Round 1 – AFL Round 1 Date: Thursday 18th March 2021 THEME - Sacrifice a Spud to the COVID gods Round To kick off the 2021 ORFFA season, we are introducing a new round in a bid to ward off any repeat of the COVID-blighted 2020 season. Every coach can - nay, must - choose a current player who they wish to offer up as a 'donation' to ensure season 2021 runs far more smoothly than season 2020. We of course suggest that sacrificing a spud (rather than a stud) might be the prudent way forward. And while the 'sacrificed' spuds sit out this round, the scheduled games go on (though they must be completed within a scheduled two-hour window set aside for exercise and if your team isn't able to play a team from within a 5km radius, well, there could be real issues there). Of course, all 'sacrificed' spuds will be returned in good working order at round's end and can be reclaimed by their owners in a responsible way with adequate 1.5m of physical distancing at all times. Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles V Mount Beauty Uglies Venus Bay Vultures V Birdsville Battlers Larrikin Lagoon Lefties V Cradle Mountain Devils Lovely Banks Lilacs V Nowhere Else Wanderers Gariwerd Cockatoos V Wagga Wagga Wombats Nareewillock Nuffers V Foul Bay Chickens Gundagai Grasshoppers V Charlies Opening Spelunkers Wineglass Bay Packers V Whitsunday Warriors Marble Bar Misfits V Iron Knob Codpieces
Brodie Kemp is ashamed to be named here but as a glass half full kinda kid, is happy to still be on our list.
The Lilacs offer up Hayden McClean, its a case of who the f is this guy and why is he still on our list.
The cows make Brad Crouch available as a sacrifice to the SC gods. He ain't doing much for his team these first two rounds, so perhaps he can do some good for all of us.
Cradle Mountain offer up David Zaharakis. After losing his place in CMD’s best 15 early in 2019 original Devil Zaharakis has been falling down the pecking order. At this late stage of his career there is nowhere lower for Zaharakis to drop whilst retaining a spot on the CMD list than the specialist position of nominated spud.
Cradle Mountain Devils provisional Round 1, 2021 team for the road trip to play the Lefties: New: Harry Cunningham (recruited from the Nuffers) Def: N Vlastuin, D Rich, J Lever, H Cunningham (M O’Connor) Mid: J Steele, S Pendlebury, J Hopper, Z Jones (J Gresham) Ruc: T English Fwd: D Zorko, L Breust, T Lynch, T Membrey (S McAdam) Int: T Nankervis, D Heppell (J Redden) Off-season recruit Harry Cunningham makes his debut for the Devils after being acquired in a trade with the Nuffers. Cunningham takes the place of veteran Devils defender Michael Hurley who faces a lengthy time on the sidelines with a hip injury. The only other Cradle Mountain ‘best 15’ player on the injury list is ruck/forward Rowan Marshall who is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a foot injury. CMD have an experienced squad with all 19 squad members being at least 23 years of age, and have a settled team with Cunningham being the only member of the Round 1 team who hasn’t been on the Devils list for at least two seasons.
A lot of that tired old talk going around at the moment. "Fittest he's ever been." "Heart and soul of the Essendon footy club." I expect he will be sacrificed on the altar of the mid-season draft.
The Battlers offer up Matt Conroy. Really unfair on a kid that's just joined the club but, given he's just done an ACL, he seems an appropriate choice to offer up to get rid of the bad vibes.
Misfits so far Def: Caleb Daniel We offer up Hickey as our sacrificial potato, the scare might bring form
Selection shock. Lefties might field a full squad. Or maybe not... Def - Cox, Hardwick, Markov, Rotham (Hayden) Mid - Berry, Perryman, Simpkin, Worpel (Cocky) Ruck - Draper Fwd - Marshall, Ladhams, Georgiades, Rankine (Schoenberg) IC - Anderson, Ham (Meek) Finger crossed edit: Ham named so he gets a gig and Hayden def emergency
Updated Cradle Mountain Round 1 team Zak Jones has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and has been replaced in the team by Jade Gresham. Def: N Vlastuin, D Rich, J Lever, H Cunningham (M O’Connor) Mid: J Steele, S Pendlebury, J Hopper, D Heppell (J Redden) Ruc: T English Fwd: D Zorko, L Breust, T Lynch, T Membrey (S McAdam) Int: T Nankervis, J Gresham (L Brown)
The Nuffers seem to have managed a full 15 players for the match against Foul Bay @ChiefRussell including Charlie Lazarro who has been named by North Melbourne to make his AFL debut in Round 1 so is expected to start as the medical sub. Three debutants have been named with Lazarro starting in the Ruck (with all 3 of our Richmond rucks missing) and Campbell and Gulden both starting on the interchange.
With 8 down the Nuffers have reached 585. Running out on Sunday will be Atley, Duursma, 50% of Lazarro, B Long, B Hill, Rowell and Petrucelle. We are hopeful of a score above 1100 but are long resigned to notching our 7th consecutive ORFFA loss, most likely to be a sizeable one.
Reality has hit and the Nuffers have barely reached 900 for Round 1, with an unofficial score of 909 points.
Good tussle with @bama but greater depth determined the outcome. The Uglies will claim more than a few scalps this year, you heard it here first.