[GeeTwo]

I had read the rules from github, but I didn't quite get the game flow until I saw the version above.

Is the sector clear just when your own flags are removed, or do all flags of all alliances have to be outside of the sector (or carried off the ground) to get a ball? Can robots control flags of the other alliances? Can robots control multiple flags at the same time? If the answers are what I think they are (all, yes, yes) I see a possible choke hold strategy - designing a robot that surrounds a bunch of flags but does not carry them off the floor, and can put down legs (or better yet, lift its wheels so it's sitting on its frame on the carpet - with a rubber strip for traction). Then, pile all the flags inside and park in the other alliance's sector (or on the line between two sectors).

On the neutral zone issue: if your "stick" were a regular push broom, and you add the rule that it can only be in the "neutral zone" when the bristles are on the floor (at both ends), this should be safer than having players enter the neutral zone.