Down in the Crater the locals turned up in numbers and there was a keen sense of anticipation in the air that an upset could be on the cards this week. With young star Zac Merrett (130) supported by a more than willing forward line cast getting on top of the Coolgardie defence despite Mark Baguley's (120) POOYA worthy performance expectations were only growing. That excitement only increased when the backline brigade that has been solid all year was breaking even and nullifying the Prospectors forwards but things quickly went down hill when one of Cam O'Shea's (1...) tattoos got infected and he spent most of the match trying to make sure it wasn't ruined rather than watching the young and inexperienced Redpath (88) who was allowed to top score in the Prospector forward line. That was a sign of more bad things to come as a worrying trend for the home team continued with their lack of depth on display for all to see once again and the midfield was totally over run as they played one man short. Captain Dangerfield did what he does and top scored (132) but he was a lone ranger and to add insult to injury the up and coming Hickey (82) was narrowly defeated in the Big Tap by Stef Martin (84). In the end the Prospectors ran out winners 1192 - Serengeti 1068 The mid-season draft could well see a change in tactics for the frustrating Buffaloes but that is a long way away when you are stuck on 1 win and of more pressing nature is an away trip to Korrumburra while Coolgardie continue their challenge for a finals spot when they host Eden. BAFFU votes 3 Patrick Dangerfield 132 2 Zac Merrett 130 1 Mark Baguley 120
Thanks mate, an entertaining match report. Great to see the Mighty Prospectors continuing on with a few good wins, and Stefan, even on an off day, taking home the choccies! Redpath needed to make a decent effort this week, he's been missing for the first third of the season, and wants to take a week off next weekend too - he owes me! You may want to check the score allocated to Merrett in the votes.... there might be a typo there!!!
Apologies for the delay BF. The Monarchs got the chocolates by 92 points but it was far from a solid display from the home side. After a strong start to the season a combination of injury, suspension and poor form sees the Monarchs playing very inconsistent football. In the end it was the eagles boys that got the job done, with JJK top scoring, Priddis returning to form, and NicNat mismatched against an under-sized, out-of-positon Langford. The visitors dominated the early stages of the match, with Shiel starring in a strong performance by the Prairie Dog midfield. Ricky Henderson played well after a late call-up but in the end they couldn't quite hold on with a run of close matches maybe taking a toll. VOTES 3 Kennedy 2 Priddis 1 Shiel The Monarchs travel to Blanchetown for a match of the round clash against the Bunyips who keep managing to just sneak over the line, while the Prairie Dogs return home to host the Barcrawlers whose season has got the staggers after a solid start.
Early doors at Flying Fish Cove Park sees Kurt Tippett (Christmas Island) leading Cyril Rioli (Southern Cross) 141 to 71.
One-ninth of the way through the game at Coolgardie, and its the home side off to a flyer thanks to captain JPK and his 119 points, against the visiting Eden Whalers and the generically named Nick Smith on 59 points.
A very belated match report... Gisborne Grenades 985 defeated by Cow Bay Crocs 1097 It's these upsets that show why I keep coming back to this league. On any given weekend, any one of the lower teams can beat one of the upper teams. Sure, we'd all love to be in the top 8, but for some reason it just doesn't click. Neither Cow Bay nor Gisborne are likely to finish in the top 8, yet both myself and fresh still come back regularly to check the comp. It isn't because we are winning, because we aren't, but because we know that it is possible; upsets can occur and brighten your weekend just that tad more. Well, my weekend wasn't brightened. When 15 players on field can only score 985 points at 65 points per player, something is going wrong. Unfortunately, it happened during Cow Bay's best week, who managed to win by 112 points despite only having 14 playing players. It was one of those weeks for the Grenades - nothing went right in any way. 3 players scored above their averages compared to Cow Bay's whopping 9. There were 3 tons for Gisborne, the same for Cow Bay, but the Grenades were let down by 11 scores under 70. 11! Cow Bay only had 5, and one of those was an OOP 106 from Jacob Hopper. Tons from the improving Lachie Neale 124 (maybe he will be the main man at free for the rest of the year), the consistent Jack Riewoldt 115 and the perennial underachiever Chris Masten 104 were the only bright lights. For the Crocs, Cameron had a day out with 143, De Goey had one of his best games 107 and Libba showed why he is a gun with 128. AS mentioned before, Hopper scored 106 but was played OOP, a mistake I'm sure won't be made this week. Congratulations @fresh on the Crocs' first win, and sorry for the late match report. BOG: 3. Cameron 2. Liberatore 1. Neale Big Tap: Ceglar 39 defeated Casboult 1
4/9th of the way through the game in Coolgardie, and its the home side with their noses in front, 493 / 6 / 82.2 against the visiting Whalers 392 / 5 / 78.4 Top scorer thus far is Eden's T Lynch with 133, while The Prospectors JPK has 119.
4/9th time at the Lagoon sees the Crocs slightly in front but are 3 players short. The Vikings would be confident of coming home strong to take the 4 points... Crocs 595/7/85 Vikings 523/6/87
Update from Xmas Island where the Smugglers 1032/13 (79) lead the Gropers 666/9 (74). The Smugglers' star forwards of Martin and Deledio took control of the game in the second quarter posting 133 and 97. And a Richmond win normally means good scores for the Smugglers - with Grigg racking up a lazy 116. This was matched by the Gropers' best so far - Mitch Duncan, who received good help from Prestia (104). With 5 of @eagle_eyed final 6 players being Bulldogs, a solid WB win would go a long way to seeing the Gropers home in this close one.
Progressive scores from Pakenham Parasites 593 after 7, with lots to come Grenades 763 after 10, with not a lot to come. Still any ones game with all to play for.
6/9th of the way through the match at Coolgardie, and we've had a huge turnaround. Its now the visiting Whalers 817 / 10 / 81.7 leading the home-town Prospectors 674 / 9 / 74.9
Update from the Dino Dome, in a low scoring contest, sees the visiting Bangchang in front as we enter the last quarter, Bangchang 915/13/70.38 Hughenden 759/10/75.90
How did I miss that Cam Pedersen was out, and yet leave Jack Watts (and his 105 points) on the bench? @#$%^&
I surrender. Eden Wins! There's no possible way for me to overcome the deficit. @walesy we need an emoticon / emoji of a white flag, please!!!
All over at Pakenham. The home team has run out convincing winners against an under classed Gisborne unit. Both teams had quality players sitting on the sidelines to start the match which resulted in a realitvly low scoring affair. Pakenham was well served by the likes of Sidebum 128 Bugg 124 and Jesse 121 and along with Roo 117 Bud 102 and Simo 103 continuing their good veteran play, the Parasites had enough scores to secure victory. Gisborne had some strong performances by Neale 148 Grundy 118 and Jack Roo 96 but to many others failed to fire on the day and let down traveling supporters. Hill missing from the mids and West a ruckman playing in the seconds while Hunt played out of position in the ruck will raise a few questions from the media when the Grenades boss gets home. All in all a good competitive match. Final scores Pakenham 1275 Gisborne 1072