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
@martyg The Wailing Waters: Nuytsland Vikings vs. Blanchetown Bunyips Battle of the Graveyard The Graveyard sat cold and quiet under a pale moon, cloaked in mist that rolled in from the marshes like ghostly fingers. It was an old place—sacred to the Nuytsland Vikings, where their fiercest warriors were laid to rest under stones etched with runes, surrounded by the crashing sea and bone-white trees. But on this night, it was not the dead who stirred. The warriors of Nuytsland were away, raiding distant coasts and plundering foreign shores. In the camp by the graveyard, only the women, children, and old ones remained—tending fires, forging tools, and passing on sagas of gods and glory. It was a time of quiet, a rare stillness in Viking life. Then the water began to boil. From the River Murray's winding guts and the murky swamps of Blanchetown, came the Blanchetown Bunyips—creatures half-beast, half-man, and wholly nightmare. Born from myth and water, the Bunyips were said to wail like drowning souls and drag the unwary beneath the surface. Cloaked in kelp and reeking of river rot, they were as much legend as flesh—like the ancient Scythian horsemen, feared not for their numbers, but the terror they inspired. The Bunyips were not warriors of honor—they were opportunists, ambushers, ambivalent to daylight and morality alike. And with the Nuytsland men away, the Graveyard was ripe. They slithered through fog and fern, their wet footprints silent on the mossy stones. The sentries—two elderly shieldmaidens—did not scream. They simply vanished. When the wailing started, it wasn’t from the Bunyips—it was from the children. But Viking women were not bred for softness. They were the iron beneath the forge. The shieldmaidens rallied, banging cooking pots like war drums, forming a makeshift shield wall from round cradle-lids and barn doors. Mothers armed with carving knives, daughters with pitchforks, and grandmothers with rusted swords stood at the ready. What followed was a nightmare battle—chaotic, primal, wet. The Bunyips lunged with claws and teeth, their slimy hides nearly impossible to pierce. But the Vikings fought like mothers defending their hearth—not for glory, but for survival. Screaming sagas of defiance, they met the creatures in the mist. One old crone hurled boiling stew into a Bunyip’s face. Another drove a spindle into one’s eye. A teenage girl cracked a beast’s skull with a jar of pickled fish. It was brutal. It was bloody. It was glorious. But just as the Bunyips overwhelmed the line and slithered toward the youngest children hiding near the stone graves, the horns of the longboats echoed across the cliffs. The men had returned—but too late. Charging through the fog with fury in their hearts and blood in their eyes, the Vikings found only chaos. Fires smoldered, shelters lay torn apart, and the stone cairns of the Graveyard had been defiled—cracked open as if the dead themselves had tried to flee. The few survivors were silent, their eyes hollow with horror. The women had fought bravely, and some Bunyips lay dead in the mud—oozing black ichor into the soil—but it hadn’t been enough. The Bunyips had come not just to raid—but to conquer, to haunt, to claim the Graveyard as their own. Vikings lowest ever score 605? 1.Atkins 2.Diacos 3. Keys Big Tap no contest winner : Gawn
The Barracuda's finish on 1,026/15 68.4 defeated by the Prairie Dogs @Batfink on 1,138/15 75.9 The conditions on the Cuda’s home turf were hurricane level, what a shit day for footy. The visitors started with a player down as they looking at the wrong player roster, Ward was out injured. This gave the home team a little smile, however as the match played out this was short lived. The Magnificent Zorko played a half tagging role on DBJ, the ball in Weitering’s hands was like holding a bar of soap, the Seagull struggled in the wind and young Sullivan looked lost out of position. The visitors Rayner slotted the first goal of the day as he rotated through the midfield. Thilthorpe chopped out in the ruck, as Chol bagged 4 big goals even after having he head rammed into the turf. Up forward for the Cuda’s Lynch thought he was still on AL, Barrass too care of AstroNaught as he wore, he like a glove, Bedford got things done as he moved up to the mid and took on the whole pack while McLean stood tall with 1 goal. The visitor's defence line was the winning factor, Mills skulled behind the ball and mopped up, Ash is the kick out King with his partner in crime IQ. From the centre both teams slugged it out, Corn Boy Cripps looked slow out there, Liba got battered, Jarrod Flavoured Berry was on fire in the first half, finished with 28 possessions and the Bont got things done. The P Doggies just kept on getting up, Clouhsey on the outside, Berry getting into it and Ginbey with some nice moves heading in the right direction. The Grundy monstered all that came to take him on and was the only shining light for the Cuda’s. What a disaster for the home side as the Prairie Dogs notched up their first ever win against the Barracuda’s. to their credit they just kept on getting up and put their best foot forward. BOG – Grundy (GEB), Chol (HPD) & IQ (HPD)