3/4 time at The Stadium and it's a very close contest with the home team slightly in front @ 12/1019/84.9 to King Island's 10/839/83.9. Banchang have been well served by ever reliable Cunnington 146, Dawson 120, (his highest score), Impey 117 and Jonas 102 in a return to form but were unfortunate to have their ruckman, Sinclair, go down early after dislocating his shoulder twice. Meanwhile the coach of King Is. @Tylo would be very happy with Naitanui's 99 in his 1st game for quite some time, while deBoer's replacement, Hickey, did well for his 93. However he would be more than happy for his star midfielder Macrae who played exceptionally well for his 142 and well supported up front by Boak with 114. The last qtr sees the Monarchs Gardiner Cotchin Murphy Fisher and Long (oop) try to make up the 180 deficit, and then score more than Lyons Langdon and Robinson, who will be doing their best for The Barcrawlers to get the win. It's anybody's game.
Update from the Sandpit (post Tigers win) has the home side (925/12/77) leading @martyg ’s Bunyips (792/12/66) by 133 points. Go ‘Gropers!
While I’m thinking about it, surely CD has to do something when it comes to the scores for Rucks. If we use their system then Lycett was best on ground when his team lost to a much lower ranked opponent, same for Marshall in a 5 goal loss for the Saints, Mumford managed 99 in a game where his side lost and he gave away 500 free kicks, O’Brien close to best on in a four goal loss and the same for Witts & Grundy in what were 7 goal losses. To say that these guys were amongst, if not, the most influential players on the ground is nonsensical. The last three flags have been won by teams with bog average ruckmen that are simply playing a role; I just don’t feel that scoring is currently reflecting relevance. In an era where a good ruckman helps but rarely makes a difference to a result I find it confusing that their scoring can be weighted in such a way. Surely we see another adjustment to their scoring next year. I have one of these ruckmen that seems to get charity points just because he taps a ball but it doesn’t change my opinion. That’s my rant done.
I agree with this, and even think that SC scoring should extend to the stats that can't always be measured properly. A player who successfully shepherds a teammate so that he can get a clean shot at goal has made a more valuable inpact on the game than a ruckman who gets one HO among 100 for the game. Surely there's a way for CD to measure this, and allocate points for it.
The Grenades @Tomster lead the way with 1,096 with Wilson, SPS & Daisy to the Barracudas on 1,120 with Weitering.
@JPK @martyg Will need to adjust the Bunyips’ score post this round as Polec is still in the mids even though he’s now at Ararat. Only 17 points but may have an effect at the end of the season.
P-Dogs have runaway with this one. Almost all over and Hughenden 1191/14/85 lead Serengeti 1030/15/69 @Batfink
The Grenades @Tomster smashed a win on 1,372 to the Barracudas on 1,183. The home team very consistent, even a 155 from Zorko the Magnificent couldn't break through to edge the visitors closer.
Southern Cross (1174/15/78) did enough to defeat @martyg ’s Blanchetown (1004/15/67) by 170 points in what was a very lacklustre affair. Match report to follow.
Full time at The Stadium: Banchang 1291 def King Island 1235. Trailing by 180 at the start of the 4th qtr, the visiting Monarchs had the job in front of them and after Lyons (130) and Robinson (83) took care of Gardiner(89) and Cotchin (63), it looked all over. But someone forgot to tell Murphy(125) and Fisher (78) who both came home with a wet sail, only to fall 56 short of their target. Next round sees King Island head home to face Serengeti while Banchang head over to West Australia for a tussle with Southern Cross. BOG: 3. Cunnington BB 146 2. Macrae KIM 142 1. Lyons BB 130 BIG TAP: Naitanui KIM def Sinclair BB 99-20 @Tylo
Cheers for the updates YAD, I'll get a match report up soon. For everyone else I just thought I'd mention what a ripper bloke YAD is, asked him if he would provide a score update since I've been travelling and he's done not 1 but 4!
Match report from Pakenham, What was a blockbuster match on paper, the bottom two teams faced off. The match turned out to be a rip snorter, a real ringer ding dinger. Some great scores from both teams in trying conditions. Those fans that stuck it out were treated to a great home win Pakenham 1231 defeats Eden 1227 It certainly was a nail biting finish with super efforts from Marshall 161, Hipwood 115, Blicavs 115 and Moore 101 for Pakenham and Edens Williams 126, Pendles 111, Curnow 107, McKernan 103 and Tarrant 101 tried all day to keep it close. In the end a little luck has Pakenham coming away with the win and poor Eden succumbing to the bottom of the ladder. On another occasion it could have easily been reversed. Paradise for the Pakenham boys this week, no wooden spoon for now. Big tap honors go to Bellchambers 67 defeating Soldo 56 BOG 3.Big Row 2. Williams 1. Hipwood......because he has a better man bun then Blicavs
Bye rounds were over, squads had been refreshed, it was time for a clean slate for two clubs that had struggled through the first half of the season and make the most of what remained of season 2019. The match got off to an interesting start with the P-Dogs sneaking Levi Greenwood (53) into the ruck catching the Buffaloes (who don't need much to happen to fail in the ruck) off guard who sent Nick Coffield (35) from defence to try and match him. Unfortunately that meant Serengeti left themselves 1 short in the backline when it was revealed just before the bounce that management had missed a signature in the middle of David Cuningham's paperwork resulting in his mid-season drafting being void until it could be rectified. The club boss was nowhere to be found so the Buffaloes again played out the match with less than their full compliment. Despite the odd ruck battle, things were fairly even across the field for most of the match. Oliver (103) & Shiel (112) were getting things done in the middle while Josh Kelly (104) was battling away for the Buffaloes. The big difference though came from the way Hughenden were able to generate scoring opportunities from their back half. Darcy Byrne-Jones (117) was the leader in that regard but was well supported by Mills (97). Langford (99) took full advantage in the forward line for the P Dogs and while Buffaloes youngster Parish (91) was able to make the most of less opportunities, there wasn't enough supply coming in as the Serengeti defenders had their hands full trying to cover the holes left by missing the new defensive recruit. The end result was a comfortable victory for Hughenden that has given their season a boost while the Buffaloes continued their season in much the way the first half had gone. Final Scores Hughenden 1258 defeated 1030 BAFFU 3 D B-J (HPD) 117 2 Dylan Shiel (HPD) 112 1 Josh Kelly (SB) 104 Giant Tap Greenwood (53) defeated Coffield (35) Positive signs for the P-Dogs who will continue on their road swing as they travel across to Groote Eyelandt to try and keep their post bye momentum going. The Buffaloes on the other hand will have to regroup and look to individual performances from youngsters like Bailey Smith (101) for encouragement in season 2019. @Batfink
Gisborne Grenades 1372 defeated Groote Eylandt Barracudas 1186 Play was resumed after a short interval in the ORFFU competition, and both the Grenades and Cudas were keen for a win. For the Cudas this game was arguably more important as they tried to stay in contact with the top 8, while a win for the Grenades would see top spot held for another week. Gisborne would have to do it without their head coach, but were helped with the crowd on their side and Cudas star corn boy Cripps out injured. For Gisborne, consistency was the word of the day. A player in each line recorded a ton, and despite only scoring 5 tons only two scores below 70 meant Gisborne were well positioned for a large score. Pittard (125) led the way in defence, while at the other end TKelly (128) continues to show that the second year blues aren't a thing. Neale (137) again led the way in the midfield, Big Wittsy (110) continues his purple patch and SPS (113) was sublime coming off the bench. Groote were let down by their stars going missing at important moments. Only two triple digit scores were recorded as guns such as Lloyd, Houli and Hawkins were well below average. Zorko (155) was enormous in the midfield battle and managed to take home the best on ground votes. He was ably tailed by the Bout (130), but didn't receive much assistance from any other players. Other than those two the Barracudas were simply mediocre. If you ask whether Cripps would've made a difference, the answer is probably no given that the supporting cast just couldn't match the Oscar winning performances from the two leads. Gisborne maintain their hold on the top of the ladder, and a huge clash with Hughenden next week could effectively derail any finals aspirations the Eylandt might harbour. They sit 5-7 in 10th position, but haven't really struggled to score points this year. If they can scrape into finals they know how to win and could cause damage at the back end of the year.