Wineglass Bay Packers 1,128 lost to Lovely Banks Lilacs 1,262 @Jen ’s Lilacs having an away victory against the Packers resulted in them extending their winning streak to three games and climbing one rung one the ladder from ninth to eighth. Lovely Bank’s 134 point win was set up from the defensive arc with a trio of pure defenders scoring at least 115 SuperCoach points and ranking in the ORFFA’s top 10 for the defensive line in Round 13 - Callum Wilkie (139 – 3rd), Mitch Duncan (128 – 6th) and Tom Stewart (115 – equal 9th). Another three Lilacs raised the bat – forward/midfielder Isaac Heeney (127) from the F1 position, midfielder Ollie Wines (115) at M1 and forward Sam Switkowski (102) from the interchange. In each of the last five seasons from 2019 to 2023 the Lilacs have finished between 7th and 11th on the ORFFA ladder. The Lilacs conclude the 2024 ORFFA season with an away game against 2nd placed Charlies Opening followed by a home game against 16th placed Iron Knob. It is likely that the Lilacs will again finish in the middle third of the ladder. One more victory by Lovely Banks this season would strengthen their chances of making the top eight and would ensure that the club finishes with a positive win-loss record for the third time in four seasons. @Tracey ’s Packers had two tons with one from a usual suspect in M1 James Worpel (110) and one from a far less likely source in Jacob van Rooyen. 21 year old Wineglass Bay key forward van Rooyen kicked an equal career-high four goals and scored a career-high 126 SuperCoach points to be his club’s best player and more than doubled his season average of 59 points. Other players in the Packers five highest scorers for the game were midfielder Finn Callaghan (97) along with forward Ben Keays (93) and defender Andrew McGrath (82). Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 1,164 lost to vs Birdsville Battlers 1,264 Seventh placed Birdsville Battlers had a 100 point road victory against the fourth placed Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles in Round 13 to consolidate their place in the top eight and keep their top four chances alive. @JC ’s Battlers fell a solitary point short of having each of their top ranked players on the four on-field lines reaching the ton. Ruck Tom De Koning (128), M1 Sam Flanders (104) and F1 Dylan Moore (103) all reached triple figures and D1 Luke Ryan scored 99. This quartet were well supported by another six Birdsville players score 80+ including the three players holding the M2 to M4 positions. In a consistent team performance forward/midfielder Ben Ainsworth (42) was the only played that lived up to the Battlers nickname and recorded a sub 60 score. With two rounds remaining Birdsville are in sixth position with a record of eight wins and five losses to be well placed to record their first top 8 finish since 2020. On the run home Birdsville have a home game against 9th placed Venus Bay followed by an away game against 10th placed Marble Bar. A Battlers victory this weekend against Venus Bay would lock in a finals berth. Cows midfielder Josh Dunkley scored 140 SuperCoach points in a best afield performance to move on to the first page of the Les W Medal leaderboard and is the top ranked Cow in equal 10th position. Key forward Josh Treacy (131) was the only other Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles player to reach triple figures. Five Cows scored 80-99 with 21 year old midfielder Matthew Johnson (94) ranking third for his team. Waikickamoocow didn’t have enough contributors on the day to match Birdsville, with five players recording sub 60 scores including M2 Bailey Williams (34). @graeme ’s Cows are currently fourth on the ladder with nine wins and four losses but have a difficult conclusion to the season, having an away game against the third placed Grasshoppers in Round 14 followed by a home game against the ladder leading Nuffers in the final round. Marble Bar Misfits 1,433 defeated Cradle Mountain Devils 1,364 The Marble Bar Misfits hosted the Cradle Mountain Devils in a game between two teams that have both performed better on a total points scored basis than in head to head contests. Marble Bar entered the round languishing in 12th position on the ladder and ranked seventh for total points. The Devils were sixth on the ladder and ranked third for total points. In Round 13 seven of @Len ’s Misfits reached triple figures and another trio scored 90’s in a magnificent team performance to defeat Cradle Mountain 1,433-1,364. Starting Misfits ruck Kieren Briggs scored 148 points to poll 4 Les W Medal votes and be the second ranked ruck in the ORFFA for the round. A trio of Misfits mids scored 110+ in Adam Treloar (129), Tim Taranto (122) and Callan Ward (114). On all five lines at least one Marble Bar player reached triple figures with the other players in this category being defender Lachie Whitfield (107), forward Jeremy Cameron (101) and defender Tom McCartin (103) from the interchange. Marble Bar remain a mathematical chance of making the finals. MBM need to win both their games and require at least one of 8th placed Lovely Banks or 9th placed Venus Bay to lose both their games. The Devils had three of the best four players on the ground. The three highest scoring ruckman for Round 13 all played in the Misfits vs Devils match with Tassie Devil Toby Nankervis ranking first with 159 points and fellow Devil Tim English ranking third with 137 points. The player selected with the first overall in the inaugural ORFFA draft back in 2012, Devils midfielder Scott Pendlebury scored 132 points to be the best midfielder on the ground and polled two Les W Medal votes. Although the Devils score is 1,419 in Matchday it should actually be 1,364. CMD key forward Aaron Naughton was concussed in the second quarter, didn’t play in the second half and finished with a score of -3. Cradle Mountain forward emergency Darcy Wilson’s score of 55 was incorrectly included in the Devils total. The Devils are 7th on the ladder and have a points for advantage over the other two teams on seven wins - Lovely Banks and Venus Bay. Cradle Mountain are attempting to finish in the top eight for the eighth consecutive season and conclude their season with two games against teams in the bottom six on the ladder – Wineglass Bay and Dunsborough. Wagga Wagga Wombats 1,217 vs Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1,463 Charlies Opening consolidated their status as the highest scoring team in the ORFFA this season with another 1,400+ score. @Bandit ’s Charlies Opening Spelunkers amassed an ORFFA round-high 1,463 to defeat a 13 player Birdsville outfit by 246 points to record their 10th victory of the season and locked in a second consecutive top four finish. In an enthralling battle the two M2’s scored more than 300 points between them and whilst Spelunker Zach Merrett (145) lost this battle he top scored for his team and ranked sixth overall in the ORFFA for the round. Despite starting on the bench Trent Rivers was not only Charlies Opening’s best defender but the ORFFA’s top ranked defender for Round 13, scoring 143 SuperCoach points. A total of four Spelunkers scored 120+ with M3 Andrew Brayshaw (128) and forward/ruck Luke Jackson (121) from the F1 position being in this category. Defender Liam Duggan (100), midfielder and Les W Medal leader Marcus Bontempelli (106) and ruck Lloyd Meek (114) increased Charlies Opening’s tons tally to seven. The Spelunkers are second on the ladder with 10 wins and three losses, points for ahead of the third placed Grasshoppers and one behind the top placed Nuffers. COS finish the home and away season with games against the 8th placed Lilacs and 11th placed Packers. The Spelunkers are averaging 1,392 points per game in 2024 to lead the ORFFA and will set a new club record in this category, surpassing the 1,320 points they averaged in 2023. The respective midfields went head-to-head in Round 13 and had a shoot-out with @Lenny120 ’s Wagga Wagga winning this line battle by 13 points 471-458 against the Spelunkers. Wombats midfielder 2 Connor Rozee scored 168 points in a best afield performance to be the second ranked player in the ORFFA for the round. Rozee was well supported with D1 Jordan Ridley (129), M1 Luke Davies-Uniacke (114) and F1 Jye Caldwell (134) all reaching triple figures. At the other end of the spectrum three Wombats named in the Round 13 team including D2 James Sicily averaging 103 points per game didn’t play and a ruckman wasn’t named. Even with two emergencies playing Wagga Wagga were only able to field a 13 player team which makes winning a very difficult task, especially against the ORFFA’s highest scoring team of the season in the Spelunkers. An average of 93.6 points by each Wombat that took the field is a commendable effort, hopefully they will be able to bring in some reinforcements for their final home game of the season in Round 14. Venus Bay Vultures 1,119 lost to Dunsborough Dung Beetles 1,196 In one of the biggest upsets of the 2024 ORFFA season the 14th placed Dunsborough Dung Beetles in an away game defeated the eighth placed Venus Bay Vultures by 77 points. The victory by @CursingFijian ’s Dunsborough Dung Beetles was set up by tons from a quarter of players under 23 years of age – defenders Harry Sheezel with a team-high 141 and Mac Andrew (100) along with defender/forward Charlie Comben (108) from the F2 position and forward/midfielder Tom Powell (104) at M3. 23 year old mid Tom Green ranked fifth for the Beetles with 96 points. With their fourth win of the 2024 season the Beetles double their tally of two wins in 2023 and with their young talent are on an upward trajectory. In a best afield performance Venus Bay key forward Jesse Hogan kicked five goals, took six contested marks and laid five tackles to score 143 SuperCoach points to be the top scoring forward in the ORFFA for Round 13. Other Vultures to score 80+ were defender Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (111) and defender/midfielders Jack Crisp (106) and Elliot Yeo (92) along with ruck Oscar McInerney (88). With back-to-back losses the Vultures have dropped from sixth on the ladder at the mid-season break to be precariously placed ninth on the ladder with two rounds remaining in the 2024 ORFFA home and away season. @Fitzy ’s Vultures are attempting to finish in the top 8 for an ORFFA record equalling 10th consecutive season, joining the Foul Bay Chickens (2012 to 2021). Venus Bay finish the 2024 home and away season with games against two teams above them on the ladder, sixth placed Birdsville Battlers and third placed Gundagai Grasshoppers. Gariwerd Cockatoos 1,035 lost to Iron Knob Codpieces 1,104 A superb performance by Iron Knob’s defense quartet who amassed 412 points between them set up the @churchboy coached 14 player Codpieces upset 1,104-1,035 away victory against a Gariwerd team that started the game with the full complement of 15 players. All three Codpieces that reached the ton had defensive eligibility, defender/midfield duo Colby McKercher (134) and Jack Sinclair (110) starting in defense and the midfield respectively along with pure defender Sam De Koning (125). Defender/midfielder Nic Martin ranked fourth for the Codpieces with 99 points from the D2 position and midfielder Sam Berry scored 89. Midfielder Sam Durham (108) was the only one of @anthak ’s Gariwerd players to reach triple figures and forward Koltyn Tholstrup (93) made the most of a late call up into the 15 after being named the interchange emergency. 2024 MSD 1st round pick Sam Clohesy was Gariwerd’s third ranked player, scoring 88 as a starting midfielder. Five Gariwerd players comprised of three defenders and two forwards registered 80’s, however only having one 70+ score between the four midfielders and ruck proved costly. Whilst the Cockatoos started with a numerical advantage midfielder Touk Miller (33) suffered a wrist injury which ended his game and he was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the ORFFA h & a season.
2024 ORFFA Round 13 review – Part 2 Nareewillock Nuffers 1,242 defeated Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 1,028 @chris88 ’s Nareewillock Nuffers locked in a top four finish with two rounds remaining by having a 114 point home victory against the Lefties. Nuffers small forward Brent Daniels had 29 disposals, laid 11 tackles, and had eight inside 50’s to set career-highs in the first two categories and an equal career-high in the third category to poll the five Les W Medal votes with 125 SuperCoach points. Two Nareewillock players who are averaging 105 SC points per game each scored 103 in Round 13, defender Jordan Clark and midfielder Chad Warner. Whilst the Nuffers trio of tons on the weekend was down from the six players in the side that are averaging 100+ six players scored between 80 and 99 including forward Kyle Langford (95) and defender Connor Idun (88). Usual suspect midfield trio Jason Horne-Francis (87), Erol Gulden (85) and Caleb Serong (84) were unable to match their triple figure season averages but all averaged in the 80’s. The Nuffers made the finals for the first time in club history with a fifth place finish in 2023 and have continued climbing up the ladder to currently be on top. Nareewillock are averaging a club record 1,281 points per game in 2024, surpassing their output of 1,216 points per game in 2023. Ruckman Tristian Xerri (119) was the only Larrikin Lagoon’s centurion in Rond 13. @That KI Guy ’s Lefties players ranked 2nd to 12th for the game were consistent, each scoring between 60 and 95. M1 Noah Anderson (91), forward Mitch Georgiades (89) and forward/midfielder Liam Henry (88) from the interchange all scored 85+. A midfield donut and a sub 45 score at either end of the ground prevented the Lefties from pushing the Nuffers to the wire. Xerri is on top of the Lefties game and season rankings, narrowly edging midfielder Anderson in the latter category. Mount Beauty Uglies 1,272 lost to Gundagai Grasshoppers 1,274 In the game of the round @Bama’s fifth placed Mount Beauty Uglies played @snoz ’s third placed Gundagai Grasshoppers and needed a victory to join the Hoppers on 10 wins. The encounter was also a rematch of the 2023 ORFFA Grand Final which the Uglies recorded a 55 point victory in on the road to win their first ORRFA premiership. On the weekend Uglies ruckman Max Gawn suffered an ankle injury in the last minute of the second quarter. Although hampered by the ankle injury Gawn continued to play in the third quarter. Mounty Beauty stated early in the last quarter that Gawn would take no further part in the game. There were many lead changes during a hard-fought quality contest between the Uglies and Hoppers including multiple lead changes in the second half of the last quarter. In time on of the last quarter Mount Beauty forward Darcy Fogarty took a mark in the forward pocket. From the set shot Fogarty ran around to open up the angle and kicked a goal to reclaim the lead for the Uglies with four minutes and 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter and passionate Mount Beauty fan @HeavyMen was in full voice. Gundagai had a quick response from an unlikely source with defender Will Powell taking a mark 35 metres from goal and converting the set shot to kick his first goal of the season to put the Hoppers back in front with two minutes and five seconds left in the game. Gundagai held on to record a thrilling two point victory, 1,274 to 1,272 to consolidate their place in the top four, opening up an advantage of two wins and points for over the fifth placed Uglies and sixth placed Battlers. Four of @bama ’s Uglies reached triple figures led by Zak Butters (159) who was the second best player on the ground and the third ranked midfielder in the ORFFA for the round. Defender/midfielder Hayden Young (125), midfielder Will Day (103) from the interchange and Max Gawn (100) in just 64% game time all reached triple figures and defender/midfielder Christian Salem (98) fell just short of this mark. Gawn was the only ruck in Mount Beauty’s 15 man team and his ankle injury threw the team balance out in the last quarter. Gundagai's midfielder 1 & midfielder 2 combined for 323 points between them comprised of an ORFFA round-high 179 points for M1 Lachie Neale along with 144 points from M2 Patrick Cripps. Neale was exceptional, amassing 36 disposals, nine marks and kicked three goals in a phenomenal performance. Only four other Grasshoppers registered 80+ points, ruck Brodie Grundy (94) along with a trio of starting forwards, forward/midfielders Jy Simpkin (110) and Ollie Dempsey (96) along with pure forward Izak Rankine (97). The Grasshoppers victory ensured that they will finish in the ORFFA’s top four for the ninth time in their history, equalling the club record held by Foul Bay. Gundagai have been a model of consistency over the past eight seasons, finishing in the top four in every season from 2017 to the current 2024 season, setting a new ORFFA record for most consecutive top four finishes.
Dean - once again you’ve outdone yourself. Fantastic read and most appreciative of the effort and style you put in. Thank you Sir !!
A wonderful and comprehensive review @dmandrews - knew there was something missing in my life and now I know what it was. The cows have overachieved, or rather more likely, our opponents have consistently underachieved this season. Does not reduce the pleasure and friendships I get from this comp. Yes, we will finish the H&A season with two losses; but it has been grand watching some of the calves mature. There is some real prime beef there in Johnno, Typhoon, Jaspa, and my rookie namesake (but with the inferior spelling). Just hope the other first year players (JOS and Harry DeM), can reach that standard.
Thanks for the positive feedback about my Round 13 ORFFA review, it is good timing to do a review late in the season and be able to include some club milestones that have been achieved in 2024 or are on track to be achieved.