Logistics have never been the Smugglers strong suit - we assumed we were the away team! Anyways after a mad dash via air and sea we welcome our Island brothers to Flying Fish Cove Park and look forward to a quality semi-final. This is actually the Smugglers' second semi final appearance as the club historian (Dazza, who also runs the Thursday meat tray raffle) reminded the coach this morning - we lost to eventual Premiers Ararat in FU 1. The last few years out of finals have just felt like forever.
Yeah, Groote Eylandt have erased that year's final series from memory due to the "sorry I'm sorry my team mustn't have saved" ruling in which we didn't make the 8.
Out in Nuytsland the Vikings are ahead early but the Buffaloes have started strongly and are hot on their tails Nuytsland 241/80.3/3 lead Serengeti 192/96/2 Dangerfield is combining well with Dixon to try and fight the Buffaloes back into the lead but Toby McLean is making the most of his opportunities to keep the Vikings moving forward
@bryzza The Buffaloes have come to play and have brought a real finals intensity while it looks like the tough run with injuries and suspensions may have finally caught up with the Vikings. Late in the 2nd quarter it is; Serengeti 638/106.3/6 lead Nuytsland 495/70.7/7 However with Tom Mitchell, Luke Shuey, Toby Greene and co. looming large for the Vikings this one is far from over
Sam Mitchell is laying everything on the line for the Vikings in what could be the final match of his career as he wills his side into the contest but the Buffaloes still lead this one 941/104.6/9 v Nuytsland 754.75.4/10 @bryzza
the stampede of the raging buffalos can not be contained by the limp Vikings, we concede as a visiting team averaging 100 ppg can not be reeled in.........cheers for the updates
The Smugglers have taken control of the semi final at 18/30th time, leading 838/9 (93.1) to 623/9(69.3). If the Smugglers win the battle of the midfield Daynes (Beams versus Zorko) then it's hard to see a way back into the contest for the visitors, but the Cudas have had the wood over the Smugglers for the last three years, so it's still too early to call this one.
It was always going to be a tough ask, I think the something special for the Cudas is a brown deposit in the shorts. However, the winds of change at Flying Fish Cove are sometimes quick and harsh.
The fat lady is warming up at Xmas Island, where the home team lead 1130/12 (94) to 881/12 (73). Dunstan, Dusty and Johnson plus 249 points versus Sutcliffe, Turner and Cotchin.
Buffaloes still ahead but not quite over the line just yet Serengeti 1270/97/13 lead Nuytsland 1076/83/13 Seb Ross making sure the Vikings don't go down without a fight while Longer is combining with the Big Mummy to try and work the Buffaloes height advantage into an advantage on the scoreboard
The Smugglers @DamoH enter their first Grand Final as they run riot over the Barracudas. Look forward in reading the match report. Congrats bloke
Sorry mate, the Buffaloes have run away with it and will be hosting the Smugglers in the ORFFU '17 Grand Final Pending scaling Serengeti 1423/95/15 def Nuytsland 1268/85/15
Semi Final – Christmas Island 1432 – Groote Eylandt 1052 After knocking out the minor premiers last week, things didn’t get any easier for the Smugglers in the semi-final as they faced the 2-time reigning premiers from Groote Eylandt. The Barracudas had retained the Eylandt Nations Cup with a 1288-1205 win in round 6 and came into the match confident after knocking off the Smugglers in the last 3 games the teams had played. This confidence could only have grown after the Cudas ran out onto Flying Fish Cove Park with the home side nowhere to be seen. The two sweetest words in the English language, “ for” and “feit” were starting to do the rounds of the home supporters when finally news came from Groote Eylandt – the Smugglers had just made an appearance on the Cudas’ home ground and were equally perplexed. Xmas Island had assumed they were the away team and had been training in Arnhem Land all week, out of the reach of modern telecommunications. After a couple of (very) quick carrier pigeons the situation was resolved and the Smugglers starting making their way back home. Unfortunately the first “charter” was an illegal fishing vessel that could only take three Smugglers, so the coach packed off his least important players (Menzel, Hartlett and Lever) to start the game. The Cudas didn’t make an ideal start given they were unopposed – The Bont (45) scuffed a kick to Tom Philips (67) in the forward line, who hit the post from 5 out. This meant the Cudas had several hours waiting for Hamish Hartlett (84) to arrive to take the kick-in. The Smugglers then started arriving in waves, after the coach had arranged more transport options from Groote. Captain Shannon Hurn (102), Heppell (108) and Hall (108) had been placed on the quickest Jet-Star connections that could be found, and quickly gained control of the game for the home team. Guthrie (90) and Hannebery (82) put up some resistance in the midfield for Groote, but the home crowd was starting to grow in confidence – at 18/30th time the Smugglers were in front 838/9 to 623/9. However, @YAD69 had been keeping his superstar behind the action and now unleashed Zorko the Magnificent into the fray. 26 touches, a goal, 8 tackles and 115SC and suddenly the visitors were growing in confidence. “Silk” Burgoyne chimed in with another goal, 101SC and the tide appeared to be turning. It was at that point that the Gulfstream IV carrying Dustin Martin and Dayne Beams touched down at Xmas Island International. 3 goals, 33 touches, 148SC for Beams; 2 goals, 36 touches, 130SC for Dusty and the day was won. The Smugglers would be playing in their first grand final! In the sheds the boys from both sides shared a beer and the Cudas explained what was needed to win a grannie. Unfortunately most of the Smugglers were too glued to the transistor listening to Winx going around to take anything in, so a great opportunity to steal a march on the GF opponents was missed. So the focus now turns to the Grand Final and a trip to deepest darkest Africa to take on @wrightbrendan 's Buffalos. Serengeti have been the other form team in the finals, and it shapes as a toss-of-the-coin affair with only 9 points separating the total scores of the grand finalists in the two finals played so far (Smugglers 2805- Serengeti 2796). Wiser heads than mine will no doubt arrive at an accurate prediction, but there are mouthwatering match-ups all over the field. The headline is the two best midfielders in the game, Danger and Dusty facing off, with Dayne Beams versus Josh Kelly a worthy undercard. Matty Kreuzer will be hoping to bounce back after an off week (by his lofty 2017 standards) against Mummy, with both big men looking to give their quality midfielders first use of the ball. Up front the Smugglers’ forward line is led by Brett Deledio (an ex-Buffalo), while the Buffalos’ forward line is led by Charlie Dixon (an ex-Smuggler), so expect both of them to be targeted early. The Smugglers’ selection committee has some interesting decisions to make with Shaun Grigg (130) and Trent McKenzie (132) both putting in quality performances in the ressies this week. While Bailey Dale has outscored Dan Menzel in the last 3 rounds the pair have played, so also has to be a chance at a recall. The players have been given 2 days to recuperate after the hectic travel schedule, before jumping on catamarans to sail to Africa on Tuesday. More to come…