Last year it was with great sadness that we had to say goodbye to Phil Walsh, so this round we raised a glass and remembered him... in the round that Adelaide played Geelong, the two teams whose game was cancelled last year.

It was a cracking round of ORFFA games. Read on for the reviews:


Iron Knob Codpieces 1125 vs Gundagai Grasshoppers 1169
Lets start with the upset of the round, where perennial wooden spooner Gundagai managed to beat the team with the coach who has seemed to take the most delight in Snoz's collection of timberware, jimbowan, even with just 14 fit players. The Grasshoppers played one short in defence but both teams' defences were poor, with the game obviously played in the middle where Grundy (114) was able to smash the out of position Jack Darling (27) in the ruck, giving great service to his Grasshopper teammates, Curnow (129), Neale (123), Cripps (115) and Adams (111). Iron Knob found only 3 centurions all up, to the 7 of Gundagai - including big Mason Cox (102) who is looking like a great addition to Snoz's team.

Cradle Mountain Devils 1169 vs Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 1388
Last year's premiers, Larrikin Lagoon turned it on in this one, with one of the highest team scores of the round. It was a great all round performance by the Lefties, with winners all of the ground, from Baguley (120) down back, to Priddis (123), Lewis (122) and Goddard (109) in the middle, Goldstein (105) in the ruck, and Montagna (110) up forward, they were hard to beat. Pendlebury (157) gave it his best for the Devils, and Jacob Hopper put in a fine performance in their magoos after being named as an emergency.

Birdsville Battlers 1344 vs Venus Bay Vultures 1190
Birdsville snapped a 4 game losing streak with an impressive performance over one of the favourites for the flag this season. The Battlers have had a fairly difficult FIXture for the start of the season, but they would have hoped for a win last week against the otherwise winless Lilacs. After a tough week on the training track, they came out fired up against Venus Bay, who played 1 short after bringing a couple of injured players on their road trip to see if they could pull up for the game. Both teams had 4 centurions, but Treloar (169) and Hunter (125) were far too good in the middle for the victors to get them over the line.

Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1300 vs Marble Bar Misfits 1014
A huge win to the Spelunkers down in the Pit, over a hapless Misfits team who are really struggling, but managed to score in 4 figures this week. Still they were never going to be a match for the Spelunkers, who had 6 centurions and another two in the 90s, led by Zac Merrett (130) up forward. Unfortunately Daylight is still going well for Marble Bar, even down in the Pit.

Wineglass Bay Packers 1258 vs Lovely Banks Lilacs 1096
Dubbed "Ladies round" due to this matchup, round 8 2016 has seen our first, that we know of, ORFFA game contested between 2 women, with Jen and Tracey fighting it out and putting on a good show. Lovely Banks were unable to keep their winning streak going, with the home team, Wineglass Bay, after firstly getting their opponents drunk on bubbles, putting on a fine performance, led by Sloane (142), Scully (121) and Miles (120), taking out the win. Best for Lovely Banks was Wellingham (102), who was their only player in triple figures.

Darraweit Guim Dirigibles 1074 vs Gariwerd Cockatoos 1247
Unfortunately the Darraweit Guim coaching staff had not been well all week and the team's preparation suffered - not only was the annual BBQ not organised, but there was a mixup at selection causing them to play a player short. The Guim's forward line had the upper hand over their opponents whose defence was poor, but the game was won in the middle with Guthrie (138) and Wallis (111) running rampant, creating lots of chances for J Cameron (143) to shine up forward for the Cockies.

Whitsunday Warriors 1110 vs Wagga Wagga Wombats 1279
Oh, the Wombats enjoyed their trip up to the Whitsundays as they caught them at a good time on the field and in the Tiki Bar, with the beautiful Autumn weather making it a very pleasant trip for them. After such a strong start to this season, Whitsunday are in free fall, losing 4 on the trot now, and sliding from the top 4 to 12th on the ladder in that same period. Wagga on the other hand, are hitting their straps after a disappointing year last year. They have been led well by Gibbs (147), Sheil (120) and Franklin (101) all year and this week was no exception.

Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles 1252 vs Foul Bay Chickens 1391
Probably the match of the round, with the Fyfeless Incorrigibles taking it right up to the undefeated Chickens of Foul Bay, with the highest score of all losing teams this week. Dan Hannebery (138) is having an absolutely fantastic season, and late inclusion, Ben Griffiths (136) had a game that would have been more appropriate next week, which may have earned him a contract extension in the land of Waikikamoocow. However Foul Bay are meeting all challenges so far this year and this game was no different. They had a centurion on every line of the team sheet, with Shaw (143) particularly impressing down back, and Libberatore (128) notably putting in a silky performance off the bench.

Nunawading Nuffers 1090 vs Mount Beauty Uglies 1253
NicNat (116) continued on his ultra consistent season, and Kade Simpson (125) celebrated his milestone game with a strong performance, but they were left to do it all on their own, after a Eurovision style pre game warmup seems to have shored up the Nuffers' Ukrainian culture experience but destroyed their hopes of a win. Mount Beauty have kept their standing as the 2nd best scoring team on the season, and are looking good to hold onto their top 4 spot on the ladder, with this win coming despite a poor game from Gawn (45). There is quality all over the place for the Uglies, who have 6 players averaging triple figures so far this season.


Next week:

Round 9 (AFL 9) … The Once in a Blue Moon Round
Nobody likes a show-off. We pay homage to the modesty and humility of our lesser-lights as they rub their trusty Hen's Tooth and trot out a Supercoach ton for the record books.

Gundagai Grasshoppers v Cradle Mountain Devils
Iron Knob Codpieces v Birdsville Battlers
Larrikin Lagoon Lefties v Charlies Opening Spelunkers
Venus Bay Vultures v Wineglass Bay Packers
Marble Bar Misfits v Darraweit Guim Dirigibles
Lovely Banks Lilacs v Whitsunday Warriors
Gariwerd Cockatoos v Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles
Wagga Wagga Wombats v Nunawading Nuffas
Foul Bay Chickens v Mt Beauty Uglies