Another Banana Related Team finished the first phase of the season boasting an undefeated record of 4 wins, one draw, no losses. This string of results proved to be good enough to take top spot in the A Division, holding up to a second place Tugals team hot on their trail. The final game of the group between 4th and 5th place Friends of Friends and Loose Cannons respectively,  had a the makings for a cracking relegation 6-pointer. The matchup did not disappoint as both teams made an honest go of it, ending in a 4-2 win for the Cannons. With this result the Loose Cannons live to fight another day, while FoF join Dana’s Party Love Boat IX in Division B.
While Goalbusters! secured their promotion in Week 4 play, they needed a result to take the top spot. Facing a Stick It team needing a win and help from other games to continue their adventure in the B Division, this game clearly favoured the Michelle Budak’s in form Goalbusters!. The team topping the division didn’t disappoint, running out to a comfortable 3-0 scoreline and finishing their first phase on a high. La Resistance finished second and will move up to the A Division on the back of 1-1 scoreline with SWAT Team. Wolfpack and Lab Rats played off in a winner takes all relegation scrap with the Pack taking the spoils in a tight 1-0 victory. With this loss, the Lab Rats join Stick It in relegation land and play their second phase in the C Division.
Going into Week 5 play, six of the seven teams in Division C had the chance to secure their promotion. Madrista lived up to their reputation as a tough team to beat, drawing 4-4 with First Past the Post. In a game that saw the lead exchange hands a number of times, Madrista managed to get the result they needed and end FPTP‘s chances of promotion. With the second placed Why Bother? and Ninjas winning their respective games, the final Division B promotion spot would go down to the tiebreaker rule. As both teams were equal on points, Why Bother?‘s early season victory over Ninjas was the difference. The sole relegation spot fell to Holding Cell A, moving down to Division D for the second phase of the season.
Division D’s Chin Chuckers squad stuttered at the vital moment, losing 1-0 to promotion hopefuls Crease Monkeys. Losing back to back 1 – nil games means the Chin Chuckers will need to postpone their promotion ambitions for at least another season. With the Monkeys leapfrogging Chuckers into first place, the late kickoff between Brew Crew and BallsDeep grew in importance. However, despite a late fightback Brew Crew could not spoil their opponent’s party, the 4-3 win for BallsDeep good enough to see them end the day atop the division.
Honourable mentions go to the 3 undefeated teams in the league, Another Banana Related Team, Goalbusters!, and Madrista. While the Phase 1 scoring title is split between Rock Rodier of the Pumas and Ahmad El-Loubani of Madrista, both players setting the pace with a 10 goal haul over 5 games. Averaging 2 goals per game, both players will look to continue their run of form as the second phase leads in to the playoffs.