Thanks for all the updates @Tomster and spot on in the assessment of my team, consistency is the end goal, could bite me in the end but also might be the key to success
The fairytale continues! Round 15 over in the Serengeti saw the visiting Parasites trek down into The Crater to take on the hometown Buffaloes An even ruck duel had Tom Hickey (87) just edging out Mark Blicavs (79) but with ex-Buffalo Brendon Goddard (152) on a mission he was able to lead his midfield brigade to get Pakenham on top and give the Parasites first use. Unfortunately it was downhill from there for the visitors with the forwards unable to take advantage of the great midfield work. Although Nick Riewoldt (101) did his best to turn back the clock, the best defence in the league was able to constantly repel the Pakenham attacks and give the Serengeti forwards enough opportunities to get the team over the line. Steven May (121) and Jasper Pittard (121) were singled out by the coach for some outstanding efforts with Pittard in particular very solid late in the game. A very tight match throughout was eventually decided by the lower ends of the list after only 6 points seperated the top 9 performers from the 2 teams. Serengeti's lowest ranked player Nick Vlastuin (57) did his best to embarrass his coach's claims to the best defence but was at least able to console himself that he had outscored the reamining bottom 6 from the Parasites who were let down by some of their youngsters having an off day. Next up the Buffaloes look to keep the finals dream alive as they visit Hughenden while Pakenham lick their wounds and head back home to take on Eden and look to sure up their finals spot and make a charge for the top 4. BAFFU votes 3 Brendon Goddard 152 2 Zac Merrett 135 1 Kade Simpson 125
THE BARCRAWLERS defeated THE PANTHERS 1415-1268. In their best game of the season the 8th placed Banchang finally got their act together and blew the 3rd placed Pearcedale right out of the water. The Barcrawlers had winners all over the park, led by their midfield (Selwood 128, Gibson 116, Gray 105 and Adams 100 ) who all tonned up and giving the makeshift forward line of Sexton 110, Wright 101, and Lyons 96, first use of the ball, allowing them to kick a winning score. Pearcedales best players came off the bench with Mundy 100, and Gibson 117 rotating throughout the game, but their defence of Savage 102, Smith 78 and K.K. 74 had no answers with which to combat the Barcrawlers forwards and with their forwards Howe 88, Daniel 77 and Towers 71 being second to the ball and well held by Enright 136, Docherty 112, and Tuohy 74, it was inevitable that Banchang would go on to record their best win of the season, in front of their very loud loyal fans. Banchang's Sinclair 73 also got the chocolates over the OOP Membrey 41 in the BIG TAP Award. BAFFU AWARD 3. Enright 136 Banchang 2 Selwood 128 Banchang 1 Gibson 117 Pearcedale Next round see Banchang 8th, make the short trip to Christmas Island 9th, in a must win game for both teams. The Smugglers had a great win over King Island and, with their final game against Gisborne, will firm with the bookies to make the 8, if they can get over Banchang this round. Similarly Banchang need the win to remain in the 8 as they come up against ladder leaders Ararat in their final game. Pearcedale aren't under as much pressure, even though this loss sees them slip to 4th, but with games against Gisborne and the Nuytsland to finish off, they should be able to hang onto 4th spot.
"Next round see Banchang 8th, make the short trip to Christmas Island 9th, in a must win game for both teams. The Smugglers had a great win over King Island and, with their final game against Gisborne, will firm with the bookies to make the 8, if they can get over Banchang this round. Similarly Banchang need the win to remain in the 8 as they come up against ladder leaders Ararat in their final game." Nice one Chop - our "local derby" will go a long way to deciding the make up of the 8. Looking forward to welcoming the BarCrawlers.
Bulls 1176 defeated by Barracudas 1299 After the heartbreaking 1 point loss the Bulls were desperate to keep their finals chances alive against @YAD69 's finals bound Cudas. It was an enthralling midfield battle as the Cudas' Cripps (137) & Bontempelli (109) went head to head with the Bulls Coniglio (106) & Rockliff (154), Hill chimed in with his best return for the year for the Bulls. In fact it was the Bulls midfield which narrowly held sway 432 to 405. The ruck duel was another tight battle as Lobb stepped in for McEvoy who was dropped after his insipid performance the week before, the more seasoned Nicholls narrowly won the big tap contest. The bench players of both sides excelled with Bastinac (107) & McKenzie (81) taking it up to the experienced Lewis (94) & Cotchin (95) This battle was won upfront as the Cudas forward line took full advantage of their inside 50s with Zorko & Jong leading the way. For the Bulls the selection committee could have cost the team the match as they overlooked looked an injury to Bird, leaving young McGovern to make a debut he would like to forget - whilst Lynch played a lone hand with 126. In the end the experienced Cudas were too good for the inconsistent Bulls Votes 3. Rockliff (Bulls) 2. Cripps (Cudas) 1. Lynch (Bulls)
Sorry for the late write up and the lack of any kind of updates throughout the weekend @insider Real life, work and a nasty man flu all hit me at once and only just getting myself sorted now! The Armadillos travelled to Blanchetown and brought their A game. Domination all over the park ensured with a very mediocre performance from the home side. Armadillos 1389 Def Bunyips 1203 BOG: 3 - Steven 150 2 - Mitchell 134 1 - Gawn 128 Gawn continues his march to the Big Tap 2016 award!!
Christmas Island 1337 def King Island 1026 The quiet whispers and murmurs among the King Island folk have grown louder again this week. Questions are being asked, rumours are building. Why are players not turning up to games? Are the injuries due to training too hard or not hard enough? Are they even injured? Some are suggesting it's a long term strategy to stay fresh for finals. Others think they've got ahead of themselves or are just plain soft. The coaching staff look nervous. Neither of the mid-season recruits are playing, while the delisted players are fit and healthy. There's a faint sound at night of knives being sharpened. The Smugglers arrived to typical winter conditions in Bass Strait - grey skies, heavy ground, and the rain coming in sideways. But with a finals spot still up for grabs they were more than ready for the fight. It was a very solid performance across the ground for the visitors with all players putting in a good contribution. Martin and Menzel (the steal of the PSD) led the way up forward, Tyson was strong in the middle, and the 3 ruck strategy again proved effective with Trengove the best of them coming out of the backline and Kreuzer winning the Big Tap battle unopposed. For the home side Priddis fought hard and looks set for his 3rd straight Golden Sceptre and Bartel did what Bartel does in the wet conditions. The inconsistent forward line again let the side down with a top score of only 63 and with 3 players missing the Monarchs never looked a chance. For the Smugglers there's little time to celebrate as they head home and prepare to host the Barcrawlers in a crucial top 8 shaping contest. For the Monarchs there's no joy on the immediate horizon as they face the ladder-leaders but there will be some sense of relief to be playing away from home. Votes 3 Priddis 2 Bartel 1 Menzel
Korumburra Blowflys 1142 defeated Southern Cross Sandgropers 1063 Two wins in a row for Korumburra as they held firm at the Terrordome to hold out a valiant Southern Cross outfit this week. Jordan Roughead (101) took the Giant Tap honours over the reigning (injured) champ Goldstein (87) but his midfielders failed to take advantage of first use with Brad Crouch (89) the pick of the bunch for the visitors. New recruit Pearce Hanley (100) led the way for the Blowflys out of the middle, who won the day by shear weight of numbers, with the Gropers playing 1 short this week due to a rough trot with injuries. To add insult, Mitch Walis managed to kick his own foot off in a freakish, sickening accident that would make a grown man cry - even the great Keith (who can not be killed by conventional weapons). With the likes of Jeremy McGovern (94) standing strong in defense, Sam Day (130) was swung forward to provide a focal point for the Sandgropers offense. Devon Smith (102) was also lively in attack in a welcome return for the visitors to help keep the scoreline respectable. An impressive debut from young Aaron Francis (86) coupled with Johannisen's (87) building form after a return from a lengthy injury helped the Blowflys defense intercept and rebound all day. Michael Walters (124) was dominant in the forward half for Korumburra showing why he was made an offer he couldn't refuse to switch clubs mid-season. Super Stevie J (98) was also damaging. With the likes of Hibberd, Hurley and Ryder missing the entire season plus a midfield missing guns Fyfe and Prestia, Sothern Cross were impressive in their resilience, showing their depth across the board. The timing of Stringer's one week injury also proved costly. Add these negatives to the enigmas that are Chris Yarran and Will Hoskin-Elliot missing the entire 2016 season and you have to feel for the Sandgropers. If they can all get healthy again, this will be a tough squad to knock off in 2017. BAFFU 3 - Sam Day (SC) 130 2 - Michael Walters (KB) 124 1 - Devon Smith (SC) 102
At 1/9th of the way through the game in Coolgardie, and its a close one between the home-side Prospectors and the visiting @martyg Blanchetown Bunyips. Current scores are 0 / 0 / 0 to 0 / 0 / 0 The local fans spent a restless Friday night at the footy, expecting to see a cracking game, but only being entertained by Prospectors forward Tory Dickson turning his back on the goals, acting as the ball-returner for Bunyips forward Lincoln McCarthy's practice shots on goal. While McCarthy punted through 44 points, Dickson was able to hold off a further 37.5 (75/2) points. There were mumblings heard in the crowd about heading down the road to Southern Cross to watch the Sandgropers play, until someone pointed out that they're actually on the road in Groote Eylandt this weekend, and thats just too far away... Lets hope the quality of the game picks up as the weekend goes on.
C'mon mate, you've had enough time........it's Banchang......get it......Banchang.......not BangChang...... Otherwise the Barcrawlers might have a bit of trouble filling in our Departure Cards if we spell your joint Krisstmass Ireland.
Sorry mate, but in our Articles of Incorporation there's a weird regulation that requires us to refer to each FU team by what's on their club's shield. So my hands are tied... As for the idea of leaving Krisstmass Ireland - this generally isn't allowed, but as you're not heading to the Australian mainland we can make an exception for the BarCrawlers.
And those Articles of yours are 100% correct, and that is exactly the reason that I have changed Avatars because no-one can advise me how to change the spelling on the said Shield. To avoid any further incorrect spelling of Banchang, I might need to consult @tyze1 of Staghorn Flats (sic) or @ddsaints of Packenham (sic) or even @bryzza of Nutsyland (sic) to see how they got around the problem.
And being a man down in the Ruck, Banchang is actually 3/183 (61.0) against 1/63(63.0) for the Home side , making for an interesting game...........
Bulls have their noses in front of a persistent Crocs outfit at 3/4 time. Crocs still a show 846 / 11 / 76.9 698 / 10 / 69.8