Captain Danger is doing his best to inspire the troops but as yet the rest of the team are yet to fire a shot. He has succeeded in distracting quite a few Whalers though Serengeti 146/1/146 Eden 403/7/58 @HOLKY
Grenades trundling along nicely, with Wilson finally doing something this season. It'll be a long way home for the Vikings after an early injury to Young severely curtailing his impact. @bryzza GG 474/5/94.8 NV 298/4/74.5
The Buffaloes have caught up with their captain and taken the lead against the visiting Whalers Serengeti 793/9/88 Eden 512/9/57 @HOLKY
These two teams have a habit in bringing out the worst in each other, and so it is this week: CIS: 610.5/8 (76.3) - Anderson’s late out brought half a Laverde into the game. CP: 901/12 (75.1)
Gisborne now move to 1045/12/87.1, ahead of Nutsy 760/9/84.4. Vikes have some very strong players left and could easily run away with this game. @bryzza
Its the PDogs to lose at Mill Park @Batfink SFB 864/11/79 + Whitfield, Coniglio, Hately & Lynch HPD 1024/12/85 + Mills, DBJ & Ward
Round 3: Ararat vs Christmas Island Coming into the first home game fans of the mighty Armadillos were anxious to see how their team were performing, given that no match reports were received from the first two rounds. The Smugglers can be feast or famine, but capable of beating anyone on their day; especially being led by the great Marcus Arm Pittonet! At 5 centurions a piece, you would assume the match was going down to the wire. Veterans Aaron Hall (104) and Hamish Hartlett (126) saluted for Chrissie Island, as well as the aformentioned ruckman (137), while two former Armadillos in Westhoff (114) and Isaac Smith (110) raised the bat and their middle fingers against their ex-teammates. The Chad was mighty in response with a 122, but all the talk was around breakout contender Haz Perryman (149) and the team’s only fanta pants (Rowell 141) eclipsing the Captain Gawn (139). Kade Simpson (58) had a rare quiet one when he needed to shine, and Jack Redden (49) continued his puzzling fall from grace. Unlucky youngster Sam Sturt could only manage an injury-affected 11 while Brent Daniels (49) was just too short. The Armadillos didn’t have it all their own way however, with McDonald of the Tom variety (56) continuing to puzzle fans with questionable coaching tactics, Shane Edwards (55) taking a back seat to the young cubs and our second favourite ‘two first name man’ (Tom Stewart is #1 for those playing along at home) Luke Ryan only eking out a 67. With the contest closing tighter than the score would have you believe, Ararat (1424) defeated Christmas Island (1194). @DamoH
Round 4: Ararat vs King Island Ararations (yep, that’s what we call people from Ararat) love our island brethren, and @Tylo 's Monarchs were welcomed off the plane for a tough round 4 contest. Arguably the match was again decided by a former Armadillo, with Tom ‘loophole’ Cutler pulling out at the last minute allowing Bailey Dale’s score of three times his average (95) to count and give KIM the win. Ararat immediately banned all wine and grapes from the town as they’re sour. The injury-hit Dillos copped Tom Stewart’s (18) shoulder and Jack Ziebell’s (20) insert-whatever-he-injured-this-time-here, as well as the mediocrity of Hardwick (53) and T McDonald (52). The Monarchs would have their own tales of woe however, with Naitanui lowering his colours (74), Swallow (63) performing poorly and McLean and Himmelberg contributing a paltry combined 85. Fortunately for King Island however, the defence was mighty with the chief Howe (112), Haynes (101) and Tarrant (100) all playing to their potential and continuing their great season’s. The home side had a sniff with The Chad’s 136 and The People’s Beard with a game-leading 141, but there weren’t enough soldiers to pull off the result. Ararat (1206) defeated by King Island (1211)
Gisborne Grenades 1273 defeated Nuytsland Vikings 1207 @bryzza I just don't know what is happening anymore The short summary is that the Vikings played terribly, while the Grenades had an above average game. The defense for both teams was mediocre. Pittard top scored with 99, whilst Young had an injury affected 1 for the Vikings. It's tempting for the coaching staff to blame Young, but even if he had scored his average Nutsy would still be struggling. Both midfields were there or there abouts, with Kelly leading the way for once and Lachie Neale actually scoring well for the Grenades, while Mitchell and Crouch both tried to keep up for the Vikes. Grundy was below par but still above Witts in the ruck, and only Lambert and Petracca deserve mention in the forwardline. The interchange for the Grenades was terrible while Vikes English and Viney dominated, probably the only position with clear ascendency to one team. The Grenades appear to be finding more consistency, with only 3 scores under 60. The Grenades actually only had 3 tons. The Vikes had 4 under 60 and 6 over 100, but the real surprise was stinkers from Seb Ross, with 37, and Michael Hibberd, with 47. Nobody for the Grenades was unexpectedly bad, which probably got Gisborne over the line in the end. The coach is hoping Fiorini and Gray finally pull their respective fingers out and do something. For Nuytsland, this is more of a minor roadhump than a major concern. All teams have bad weeks, and this was simply one of them. I still see the Vikings as a key premiership contender in this strange year and this may be the lowest they dip for the year. BAFFU 3. Kelly GG 140 2. Neale GG 134 1. Viney, Crouch NV 123
A blip or more of same to come. Unfortunately Heeney suffered a season ending injury, coverage is slim across all lines and I'm relying on a select few to get me across the line. Well done you deserve the win even with my mishaps I wouldn't have been able to reel you in
@HOLKY The Tanzanian hub that has been set up down in The Crater of Serengeti welcomed the Eden Whalers for a round 6 clash against the home town Buffaloes. Eden were coming into the match looking to stay above .500 while Serengeti were looking to get back to that mark after a disappointing loss to Ararat in the previous round. The match got off to an interesting start before a ball was even bounced with the Whalers management trying to take full advantage of the infamous Serengeti disdain for ruckmen by naming two of their own against half a Ben Keays. The move somewhat backfired when one of the potential mids that was left out, David Zaharakis, putting in more effort as a runner for the team than most all of the Whalers actually playing. The Whalers never adjusted to the Serengeti climate and had too many players under-performing in what turned out to be one of those days where nothing went right and everything that could go wrong did go wrong, all at the same time. The Buffaloes were excited to post their highest score of the season and highest since round 19, 2018, with particular praise reserved for young defender Charlie Ballard (94) who was a surprise packet off the interchange banch and Bailey Smith (119) recovering so well after accepting he does indeed have a horrible haircut and deciding to own it rather than fight about it. Final Scores Serengeti 1382 def Eden 1045 BAFFU votes 3 Patrick Dangerfield 146 (SB) 2 Jeremy Cameron 119 (SB) 1 Bailey Smith 119 (SB) Big Tap Ivan Soldo 117 def Ben Keays 27
Cow Bay 1,250 def by Korumburra 1,285 After recent performances, Cow Bay's coach was not looking forward to this match up. On the other hand, @Mick was quoted in the visiting team's local daily newspaper, Korumburra Kronicles, as saying "We're undefeated. A team sitting in 13th isn't going to cause us any concern this round. We take the 4 points and spend most of this weekend planning for the next few rounds and the MSD." After the locals heard about these comments, it was no surprise then that when the Blowflys' plan landed at Cow Bay airport, no one was on hand to get the luggage off the plane let alone get the airstair organised or even open the plane doors. Although the Crocs came out and made sure the game turned physical, it wasn't quite enough to knock the Blowies off their high horse. Ceglar (43) suffered a broken toe early on and battled manfully against Oldy Goldy. Goldy's eye sight is waning with age as McGrath (120), Libba (120) and Hopper (103) were the 3 best starting midfielders in the game. Down back, Wilkie (119) has started to show his abilities tonning up and was helped out by SPS (87) and Irishman McKenna (87). Martin (116) shone up forward and Jones (104) was a welcome addition off the bench after returning from injury. Goldy (129) took advantage being up against an injured ruck but that's like stealing a 5 year olds' balloons and being proud of yourself for doing so. Florent (89) and Steele (87) were the better performers in the centre square but it was Menegola (152) who turned the match in the visitors favour after coming off the bench. Vlas (103) and Tuohy (102) stopped the Crocs' scoring run towards the end of the match to ensure the win and Walters (107), GAJ (97) and Bewley (87) did their part to keep the ball inside 50. In the end, the Crocs fell short by 35 points. The coach will be kicking himself for putting one game a year wonder Bruce (35) in the line up ahead of youngster Rankine. FU Bruce. Big Tap Ceglar (43) def by Goldy (129) BAFFU 3 Menegola, Blowies, 152 2 Goldy, Blowies, 129 0.5 McGrath, Crocs, 120 0.5 Libba, Crocs, 120 The win keeps Korumburra in top spot whereas the loss to the home side sees them slip to 14th. Next week Korumburra visits the Bunyips while Cow Bay head over to Eden.
Bulls 1153 PDogs 1356 @Batfink In a game that was in the balance at 3/4 time it was Callum Mills (173) who put this one beyond with a sublime effort across half back. The Bulls Lobb (117) dominated the taps however it was ability of the opposing PDogs mids to read his work with Oliver and Yeo controlling the clearances. It was a mighty consistent effort across the board from the PDogs with no passengers, whilst the Bulls had 6 players go sub 60 which put paid to any hope the Bulls had of squaring the ledger at 3 & 3. For the PDogs back to back 1300+ scores bodes well for them as they continue their climb up the FU ladder. Well done @Batfink who return home to face the Smugglers, whilst the Bulls will be desperate to regain some form at home against the Monarchs. Votes 3 - Mills (HPD) 2 - Lobb (SFB) - Big Tap 1 - Whitfiled (SFB)