Round 11 - Ararat vs Korumburra A ding dong battle in the land of the armoured mammals saw 8 centurions, 2 players scoring a remarkable 163, a personal best 161 for Windscreens Obrien, and a great score just shy of the magical 1500 point barrier. Then there was Jack Higgins scoring 17, Taylor Walker going AWOL, and Ryley Sanders (46) regressing. For the visitors it was all sunshine and lollipops. Kaleb Smith (69) eclipsed his average by a whopping 50 points, Sam Banks (92) did similar with a +21 result, and Shannon Neale tried to resurrect the POOYA with a 126 vs his 52 average. Blowfly's were triumphant after a great team performance. AA 1371 def by KB 1490
Round 13 - Ararat vs Cow Bay Kings Birthday not required for this battle between the majestic Crocodiles and the angry Armadillos as both teams wound it up early. In a week marred by the controversy of no Brayshaw/Ryan/Jackson, the locals all booed the untimely arrival of league commish @JPK Turns out he is about as popular as Laura Kane, Michael Christian and hemorrhoids. This may have spurred the Araratians on however, as they regained some form via the regular suspects. Blakey (146), Stewart (111), Rozee (116) and Miers (110) led from the front, while Luke McDonald (100) wound back the clock and Jake Soligo (124) continued his 4th year ascension. Cow Bay didnt go meekly however, as Sheezel (137) and Taranto (107) saluted, while Burgoyne (80) and Rankine (89) were serviceable. Unfortunately for the Crocs, a lot of the regular reliables simply didnt turn up to play. Worpel (40) was subbed out, Hopper (61) had a stinker and Noble (67) was well held. AA 1384 def COW 1120
7/8th time in the Goldfields @ron swanson I absolutely despise team naming players who they know won't play. While I don't have the available players to shuffle the side around, I would have never named Oscar McInerney in the Ruck, and Darcy Fort on the interchange, if McInerney was never going to play, even though Brissie had him listed in their lineup at starting Ruck on the morning before the match. Its fraud committed by the clubs to name players who won't play, and they know it...
Full time in the Goldfields, and the visitors have run out comfortable winners leading into the mid season @ron swanson The Coolgardie coach is pissed because of the shenanigans of players being named who don't play. But we'll leave that for another day. This game was very up and down, with some rather large scores, some very low scores, and a donut for each team to munch on. The Coolgardie defence was average at best, missing some key players, and out performed all day. The Carnamah defence saw the first of 5 tons for the visitors, with J Weddle scoring 114 points being the only standout in an otherwise lackluster backline, but doing enough to give the side a 50 point lead. Across the midfield, the Prospectors saw a ton from old hand O Wines, and a 19 from new hand X Lindsay, which really told the story of the whole teams' performance. On the other side of the coin, the Cormorants went in a man down, with M Johnson sitting on the Freo docks watching the tide roll away, seen just sitting there on the dock of the bay, wasting time. A pair of tons from W Ashcroft and A Sheldrick should have been enough to turn that tide, but it wasn't, with the home side winning the line by 29 points. The rucks was where the fraud begun, with O McInerney named to play but never actually turning up, giving the visitors L Meek a clear win, and boy did he revel in the freedom. It was a big tap win for the ages, 134 points to nothing! The forwards continued the Coolgardie rollercoaster, beginning with J Ginnivan showing some character (and being called out for having a personality and NOT being a robot) as he scored a ton, while a low of 43 from D Jones was hardly enough. Infront of the other big sticks, C Petracca came home with a bang, scoring 115 points of his own, un-ably supported by D Fogarty with a measly 44 points. It was a close one, only 9 points separating the forwards, in favour of the Cormorants. D Fort saw the absence of a Coolgardie ruckman, and came running off the bench at every opportunity to slam home a BOG 135 points, while teammate J Williams had his radar all over the shop. The Carnamah bench was serviceable, with 91 points from K McAuliffe and 59 points from one of the coolest names in footy, Buku Khamis. It was a 43 point line win for the home side. In the end, it was the ruck difference that made the big difference in the game, with the visitors winning by 121 points. The Votes: 3 - D Fort, Coolgardie, 135 2 - L Meek, Carnamah, 134 1 - C Petracca, Carnaham, 115