I'm sure you've heard of a couple before... Baileys, Amarula (they were the two that we were downing on the weekend). They're great. Glass with ice, alcohol straight from the bottle, thats refreshing and tasty, and @choppers doesn't look like cats piss and taste like dirty water!
If that's what it takes to be a "real man", then I'll just stick to being a Chardonnay Sipper (even if the Chardy is a little hard to swallow right now!)
The inconsistency that has plagued the Armadillos all year looks set to continue if the weekend is anything to go by. Ararat were soundly beaten by Korumburra 1100 vs 1385. In a storyline destined to crossover straight into the 'old man whinge thread', there were no less than 9 opponents who eclipsed their season averages by a significant margin. What hurt the most you ask? Hewett at 105 (avg: 68), Hooker at 132 (avg:76), Redden at 102 (avg: 72)? Surely not the non-tag of Rory Sloane whose 169 was more than both his previous games combined? Nay. What hurt the most was the chequered form of the home team. Armadillo member's were confused about who deserved their wrath the most: the Forward line who combined to score 251 or the Midfield who combined to score 294. In the end they settled on the match committee whose omission of youngster Darcy Parish (96) and refusal to play an in-form Jake Barrett (81) saw what could've been an honourable loss turn into an embarrassing defeat.
I made an executive decision that, when you started calling a liqueur "cream whiskey", you had zero credibility as an alcoholic and the thread needed straightening up. Please leave the profanity, incoherent rantings, hangovers and regret to @choppers and I.
Bulls Prospectors Review The Prospectors have blown a huge opportunity to bang down the door of the top 4 in the FU, going down to the Bulls by 146 points at Mill Park. The midfield / ruck battle was intriguing with Big Boy (the Bulls best hope of a trophy in 2017) just taking the win over Stef Martin 116 - 104 whilst the midfield battle saw the Prospectors hold sway 318 - 308 Ebert 106 and Whitfield 99 leading the way for their respective clubs. The Bulls deployed Rocky 57 as a tagger although all parties were a little unsure as to who he was tagging. The contest was won in the Bulls forward line as they took advantage of the ball inside 50 totally outplaying the Prospector defenders 338 - 197. New Bulls recruit Hoskin-Elliott 119 was best on ground and has quickly adapted to the Bulls game plan. Astbury 71 had a cracking battle with Lynch 77 whilst Daw 49 applied himself well as an OOP defender against Roughead 80. The Prospector tall forward line failed to fire as Watts 43 flopped on return from injury well beaten by Wood 68 on the day, young defender Kelly 64 was given the job on Petrie 71 and nullified his influence on the contest. Salem 90 & Wright 76 played wide of each other while Mayes 90 played tall as he took the points over the Hof 72. The Prospectors got more of the pine with Sicily one of the Prospectors best. The Bulls season remains alive however is dependant on winning their last 2 and results to go their way, the Prospectors destiny is in their own hands with 2 winnable games to close. Votes: 3 - Hoskin-Elliot SFB 2 - McEvoy SFB 1 - Ebert CP Big Tap - McEvoy - cmon Big Boy!
Thanks @tyze1 We did a bloody good job of letting that one get away - so many poor performances. Hopefully however this is the dawn of the age of Majak, with that spud Goldstein kept in the magoos so that Daw can actually hold down the number 1 ruck position, and keep scoring like that!
Nuytsland defeated Christmas Island 1445 – 1335 The Vikings @bryzza maintained top spot in the FU with a comfortable 110 point victory at Flying Fish Cove Park. In match that the Smugglers really had to win to have any hope of playing finals (however, maybe not, more on that below), they were outclassed across the field by a team that has very few weaknesses and deserve their current flag favouritism. It was the Vikings’ consistency that saw them home in this encounter as the points by playing thirds shows: Best 5 CIS - 672 NV - 591 Middle 5 CIS - 414 NV - 460 Bottom 5 CIS - 249 NV - 394 When your bottom 5 average 79, you’re not going to lose an FU game. As has been the case all year, the Smugglers’ elite (Martin, Kreuzer, Beams, Heppell and Hurn this occasion) can match it with the FU’s best, but the depth isn’t there to regularly challenge the better teams. Nowhere is this clearer than the forward line, for so long a strength of the team, but this week could only scrap together 249 points. The coaching staff were thrilled to hear that Deledio might make his return in the Blanchetown game as he is desperately needed. The Vikings aren’t without their issues, however, with Toby Greene being Toby Greene and getting himself rubbed out for the rest of the home and away season. However, they will have the veteran Sam Mitchell return, and should coast to the minor premiership from here. The Smugglers’ season should be over, but other results fell their way, so they are still (barely) in touch with the top 8. A returning Jake Lever will add some much needed class to the backline. Next week sees the Vikings are back at home against the Pendles-less Bunyips. While Christmas Island host Pakenham in a game which will be the end of the road in 2017 for the loser. BAFFU 3 – D. Martin (150) CIS 2 - S. Hurn (149) CIS 1 –M.Crouch (134) NV Big Tap Kreuzer 128 defeated Grundy 125
Cheers for the write up, not sure I am flag favorites anymore with Montagna and Birchall out for the season and Boyd in the twos. The Vikings don't have there best 15, but as you said in your write up the difference was our bottom five as Howe Biggs and Mclean batted above there averages for this round but are yet to prove any consistency.
Round 15 review: Southern Cross Sandgropers 1404 defeated @martyg's Blanchetown Bunyips 1074 With only three rounds to go this was a match the Bunyips needed to win to sure up a spot in the top 8. The match started brightly for both sides with midfield guns Duncan 104, Selwood 127 & co helping the home side to a 55 point lead over Laird 83, Sauce Jacobs 133 & ex-Sandgroper Cameron at the first break. If the Bunyips thought things might improve they were sadly mistaken. Hibberd 140, Ryder 111 & Wallis 124 smashed out match winning scores against a Blanchetown side that couldn't register a score over 90. The Sandgroper dominance saw them hold sway and enter the last period with a 43 point lead. Even though the gap had narrowed ever so slightly, the last stanza saw McGovern 104, Sheed 101, Smith & Wills pitted against a lone Lambert. The noise at the Sandpit was deafening as the locals realised the win would guarantee a maiden finals appearance. Seven tons to one and a final margin of 330 points was a fair reflection of the two teams performances. For the home side a modest 51 from mini draft recruit Wills coupled with Cunnington's 52 & Roughead's 58 shows that the team is not perfect but for the first season in four the Sandgropers are delivering on their potential to their loyal supporters. Comversely the Bunyips recruiters will be scratching their heads after eight of their players scored less than 67 points. Not really the best form when you're fighting for a top eight berth. The Sandgropers will march into August with a lot of confidence on the back of an outstanding if not unexpected season. The Bunyips however have two weeks to lock away a spot in the finals, you'd think though that performances like this would see them miss the eight. Is there enough time for them to find form or will they be competing for the title of the Biggest Loser. Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure, after such an even season there's probably only one side that's clearly above the rest (@bryzza) and with injuries and suspension catching up with them a solid bank of form could see someone else come home with a wet sail a la the Bulldogs last year. Attendance: 757 (Sandpit record) BAFFU 3 Votes - M.Hibberd (SCS) 2 Votes - S.Jacobs (BBU) 1 Vote - J.Selwood (SCS) Big Tap - S.Jacobs (BBU)
@eagle_eyed we don't talk about last years finals series... (...and maybe not at all about this year either)
early update on the road as the Bulls travel to Gisborne Gisborne 1 / 78 / 78 Staghorn Flat 2 / 243 / 121.5
Early doors at the Sandpit and @choppers visiting Barcrawlers 2/187/94 are leading the Sandgropers 0/0/0. There's a possibility the Southern Cross players think they've got this one in the bag and are sitting in the change rooms sorting out their fantasy teams; we'd prefer to believe the coach is talking tactics. I guess we'll know soon enough.