not been available for comment on the latest matter as yet. It is expected that the build-up to the Pre-Season Trophy final in the western capital will be somewhat more subdued than was anticipated, including possible cancellation of the pre-game street parade.

The enquiry continues.

Perth upset Premiers, Book Home Final With Newcastle

Perth have secured the home Final in the ARTTSL Pre-Season Trophy after defeating reigning 2009 premiers Melbourne in the first Semi Final.

After slipping to an early 4-0 deficit, Perth clawed back with a mix of great shots and some lucky glances off the net to square the match at 5-5.

From there is was neck and neck as the match reached 9-9, after which Melbourne appeared to panic, losing the last two points with loose shots into the net. Perth won 11-9.

In the second Semi-Final home side Newcastle secured their birth in the final, edging out Sunshine Close in an extra-time enounter, 12-10.

Perth will be vying for their first title, while Newcastle will be looking to add a second piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet, having won the Second-Division Challenger League in 2009.

Newcastle are widely tipped as a stong contender for this year's First Division ARTTSL Premiership.

Meanwhile many still believe Perth are punch above their weight due to their ongoing issues with player retention in the western capital and ongoing hold-ups to their new home table, which Perth management have confirmed will not be ready for the Pre-Season Trophy Final, the match to be played on their secondary table in Fremantle.

Newcastle go into the match as favourites but after defeating the reigning Premiers, Perth have proven they're capable of anything.

SEMI FINAL RESULTS:
S1: Perth 11 d Melbourne 9 (at Melbourne)
S2: Newcastle 12 v Sunshine Coast 10 (at Newcastle)

FINAL:
F1: Perth v Newcastle (at Perth)

Quarter Finals - Top Seeds Tumble

The Quarter Finals of the Pre-Season Trophy has seen two of the top four seeds defeated.

The Sunshine Coast accounted for Sydney 13 points to 11 in a close match in which Sydney had three prior match points.

The match drew a huge crowd that included NSW Premier Kirstina Kinnensburg, who was visibly sobbing after Sydney went down.

However the coup of the round belonged to 2009 Challenger League Premiers Newcastle, who accounted for last year's First Division runners-up Brisbane, denying them a potential rematch with Melbourne in the Final. This is clearly frustrating for a Brisbane side who were clear favourites in 2009 but fell at the final hurdle.

Melbourne and Perth both survived, comfortably defeating Gold Coast-Tweed and Illawarra respectively.

Melbourne and Newcastle will now play home Semi-Finals and seem the favourites to meet in the Final. The sides met in a friendly match in late 2009, a match instigated by Premiers Melbourne as a reward to Newcastle for winning the Challenger Cup, with Melbourne winning 21-16 in a light-hearted encounter with both sides entertaining the crowd with various zany antics.

It is unlikely a Pre-Season Trophy Final encounter would be so warm and friendly.

QUARTER FINAL RESULTS:
Q1: Melbourne 11 d Gold Coast-Tweed 8 (at Melbourne)
Q2: Perth 11 d Illawarra 7 (at Perth)
Q3: Newcastle 12 d Brisbane 10 (at Brisbane)
Q4: Sunshine Coast 13 d Sydney 11 (at Sydney)

SEMI FINAL DRAW:
S1: Melbourne v Perth (at Melbourne)
S2: Newcastle v Sunshine Coast (at Newcastle)

Rumours Abound of Second Division Break-Away League

Several sources have reported some consistent, albeit unsubstantiated, cases of alleged discussions between management of a number of Second-Division sides about the possibility of forming a break-away competition.

It is rumoured such a situation would see a joint consortium from interested teams establish a separate Rebound Table Tennis league and offer some Second-Division sides, and even possibly some First-Division sides, the opportunity to switch to the rebel league.

It is also rumoured such a consortium would seek to set up rival clubs in the same cities as existing ARTTSL clubs.

ARTTSL Dirctor Bernard Elksteine has not offered to comment on the rumours, it is believed he will not make a statement until an official announcement is made. Meanwhile there is little doubt he will be gathering an army of lawyers to fight a possible split.

The Second-Division Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Challenger League is scheduled be take place in late 2010, after the regular season. However dissatisfaction among a number of clubs, further fuelled recently by percetion of a raw deal in the Pre-Season Trophy, have seemingly driven on the break-away speculation.

It is likely the success of a rebel league would hinge on it being able to secure enough competitive clubs from the existing pool of established clubs, the attraction being to be able to compete in a "top-teir competition".

Another rumoured option is to establish clubs in major regional centres, such as Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Ballarat, and so on, however this has been criticised as a poor option as it would then consitute a lower-ranked competition anyway.

More likely the biggest targets of a rebel league would be the new secondary expansion sides in Australia's three largest cities - Greater Blacktown, North Melbourne and Ipswich. However these new teams may not be enticed due to the risk and the likelihood that if the rebel league failed they would have no grounds to return to the ARTTSL competition. Not surprisingly, none of these three clubs have made any comment on the issue except to re-affirm wherever possible their commitment ot competing in the ARTTSL Second-Division Competitiion (the Challenger League), with a view to finishing in the top three to progress to First Division in 2012.

Preliminary Round - All 2nd-Division Sides Out!

All Second-Division sides that survived the Wildcard Round of the Pre-Season Trophy have been eliminated in the Prelminary Round.

Adelaide, Darwin, Geelong and North Queensland were all eliminated by the top four seeds - Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney (respectively).

However Adelaide almost pulled off the upset of the tournament, going down 13-11 to 2009 Premiers Melbourne, after leading 10-6 only to lose four straight points and see the match move into extra time.

Darwin put up a strong fight, going down to Perth, also in extra time at 13-11.

Also out in the preliminary round were South New Zealand, Canberra, Singapore and North New Zealand.

North New Zealand captain Solomono Vave was late to his side's losing match against Sunshine Coast after attending Rotorua Police Station to pay bail for his brother who had been arrested in a road-side check excess Pippies, which he'd collected earlier in the Bay of Plenty.

PRELIMINARY ROUND RESULTS:
P1: Melbourne 13 d Adelaide 11 (at Melbourne)
P2: Gold Coast-Tweed 11 d South New Zealand 5 (at Christchurch)
P3: Perth 13 d Darwin 11 (at Perth)
P4: Illawarra 12 d Canberra 10 (at Canberra)
P5: Brisbane 11 d Geelong 6 (at Brisbane)
P6: Newcastle 12 d Singapore 10 (at Newcastle)
P7: Sydney 11 d North Queensland 9 (at Sydney)
P8: Sunshine Coast 11 d North New Zealand 8 (at Auckland)

QUARTER FINAL DRAW:
Q1: Melbourne V Gold Coast-Tweed (at Melbourne)
Q2: Perth V Illawarra (at Perth)
Q3: Brisbane V Newcastle (at Brisbane)
Q4: Sydney V Sunshine Coast (at Sydney)

Wildcard Round: New Sides Shown No Mercy

New Second-Division expansion sides Greater Blacktown, North Melbourne and Ipswich have been bundled out of the Pre-Season Trophy, all losing their Wildcard round matches.

Ipswich put up the strongest fight, pushing North Queensland to the end in a close 11-9 thriller in Townsville. Greater Blacktown never threatened home side Darwin, going down 11-6. North Melbourne were comprehensively thrashed 11-3 in their trip to neighbouring Geelong.

In the other wildcard match, Tasmania were eliminated, going down 11-9 to Adelaide in front of a capacity crowd in Hobart.

WILDCARD ROUND RESULTS
Adelaide 11 d Tasmania 9 (at Hobart)
Darwin 11 d Greater Blacktown 6 (at Darwin)
Geelong 11 d North Melbourne 3 (at Geelong)
North Queensland 11 d Ipswich 9 (at Townsville)

The four winners have earnt a place in the 16-team Pre-Season Trophy knock-out, with the Preliminary Round now finalised as follows:

PRELIMINARY ROUND
P1: Melbourne v Adelaide (at Melbourne)
P2: South New Zealand v Gold Coast-Tweed (at Christchurch)
P3: Perth v Darwin (at Perth)
P4: Canberra v Illawarra (at Canberra)
P5: Brisbane v Geelong (at Brisbane)
P6: Newcastle v Singapore (at Newcastle)
P7: Sydney v North Queensland (at Sydney)
P8: North New Zealand v Sunshine Coast (at Auckland)

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Tensions Over Pre-Season Trophy Draw

A number of Second Division clubs have expressed their dissatisfaction with the recently-announced Pre-Season Trophy Draw.

A joint statement representing at least four undisclosed clubs, read out by ARTTSL Teams Association President Jock Clean, detailed dissatisfaction with the structure of the draw, which sees the twelve First Division sides automatically qualify for the first round of the knock-out, while the eight Second Division clubs play one game each in the first “Wildcard Round” to determine the remaining four spots.

Furthermore, the four winners who progress to the Preliminary Round of the 16-team knock-out competition will then play away games against the four highest seeds – Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.

“This is just another slap in the tooshie (sic) to Second Division sides and reinforces their second-rate status. It goes against the notion of a National Competition and the inclusive approach were have constant been promised by ARTTSL management, but a promise that has never been delivered in its full spirit”, Mr Clean said in the long and rambling statement.

In a brief response provided at an impromptu media conference outside Rotorua Pizza Hut (part of a promotional visit to the regional centres covered by newly expanded side North New Zealand), ARTTSL President Bernard Elksteine, wiping barbecue sauce from his chin, dismissed the complaint as frivolous, saying “with all due respect” that it was the nature of being a Second Division side that there would be additional expectation to make the step to compete at the top level in such a unique competition as the Pre-Season Trophy.

On the specific issue of the four qualifyers being “forced” to play the top four seeded sides away, Mr Elksteine, stifling an apparently hearty pizza burp, stated he could not see why this was not seen as an opportunity rather than a burden.

“In return for one win against their peers they have the chance to take on the best the competition has to offer, in their big stadiums in front of their legions of fans and their fur coasts, something they would not regularly have the opportunity to do without first qualifying for First Division”, Mr Elksteine stated.

Mr Elksteine also noted that the ARTTSL is under no contractual obligation to include the Second Division sides in the Pre-Season Trophy under the current “A380 Agreement” between the Teams Association and ARTTSL, so again this represents a unique and fortuitous opportunity.

Asked later to respond to this on behalf of the teams represented, Jock Clean stated, “Well you could consider this from our point of view, which is that we’re adding to the value of Mr Elksteine’s competition by competing in his Second Division”.

However Clean went on to say that despite their concerns, all Second Division sides had agreed to compete in the Pre-Season Trophy as it stands, seeing themselves to have no alternative course of action at this late stage.

No doubt this will further fuel speculation of a break-away league seeing Second Division sides take control of their own destiny.
ARTTSL confirmed in a statement today that the competition would proceed as scheduled and no further correspondence would be entered in to.

2010 ARTTSL Pre-Season Knockout Trophy - Draw Announced

2010 ARTTSL Pre-Season Knockout Trophy - Draw

Note: New expansion club Western Sydney have been renamed to Greater Blacktown

WILDCARD ROUND (2nd-Division Sides Only)
W1: Tasmania v Adelaide (at Hobart)
W2: Darwin v Greater Blacktown (at Darwin)
W3: Geelong v North Melbourne (at Geelong)
W4: North Queensland v Ipswich (at Townsville)

PRELIMINARY ROUND
P1: Melbourne v winnerW1 (at Melbourne)
P2: South New Zealand v Gold Coast-Tweed (at Christchurch)
P3: Perth v winnerW2 (at Perth)
P4: Canberra v Illawarra (at Canberra)
P5: Brisbane v winnerW3 (at Brisbane)
P6: Newcastle v Singapore (at Newcastle)
P7: Sydney v winner W4 (at Sydney)
P8: North New Zealand v Sunshine Coast (at Auckland)

QUARTER-FINALS
Q1: winnerP1 v winnerP2 (at TBA)
Q2: winnerP3 v winnerP4 (at TBA)
Q3: winnerP5 v winnerP6 (at TBA)
Q4: winnerP7 v winnerP8 (at TBA)

SEMI-FINALS
S1: winnerQ1 v winner Q2 (at TBA)
S2: winnerQ3 v winner Q4 (at TBA)

FINAL
F1: winnerS1 v winnerS2 (at TBA)

*Matches will be scheduled at home ground of the highest-seeded side. Sides have been seeded according to 2009 ARTTSL and ARTTCL final standings, this was also used to generate the draw.Seedings: Melbourne, Brisband, Sydney, Perth, Canberra, North New Zealand, Newcastle, South New Zeland, Gold Coast-Tweed, Singapore, Sunshine Coast, Illawarra, Darwin, North Queensland, Geelong, Tasmania, Adelaide, North Melbourne, Ipswich, Greater Blacktown.

Welcome to Season 2010

Welcome to the second season of the Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Super League.

This season sees twelve teams competing in the First Division, with the inaugural premiers from 2009, MELBOURNE, up against last year's competitors - runners up BRISBANE, as well as SYDNEY, PERTH, CANBERRA and NORTH NEW ZEALAND (formerly Auckland and having consumed the under-performing Wellington), and new First Division qualifyers NEWCASTLE (winner of last year's Second Division Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Challenger League), SOUTH NEW ZEALAND (ARTTCL runners up), SINGAPORE, GOLD COAST-TWEED, SUNSHINE COAST and ILLAWARRA

Later the Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Challenger League will see Second Division sides sqaring off - DARWIN, TASMANIA, NORTH QUEENSLAND, GEELONG, last year's First Division wooden spooners and relegatees ADELAIDE, as well as three exciting new expansion sides from Australia's larges cities - WESTERN SYDNEY, NORTH MELBOURNE and IPSWICH.

First up, before the regular season competition commences, will be the Pre-Season Knockout Trophy in which all 20 First and Second Division teams will square off in a knock-out competition for pre-season glory. More on that including the draw to follow.

We hope you enjoy Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Super League season 2010. Stay tuned...