Nothing I posted in the other thread wasn't a fact.
It's a fact that Webster has left. He might return, but at this point in the time he isn't a New Zealand Breaker, he's a New Orleans Pelican. Check his bio. It's what it says.
It's a fact that Abercrombie and Pledger are carrying injuries. Maybe they will play Rd 1, but they are carrying injuries. Which history suggests isn't a good sign for Pledger especially. Wesley and Jackson also picked up niggles in the Blitz. Probably minor, but it happened.
It's a fact that New Zealand didn't finish top last season. They had a good Playoffs, but Cairns had 2 more wins in the regular season. That's not arguable, that happened.
It's a fact that Charles Jackson hasn't looked good. He looks like a downgrade on Ibekwe. Not Ibekwe from the Preseason, Ibekwe that hit that shot to win the Grand Final and scored 27 points.
It's a fact that on paper, Melbourne and Illawarra have improved their list. Illawarra especially have recruited Ogilvy, Penney and Lisch and kept the core of their Aussies together. Melbourne have Goulding back, have recruited the most improved player, have Holt, who looks like a great import and have a legitimate NBA player in Warrick. Cairns were the top team in the minor rounds. They lost Wilbekin, which is a hole, but they've brought in Starks and Worthington for him and Young. Not a bad trade-off.
So those things add up to me predicting that they shouldn't be favourites. Which I stick by. Maybe they will win. As you can see by my post, there's 2 positions in the top 4 that I've said could fall any way. And I said that Cairns and Melbourne could finish in any position in the top 4. To me, New Zealand are in the pack. There are 7 teams that should be very competitive this year. New Zealand aren't my top team.
I'm not going to just go back on my prediction because you've thrown the toys out of the pram when someone disagrees with you.
