This is the opening post of the Finals week 1, 2026 review thread. At the bottom of this post is an image ranking the 16 ORFFA clubs by points for finals week 1, other columns include points against, result and points difference to the average score of the round. A breakdown of each clubs score by the five lines – defense, midfield, ruck, forward and interchange is included. Each clubs donuts, OOP’s and late in scores are listed when applicable. I haven't gone into as much detail as Round 7 and Round 15 so I can post the image this afternoon. Coaches doing a game review for finals week 1 can add their review to this thread. Finals week 1, 2026 results ORFFA finals (1) Gundagai Grasshoppers 1,475 defeated (5) Lovely Banks Lilacs 897 (2) Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1,503 defeated (8) Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 1,255 (3) Cradle Mountain Devils 1,155 lost to (7) Wineglass Bay Packers 1,230 (4) Gariwerd Cockatoos 1,269 lost to (6) Narrewillock Nuffers 1,418 Zac Dawson Cup (9) Venus Bay Vultures 1,124 defeated (16) Iron Knob Codpieces 732 (10) Junee Jaguars 1,188 defeated (15) Mount Beauty Uglies 989 (11) Shark Bay Tigersharks 833 lost to (14) Wagga Wagga Wombats 1,102 (12) Birdsville Battlers 1,239 defeated vs (13) Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 1,209 Highest team scores of Finals Week 1 Rank Team Score 1 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1,503 2 Gundagai Grasshoppers 1,475 3 Nareewillock Nuffers 1,418 4 Gariwerd Cockatoos 1,269 5 Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 1,255 After no team scored above 1,400 in round 15 the bar was lifted in week 1 of the 2026 finals with three teams scoring 1,400+. The Spelunkers broke the magical 1,500+ barrier, equating to 100+ points per game. Fellow quarter final winners the Grasshoppers (1,475) and Nuffers (1,418) completed the podium. ORFFA average team score Finals Week 1 Closest to Average Defense 297.9 Birdsville Battlers / Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 300 each Midfield 341.7 Wineglass Bay Packers 344 Ruck 74.3 Cradle Mountain Devils 65 Forward 304.6 Birdsville Battlers 309 Interchange 145.1 Shark Bay Tigersharks 146 Total 1.163.6 Cradle Mountain Devils 1,155 Finals week 1 scores by starting position in the ORRFA Defense Rank Team Score 1 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 418 2 Wineglass Bay Packers 384 3 Gundagai Grasshoppers 367 4 Gariwerd Cockatoos 352 5 Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 343 After the Spelunkers defense scored 418 to rank second in Round 15, they recorded the exact same score, 418 to be the number 1 ranked defense for finals week 1 ahead of fellow Apple Isle club, Wineglass Bay (384) who were the number one ranked defense of Round 15. Midfield 1 Nareewillock Nuffers 527 2 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 477 3 Gundagai Grasshoppers 429 4 Birdsville Battlers 418 5 Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 378 For the second week in a row the Nuffers had the number one ranked midfield, scoring 527 in finals week 1, the highest line score of the weekend. The Hoppers and filled the podium as they did in Round 15 but this time it was the Spelunkers in second place followed by the Hoppers in third place. Ruck 1 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 149 2 Wineglass Bay Packers 129 3 Birdsville Battlers 118 4 Mount Beauty Uglies 105 5 Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 99 The Spelunkers Luke Jackson was the number 1 ranked ruck for week one of the finals ahead of Wineglass Bay’s Darcy Cameron (129) who was the third ranked ruck of Round 15. Forwards 1 Gundagai Grasshoppers 431 2 Gariwerd Cockatoos 414 3 Nareewillock Nuffers 372 4 Iron Knob Codpieces 361 5 Wineglass Bay Packers 348 After being the number two ranked forward line of Round 15 the Gundagai Grasshoppers(431) leapt to the number one spot for week 1 of the finals with forward/midfielder Izak Rankine (223) delivering one of the greatest three individual games in the history of the ORFFA. Highlighting just how phenomenal Rankine was, his individual tally was more than the forward line score of three teams. The Cockatoos (414) ranked second with their quartet of forwards also averaging 100+ points each. Interchange Int positions 1 Wagga Wagga Wombats 223 D/M Mid 2 Cradle Mountain Devils 207 Ruc Def 3 Gundagai Grasshoppers 202 Mid Mid 4 Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 172 Mid Mid 5 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 166 Mid Ruc On the interchange marsupials ruled with the Wombats (223) finishing first ahead of Round 15 int leader, the Devils (207. Player scores of 120+ in finals week 1 21 players in the ORFFA player pool scored 120+ in week one of the finals comprised of 15 players competing in the ORFFA finals, four players in the Zac Dawson Cup, one free agent, forward Daniel McStay and one player who missed out on selection, Cows forward Logan Morris. The position breakdown of the 19 players that took the field and scored 120+ are: Position Midfield 8 Fwd/Mid 4 Def/Mid 3 Fwd 2 Ruc 2 Total 19 More detail on the players who scored 120+ will be provided in a later post.
Scores of 120 + in week 1 of the 2026 ORFFA finals The 19 players that scored 120+ in an ORFFA game in Week 1 of the finals covered all bases including guns that rank in the top 20 for their position, mid-tier players and players that average less than the ORFFA average of 78.6 points per game. The top five scoring teams of week 1 of the finals accounted for 14 of the 19 120+ scores. Top ranked Charlies Opening Spelunkers had four 120+ scores, followed by the third ranked Nuffers and fifth ranked Lefties with three players each in this category. The second ranked Hoppers and fourth ranked Cockatoos each had a pair that scored 120+. The 12th ranked Wombats had a duo score 120+ in the Zac Dawson Cup. Three teams had one player score 120+, Packers, Battlers and Vultures. Season rankings for positions include DPP’s. Defenders – 3 players 1 D/M Jase Burgoyne 139 Lefties. Averaging 88.5 – ranked 28th 2 D/M Oliver Florent 132 Spelunkers. Averaging 87.1 – ranked 34th 3 D/M Jai Serong 124 Wombats. Averaging 75.5 – ranked 68th In terms of 120+ scores defense was the only line that didn’t have a top 25 player score 120+ in week 1 of the finals. All three defenders to score 120+ were defender/midfielders. The top ranked defender. Lefties D/M Jase Burgoyne score of 139 was 50.5 points more than his season average of 88.5 points. Midfielders – 8 players 1 Mid Matt Rowell 174 Nuffers. Averaging 102.3 – ranked 21st 2 Mid Bailey Smith 161 Battlers. Averaging 119.6 – ranked 4h 3 Mid Luke Davies-Uniacke 156. Averaging 109.2 – ranked 13th 4 Mid Lachie Neale 155 Grasshoppers. Averaging 111.4 – ranked 11th 5 Mid Errol Gulden 134 Nuffers. Averaging 112.6 – ranked 8th Equal 6 Mid Nick Daicos 132 Spelunkers. Averaging 121.3 – ranked 2nd Equal 6 Mid Will Ashcroft 132 Spelunkers. Averaging 106.3 – ranked 15th 8 Mid Dylan Stephens 123 Lefties. Averaging 77.5 – ranked 88th For the most part the midfielders that scored 120+ in week 1 of the finals were usual suspects that rank in the top 25 for their position. The exception was Lefties mid Dylan Stephens who was the 8th ranked mid for the round and the 88th ranked mid (including DPP’s) for the season on average per game. Although the number one mid of the round, the Nuffers Matt Rowell is a usual suspect his score of 174 exceeded his season average of 102 by 72 points. Ruck – 2 players 1 Ruc Luke Jackson 149 Spelunkers. Averaging 117.5 – ranked 3rd 2 Ruc Darcy Cameron 129 Packers. Averaging 93.5 – ranked 9th Both rucks that scored 120+ rank in the ORFFA’s top rucks for the season on average. Spelunkers ruck Luke Jackson exceeded his lofty season average of 117.5 points by 31.5 points to score 149. Forwards 1 F/M Izak Rankine 223 Grasshoppers. Averaging 99.9 – ranked 4th 2 F/M Touk Miller 157 Cockatoos. Averaging 94.6 – ranked 11th 3 Fwd Frances Evans 134 Cockatoos. Averaging 72.9 – ranked 66th 4 Fwd Kai Lohmann 129 Vultures. Averaging 71.8 – ranked 71.8 5 F/M Max Hall 125 Lefties. Averaging 94.4 – ranked 12th A trio in the top five forwards for finals week 1 rank in the 12 forwards for he season on average. Two forwards that rank outside the top 65 forwards for the season exceeded heir average by 50+ points in week 1 of the finals, Cockatoos forward Frances Evans (+61 points) and Vultures forward Kai Lohmann (+57). Two forwards in the ORFFA player pool scored 120+ points in week 1 of the finals but didn’t play. Fwd Logan Morris 128 Cows. Averaging 74.6 – ranked 55th Fwd Daniel McStay 120 Free agent. Averaging 69.9 – ranked 85th Grasshoppers forward/midfielder Izak Rankine’s mammoth tally of 223 points was 113 points more than his season average of 100 and more than double 12th ranked forward of the round’s 110. Rankine’s 223 points in the Gundagai Grasshoppers victory against the Lilacs was the third highest ORFFA player score in history and the highest score in just over a decade. The highest player score in ORFFA history was forward Lance Buddy Franklin with 239 points in the comp’s first month, Round 4 (AFL Round 10) 2012 for the Powlett Plains Packers. The second highest score in ORFFA history was by Foul Bay Chickens midfielder Patrick Dangerfield with 229 points in a Chickens 1,503 to 1,222 victory against the Vulture in Round 12, 2016 (both ORFFA and AFL). When I did the ORFFA review for Round 7 Rankine was the second ranked forward for the Round with 149 points and was averaging 86 points per game – ranked 24th among forwards. After ORFFA Round 11 Rankine’s average dropped down to 80.6 but he has peaked at the right time of the season. Across the last four rounds of the home and away season and the first week of the finals Rankine has recorded scores of 145+ three times and is averaging 150.2 points per game across a five game stretch.
No Bont in the top 8 mids.... hopefully he responds this week.... been carrying an injury most of the year
Interesting - Nuffers pulled together 370 or so up forward last week but had none of the top five scorers. I guess that might've changed if JHF hadn't gone off injured. Hopefully our four chosen forwards this week (plus Mr Voss on the I/C) can again put together a consistently good effort.
2026 ORFFA Quarter final (3) Cradle Mountain Devils 1,155/15 Average 77 Lost to (7) Wineglass Bay Packers 1,230/15 Average 82 The Cradle Mountain Devils entered as favourites for their quarter final against the Wineglass Bay Packers, having finished four positions higher on the ORFFA ladder, third to seventh and had four more home and away wins, 11 to seven. Usually these ladder positions and win-loss records would indicate that the higher ranked Devils had a significant advantage over the lower ranked Packers on the road. In this instance it was not the case and very little separated both teams at their best. Over the 15 round 2026 home and away season Cradle Mountain averaged 1,248 points per game to rank fourth in the ORFFA, 28 points more than the sixth ranked Packers 1,220 points per game, equating to a very narrow advantage of 2.30%. One major difference was that Cradle Mountain were playing their 19th final in the past decade from 2017 onwards, whist Wineglass Bay were in unfamiliar territory, playing their first final since @Tracey took over as coach and the Packers relocated from Powlett Plains to Wineglass Bay for the 2016 season. Whilst Wineglass Bay had significantly less finals experience than the Devils they were a fellow Apple Isle team so were more used to the conditions in Cradle Mountain than most visiting ORFFA teams. The Packers all-time ORFFA finals record before the 2026 road quarter final against the Devils was one win and two losses. In 2013 an experienced Powlett Plains team finished sixth on the ladder with 11 wins and six losses and in the first week of the finals played minor premiers Iron Knob who finished four wins ahead of the Packers with 15 wins and two losses. There have been many upset results in ORFFA finals history and on the first weekend of ORFFA finals Powlett Plains provided one of the biggest upsets, playing a phenomenal game to defeat Iron Knob 1,313 to 1,133. A dozen Powlett Plains players scored at least 79 points against the Codpieces, led by defender Luke Hodge (130) from the interchange and midfielder Matthew Boyd (115). In head to head games between the two clubs from 2021 onwards Wineglass Bay had more success against Cradle Mountain than their respective ladder positions would suggest. An extreme example is the 2021 season when Cradle Mountain won the ORFFA premiership and Wineglass Bay finished 12th on the ladder. In a Devils home game in Round 7 that season Wineglass Bay recorded one of the biggest upset wins of the past decade in the ORFFA, defeating Cradle Mountain by 28 points, 1,193 to 1,165. Tracey and the Packers opposition analyst had a plan to minimise the Devils strengths and this plan was superbly executed. Only three of Cradle Mountains 15 players exceeded their season average in the game and the trio in this category were each less than seven points above their average. Wineglass Bay had five of the best six players on the ground with Packers midfielder Josh Daicos being best afield with 105 points. Wineglass Bay proved this result was no fluke when they won two of their next three games against Cradle Mountain, recording wins in 2022 and 2024. Although the Devils finished higher on the ladder in all six seasons it was a far different story in head to head games between the two Tasmanian teams. The head to head record in home and away games from 2021 to 2026 was tied at three wins apiece for Wineglass Bay and Cradle Mountain. Five years later after their 2021 h & a win and with the stakes significantly higher Tracey’s Wineglass Bay had a similar plan to back in their strengths, minimise the impact of the Devils best players and create history by breaking a finals drought in style by recording a 2026 quarter final road win against Cradle Mountain. Wineglass Bay’s greatest strength in 2026 was their defense, having four players ranked in the ORFFA’s top 21 defenders for points per game to the end of the home and away season with each member of the quartet averaging at least 94 points per game. Cradle Mountain’s greatest strength for many seasons has been their ruck depth. At the end of the 2026 home and away season four Devils rucks including two ruck/forward DPP’s ranked in the comp’s top 15 rucks for points per game. The key to the quarter final was which team, Cradle Mountain at home or Wineglass Bay on the road could perform closer to the best with the Packers defenders and Devils rucks playing critical roles in determining the result. Heavy rain for most of the first two and a half quarters increased the degree of difficulty for the Devils ruck quartet to have their usual impact and for the Packers defenders to have their typical run and carry. The short version of the story is Cradle Mountain had early success with sending defender/forward mid-season recruit Darcy Byrne-Jones to perform a defensive role on Wineglass Bay’s defender 1 Lachie Ash. The maximum temperature for the game was 8 degrees and there was heavy rainfall for most of the first half. After starting in the interchange 2 position veteran Devils defender Nick Vlastuin was outstanding to take several intercept possessions for the first quarter and helped the Devils gain the ascendency to lead by 44 points at quarter time, 258 to 214. During the second quarter Packers small forward Seth Campbell and midfielder/forward Tom Sparrow both kicked goals and were influential in Wineglass Bay winning the second term 305 to 231 to have a 30 point lead at half time, 519 to 489. Throughout the third quarter the heaviness of the rain reduced and by midway through the quarter the rain had stopped completely. A goal by Devils small forward Shaun Mannagh put his club back in front at the start of time on of the third quarter. Scoring lifted in the third quarter with CMD taking the honours 336 to WBP 288 to lead by 18 points at the last change 825 to 807. Throughout the game the impact Wineglass Bay’s highly touted defense was having increased each quarter. Cradle Mountain retained the lead until midway through the last quarter, however with the game on the line Wineglass Bay had the four best players on the ground in the final 10 minutes of playing time, defender duo Josh Daicos (117) and Bodhi Uwland (110) along with sole ruck Darcy Cameron (129) and midfielder 1 George Hewitt (119). Such was Wineglass Bay’s skill execution and standard of play they looked like the ORFFA’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters in a frenetic final quarter, winning the term 423 to Devils 330, turning an 18 point deficit at three quarter time into a 75 point victory. WBP’s final quarter scoring equates to a full game pace of 1,692. Wineglass Bay again did a magnificent job with their opposition analysis plan and execution. As was the case in Round 7, 2021 only three of the Devils 15 players exceeded their season average in the quarter final against the Packers, forward/midfielder Toby Greene (scored 90/ up 8 on 82 ave), forward Shaun Mannagh (104 / up 31 on ave of 73) and defender Nick Vlastuin (115/ up 43 on ave of 72). The latter two were the only CMD players to score 95+ and of the Devils 15 player quarter final team ranked second last and last respectively for season average so would have been given minimal attention in the Packers scouting report. In their first final for over a decade Wineglass Bay handled the pressure and intensity well to maintain their usual standards with eight of the 15 players exceeding their season average. With Wineglass Bay performing far closer to their best than the Devils did the Packers recorded a much deserved 75 point road quarter final victory to advance to a preliminary final against 2026 minor premiers, the Gundagai Grasshoppers. A longer version of Cradle Mountain and Wineglass Bay’s history in the ORFFA as well as a review of their 2026 quarter final is in progress and will be posted later this weekend. The post will include full scores from the Packers two ORFFA finals victories, week 1 2013 against Iron Knob and 2026 quarter final vs Devils as well as their Round 7 2021 road win against the Devils.