As day 2 of Division II Nationals unfolds, the open’s division is heating up!
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We present to you, the Open’s Division teams competing for the glory:
Ballarat
Returning to the open division in 2023 after an absence, the regional club is a near certainty to improve on their 17th place finish. Being a breeding ground for Thunder players for the better part of two decades, Ballarat have put together probably the strongest ever lineup to emanate from the Golden City. Offence will be fast and furious - big throwers like Ryan Leaney and Cameron Gibbs will be seeking out tall timber Noah Barwick and Pat Graham. Their defensive depth is boosted by the addition of a number of the Albury-Wodonga wolfpack. The slightly shorter rounds will work in their favour as they like to get quick goals on the scoreboard early. We’re tipping them for an upset or two in the pools to break into the 9th-12th bracket.
Brisbanites
The new kid on the Brisbane block is returning to Division 2 for their second year with high expectations, hoping to improve on their last year’s 8th place finish. With a core of strong throwers and veterans such as Seb Brown and Adam Beu "Jangles", expect a solid offence that will force their opponents to defend every part of the field. And that’s without hammer merchant Jack Lilwall slinging dimes regardless of conditions, game situation or stall count. The Nites should be competing with the best teams on the last day of this tournament. Hot take: Alan Kidd, if he manages to keep healthy, will have the most athletic plays of the weekend.
Equinox
Made up of former state and Australian youth rep players Equinox have beaten every other division 2 team they have played this season. They regularly match up against division 1 teams and their biggest achievement this season is beating Krank at regionals. With some very quick young guns, they are the favourite to win division 2. One IOU contributor calls them “chaos personified” - we’ll see loads of big plays and big dives from this team.
Extinction
Celebrating their 10th year as a club, Extinction is returning after a year's absence to AUC D2 with a roster full of youthful talent and wise old heads. This club, with the tireless effort of Corey Wakefield, has been the driving force in youth ultimate in Brisbane. Seven players from the Extinction junior pathway are making their AUC debut. Expect this tournament to see that grassroots youth pipeline to pay off as veterans like Alexi Paasonen will have plenty of athletic targets to choose from. Expect Extinction to only get better as the days progress as their rookies adjust to playing their first nationals and older opposition begins to tire. Day 3 upset potential rating: HIGH
Fresh Chilly
Last year the only thing that stood between Fresh and a gold medal was their own club’s A team, so it stands to reason that they are good enough to contend again. They have turned over a large portion of their roster, but are anchored by some solid O contributors like Chris Waller, Mark Junker and Ervin To. Our main criticism is the tempo of their offence - they trend towards steady, precise shots which gives defences enough time to settle in and get comfortable. Their strength is in their defensive runs - one break goal will very quickly become three or four. Finishing top in pool play will give them a decent run to the final.
Fyshwick Uni
Fyshwick Uni has struggled to field a full squad this year as the third team from Canberra’s relatively small player pool, even slipping to 9 total players closing out NSW regionals. As a result of the low numbers, they’ve struggled to notch significant wins going into Nationals, however the potential is there with several pickups bringing the squad to a small-but-manageable 15 focused on a core that have a lot of reps with each other and a lot of fitness from consistently backing up points. Uni is missing their best player Tom Cantwell this weekend, but in his stead big throwers Ben Bethune and Zac Downey will look to hit the zippy Ryan Millard-Cartwright in the deep and fearless captain Victor Horvat will lead by example with dogged handler D. After winning 2 games total in their last 2 Nationals, Uni has a low bar for a successful tournament but the talent is there to absolutely leap over it.
Fyshwick Unit
Unit’s back-to-back championships of 16-17 are slowly fading from relevance with the best Fyshwick team crashing out in quarter-finals the last 3 years running (including 2021, when an X/Y Unit clash saw a spirit timeout in the 5-8 bracket in front of a home crowd). This year, however, is the year for the boys in mango to make it back to the podium. Div 1 alum Asher Gentle and Asheek Khan anchor the O and D line respectively with calm decision-making, precise throws, and a cheeky hammer when it’s needed. Unit’s biggest enemy is themselves when the lights get bright - they have a rigorous structure courtesy of player-coach Kwong Yue Yang and a strong technical baseline, but their biggest challenge this weekend will be staying patient and taking the right options over the easy ones towards the sticky end of the tournament. Shout out to Sangah’s cans, look out for Coach K, Shooter Mitchell, and rookie Harrison “the fittest man alive” Pahl on universe point, and hopefully the boys make a deep run so Max Eppelstun can finally get a stream game.
Geelong Mudlarks
After winning this event three times in a row, in 2023 the Muddies slipped to 6th place, so expect this team to be out to reclaim their throne. With more Melbourne based players making seachanges in recent times, the years of experience on this team continue to stack up with Tim Wise, Mark Isherwood and Lewis Broad being added to the lineup. Very few Division II teams can challenge this team in the air (12 out of 19 of them are over 6’0”) so the best hope is to make them work the under cuts so they become impatient. Defensively, anything not on target will get cleaned up by Jake Angelovich, Joshi Philip and James Fox so woe betide whoever is standing across from them come quarter and semi final time.
Hills Ironbark
Hills Ironbark is based in Sydney's north west, and brings together a mix of youthful energy and seasoned experience. This is the first season that hills ultimate and Ironbark have joined forces to create a stronger and more unified team than ever before.
With fast faced disk movement, full extension layouts, and a passion for precision and teamwork. Join us as we chase division II glory, and elevate the game of ultimate through camaraderie and spirit of the game. CLANG CLANG!
Horizon
Horizon (FKA Bench) is a team of young fast players, with a couple of older heads to marshal them and get them the disc. Watch out for: Martin Forrest’s hammers and Yeison “Mogo” Mogollon, their Colombian import tearing it up with insane physics-defying grabs. IOU was told one of their players spent $700 on a last minute ticket to fly down and play Friday. The commitment is off the charts! We can’t wait to see how they progress through the tournament (if their napping skills are anything like their frisbee skills…)
Kronk
The Emperor's New Groove loving, blue and yellow wearing boys from Wollongong are back for their fourth year. They have never been to a Nationals and not walked away with a spirit medal round their neck. Can they do it again or will the insertion of 'experienced players' ruin their chances. Kronk rookies Jayden Ferguson, Tim Booth, James Maguire, and Mark Fulford might have caused the average age of Kronk to double but bring forth vast ultimate experience from nearly every level. Should also be noted we are witnessing not one but two Dad and Son combinations, showing great signs for the future of Wollongong Ultimate. Kronk are truly a wild card this weekend, great throwing experience mixed with tall young receivers, you know there will be some highlight plays. Tip is to watch Ben Cracknell and Caleb Hodgson for some outrageous grabs. Expect great passages of play, great spirit, and even greater shirts.
Manly Moes
As usual Manly are continuing their exponential growth up the ultimate ladder. With the success of the Manly mullets comes a Manly sized hole at the top of Div 2 for the Moes to fill. Development is the is the name of the game at the Moes and so the mixture of young and more experienced players finish each game, win or loss, a better player than the last. The question is, how big of a step have they taken and how deep will they go?
Melb Carnage
Juggernaut’s younger brother team come into this weekend in good form, taking out bronze medals at the Victorian Ultimate Championships and Canberra Cup. The major change in their 2023 lineup is the depth of throwing ability, with reliable break throws and deep hucks coming from anyone and anywhere. Teams will have to defend the entire field to put any kind of pressure on them. Defensively they come undone against the higher teams by being too busy and forgetting the fundamentals. If they have that tidied up by this weekend then expect to see them contending in the top bracket. Our tip is to watch the deep cutters with the tank to provide continued repeated options - Max Verhoef, Brennan White and Jeremy Widjaja - because at least one of them will be wide open at any given moment.
Melb Colossus
The third Heads of State team is back on the scene after a few years off and brings the exuberant and, frankly, annoying energy you would expect from that club. The team is young - two thirds of the squad is 22 or under - with some dug up bodies from ultimate’s graveyard there to give them guidance. Offensively they’re too inconsistent to go deep in the tournament, but those moments they’re on, they are on. The pace of Ryan Samuel, Lachie Jansen and Noah Carson will cause trouble for opposition on defence. Check out this team if you want a sneak preview of Juggernaut’s 2028 squad.
Newcastle U-Beam
Newcastle U-Beam are the division 2 team representing the Newcastle I-Beam Club. Having participated in Div II nationals on and off over the years and every (non-covid) year since 2018, Newcastle U-beam are an exciting mix of players from their captain Josh Bolton, to the old school I-Beamers Stuart Sinclair and Sturt Wilson teaching the younglings the ancient ways of Newcastle ultimate. These boys aren’t afraid to huck the disc to their blistering speedsters and towering giants on the team. You’ll certainly see some favourable results this tournament from these regional ruffians.
NSU Borealis
Coached this season by veteran Kai NSU have improved remarkably and have had some possibly surprising wins against Stout and Fyshwick Unit. Keep an eye on the troublesome Matthew "Finny" Finn and long boi Andrew "Ande" Wood as they out-tall their opponents in the air.
Outbreak Apocalypse
The second Adelaide team stormed their way into a 4th place finish last year, dispatching one of the top rated teams Fyshwick Unit in the quarter finals. This year they have a smaller squad, but this certainly hasn't diminished their experience or ability. Old boys Andy Badics, Will Christopherson, Sean Lace and Kevin Lozada can still get things done when they want to, and Shantanu Malhotra and Rudra Patil are always valuable contributors. Opposition will need to force mistakes out of them to gain the disc - turnovers certainly won’t happen out of nowhere. Defensively they will struggle to claw back early deficits, so strong starts will be essential especially in a tough pool.
Phat Chilly
Coming in as the bottom seed of the event is right where this team wants to be - with opposition holding low expectations of them. In 2023 they were able to grind out a number of close wins late in the event, but a smaller squad this year might be their undoing. Efficient offence will be their objective - get the disc to Al Don or Sergio Perez, and look for Stephen Thomas or Chris Mimra. Defensively they’ll pick some turns off any team playing predictable O, but they are vulnerable to the run-and-gun style. We don’t see them picking up many wins, but they will force opponents to run at 100% to overcome them.
Quoll
Tasmanian ultimate is a bit of a sleeping giant, with the amount of young talent they have down there ready to burst through in the coming years. Quoll play what is now probably considered an old school style of ultimate by some - get it to the open bloke, then get it to the endzone. There’s a reason that style worked for so long, it is fun to watch. We are big, big fans of Adam Baines, Jesse Rowlands and Josiah Reimers on D, who will be throwing themselves around at any airborne plastic within reach. Add in Mike Baker and Nick Marshall driving the O, and they will be heaping scoreboard pressure on all opponents. Expect improvement on last year’s 19th place finish.
Stout
Stout is a team of some of the most seasoned players in NSW. They have played at the very highest levels and although they may not be the fastest, they know when to run, when to poach and can make some very tight throws.
Sublime
With a dusty haze blocking the view of the west, no one knows what to expect from this young athletic team. Now featuring some older hats from the top Sublime heritage (Daniel ‘Doc’ Chang and Ryan Black), who can fill those calm handler roles every team needs, expect the boys to put the pressure on the east coast teams and provide some nail biting performances.
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With a name that is the bane of editors everywhere, the Slayers have put together what is comfortably their strongest lineup. Adapting the now well-trodden path of two-teams-into-one development path, the team has been putting in the work on the training field to develop the repeat sprint fitness needed to compete at a national level. They are fast and will run all day. There’s a good mix of consistent throwers and huck-happy cowboys to make D lines work, but they haven’t shown an ability to adapt well when teams have them worked out. Maybe in Shepparton they’ll let Percy Cheung, Etienne Bovet, David Knight and Shaun Johnson off the leash to hit the endzone when the cuts dry up. Defensively they are well structured but lack the assertiveness to force turnovers. They need to throw everything at their day one games to get into a higher bracket but we think they are more than capable of that.
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Apologies to those teams we missed or had incomplete info for. We will update as we go. Huge thanks to the multitude of IOU contributors who helped out with this one. You know who you are!
Disclaimer: Our hot takes are just that. We have made a pretty good effort to source correct information, however factual accuracy is not guaranteed. If you would like to improve IOU content, please consider contributing to our writing efforts and/or subscribing!