Super Youth League End of Season Review

The Super Youth League has been one of the most competitive I can remember. The levels of skill, tactical awareness, determination and passion have rarely been higher and the entertainment value has been superb, as always and the composition of the finals series was only decided in the final matches of the season in most age groups.
Whether or not your team and club have been successful is far too frequently measured in terms of the points they have collected. However, your own measure of success should take the form of questions about whether or not the team and the individual players improved over the course of the season. The most frequent answer to this question will be ?yes? and so the season can be regarded as successful, no matter where your team ended on the competition table.
Now it is time to look back on Season 2012.
Club Championship
Central Coast Mariners won the race to win this title by a margin of seven points after a season-long tussle with Sydney University. The Mariners collected 73% of the maximum points available. As a cub they had the best defensive figures, conceding only 87 goals across their five grades. Their home and away record was about the same as they took 124 points from their home games and 123 points when they played away from home. They pocketed 126 points during the first round of the competition and then 121 points from the second round fixtures. The Mariners had all five teams participating in the finals series this season, three of them as Premiers, and two of their team won Grand Finals. Interestingly, the Mariners were the runners-up in the 2011 competition.
Sydney University were the runners-up on this table after they had amassed 71% of the maximum possible points from their fixtures. They had the best attacking figures with 247 goals being scored by their teams across the season. Their Home and Away figures were about the same and while they took 126 points from their first round matches, they slipped back a little in the second round when they claimed only 114 points. Uni had five teams playing in the finals series, two of them as Premiers and remarkably, all five qualified for the Grand Finals with three of them winning those prestigious matches. Uni had finished in 5^th position last season so this year was a significant improvement.
Mounties Wanderers finished the season in third position after they took 50% of the available points. As a club they were better performed when they played away from home as the collected 94 points from these fixtures while they took 78 points from the fixtures played at home. Their first round performance produced 93 points but they earned only 79 points from the second round. The Wanderers had completed the 2011 season in seventh spot so this year showed a tremendous improvement.
Granville Rage completed the competition in fourth place on this table after they had earned 50% of the maximum points. There was very little difference between their Home and Away results. However, while they took 71 points from their first round fixtures, they showed a second round improvement with 94 points to show for those fixtures. Granville had only one team in the finals series. Last season Rage were placed sixth on the final table.
Spirit FC were placed fifth on the final table for the season after they had collected 50% of the available points. Their home matches yielded 74 points but they claimed a total of 91 points when they played away from home. Spirit earned 89 points during the first round but then they took only 76 points from the second round. Spirit were placed first on this table at the end of last season.
Western NSW Mariners finished in sixth spot, collecting 49% of the available points on their journey through the season. The performance in Home matches was approximately the same as for their Away matches ? while they scored more points at home they also played more matches there so the only fair comparison is on a percentage basis. Equally, there was very little difference between their first and second round performances (84pts:83pts). Western ended last season in fourth position.
Fraser Park completed their competition commitments in seventh position after they took 47% of the points from their fixtures. They were better performed when they played at home where they earned 86 points while their away fixtures yielded 73 points. They took 84 points from the first round and then only 75 points from the second round. Fraser Park were placed ninth on last year?s table.
Northern Tigers were placed eighth this season after they claimed 42% of the available points. There was very little difference between their result when playing at home and those in away fixtures (66:65). They earned 60 points during the first round and then they collected 71 points from the second round. The Tigers were in tenth place last season.
Macarthur Rams finished the season in ninth place with 42% of the points to show for their efforts. They earned 85 points from their fixtures played away from home but only 59 points from their home games. The Rams claimed 90 points from the first round of the competition but only 54 points from the second round. They had finished in eleventh place last season.
Dulwich Hill were placed tenth on the final table for the season with 33% of the maximum points to their credit. They achieved approximately the same results when playing at home or away. Dully took 57 first round points and 55 points from the second round. They finished last season in eighth place.
Bankstown Berries completed the competition in eleventh place with 28% of the available points. There was little difference between their home and away results and while they took only 40 points from their first round fixtures, they earned 54 points from the second round. The Berries were placed twelfth on the table last season.
Bankstown City Lions finished twelfth this season and they had earned 27% of the maximum points. There was little difference between the results they recorded at home and those from away matches. The Lions had earned 30 points from their first round fixtures but then they picked up 61 of the second round points. Bankstown had been relegated from Premier Youth League at the end of last season.
Grade 13
Sydney University completed the competition as the Premiers and they were four points clear of their nearest rivals. The final table for the season showed that they had produced 18 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses from their 24 matches and that they had the best attacking figures in this age group with 61 goals coming from those matches. They were slightly better performed when they played away from home as they picked up 31 points from those matches as opposed to the 25 points they earned from home matches. Uni earned 29 points from their first round matches and then 32 points during the second round. In the finals series Uni defeated Macarthur Rams 4-1 in the Major Semi Final and then went on to produce a 2-0 win over Dulwich Hill in the Grand Final.
Central Coast Mariners were the competition runners-up and they had the tightest defence in this age group, conceding only 18 goals over the course of the season. Interestingly, they concede only 5 goals when playing at home while the other 13 goals were conceded in away games.  The Mariners had 16 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses to show for their twenty-four matches. They were slightly better performed when playing at home where they earned 28 points while their away matches produced 24 points. There was no difference in the performance in the two rounds as they picked up 26 points in each round. The Mariners lost the Preliminary Semi Final 1-0 to Macarthur Rams and then lost the Minor Semi Final 2-1 to Dulwich Hill.
Macarthur Rams finished in third place on the table with fifteen wins and they were four points behind the Mariners. While the Rams had earned 16 points from their home games, they earned twice as many points when they played away from home as the recorded 32 points from those matches. They showed a slight improvement in the second round when they earned 4 points more that they had in the first round. The Rams were 1-0 winners over Central Coast Mariners in the Preliminary Semi Final and then they lost the Major Semi Final 4-1 to Sydney University before bowing out with a 1-0 loss to Dulwich Hill in the Preliminary Final.
Dulwich Hill were placed fourth on the final table for the season, two points behind the Rams. They collected six more points from their away games than they did when playing at home. While Dully picked up 28 points from their first round matches, they fell away a bit in the second round when they could take only 18 points from those matches. In the finals series they were 1-0 winners over Spirit FC in the Elimination Semi Final, the defeated Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in the Minor Semi Final and won the Preliminary Final 1-0 over Macarthur Rams before losing the Grand Final 2-0 to Sydney University.
Spirit FC were placed fifth at the end of the competition and they were just one point behind Dully. They were slightly better performed when they played away from home as they earned five points more than they did from their home matches. There was very little difference between their first and second round performances as they picked up only one point more in the second round than they had in the first. Spirit lost the Elimination Semi Final 1-0 to Dulwich Hill.
Mounties Wanderers finished in sixth spot, missing a place in the finals series by a single point. The Wanderers collected 17 points from their home matches but they took 27 points from their away games. Their first round matches yielded 26 points but then they earned only eighteen points during the second round.
Western NSW Mariners were placed seventh on the final table and they were nine points behind Mounties. They were better performed when they played at home than they were in their away matches ? calculated after taking into account the fact that they played four more home games than any other team. Western had a fairly even season as they picked up only one points more in the second round than they had in the first round.
Bankstown City Lions completed the competition in eighth position, five points behind Western. Their away matches produced 18 points but they earned only 12 points when playing at home. The Lions collected 11 points from their first round matches and they 19 points from the second round games.
Skilleroos finished in ninth position, four points behind the Lions. They played all but one of their matches at home so there can be no comparison. They earned 17 points from their first round matches but then they fell away as they took only 9 points from the second round.
Granville Rage were placed tenth on the final table and they were only one point behind the Skilleroos. Rage had a fairly even season with very little difference between their home and away performances and the same applied to their first and send round matches.
Fraser Park finished in eleventh place and they were nine points behind Granville. They collected 9 points from their home matches and only 7 points from those played away from home. Fraser Park took 11 points from their first round matches but only 5 points from the second round.
Northern Tigers completed the competition in twelfth position, eight points behind Fraser Park. They had a fairly even season, taking 4 point at home and 4 points when playing away. The Tigers earned three points during the first round and then five points from the second round.
Bankstown Berries were in thirteenth place on the final table for the season, two points behind the Tigers. They collected 3 points from their home games and 3 from their away matches. They did not collect a single point during the first round and then took 6 points from the second round matches.
Grade 14
Sydney University were declared Premiers after they completed the competition one point clear at the top of the table. Uni boasted the best attacking figures and the best defensive figures in this age group as they scored 64 goals and conceded only 16 goals. They were better performed when they played at home where they collected 31 points while their away games yielded 23 points. They had a slightly better first round when they picked up 29 points while the second round saw them earn 25 points. Uni won the Major Semi Final over Granville Rage in dramatic circumstances when the score was locked at 1-1 at full-time and then at 1-1 at the end of extra time before Uni registered a 6-5 victory from the penalty spot and then they lost the Grand Final 5-1 to Central Coast Mariners.
Central Coast Mariners were the competition runners-up, finishing just one point behind the winners. They Mariners posted a total of 24 points from the home matches and they were slightly better performed in their away games as they collected 29 points from those games. They had a fairly even season, taking 26 points from the first round and then 27 points from the second round. The Mariners lost the Preliminary Semi Final 2-0 to Granville Rage, won the Minor Semi Final 3-1 over Macarthur Rams and then they defeated Granville 3-0 in the Preliminary Final before winning the Grand Final
Granville Rage finished third on the table, eight points behind the Mariners. They took 18 points from their home matches and they were slightly better performed in their away games as they collected 23 points. During the first round Rage earned 17 points and then they went on to take 24 of the second round points. In the finals series Granville defeated central Coast Mariners in the Preliminary Semi Final and then they lost the Major Semi Final in a penalty shootout to Sydney University before going down 3-0 to the Mariners in the Preliminary Final.
Western NSW Mariners completed the competition in fourth place and they were five points behind Granville. They were better performed when they played in their away matches than they were at home? calculated after taking into account the fact that they played four more home games than any other team. Western earned 20 points from the first round but only 16 points from their second round matches. They lost the Elimination Semi Final 2-1 to Macarthur Rams.  
Macarthur Rams ended the competition in fifth position, six points behind Western. They were better performed in their away games from which they earned 18 points wile they gained only 12c points when playing at home. The most dramatic difference was that they took 24 points from their first round matches but only 6 points from the second round. The won the Elimination Semi Final 2-1 over Western NSW Mariners but then they lost the Minor Semi Final 3-1 to Central Coast Mariners.
Dulwich Hill finished in sixth spot, missing a place in the finals by six points. They had a fairly even season as they earned 13 points from their home games and the same number of points when they played away. A total of 12 points came from their first round matches and then they gained 14 points from the second round.
Fraser Park were placed seventh on the final table for the season and they were two points behind Dulwich Hill. They claimed 14 points when they played at home but only 10 points came from their away games. They took 12 points from each of the two rounds of the competition.
Spirit FC completed the competition in eighth position as they were behind Fraser Park on goal difference. While they collected only 8 points from their matches played at home, they took 16 points from their away games. They earned 11 points from the first round and then 13 points came from the second round.
Mounties Wanderers finished ninth and they were three points behind Spirit. Their home matches yielded only 6 points but they gained 15 points from their away matches. They gained 11 points from the first round and 10 points from the second round of the competition.
Bankstown City Lions were placed tenth at the end of the competition and they were only one point behind Mounties. They pocketed 11 points from their home games and 9 points from their away games. While they too only seven points from their first round matches, they picked up 13 points in the second round.
Northern Tigers ended the season in eleventh position and they were three points behind the Lions. They bagged 10 points from their home games but they took only seven points when they played away matches. They gained 8 points during the first round and 9 points from the second round.
Bankstown Berries finished in twelfth place and they were one point behind the Tigers. They gained 9 points from their home games and 7 points when they played away from home. They collected 8 points from each round of the competition.
Grade 15
Central Coast Mariners were crowned Premiers when they finished four points clear at the top of the table. They had the best attacking figures in this age group after they scored 47 goals. The Mariners collected 22 points when they played at home and 26 points came from their away matches. They gained 24 points from each of the two rounds of the competition. They lost the Major Semi Final 3-1 to Sydney University and then they won the Preliminary Final 1-0 over Western NSW Mariners before beating Uni 2-1 in the Grand Final.
Western NSW Mariners were the competition runners-up. They were better performed when they played in their away matches than they were at home? calculated after taking into account the fact that they played four more home games than any other team. In the first round of the competition they earned 19 points while they gained 25 points from the second round. In the finals series Western lost the Preliminary Semi Final 2-0 to Sydney University and then they won the Minor Semi Final with a 3-0 result over Mounties Wanderers before going down 1-0 to Central Coast Mariners in the Preliminary Final.
Sydney University finished third and they were just one point behind Western. They posted 20 points from their home games and 23 points from their away matches. Uni collected 28 points from the first round matches and then only 15 points from the second round. The defeated Western 2-0 in the Preliminary Semi final and then they won the Major Semi Final with a 3-1 scoreline over Central Coast Mariners before losing the Grand Final 2-1 to Central Coast.
Mounties Wanderers were placed fourth on the final table for the season, two points behind Uni, and they had the best defensive figures in this age group with only 10 goals conceded all season. The Wanderers took only 14 points from their home matches but they gained 27 points when they played their away games. They had a fairly even season as they earned 21 points from the first round and then 20 points from the second round. They were 3-1 winners over Fraser Park in the Elimination Semi Final and then they lost the Minor Semi Final 3-0 to Western.
Fraser Park completed the competition in fifth position and they were just one point behind Mounties. They collected 19 points when they played at home and 21 points came from their away matches. They first round games yielded 21 points while they gained 19 points in the second round. Fraser Park lost the Elimination Semi Final 3-1 to the Wanderers.
Granville Rage finished in sixth spot, missing a place in the finals by three points. They earned 21 points from their home games and 16 points when they played away matches. Their first round produced 16 points and then they gained 21 points from their second round games.
Northern Tigers were placed seventh at the end of the competition and they were nine points behind Granville. The Tigers took 13 points from their home games and 15 points from their away games. They had an even season, taking 14 points from each of the two rounds of the competition.
Spirit FC finished eighth, two points behind the Tigers. They gained 14 points from their home matches and 12 points when playing away. Spirit?s first round games yielded 16 points but they took only 10 points from the second round.
Bankstown Berries were placed ninth on the final table and they were two points behind Spirit. The Berries earned 13 points when playing at home and 11 points from their away matches. They produced 14 points from the first round but only 10 points during the second round.
Macarthur Rams completed the competition in tenth position and they were three points behind the Berries. The Rams? home games gave them 11 points and they gained 10 points from their away games. They had 12 points to show for their first round matches and then they added nine points in the second round.
Bankstown City Lions finished in eleventh position, five points behind the Rams.  Their home games yielded 7 points and they gained 9 points from their away matches. In the first round the Lions earned only 3 points but then they gained 13 points in the second round.
Dulwich Hill ended the season in twelfth place and they were twelve points behind the Lions. Dully picked up 4 points from their home matches but they did not gain a single point when playing away. Only 1 point came from their first round games and then they added 3 points in the second round.
Grade 16
Central Coast Mariners claimed the crown as Premiers by a margin of ten points and they had the best defensive record in this age group, conceding a miserly five goals all season. They remained unbeaten at home as they collected 31 points from their games there while they took 26 points from their away matches. The Mariners had a fairly even season, taking 29 points from an unbeaten first round and 28 points from the second round. They won the Major Semi Final with a 3-0 result over Spirit FC but they then lost the Grand Final to Sydney University in a match which was tied up at 1-1 at full-time and 1-1 at the end of extra time before Uni won the penalty shootout 4-2.
Fraser Park were the competition runners-up. They earned 2 points from their home matches and 23 points when they played away games. They recorded 22 first round points and then they remained unbeaten throughout the second round when they added 25 points to their tally. Fraser Park lost the Preliminary Semi Final 2-0 to Spirit FC and then lost the Major Semi Final in extra time to Sydney University.
Spirit FC finished in third place and they were four points behind Fraser Park. With 43 goals to show for their efforts, Spirit had the best attacking figures in this age group. They earned 18 points from their home games and 25 points from their away matches. Spirit enjoyed a fairly even season as they took 22 points from the first round and 21 points from the second round. In the finals series they won the Preliminary Semi Final with a 2-0 result over Fraser Park and then they lost the Major Semi Final 3-0 to Central Coast Mariners before losing the Preliminary Final in extra time against Sydney University.
Sydney University completed the season in fourth position, behind Spirit on goal difference. They posted 22 points from their home games and 21 points came from their away matches. In the first round they collected 22 points and then they added 21 points in the second round. Their finals series matches all went beyond full-time. In the Elimination Semi Final they recorded a 2-1 extra time victory over Northern Tigers and then they won the Minor Semi Final 2-1 over Fraser Park in extra time, before claiming a 1-0 extra time win over Spirit in the Preliminary Final. In the Grand Final their match against Central Coast Mariners was locked up a 1-1 at full-time and 1-1 after extra time before Uni recorded the win with a 4-2 penalty shootout result.
Northern Tigers ended the competition in fifth place, five points behind Sydney Uni. They took 17 points from their home games and they remained unbeaten in their away matches as they registered a tally of 21 points. The Tigers earned 17 points from the first round and then they gained 21 points from the second round. They lost the Elimination Semi Final 2-1 in extra time to Sydney Uni.
Mounties Wanderers finished in sixth place, missing a place in the finals by three points. They earned 19 points from their matches at home while their away games produced 16 points. They bagged 17 of the first round points and then they added 21 points in the second round.
Granville Rage were placed seventh on the final table for the season and they were four points behind Mounties. Rage collected 13 points from their home games and they took 18 points from their away games. Their season was fairly even with 16 points being earned in the first round and then 15 points from the second round.
Bankstown City Lions completed the season in eighth position, eleven points behind Granville. They gained only 8 points from their matches at home but they took 12 points from their away matches. The first round yielded just 8 points but they added 12 points in the second round.
Macarthur Rams ended up in ninth place and they were two points behind the Lions. The Rams grabbed 8 points from their home games and 10 points when they played away. While they picked up 14 points from the first round they added only 4 points in the second round.
Bankstown Berries finished tenth and they were only one point behind the Rams. They earned seven points when playing at home and 10 points from their away games. The Berries could take only 2 points from their first round matches but then they pocketed 15 of the second round points.
Dulwich Hill were placed eleventh on the final table, five points behind the Berries. While they earned eleven points from their home games they able to add only 1 point when they played away games. Eight of Dully?s points came during the first round but they collected only 4 points in the second round.
Western NSW Mariners completed the competition in twelfth position and they were three points behind Dully. Western took 7 points from their home games but only 2 points came from their away matches. They earned 5 first round points and 4 second round points.
Grade 18
Sydney University won the Premiership by a single point and they had the best attacking figures in this age group with 59 goals coming from their efforts. They produced 21 points from their home games and they added 23 points from their away games. Uni collected 20 points from the first round and then they added 24 points during the second round. In the finals series they defeated Western NSW Mariners 2-1 in the Major Semi Final and then they produced a 1-0 win over Northern Tigers in the Grand Final.
Western NSW Mariners were the competition runners-up and they had the best defensive record in this age group, conceding only 25 goals over the course of the season. They were better performed when they played in their home matches than they were when they were away ? calculated after taking into account the fact that they played four more home games than any other team. Western claimed 23 points from their first round matches and then they added 20 points in the second round. They won the Preliminary Emi Final 1-0 over Northern Tigers and then they lost 2-1 to Sydney Uni in the Major Semi Final before going down to Northern Tigers in the Preliminary Final.
Northern Tigers finished in third place, three points behind Western. They earned 22 points from their home games but only 18 points when they played away. They tool 18 points from the first round matches and then 22 points from their second round games. They lost the Preliminary Semi Final 1-0 to Western and then won the Minor Semi Final with a 2-0 result over Fraser Park before taking out the Preliminary Final with a 2-1 scoreline over Western. They lost the Grand Final 1-0 to Sydney Uni.
Central Coast Mariners completed the competition in fourth position and they were three points behind the Tigers. The Mariners earned 19 points from their home games and total of 18 points from their away games. In the first round their matches yielded 18 points and they gained 22 points during the second round. They lost the Elimination Semi Final 1-0 to Fraser Park. 
Fraser Park were placed fifth on the final table for the season and they were five points behind the Mariners. They took 20 points from their home games and 18 points from their away games. They earned 18 points during the first round and then their second round matches produced 14 points. They Defeated Central Coast 1-0 in the Elimination Semi Final and then they lost the Minor semi Final 2-0 to Northern Tigers.
Mounties Wanderers ended the competition in sixth spot and they missed out on a place in the finals by a single point. The Wanderers claimed 22 points from their home games and they added only 9 points from their away games. They had a fairly even season as they gained 15 points from the first round and 16 points in the second round.
Granville Rage finished in seventh place and they were behind the Wanderers on goal difference. Rage picked up 19 points from their home games and 16 points came from their away matches. They gained only 10 points from their first round matches but the second round yielded 21 points for them.
Bankstown Berries were placed eighth on the final table and they were behind Granville on goal difference. They earned 18 points from their home games and 13 points from their away games. They had a fairly even season, earning 16 points in the first round and then 15 points in the second round.
Spirit FC finished in ninth place on the table and they were four points behind the Berries. Spirit gained 14 points from their home games and 13 points when they played away. They took 18 points from the first round and only 9 points from the second round.
Macarthur Rams ended up in tenth place, behind Spirit on goal difference. Their home games produced 12 points and they gained 15 points from away matches. They collected 18 points in the first round but they had to settle for 9 points from the second round.
Dulwich Hill finished eleventh and they were three points behind the Rams. They earned 11 points from their home games and 13 points from the away games. The first round yielded only 8 points and then they collected 16 points from the second round.
Bankstown City Lions completed the season in twelfth place and they were nineteen points behind Dulwich Hill. They registered only 3 points from the home games and two points from their away matches. At the end of the first round they had only 1 point and then they added 4 points during the second round.
-By Barry Davis