The Shield
A new addition to the 2002-03 season is The Shield. Known officially as the FBI Agent Zack Grant Shield of Crowexcellence, it is named after what Russell Crowe deemed to be his best ever role: FBI Agent Zack Grant in the 1995 film
No Way Back.
That is a dumb name of course, so everyone just calls it The Shield.
As the winner of last season, the Canberra Power will hold it initially. To win it off them, a team needs to beat them in a regular season series at the holder's stadium.
It's modeled on the Ranfurly Shield that New Zealand rugby teams compete for. Definitely not expecting any teams here to hold it for the 8 years that Auckland did from 1985 to 1993 but are interested to see if any teams can manage any impressive streaks.