Whitsunday Warriors 1263 def Wagga Wagga Wombats 1128
The Warriors hosted the Wombats and put on a great show for the home fans to win their second game on the trot for the first time all season, consolidating the position in the top 8 and looking good to stay there.
It was a really even performance by the home side, with a score in the 50s on each line except the ruck, where Jono Patton played out of position to score a lowly 42, but all other scores were solid, with a few exceptional, such as Isaac Smith 143 and Sam Gray and Richie Douglas both on 124. The Wombats had 4 players crack the tonne with Ed Langdon leading the way with 121.
Whitsunday get to stay at home in the tropics for another week and host the Misfits from Marble Bar, whilst Wagga return to their home to face the Mount Beauty Uglies. I am actually heading to Wagga Wagga airport on Monday and I might look out for some of the uglies as they catch their flight home after the game!

Mount Beauty Uglies 1059 def by Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1168
Talk of tanking went out the window when these two teams crossed the beautiful white line up the Mountain and somehow both teams scored quadruple figures in what turned out to be a high scoring game for these clubs! The high altitude did wonders for the boys from Charlies Opening and the performance has left coach Bandit scratching his head and calling for assistance from a royal commission to uncover what actually took place. Max Gawn 168 monstered Oscar McDonald in the ruck and was supported by Mitch Hannan 110 and Trent Cotchin 110 who all tried their hardest to get the home side over the line, but they were no match from the 15 man Spelunkers led by Marcus Bontempelli 145 and Zac Merrett 111. Mount Beauty now head up the road to Wagga Wagga for round 7 and Charlies Opening get to return back home underground to host the Iron Knob Codpieces.

Marble Bar Misfits 1182 def Winglass Bay Packers 914
A family holiday to Marble bar ensued for these two coaches to watch their teams battle it out for bragging rights upon returning home. And it was a fairly easy win to the Misfits with a couple of their players barely needing to break a sweat, namely Aish 18 and Daniher 39. Four Misfits managed hundreds (Webster 112, Whitfield 125, Taranto 102, Smith 109), and a couple more (Rich & Laird) only just werent quite good enough with 99s. The Packers only had Sam Kerridge break the tonne barrier with 104. Next week, Marble Bar travel over to the Whitsundays to take on the Commish predecessor and Winglass Bay are back home to host the red hot Lovely Banks Lilacs!

Iron knob Codpieces 1118 def by Venus Bay Vultures 1140
All sorts of selection dramas meant these two played 14 against 13, but it didnt matter as they put on a good show with the team with lesser players winning with a final margin of just 22 points! Shaun Higgins, Ryan Bastinac and Dan Menzel all pulled out of the trip to visit the Codpieces and Jackson Nelson went looking for them to try and shackle them up but never returned himself. Howe 149 and Dayne Beams 130 put in their best performances all season to carry the visiting Vultures over the line, whilst Macrae 141 tried hard for the home team continuing on his good form this season, but unfortunately his teammates dropped off after a couple of decent wins in recent weeks. Iron Knob stay underground for their next match as they travel to Charlies Opening, and Venus Bay head over to Cradle Mountain and have vowed to start taking this game seriously (which is an ominous warning coming from the team undefeated on top of the ladder!).

Lovely Banks Lilacs 1216 def by Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles 1345
What a game. Both teams were flying and this game could have went either way, but the Cows went bang and finished it off with the Lilacs playing one short. There were lots of good individual performances in this one with the home team not having a single player score under 58 along with Westhoff 147 and Sinclair 128 leading the way with big tonnes, whilst the visitors similarly didnt see a score under 66 and had 4 tonnes with Mitch Robinson leading the way with 130. Next week, Waikikamoocow heads home to host the Birdsville Battlers and Lovely Banks goes on the road to Wineglass Bay to meet the Packers.

Cradle Mountain Devils 1244 def Gariwerd Cockatoos 1234
The battle for the cup of mediocrity was back in full swing. After both clubs teased their supporters with strong seasons in 2017 and aggressive recruiting during the subsequent off-season, both clubs have started 2018 quite poorly and whoever lost this game would be truly deserving of the mediocrity tag that has haunted both these teams since the FA's inception. The game lived up to the hype, but both teams turned out one of their better performances of the year so far, and the final result was a 10 point win to the home Devils team. Stealing a line from DMA in the weekly forum thread, Touk Miller did a good job of nullifying Zorko whilst patrolling the boundary line as one of Gariwerd's travelling emergencies, taunting him and keeping him down to just 46 points. The Devils were particularly well served by Adelaide's own Tom Lynch 127 and Zaharakis 120, whilst Shannon Hurn 130 and Jared Polec 122 top scored for the Cockatoos. Next week, the Devils travel to Venus Bay and Gariwerd lock their homes up ready to host the Nuffas.

Birdsville Battlers 1257 def Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 880
Birdsville are looking very strong sitting up in the top 4 with five wins from six games, however this one was a bit of an easier one for them as they came up against a traveling Lefties outfit who only bothered to bring 12 players with them up to Birdsville. The Battlers still put on a good performance with only four players scoring under 75 and Adam Treloar leading the way with a mammoth 149. Tom Phillips 119 was the only Lefty to top 100. Birdsville head across the ditch next week to Waikikamoocow to take on the Incorrigibles and the Lefties are back home in Larrikin Lagoon to host the Blimps from Darraweit Guim.

Nunawading Nuffers 991 def by Gundagai Grasshoppers 1227
Two teams that have been perennial celler dwellers of the ORFFA ladder but one is now flying whilst the other is still languishing. Whilst the boys from Nunawading have been out and about stealing what they can with petty crime robberies, whilst the Grasshoppers have been brandishing their nuke button to wield some power in trade negotiations looting other teams of their hottest prospects! Gundagai have found themselves clear in the top 5 teams to this stage of the season, looking like they'll get better and better with such a young squad and they easily accounted for the Nuffas here with Cripps 143 and Neale 151 leading the way for them, whilst Nunawading only had 11 players but were well served by Ebert 139 and JP Kennedy 125. Next week Nunawading head out bush to Gariwerd and Gundagai are back home hosting the Chickens.

Darraweit Guim Dirigibles 1135 def by Foul bay Chickens 1191
The last game of the round emphasized how much stronger the 'FA is to the second tier competition with several of these teams' players struggling to successfully take the step up to senior level and contribute as well as they do in the Magoos. It is the same across most teams with lots of emergencies every week staking their claims for senior opportunities with strong performances but not backing up when given their chance. Nevertheless this was a good game between two strong teams with the visiting Chickens of Foul Bay victorious by 56 points. Ben McEvoy 129 Smashed Jordan Lewis 33 in the ruck witch was probably one of the most defining matchups of the game, but McEvoy was ably assisted for the victors by Joel Sellwood 122, and the Guim's best were Caddy 111, Savage 107 and Lyons 101. Both of these teams are on the road next week, Foul Bay continuing their journey up the highway with their next stop in Gundagai, whereas Darraweit Guim travel down to Larrikin Lagoon to get back on the winners list.