Cradle Mountain Preliminary Final team Out: T McDonald In: J Cripps Def: N Vlastuin, J Battle, J Lever, B Cox (T McDonald) Mid: J Steele, R Laird, S Pendlebury, J Hopper (E Langdon) Ruc: T English Fwd: D Zorko, A Naughton, S Mannagh, J Cripps(D Wilson) Int: T Nankervis, R Marshall (R Ginbey) The Devils have made one change for the away preliminary final against Nareewillock Nuffers omitting forward/defender Tom McDonald and recalling small forward Jamie Cripps for the F4 position, a spot that created much debate in the match committee meeting. The Nuffers and Devils have made the ORFFA preliminary finals for the second year in a row and are playing each other in a final for the first time. The two clubs have had very different approaches in 2024 with the Nuffers doing a lot of opposition analysis whilst the Devils have gone with the Brazilian soccer strategy of having a free flowing game style, have paid scant regard to their opposition and backed themselves to win a shootout. The Nuffers ranked fourth for points scored with 1,281.5 points for per game during the 2024 ORRFA home and away season. Nuffers Head Coach @chris88 implemented a superb defensive plan which his side executed magnificently to have the number two ranked defense, conceding 1,150.1 points per game to have a points differential of +131.4 points per game, a massive advantage. Over the course of the entire h & a season Nareewillock conceded a total of only six points more than the number one ranked Packers defense. This had the Nuffers in an ideal position in On the Couch’s Premiership window – ranking in the top six for both attack and defense. Cradle Mountain ranked third in the ORFFA in points for with 1,306.5 points per game during the 2024 ORFFA home and away season, 25 points per game ahead of the Nuffers. The Devils defense left a lot to be desired, conceding 1,266.7 points per game which was the worst in the ORFFA. Among the teams that finished in the top eight the Devils conceded 59.3 points per game more than the next easiest defense to score against. CMD engaged in many shootouts throughout the 2024 ORFFA home and away season and their points differential of +39.8 points per game left them little room for error. Playing their high risk game of roulette the Devils finished in seventh position with a record of eight wins and seven loses. One less win and the Devils would have missed the finals, one more win and the Devils would have finished fourth. Due to their lack of defensive pressure the Devils were well outside On the Couch’s Premiership window in stark contrast to the opposing Nuffers. Gary Lyon predicted the Nuffers to win their home preliminary final, saying “The Nuffers have a textbook approach to defense ideally suited to ORFFA finals football, whereas an NBA All-Star approach inspired by James Harden is a better summary of the Devils inept approach to defense.” An extensive rebuild for the Nareewillock Nuffers by current coach Chris88 and former coach @TheTassieHawk has delivered rich dividends over 2023/24 with the club rapidly rising up the ladder to make its first two ORFFA finals appearances. The defensive approach by the Nuffers has well and truly stacked up in head to head combat and has them well placed for the rigours of finals football. The Nuffers greatest positional strength is its impressive midfield and in 2024 to date five mids have averaged 95+ Caleb Serong (117), Errol Gulden (110), Matt Rowell (103), Chad Warner (100) and Jason Horne-Francis (98). Two other players, have also averaged 95+ for Nareewillock, defender Jordan Clark (106) and defender/midfielder Ed Richards (98). Cradle Mountain’s greatest positional strength is without question its formidable ruck division, having three rucks ranked in the ORFFA’s top five – Tasmanian Toby Nankervis (112.4) third, 2023 Les W Medal winner Tim English (109.4) fourth and Rowan Marshall (109.2) fifth. Cradle Mountain has three other players averaging triple figures, forward/midfielder Dayne Zorko (110), captain Jack Steele (109) in the midfield and mid-season trade acquisition Rory Laird (106) in the midfield. In their ORFFA history the Devils have consistently performer better from a total points scored perspective than a win-loss perspective during the home and away season. Cradle Mountain have performed very well in their 11 finals as an away team to have a record of seven wins and four losses on the road in finals. 2024 is the fifth time overall that Cradle Mountain have made an ORFFA preliminary final and third time that they have done so after finishing seventh or eighth at the end of the home and away season. After finishing seventh in 2018 the Devils won their first two finals and in a finals series full of upsets hosted the eighth placed Misfits. Marble Bar continued the road team’s 2018 finals supremacy to defeat the Devils by 112 points in the Grand Final to win the premiership. After finishing 8th in 2023 Cradle Mountain advance to an away preliminary final where they had a 39 point loss to eventual premiers Mount Beauty Uglies. The Devils are aiming to win their second ORFFA premiership and become the first team to win ORFFA titles without going back to back, having won the flag in 2021. Devils inaugural captain and first ever overall ORFFA draft pick Scott Pendlebury missed the 2021 premiership due to injury and the mission to try and enable Pendles to be a premiership player at CMD has been a driving force for the club over the past few seasons. In the twilight of his career Pendlebury has averaged 88 points per game to be ranked 8th at the Devils with defender Nick Vlastuin (91) being the other 85+ player. Pendles has signed on for a 13th season with the Devils in 2025 and the club will continue to focus on the short-term. This weekend’s preliminary final with the Nuffers hosting the Devils shapes to be an enthralling contest. Both clubs were beaten in a 2023 preliminary final and have similar scoring capability. It will be intriguing to see how the different approaches by Nareewillock Nuffers and Cradle Mountain to defense and team structure play out and which term emerges victorious and books a place in the 2024 ORFFA Grand Final. @chris88 congratulation on winning the 2024 ORFFA minor premiership and making the preliminary final, good luck for this weekend.
Spelunkers in a world of pain... 982/13 with The Bont and Meek to go, Uglies 796/8 I think @HeavyMen might be a few celebratory tins in at the bar
The Devils are experiencing a similar level of pain to the Spelunkers with two Tasmanian teams each receiving a football lesson from an opponent delivering an incredible preliminary finals performance. Nareewillock Nuffers 1,196/11 Average 108.7 Lead Cradle Mountain Devils 461/6 Average 76.8 Unless there is a monumental fight back in one or both of the preliminary finals @chris88 ‘s Nuffers will be hosting next weekend’s Grand Final against @bama ’s Uglies.
I saw this just before yesterday's games, @dmandrews ,and was a bit stunned at how things had gone. I was also worried a couple of my Sunday players would turn into potatoes and spud up the scoreboard. A couple did - looking at you Messers Higgins and Ryan - but the young Irishman Mr Keane helped right the ship. That the Devils came back so hard to close the gap on Sunday shows the strength of your team, Dean, and especially of the rucking trio you have. Congrats on a great season. Onwards I guess, and perhaps a backman getting half points in the ruck might be my only option given the injuries to Soldo and (apparently) Ryan. The Uglies are set to have a field day in the ruck, methinks.
A big thank you to you @JC for the hospitality and camaraderie in the Girt by Sea games. A very enjoyable way to fill in the latter part of the season when teams are out of contention. I noted that @Bandit suggested you need to "girt" going this week. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black - shambolic effort by the soft cavemen. Even the cows, playing as many kids, as possible would have trimmed your mob up.
When the time comes for fixturing next season, can @graeme and @JC please remind the FIXture committee to note in the schedule a Girt By Sea game? Try to keep the tradition going.
FIXtures loaded for the big dances! Spelunkers now taking a couple of weeks off to review their years sub par performance
Congratulations @chris88 on the Nuffers playing a phenomenal preliminary final to score 1,444 points to have a 165 point victory against the Devils. Nareewillock easily won the tons count 8-5 and had the best three players on the ground – midfielder Chad Warner with 164 from the interchange, midfielder Jason Horne-Francis (141) and defender Jordan Clark (138). On ORFFA 360 the two players selected as Monday heros were both Nuffers midfielders with Jordan Lewis choosing Matt Rowell and Kath Loughnan opting for Jason Horne-Francis. Cradle Mountain’s preliminary final side had 10 players that have averaged 80+ in 2024 including three Tigers and three Saints. After posting the scores up to the end of the Saturday night games I was confident that the Devils would reduce the gap on Sunday but they needed everything to go right to get a fightback victory. The type of scenario required on Sunday for the Devils to win was something along the lines of nine Devils average 105 points and four Nuffers average 50 points. The Richmond vs Saints games had something along these lines with six CMD players averaging 99 and two NN players averaging 34. For Cradle Mountain to have any chance Aaron Naughton needed to have a big game, however it went the other way and he was subbed out of the game having scored 24. In the Crows vs Bulldogs game Mark Keane and Ed Richards were able to steady the ship for the Nuffers, combining for 187 points in the last game of the round to ensure the Nuffers had a 150+ point win. The Nuffers are on an 11 game winning streak comprised of nine home and away games and two finals. Only three clubs in the entire 15 round home and away season had more than nine wins which highlights how dominant the Nuffers have been this season. Nareewillock have earnt the right to host the 2024 ORFFA Grand Final, the club’s first time in the big dance, a remarkable rise given that they finished 16th in 2022 with 16 premiership points. Cradle Mountain’s form fluctuated greatly throughout the 2024 ORFFA home and away season: - The Devils started brilliantly to be on top of the ladder with four wins and one loss after Round 5. - The wheels fell off in the middle third of the home and away season with Cradle Mountain only winning two of their six games from Round 6 to Round 11. As a result the Devils were mid-pack at the mid-season break with six wins and five losses to be seventh on the ladder, one game and points for ahead of the Lilacs in ninth place. - Even with taking trading in a 100+ point midfielder in Rory Laird in during the mid-season break the Devils just held on to a top eight position. The Devils had two wins and two losses in their last four games of the season with the margin in three of the four games being less than 35 points. Cradle Mountain finished seven on the ladder with eight wins and seven losses. From a points scored perspective, the Devils were more competitive than I expected at the start of the season, averaging 1,306 points per game – ranking third overall. Cradle Mountain improved on this during the finals to average 1,363 points per game and won finals against the Cows and Hoppers before being defeated by the Nuffers in a preliminary final. The Devils 2024 preliminary final team was comprised of: - 2 players from the inaugural draft back in 2012 Scott Pendlebury (pick1 overall) and Dayne Zorko (pick 325 - Round 19) - 8 players that were selected in an ORFFA pre-season draft from 2013 to 2019. Nick Vlastuin (pick 10 in 2013 PSD) Toby Nankervis (pick 23 in 2014 PSD) Jack Steele (pick 13 in 2015 PSD) Jake Lever (pick 19 in 2015 PSD) Jacob Hopper (pick 8 in 2016 PSD) Tim English (pick 8 in 2017 PSD) Aaron Naughton (pick 14 in 2018 PSD) Rowan Marshall (pick 48 in 2019 PSD) - 5 players acquired in 2024 – 1 from dispersal draft, 2 from PSD, 1 from MSD & 1 from a trade Brennan Cox (pick 10 in dispersal draft) Shaun Mannagh (pick 26 in PSD) Josh Battle (pick 58 in PSD) Jamie Cripps (pick 10 in MSD) Rory Laird (acquired in a trade with Gariwerd Cockatoos) Cripps and Cox had previously been Round 1 mid-season draft selections for the Devils in 2014 and 2018 respectively. Three of the four Devils emergencies for the 2024 preliminary final were also acquired in 2024 – Tom McDonald (pick 26 in MSD), Ed Langdon (pick 42 in PSD) and Darcy Wilson (pick 10 in PSD). The exception was interchange emergency Reuben Ginbey (pick 13 in 2023 PSD). No players acquired in a four season period from 2020 to 2023 played for the Devils during the 2024 finals series which doesn’t reflect well on the recruiting department. I expect 2023 Round 1 selection Ginbey to break into the Devils best 15 in 2025 or 2026. The Devils third selection at the inaugural ORFFA draft in 2012 – Dyson Heppell is the third last Devil standing from that initial crop having announced his retirement this week. Heppell averaged at least 95 points per game in six seasons including 2021 when he was a member of the Devils premiership team. The two Devils still standing from the inaugural ORFFA draft Pendles and Zorko have without question been the club’s best two players over the first bakers dozen years of the comp from 2012 to 2024. Pendles has signed with CMD for 2025 and will continue to play in the midfield. Cradle Mountain’s number 1 list management priority in the off-season is to get Dayne Zorko to sign his player option to be at the Devils in 2025. If Zorko does play on there will be a positional change from fwd/mid to defense.
Word on the street is that Pendles was seen in the Tiki bar with Chelsea... and depending on how pre-season goes, might end up staying there, deciding that it is in fact time to call it a day
I'm wondering if the Nuffers may have used all their luck last week against the Devils, given that Chad Warner is out injured this week, and Samson Ryan looks a likely out with an ankle niggle. Replacing Warner is going to be challenging.
Ooh, in lots of trouble here! Had to take some selection chances given my team issues .... and some of them have worked, and some have failed dramatically. But more crucially, the Uglies look to be just far more consistent across the board (despite a 200 from Brent Daniels at my end). Need a miracle I think, but can't see one on the horizon.
Progress score of 2024 ORFFA Grand Final at half-time of WBD vs Nth AFL game Nareewillock Nuffers @chris88 1,164/14 Average 83.1 Mount Beauty Uglies @bama, @HeavyMen 864/9 Average 96 Still to play for the Nuffers: 2nd half from R West, E Richards WBD vs Nth (2) Still to play for the Uglies 2nd half from S Darcy, C Zurhaar WBD vs Nth (2) Full games from 5 players D Rioli, J Graham, W Day Haw vs Rich (3) S Walsh, O Hollands WCE vs Car (2) The Mount Beauty Uglies are in a strong position to defeat minor premiers, the Nareewillock Nuffers in the 2024 ORFFA Grand Final. If the Uglies achieve this feat they will become the third team in ORFFA history to win back to back premierships, joining Foul Bay Chicken (2012 & 2013) and Larrikin Lagoon Lefties (2015 & 2016) in this category. Mount Beauty are trying to replicate their 2023 performance when they finished fourth at the end of the home and away season and defeated minor premiers the Gundagai Grasshoppers in the Grand Final. The Nuffers won the 2024 minor premiership and entered the Grand Final an 11 game winning streak comprised of nine home and away games and two finals. The degree of difficulty for the Nuffers increased when Chad Warner after a best afield 164 in the preliminary finals victory against the Devils was ruled out of the Grand Final during the week with a calf injury. Nareewillock ruck Samson Ryan didn't take his place in the team after being named in the 15 resulting in defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher being a late inclusion as an out of position ruck. Nareewillock's defense has been phenomenal in 2024 and they will need an incredible defensive performance in the last quarter to curtail the Uglies scoring and extend their winning streak to 12 games to win the premiership. Unless the wheels fall off for the Uglies in the home stretch the sequence of the away team winning the Grand Final will extend to six consecutive Grand Finals in 2024. The last time that a home side won the ORFFA Grand Final was 2017 when minor premiers, the Cows defeated the third placed Misfits by 20 points.
Provisional congrats to @bama and the Uglies - reckon they've gotten up by about 90 points or so. Well done - a great grand final and it would've been a shame if Will Day's injury had been a deciding factor.
The unofficial final score that I had for the 2024 ORFFA Grand Final is similar to Chris’ margin: Nareewillock Nuffers 1,237 Lost by 87 points to Mount Beauty Uglies 1,320 The Nuffers 15 player team had completed their offensive output at the end of the Western Bulldogs vs North Melbourne game. Mount Beauty helped by a seven goal, 146 supercoach point breakout performance from forward Sam Darcy had progressed to 964/10 at an average of 96.4. The Uglies had a target of 274 points to chase down with their remaining five players at an average of 54.8 points per game. After starting on the bench Mount Beauty’s Will Day suffered a collarbone injury early in the first quarter due to being on the receiving end of friendly fire from a fellow Uglies midfielder. Day took no further part in the game and scored 10 supercoach points playing 5% game-time, leaving MBU down a rotation for most of the game. The other two players in action for Mount Beauty in the Hawks vs Tigers game were forward/midfielder Jack Graham with 40 points from the F3 position and defender Daniel Rioli scoring 91 points to be a solitary point below his season average. The two last players to take the field for the Uglies in the Carlton vs West Coast game, midfield duo Sam Walsh and Ollie Hollands had a target of 133 points to chase down for Mount Beauty to defeat the Nareewillock Nuffers. Walsh and Hollands always had their extremely important assignment under control and reached the target 16 minutes into the third quarter. Hollands (116) went on to be one of five Uglies to reach triple figures and Walsh (99) fell just short of this achievement. Other Mount Beauty players to reach triple figures were midfield duo Zak Butters (156), Jack Viney (136), defender Christian Salem (106) and forward Sam Darcy (146). The midfield output from Butters and Viney was almost identical to the 2023 Grand Final. With Butters scoring two points less than his 158 in the 2023 GF and Viney adding one point to his 2023 score of 135. Butters won the medal for being best afield in the 2023 Grand Final and was again Mount Beauty’s best player in there 2024 GF victory but this time he ranked second overall in the game. With midfielder Chad Warner out small forward Brent Daniels relished more midfield time for the Nuffers in the Grand Final to have 29 disposals, laid 13 tackles and kicked three goals. How incredible Daniels’ game on the biggest stage was highlighted when Swamp posted on X (formerly twitter) that Daniels performance in the 2024 ORFFA Grand Final was just the second time in ORFFA history that a player had 25+ disposals, 13+ tackles & 3+ goals in an AFL game. The previous player to achieve this feat was Gary Ablett junior in 2015. For his magnificent GF performance Daniels scored 195 supercoach points and won the medal for being best afield in the Grand Final. Other Nuffers to reach the ton were midfielder Caleb Serong (105) from the M1 position and defender/midfielder Ed Richards (125) from the M4 position. Below is a list of ORFFA Grand Final results and premiership winners. ORFFA Premiers and Grand Final results ORFFA Grand Finalists with the host listed first and premiers in bold The numbers in brackets are the teams place on the ladder at the end of the home and away season. 2013 Foul Bay Chickens (3) 1471 vs Darraweit Guim Dirigibles (7) 1336 margin 135 points 2014 Iron Knob Codpieces (1) 1400 vs Wagga Wagga Wombats (5) 1292 margin 108 points 2015 Birdsville Battlers (7) 1288 vs Larrikin Lagoon Lefties (8) 1294 margin 6 points 2016 Larrikin Lagoon Lefties (2) 1192 vs Venus Bay Vultures (8) 1138 margin 54 points 2017 Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles (1) 1357 vs Marble Bar Misfits (3) 1337 margin 20 points 2018 Cradle Mountain Devils (7) 1258 vs Marble Bar Misfits (8) 1370 margin 112 points 2019 Foul Bay Chickens (1) 1234 vs Venus Bay Vultures (5) 1382 margin 148 points 2021 Venus Bay Vultures (2) 1394 vs Cradle Mountain Devils (4) 1466 margin 72 points 2022 Gundagai Grasshoppers (1) 1200 vs Gariwerd Cockatoos (2) 1354 margin 134 points 2023 Gundagai Grasshoppers (1) 1341 vs Mount Beauty Uglies (4) 1396 margin 55 points 2024 Nareewillock Nuffers (1) 1237 vs Mount Beauty Uglies (4) 1320 margin 87 points Due to time constraints finals were unable to be played in 2012 and 2020. In both of these seasons the team that finished first on the ladder at the end of the home and away season won the ORFFA premiership and the second placed team were the runners up. Premiers Runners Up 2012 Foul Bay Chickens (1) Iron Knob Codpieces (2) 2020 Gundagai Grasshoppers (1) Foul Bay Chickens (2) Congratulations to @bama and @HeavyMen on Mount Beauty winning the 2024 Grand Final and becoming the third team in ORFFA history to win back-to-back premierships and the first to achieve this feat since the Lefties in 2015 /2016. 2024 was the first season that the top four teams at the end of the home and away season had a double chance. In a qualifying final fourth placed Mount Beauty on the road had a 1,157-1.241 loss to minor premiers Nareewillock Nuffers. Mount Beauty won ugly in the second week of the finals to record a 25 point semi final victory, 1,112 to 1,087 over the Lovely Bank Lilacs in a low scoring grind. In weeks 3 and 4 of the 2024 finals Mount Beauty looked a completely different team to the one that averaged 1,135 points per game over the first two weeks of the finals. Playing a more attacking brand and drawing on their experience from winning the 2023 premiership the Uglies on the road completely outplayed the second placed Charlies Opening Spelunkers in the preliminary final to win by 198 points, 1,370 to 1,172. As Chris Fagan says you either win or you learn. Bama and the Mount Beauty brains trust certainly learnt from their qualifying final loss to the Nuffers and were able to change things up and considerably lift their scoring to defeat the Nuffers by 87 points in the Grand Final to win the 2024 ORFFA premiership. It was the five players that started in the middle of the ground comprised of four midfielders and one ruck that were the catalyst for Mount Beauty winning the 2024 Grand Final. The five players that started for the Uglies in this section of the ground won the battle against their Nuffers counterparts by 174 points, 604 to 430. In both 2023 and 2024 Mount Beauty finished fourth on the ladder and defeated the minor premiers in the Grand Final. The fourth ranked team at the end of the home and away season has the best record of winning Grand Finals, having done so three times, all in the past four seasons with the fourth placed Devils defeating the second placed Venus Bay Vultures in 2021. The Uglies had the same defensive quartet in the 2023 & 2024 Grand Finals - Hayden Young, Daniel Rioli, Brayden Maynard and Christian Salem. Zak Butter, Sam Walsh and Jack Viney filled the M1 to M3 positions in the 2024 GF and were all starting midfielders for the Uglies in the 2023 premiership. Max Gawn was the ruck in both titles. Jack Graham was the only player from the Uglies 2023 GF forward line that was in the 15 for the 2024 GF. Will Day started on MBU’s interchange in both the 2023 and 2024 Grand Finals. Overall 10 Mount Beauty players were members of the of the Uglies 15 player team in both of their back-to-back Grand Final victories in 2023 and 2024. Three players that scored tons for Mount Beauty in the 2023 Grand Final victory against the Grasshoppers were not members of the Uglies 2024 GF side – midfielder Christian Petracca, forward Dustin Martin and defender Brandon Ellis who started the 2023 GF on the bench. Petracca suffered a lacerated spleen, punctured lung and four broken ribs from a collision in a practice match during the 2024 mid-season break and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Martin and Ellis both retired late in the 2024 season. Two players that were forwards in the Uglies 2023 title were named as emergencies for the 2024 GF – Darcy Fogarty and Noah Balta. The five members of the Mount Beauty 2024 Grand Final team that didn’t play in the 2023 GF were comprised of experienced trio, forward/midfielders Brad Hill (F2) and Travis Boak (Int 2) and forward Cameron Zurhaar (F4) along with younger players – forward Sam Darcy (F1) and midfielder Oliver Hollands (M4). Darcy and Hollands are both under 22 years of age and each scored 110+ in the 2024 GF. Hollands was the interchange emergency for the 2023 GF. In the past three ORFFA Grand Finals the minor premier has hosted and been defeated by another team that finished in the top four at the end of the home and away season. Incredibly the away team has won the past six ORFFA Grand Finals from 2018 onwards. Over 11 ORFFA Grand Finals the away team has a 7-4 advantage over the home team. Commiserations @chris88 on the Nuffers being defeated in the 2024 ORFFA Grand Final. You also created history to become the first person to coach two different ORFFA clubs in a Grand Final. Having been the coach of the Darraweit Guim Dirigibles in the first ORFFA Grand Final in 2013. It has been an incredible rise by the Nuffers to go from finishing 16th with four wins in 2022 to make back-to-back finals appearances in 2023, 2024 including winning the minor premiership and making the Grand Final in 2024. Whilst it took some the Nuffers list rebuild by @TheTassieHawk and Chris is well and truly paying rich dividends now. With the age profile of the Nuffers list the club is well placed to be a premiership contender for many years to come.
Wow wee back to back premierships!! I never would've though it would be possible as the injuries and retirees mounted up but few big games from the kids got us over the line. Commiserations to @chris88 and the Nuffers but well done on a great season, good luck for next year. Thank you to all in this league who keep this going for a bit of fun and a release from the everyday grind. Last but not least thanks to @HeavyMen for the continued support over the years and being a fantastic number one ticket holder. Hope you all have a great off season and ready for another challenge next year.