Whispers are spreading like wildfire at Flying Fish Cove Park, with the local bean-counters convinced the Smugglers are top of the FU ladder after knocking off the Blowflies. Granted these are the same accountants who’s advice has lead to salary cap breaches in all four seasons, so we wait with bated breath.
Buffaloes have dropped to 0-2 in their premiership defence going down by about 100 points against Pakenham 1218 - 1307. Full match report to follow
A matchup of two clubs with a lot of respect for each other, the Armadillos were quite worried about the potential for the visiting Grenades to explode. Nathan Wilson lived up to his GWS form in his first decent match, posting 105 which was the same score that Jararod Witts managed against the people's ruckman Max Gawn (97). Shrewd off season pickup Tim Kelly showed his class by topscoring for the visitors with 117 and in his first return to Ararat, Sam Petrevski-Seton (83) demonstrated his potential and justified the offseason demand among rival coaches. Unfortunately the good news ended there for Gisborne with the majority of the team performing poorly. The Carlton lads (excluding SPS) and Saints trio combined for a meagre 383 between 6 of them and Angus Brayshaw just plain didnt show up. Luckily the Grenades' other hyphen SPP was ready to go, but it was all in vain. For the home side it was a mixed bag of boiled lollies and chocolates, but the board fears for next week as the injuries mount. In a whinge not quite to the standard of @eagle_eyed ( ) the Armadillos are now missing Tom McDonald, Rich, Wells, Ah Chee, Wood and Wingard to injury, plus Bowes to suspension. If ever a backline and a whole squad was to be tested it will be in round 3 versus an in-form Barcrawlers. At the end of round 2 the home team Ararat was triumphant by around 100 points in a match that left more questions than answers for both clubs.
A misfiring backline, underdone ruckmen, injuries everywhere; the flag defence for Serengeti is a shambles! Round 2 was meant to be a grand celebration of the successful 2017 season as the Buffaloes played their first home game of the new year and unfurled the premiership flag. The joy didn't last long once the first siren sounded though with too many passengers on the Buffaloes side resulting in Serengeti dropping to an 0-2 start for season 2018 and leaving ourselves with plenty of work left to do if the expectation is to be challenging again by seasons end. @ddsaints and his Parasites out of Pakenham were the visiting victors on this occassion and they were well served by young star Jesse Hogan (145) and a defence that averaged 104 and absolutely blanketed the Serengeti tall forward line despite the best efforts of Brown (116) & Dixon (102). This one was won by the bottom half of the squads with Pakenhams bottom 7 players outscoring their Serengeti counterparts by 99 which proved crucial in a 89 point win. The contrast was no more stark than in the ruck battle where Bellchambers (83) destroyed Longer (18) and has the Buffaloes management longing for the days where the Big Mummy roamed around The Crater. Next up Serengeti will stay at home and look to get their season up and running against the Barracudas while Pakenham will try to keep their impressive start to the season going as they host the Blowflys Final scores Pakenham Parasites 1307 def Serengeti Buffaloes 1218 BAFFU votes 3 Jesse Hogan (145) 2 Patrick Dangerfield (130) 1 Ben Brown (116) Big Tap Bellchambers 83 def Longer 18
What a disaster round 2 was. My mighty Prospectors, after having the third-highest score in week one, crashed to having the lowest score in week 2, and not even being able to break 1000 points. That's got to be some kind of record for a 15-man team without OPP's! All this means that, even though @YAD69 and his Groote Eylandt Barracudas did really shite themselves, and were outscored by 12 other teams this week, they selected the best possible opponent to still come away with a 153 point win. Defence: Coolgardie had a shocker. 213 total points from D Astbury (77 and the only player above average), J Macmillan, R Clarke, and L Duggan. Absolutely deplorable. Groote had an even bigger shocker, with 211 total points. Not helped by J Frawley missing the bus, and so having to call on emergency J Kolodjashnij to step up. Amazingly, Kolo@#$%^&* wasn't the worst performer in the Cudas defence, as not one of J Lloyd, J Weitering, and B Houli managed to break 75 points either. Coolgardie won by 2 points. Midfield: Prospector Ollie Wines was a star, its a shame the rest of his midfield teammates didn't even bother to turn up. 147 from Wines, but only another 195 from T Miller, B Ebert, a J O'Meara, gave the home side a measly 342 points from the "engine room". The Barracuda midfield performed better, with 409 points coming from P Cripps, M Bontempelli, D Zorko, and D Hannebery, it defintiely wasn't a superstar performance, with the latter being the only player to not break the ton, on his way to 87 points. Groote Eylandt won by 67 points. Rucks: The less said here, the better.... Big Stefan Martin had a miserable weekend, too many Easter eggs apparently, as he fumbled his way to 63 points. While doing his best to make his Prospector counterpart look good, Groote big man Rhys Stanley managed to actually be less shite, as he fumbled his way to 67 points. Groote Eylandt won by 4 points. Forwards: 258 points for the Prospector forwards was not what the local fans had come out to see in their first home game of the season. There was some joy with youngster B Parfitt leading the way (92 points), but disappointment followed with M Wright unable to recreate the magic of round 1, J Watts still getting used to his new wardrobe, and J Sicily having a knee problem. For the 'Cudas, J Riewoldt and T Hawkins were still trying to find their feet in 2018, while J Cripps tried to match it with his midfield cousin, and J Waite decided to have his only good game for the year (with 125 points) while in the Goldfields. All of this on the way to 357 points by the visiting forwards, to atleast remind the home fans what goalkicking was all about. Groote Eylandt won by 99 points. Interchange: Coming off the bench for the home side was J Aish with 91 points, and apparently H Clark was also there, but with only 26 points the search party is still on the hunt for him. J Lewis came streaming off the bench for the visitors, shadowing his opponent perfectly on his way to 83 points. Likewise, S Burgoyne felt sorry for the home side, and joined in the hunt for Clark, forgetting that he was actually there to play a game of footy, and injuring himself in the process on the way to 19 (was he even there?) points. Coolgardie won by 15 points. With 18 players being below average for the game, it was hardly an Easter spectacle. In fine weather it couldn't even be described as a slog. It was just a shocker from the visiting Barracudas, and an absolute disaster from the home-town Prospectors, leading to one that both coaches would rather forget. Votes: 3 - O Wines, Coolgardie, 147 2 - J Waite, Groote Eylandt, 125 1 - P Cripps, Groote Eylandt, 115 Big Tap: R Stanley, Groote Eylandt, defeated S Martin, Coolgardie, by 4 points, 67 to 63. Moving onto next week, and the Barracudas take the long 'FU roadtrip to the Serengeti, to take on the Buffaloes, while the Prospectors stay at home, this time welcoming the Nutsyland Vikings. Good luck to all four teams.
Footy returned to Mill Park in Round 2 where the Bulls hosted the Crocs. Both teams tasted victory in Round 1 but neither coach would have been happy with their performance. In a game of attack first defend second the Bulls and Crocs made the most of their opportunities up forward with both forward lines well on top of the defensive outfits. Lynch (180) booted 8 for the Bulls destroying Dunn, Roughead (97) was in vintage form and took the points over young McDonald (63) whilst 2017 number 2 draft pick McCluggage (86) took the points over the 2017 number 1 pick McGrath (60). At the other end of the ground Martin (117) excelled against Salem (44), Taranto (113) outclassed late call up and first gamer in Darcy Byrne-Jones (70). Reigning Big Tap winner McEvoy (138) made it 2/2 dispatching Lycett (87) and gave the Bulls first use in the guts, The Bulls won the midfield battle against a 3 man Croc midfield 336 - 251 although it was more 3v3 with Rockliff barely troubling the scorers with an awful 17. The Crocs depth off the pine nearly got them home as McKenna (107) provided some crucial dash off half back however it was in vein as the Bulls got home by 102 points 1243 - 1141. The Bulls will need to step it up this week as they tackle ladder leaders in the Smugglers whilst the Crocs at home are 1.85 favourites over Hughenden. @fresh Votes 3 Lynch SFB - 180 2 McEvoy SFB - 138 1 Coniglio SFB - 120
Controversy surrounded Nuytsland in what was supposed to be a more subdued first home game, but it was the visitors trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the umpires. Teams were named,players swapped in and out, did Jenkins play ??? .... confused ... we could smell rotten eggs. Credit @HOLKY for admitting to trying to play the loophole, back to the game being played Backline: A disaster for the home team with young gun Wliiliams 81 top scoring providing all the run, Harbrow 59 feared his ex team mates, Roberton 70 average at best and Rampe 40 why oh why. Visitors did not fair much better but did outscore the home side by 32, Tarrant 86 showing the young pups how it's done, Andrews 81 toiled all day, Crisp 71 felt soggy and Hartley 46 showed no heart. Midfield: A double disaster Crouch 51 out for 3 weeks with a hammy, Shuey 63 ball watching, Ross 98 ok but Mitchell 148 saved the day with yet again BOG performance virtually saving the day. Vikings took the chocolates by 16. Whalers had there own injuries Scully 19 ankle out for 3 months, Motlop 70 enjoy the ride up one week poo the next, Jones 107 worked hard and Curnow 148 is having a great start to the season and looks to be playing a lone hand for the rest of the season. Ruck: Grundy 138 BOOM all over Pedersen 34 Forwards: Where oh where was Greene he went missing to be only found out a few days after the game, he had hamstring tightness. Mclean 125 more than made up for Greene's abesnce, Heeney 110 looks ready to be uber premium, Petracca 77 still finding his feet, Bruce 79 did what he needed to do as a fill in. Vikings take the win easily as the Whalers struggle to find a forward who will take the game on Cunningham 81 being the top scorer. Interchange: The yo-yo ride Young 43 continues Howe 75 ok, not where the Vikings want to be sorely missing Viney and Griffen. Whalers had only Trengrove 57 as Jenkins 115 sat on the pine but would not have made a difference. Votes 3. Mitchell 3. Curnow 1. Grundy Big Tap Grundy Next week Vikings hobble up the road to take on Prospectors
Round 2 trivia: Last week was our 70th H&A season round of matches since FU inception. 50th overall win - Groote Eylandt 40th overall and FU H&A season win - Pakenham 40th FU H&A season win - Pearcedale and Staghorn Flat 30th overall win - Nuytsland (aka Nutsyland) After 70 rounds of H&A matches, 5 teams have nice round win loss records 10-60 Cow Bay 40-30 Coolgardie, Pakenham, Pearcedale, Staghorn Flat To compare, most H&A season wins: 51 - Ararat 48 - King Island 43 - Blanchetown, Groote Eylandt This weekend Christmas Island will be looking for their 40th H&A season win, Nuytsland their 30th. Once life gets a little less hectic for me I'll put together a little more detail and a more consistent format to post stuff up each week.
King Island 1188 def Hughenden 1100 In a game where both sides struggled to string together clean chains of possession, it was a handful of brilliant individual performances that shone brightly on an otherwise gloomy King Island afternoon. The visiting PDogs began slowly and looked a little disinterested before two players decided to step up and drag their side back into the match. Jeffy Garlett (152) had the ball on a string up forward with 4 goals in a best on ground display, while Clay Oliver (146) dominated around the stoppages. While Ward (108) and Yeo (105) also battled hard as always, unfortunately for the PDogs too little was left to too few with 7 players scoring 50 or under. For the home side, young gun Jack Macrae (142) continues to thrive on his return to the midfield, ably supported by Swallow (121) who may finally be realising his potential. Up forward skipper Boak (111) has settled well into his new role and new recruit Zac Fisher (110) has exceeded expectations with a fantastic start to the year. The less said about the other Zac the better. Votes 3 Garlett 2 Oliver 1 Macrae
Too good last week @DamoH I've been burning the candle all this week with work and family. Will try to post a belated match review over the weekend
It's the Buffaloes with the early advantage down in the crater over @YAD69 and his visiting Barracudas. Early stages of the first quarter, scores are; Serengeti 189/95/2 v Groote Eyelandt 173/87/2
1/9th of the way through the game in Coolgardie, against the visiting @bryzza Nuytsland Vikings, and its a 17 point lead to the Nutsy's Coolgardie 137 / 2 / 68.5 Nuytsland 154 / 1 / 154.0 The Undies have put in a killer start for the visitors, scoring 154 points, and making it a near certain win in the big tap.
Update from the Sandpit, @HOLKY’s visiting Whalers (*214/3/71) lead the Sandgropers (52/1/52) by 162 points. More to come... *With Hartley missing the flight and his replacement O’Brien AWOL it looks like Eden will be playing a man short giving the home team a numerical advantage.
@bryzza amazing!!! Stefan saw Reginald's undies and said "anything you can do, I can do bett.... exactly the same!" It sucks that both our rucks have had huge weeks, and neither of them get a point in the big tap... half points all around! After 2/9th is Coolgardie 540 / 6 / 90 Nuytsland 154 / 1 / 154