So the Rhinos appear to be serving notice to the rest of the league with their recent off the field actions. Namely, the Rochester club has gone out and signed former MLS players Aleksey Korol and Hamisi Amani-Dove to give them that extra something to push for another championship. The questions abound about these signings but the intent is clear: Rochester plans on removing itself from the pack at a time in the season when every game means something.
What about the efforts of the clubs that are trying to challenge these Rhinos? Obviously, Charleston leaps to mind as what some would call a 'buying club' that are able to bring in a number of players that command top dollars for the A-League. The tales of their multiple signings have been well chronicled so there's no need to delve back into those old stories but what about this team's chances against Rochester?
They have already lost out to the defending champs in a regular season match but what about playoff time? This is the question that most will be asking as the next few weeks wind down and the playoff picture comes into focus. They are well stocked to make a run but knowing that they're in the playoffs already could cause them to take things a little easier than they should down the stretch. Then again, I'm sure they would not look forward to another visit to Frontier Field this year, especially during the playoffs.
Rochester and Charleston won't be the only teams in the playoffs, though, so what about the other competitors? Montreal have been surging of late, Seattle can beat anyone at their place, Milwaukee look like a strong bet out of the Central, and even Vancouver have looked like improving ahead of another playoff run similar to last season. Do these teams have what it takes? It looks like only the next few days and weeks will bear that answer out.
When you get to the end of a long A-League season you often have to think about the shape a team will be in after taking a beating for several months. Life on the road in the A-League takes its own toll and when added on top of the tough matches between one another you're looking at a tired bunch of players by the time they start playing knockout competition. That will bring up more questions of teams possibly playing possum (did I just get away with that?) as they come down the stretch especially when taking into account some less than stellar opposition in some divisions this year.
Seattle have known that they've sewn up their division for quite awhile now and Charleston's beginning to get some breathing space in their division as is Milwaukee. Over in Rochester's division however there's still a possibility that someone could overtake the Rhinos for first. The team most likely to do that, though, is Montreal and while strong enough to try to pry the division away from Rochester they won't likely have enough left in the tank come playoff time.
Still, is running away with your division a good thing going into the playoffs or a bad thing? I'm sure many players and coaches wouldn't mind knowing they're into the playoffs and having the opportunity to take the foot off the pedal so to speak but what happens if that goes on for too long? Momentum is a tough thing to get back if you've lost it. It becomes doubly difficult to regain when a team's mindset isn't focused on the difficult atmosphere of playoff competition.
So, how to ward against that without running one's team into the ground? That seems to be the million dollar (or loony) question as the teams who are chasing playoff spots continue to play meaningful games through the end of the season. A select few will know their fate shortly and will have the opportunity to relax a little and let some understudies play starring roles in a few games. Those select few had better be ready, though, as they'll have to face battle hardened opponents. On the other side, challengers will need to have some amount of energy left or else fatigue could sink their championship aspirations before the playoffs even begin. Remember that I'm not trying to jump the gun on the playoffs, I'm just trying to make sure we're all prepared to make that playoff push.
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