Potential upset brewing at Mill Park with the Bulls taking it to the Barcrawlers @choppers SFB 893/10/89 + Barrass, Maynard, Hill, Hayward & Mahony BB 876/11/80 + LDU, Adams, Dawson, Elliott
The Barracuda's finish on 1,262/15 84.1 to the Sandgropers @eagle_eyed on 1,104/15 (13) 73.6 Match report to come.
A milestone 1500 score to round out the weekend of Serengeti celebrations Serengeti 1503 def Christmas Island 990 Full match report to come @DamoH
Round 13 (AFL 16) Groote Eylandt Barracudas 1,262 defeated the Southern Cross Sandgropers 1,104 Top of the table match up, both teams sitting on 10 wins and 1 loss. Both teams made some bold moves in the trading period to get advantage in the second half of the season. The Barracuda’s get the privilege in hosting this audacious match. A sense of trepidation fell across the paddock, was it the pressure of the number 1 & 2 teams squaring off or was it the silence of no fans gathering around the watering hole to witness greatness due to COVID-19, probably both! The game started very slowly, like 2 boxers just feeling out their opponent with a jab here and a jab there. The coach from the visitors was red in the face cursing, already a player down before leaving, Crozier missed the ride to the Eylandt and, yes there’s another F$%king and his prized trade in Neale son of Ross Lyon was in quarantine. Dev Smith was stowed away and popped out ready to bash some heads. From the home team’s defence Weitering, Houli, Lloyd and McGovern were humming, racking up the disposals, 20, 24, 26 and 18 respectively. Lloyd did the run and carry with Huoli, Weit and McGov took care of Cameron who helped out the big tap and Bergman who kick 2 straight but could not shake the holds. Dusty did what Dusty does, rotating mid to forward and Darling had plenty of touches but only 1 goal slotted through. The visitors having only 2 defenders Laird and Cummings where in 2 places at once, Laird was a ball magnet with 37 possessions and ran about 20km for the day, chasing Zorko the Magnificent who kicked the first goal of the game and the last and Smith the marking machine got one through the big sticks. New recruit Hall cleaned up the slops and Tomahawk smashed 6 big ones, 3 in the second quarter. The tall timber in the middle tapping away Grundy the king of the tap eventually got his own way with 33 hit outs as the older Ryder slowed in the last quarter but still had 23 hit outs for the day. Stanley chipped in with tapping around the ground however did not play the last quarter due to a leg knock, Naughton came in and was basically straight back out with concussion. The visitors Mumford was very valuable in assisting in the big tap plus standing tall when it was needed, ex-Cuda’s Phillips was serviceable running through the mid. With the home ground advantage and starting off with more players (Stanley and Naughton coming off) the Barracuda’s fended off the Sandgropers to take the win. The Sandgropers @eagle_eyed leave disappointed but not embarrassed as they were players down, their medico’s have had their hands full over the trade period. The Cuda’s depth will be tested with this win being very costly, with Houli suffering a serious ankle injury, Corn Boys foot being smashed, Stanley’s leg knock and Naughton concussed. The Gropers head home and host the Prospectors and the Cuda’s travel to Christmas Island for the Eylandt Cup.
Well it's finally happened. The Bunyips have fielded a full strength team and they all scored pretty well! Only the Buffaloes outscored us, which for the yips last 2 years is a bloody miracle. Anyhow onto the report. The Bunyips hosted the Grenades this week in a very lopsided affair. Whilst the Bunyips have been rebuilding for 2+ years, the Grenades are a young side on the rise. The game was won in the centre with ROB against the two Neds. Whilst Ned Reeves failed to get onto the bus to Blanchetown, Ned McHenry decided to step up and was clearly dominated. First use to Dunstan (118), Walsh (138), Keays (88) and even Daicos (95) was the difference and racked up the points when it mattered. A valiant effort from Zac Bailey up forward (124) was not enough for the visitors in the only real shining light for coach @Wolffy84. The home side new recruits of Atkins (121) and Dale (111) were really impressive. Big man King (114) whilst relegated to the Interchange bench was super impressive and should see a call up to the run on side. Final score Bunyips 1359 def Grenades 978. BOG - Walsh - 3 Bailey - 2 Atkins - 1 Big Tap - ROB
The Panthers copped a bit of a pounding this week thanks to the King Island Monarchs, 1210 to 1011. The Panthers could only manage one centurion (an impressive 193 from the big man) whilst the Monarchs delivered 6, although the only one who would have predicted that both Kennedy and Tarrant would tonne up before the match would have to be well known footy fan Nostradamus. The dual ruck setup of Naitanui and and Hickey served the Monarchs well and the coach would have to be very pleased with the response from Tom Green after a week in the twos. Even with the late out of Ron Weasley aka Ed Richards the Monarchs were never really in danger of dropping this one and the boys certainly earned their weekly allocation of Camembert and Brie to snack on during the flight home.
Full time at the Den and the Armadillos won by a convincing margin. 1294 to 1181. This was to be expected of a top-4 vs just outside the 8 team but there was a lot of upside. 5 players for the Whalers managed the 100 and new arrival Charlie Dixon was best on ground while Amon also got 1 vote. We were just let down by having the lowest 3 scores on ground. So it was a loss that could be learned from and addressed in the selection at the end of the year. As for next week, we face fellow outside chance Staghorn Flat while the Armadillos play Hughenden for a chance (results depending) to take 2nd. BAFFU: Dixon 3, Brayshaw 2, Amon 1 Giant Tap: Gawn 100 def Flynn 51
Back to back home games for the first time this year had the Buffalo boys feeling comfortable in their surrounds and they were able to put on an entertaining show for the home town faithful. With Christmas Island in rebuild mode this was not a contest to write home home about but the match up was never going to be the story of the weekend. The Smugglers had enough to get excited about with Stringer (110) continuing his rich vein of form while he seeks a new contract along with the exciting performances of future Smuggler stars Amartey (98) and Zurhaar (95). But this was the weekend of the Buffalo. In his 50th game for Serengeti, Darcy Parish (190) put in an absolute monster performance challenged only by the exciting return to form from Captain Dangerfield (184). Steven May (131), Josh Kelly (118), Adam Saad (116), Jordan Ridley (109) & Zac Merrett (107) all came along for the ride to put a stamp on a comprehensive victory. With such an imposing performance, crowd attention and focus quickly started shifting towards finals action. With a top 8 spot looking more secure the home town fans were starting to dream big before the injury bug from earlier in the year reared its ugly head and struck down Jeremy Cameron (56) as the team jogged into the half time sheds. This latest injury put further pressure on a management team who failed to make significant improvements over the mid season break despite having 3 first round picks at their disposal. It could in fact be argued that with the sending away of Charlie Dixon, the team had a net drop in scoring power which has to call into serious question the mental state of those in decision making positions, a fact only exacerbated by the Jeremy Cameron injury. For now though, we rejoice. Rejoice with a squad who is relatively healthy and showing real potential to challenge at the pointy end. Final scores Serengeti 1503 def Christmas Island 931 BAFFU votes 3 Darcy Parish SB (190) 2 Patrick Dangerfield SB (184) 1 Steven May SB (131) Big Tap Tom De Koning 63 def Sam Draper 54 @DamoH
Bulls Barcrawlers Match Review @choppers In what shaped up as a whitewash the 15th placed Bulls hosted the 4th placed Barcrawlers. The locals starved of footy of late reluctantly turned up in their droves hoping against hope that the Bulls could muster up something that resembled competitive football following a season high against Serengeti the week prior. The impact of Lynch (126) was immediate with the Key forward taking hold of the Barcrawlers defence slotting 5 in a wonderful return from injury with a BOG display, he was ably support up front by the much maligned Dow (84). Dawson & Jonas stood tall for the Barcrawlers. The ruck battle was a ripper with Lycett narrowly holding sway against a renewed Big Boy 116-109. The Barcrawlers midfiled held sway with Lyons, Langdon & Adams all cracking the tonne. Hill ran far and wide on the expanses of Mill Park with his best game of the year. Despite winning the midfield battle the Barcrawlers forwards couldn't capitalize scoring sub 200 for the game (which wasn't aided by Farrell going down early) whilst the Bulls defenders led by Salem and Barrass battled manfully and ultimately got the job done. Bulls 1260 defeated Barcrawlers 1232 in a ripping contest. Staghorn Flat continues their dominance over the Barcrawlers taking the H2H to 7 & 1. 3 - T Lynch SFB 2 - J Lyons BB 1 - C Salem SFB
Cow Bay 1,040 def Pakenham 936 Between the final coaching session and match day, both teams manage to lose a payer and started the match 14 a side. A poor effort from both teams saw just 5 players reach triple figures for the match. It was the Crocs who got the upperhand at the end of the weekend, running out 104 point victors over the visiting Parasites. Ceglar relished being given 1st ruck duties again, thumping out a 113 point effort and dished hit outs to advantage to the likes of Taranto (105) and Worpel (96). Wilkie (94) was best down back with a revitalsed SPS (80) pulling his finger out and rebounding out of defence. DeGoey (114) put in a BOG effort after returning from suspension. The visitors were led by Cerra (111) and Marshall (100). Sinclair (97) did his best to win clearances, Luko (97) was strong in the defensive half and the other Marshall (84) was a handful in front of the big sticks. Both coaches left the field disappointed with the low scoring affair, with too little left to too few. The win gave the Crocs their 6th of the year to move into 10th spot whereas Pakenham's 3-10 record has them in 16th spot. Next week Cow Bay makes the trek to King Island, Pakenham flies back home to host Banchang. Big Tap Ceglar (113) def Marshall (100) BAFFU 3 DeGoey, Cow Bay, 114 2 Ceglar, Cow Bay 113 1 Cerra, Pakenham, 111 @ddsaints
Hughenden Prairie Dogs 1,260 def Nuytsland Vikings 1,240 What a nail biter with the lead changing several times in the last quarter with the home side eventually getting the win by 20 points. It was an even contest between 2 top 8 sides , the Vikings midfield were dominant with Mitchell (110), Cunnington (113), Petracca (123) and Liberatore (107) getting plenty of the ball but it was the efforts of Hughenden’s young ruckman Thilthorpe (59) to control English’s (57) dominance around the ground that proved the difference. The Prairie Dogs had plenty of run out the backline with Mills (121), DBJ (109) and IQ (92) providing headaches to the Vikings forwards who couldn’t really get enough of the ball in the later stages to get them over the line. The only dominant forward was Hughenden’s Membrey (105) who was back at his damaging best. It was a must win game for Hughenden to keep them in the top 8 and they didn’t disappoint the home fans. They now take on the formidable Armadillos at their home ground while the Vikings return home to Odin’s Graveyard to regroup and take on the Panthers. BAFFU Awards 3 Petracca, Vikings (123) 2 Mills, Hughenden (121) 1 Ward, Hughenden (114) Big Tap Thilthorpe (59) def English (57) @bryzza
Early in the first at the Sandpit and it’s @JPK ‘s Prospectors (188/2/94), leading the Sandgropers (0/0/0) by 188 points. The home side seems to be pretty relaxed about this match, with none of the players even out of the change rooms as yet. They’ll need to hope this one doesn’t get too far away from them. Go Sandgropers!!!
By failing to turn up for the start of the match, have the Sandgropers forfeited the game... at home???
Late in the first, and the hometown Sandgropers (179/2/90) have finally made it onto the park, cutting @JPK ‘s Prospectors (188/2/94) lead to just nine points. In a gesture that some would call good sportsmanship, and others would call just plain dumb, Coolgardie let Laird and Smith run around unopposed to help keep the match competitive; if only Dev Smith could find some form to take advantage of the situation. Long way to go in this one. Go Sandgropers!!!
Post the Hawthorn V Fremantle match: Grenades 369/6 (average 62, but likely playing 1 short) Blowflys 395/4 (average 99)
It’s early in the 3rd quarter at the Sandpit and @JPK ‘s Prospectors (617/7/88) have wrested back momentum from the Sandgropers (578/6/96) to move out to a 39 point lead. Go Sandgropers!!!
Buffaloes holding a handy lead down in The Crater Serengeti 1006/11/92 v Blanchetown 811/11/74 @martyg