Good Afternoon gentlemen, Congratulations on a successful 2025 campaign. Our finalists for 2025 are: 1 - Blanchetown @martyg 2 - Serengeti @wrightbrendan 3 - Pakenham @ddsaints 4 - Ararat @insider 5 - Staghorn Flat @tyze1 6 - Korumburra @Mick 7 - King Island @Tylo 8 - Coolgardie (just scraping in) As always, top ranked team gets their choice of opponents for round 1. So take it away @martyg
The Buff have decided that Nas against the Tigers is scarier than a returning Xerri so will take on the Blowflys. Game 2 - Serengeti Buffaloes vs Korumburra Blowflys @Mick
Some match previews incoming to get the excitement building ahead of the finals series. Depending how the day goes, 1 or 2 may come post game 1 tonight...
Game 1 - Blanchetown Bunyips vs King Island Monarchs @martyg @Tylo Form Guide The Bunyips have taken all before them in season 2025 having suffered only 1 loss for the entire year in a truly impressive season. Thanks to some untimely injuries to key players though, team scores have dropped from an average of 1364 pre bye to 1297 after the resumption of the season which will have icreased anxiety levels in team mangement somewhat. But on the back of such a great season they will rightly go into the finals series full of confidence. The Monarchs have come from outside the 8 at the byes thanks partly to a tough draw to start the year to finish 7th with only 1 loss (to these Bunyips) in their last 5. While teams around them have seen players dropping like flies, one of the main strengths of the Monarchs has been building a squad of dependable players. Despite that, they are the team that comes into the finals with the lowest average since the byes with an average score of 1227 and a max of only 1277. Team News Blanchetown have had to get comfortable with life minus their forward line star in JHF while the season ending injury to Jack Silvagni has compounded those issues. Sam Walsh is potentially 1 week away so won't return in time for this matchup but could be a timely boost should the Bunyips get through. Campbell Chesser's form in the reserves for hist first game of the year will be giving the team something to think about as there'll be plenty of discussion around who'll fill the last 2 spots on the IC bench. Despite a lack of injuries, it has been the inconsistent form of Matthew Flynn that has caused the Monarchs their biggest selection issues. The early retirement of Sam Docherty has also tested a thin midfield but a potential inclusion of CJ for the first time since round 17 might be tempting for a boom or bust option. Big question Can the Monarchs find the scoring power they need? Even with the drop off in form of the Bunyips since the bye rounds, they have been comfortably outscoring the Monarchs. So where will the boost come from? The likes of Green, Richards, Macrae and to a lesser extent Kennedy, have been quite consistent and Mckercher & Impey have shown some exciting signs at the back end of the year. So the boost they need is likely going to need to come from those filling the final few spots in the team. The Eagles playing Matt Flynn as a solo ruck would be handy, CJ not being named sub and discovering some earlier season form would also help and could Ben Ainsworth have another out of the box game? Prediction Even with their depleted forward line it is hard to see the Bunyips dropping this one, and to be fair, it would be harsh to see them go out in week 1 after the season they've had. Their deep midfield and great backline should make sure they have plenty in reserve to get through this one and live on in season 2025. Bunyips by 95
Game 2 - Serengeti Buffaloes vs Korumburra Blowflys @Mick Form Guide After starting the season 0-2 (including a loss to the Smugglers!) Serengeti eventually got going and managed to sneak into 2nd place with some late season results falling their way. They come into finals with far and away the best form over the last 5 weeks but in a season that has produced both their best score of 1539 and their lowest (954) since 2019 they are well aware that things can fall away quickly. Korumburra's form has been middle of the pack since the byes but they will have been buoyed by the efforts of the team over the last 3 weeks managing to average 1287 while talisman Tristian Xerri took a 3 week holiday to freshen up in time for finals as well as coping with the loss of key playmaker Nic Martin. Team News Some brutal news for Serengeti this week as it was announced that Lachie Neale would be added to the list of missing players and be out for the remainder of the season in addition to the team baffilingly decding to allow Patrick Dangerfield to go on a fishing trip he planned after the team start with that 0-2 start and thought he wouldn't have to worry about finals. They join May, Ridley, Parish, Kelly, Powell-Pepper and Burton missing from the players the team would love to have available but they will gleefully welcome back Toby Greene. With only 15 players available for selection, it will at least mean a quick selection comittee meeting. Korumburra will have 2 big ins this week with Xerri returning in time for their big matchup and Jeremy Howe overcoming his injury to suit up as well while they continue to have to cover the huge loss of Martin. The Blowflys may be tempted to play 2 rucks if young Visentini can show enough in training this week to show he warrants selection while some tough decisions will be mulled over around who is the best fit alongside Daniel & Mannagh in the forward line and whether to put trust in the faithful veteran Kelly or promising Boxshall to complete their midfield if Visentini doesn't come in. Big question Can the Buffaloes cover their outs? So far, Serengeti have managed to continue to perform despite missing a number of players but will the addition of Neale & Danger to that list be the straw that broke the camels back? Recently they've been able to get by on individual star performances like Tim English pumping out a 202 last week and Jeremy Cameron 166 the week before. A key factor will be what form the two mid season recruits will bring to the table as both Prestia & Elliott have been underwhelming since joining the club after promising signs had earned them that mid-year lifeline. Jeremy Cameron and Bailey Smith both like the look of the opposition they have facing them and could provide the star performances that paper over the cracks but Tim English is showing signs of being at the other end of the scale and shouldn't be relied upon to back up his efforts from last week. Prediction Probably heavily influenced by heart over head, we're predicting at least a couple of Buffaloes to rise to the ocassion of finals and someone (please!) to do a number on Daicos that keeps the Blowflys in check. Serengeti by 10.
Game 3 - Pakenham Parasites vs Coolgardie Prospectors @ddsaints @JPK Form Guide Pakenham have been consistently great all year and only a late season slip against a red hot Barracudas outfit (that all finalists are happy to see out of the equation) cost them a top 2 spot. They maintained a 1300+ average post byes and are hitting the finals full of confidence. The Prospectors on the other hand have come from the clouds after they sat 11th at the mid season break, were 13th two weeks later with a record of 6-8 before taking down the aforementioned Barracudas and going on a 3 match winning streak that saw them secure the last finals spot. A 1332 last week was enough to scare off some other potential finals opponents and after declaring themselves not good enough at the byes they may be about to pull off the greatest con job ever seen Team News The support team will be working overtime out at Pakenham with Cerra, Crouch, Hogan & Lukosious all desperately hoping to get up for the match but each under their own cloud as things stand. Hogan & Lukosious will be particularly important with the news that Owens will miss the remainder of the season. Should any miss it will put pressure on the likes of Windhager to step up and the coach will be hoping Wilson can come in for the injured Owens and recapture some form. No such worries for the Prospectors with only Larkey missing from a potential best 15 lineup. The biggest problem facing the Coolgardie management will be how they can convince their ruck pair that only one of them should play and leave the other to take care of business Big question Which Saints will dominate? In a week where all the red, black & white flavoured players like the look of how they'll be matched up, will it be Sinclair, Windhager and Big Row that take full advantage or will NAS and Hunter Clark be the ones to extract the maximum opportunity to pile on a big score? Prediction With their 3 favourite Saints sons set to dominate combined with plus matchups for the likes of Anderson & Darcy on the cards, the Parasites of Pakenham should have enough in the tank to end the Prospectors late season surge regardless of any selection headaches they run into and are looking like the early favourites to run the table this finals series. Pakenham by 50.
Game 4 - Ararat Armadillos vs Staghorn Flat Bulls @insider @tyze1 Form Guide The Armadillos are the other top performer heading into finals having been the 2nd top scorer all season and have the 2nd best average since the bye rounds. Scores of 1280 & 1244 in the last 2 weeks that were impacted by player availability will have Ararat a little worried but they've been here before and have all the experience of showing up for finals. The Bulls are not far behind and have been part of a clear top 5 for most of the season and will have been buoyed by a 1440 in the last month although, similar to Ararat, their last 2 weeks were worrying. Team News A later report means more information and it comes amidst celebrations out of Ararat. They're excited to be bringing Rozee and Laird back into the team and will be crossing everything in the hope young Conor doesn't decide to abandon the team again. Adam Treloar remains out and will likely not be in the frame for the remainder of the year while the selection committee have taken the bold move of resting Taylor Walker. The Bulls are showing a relatively clean bill of health, though they would hav Le liked to have Hayward putting pressure on selection in the forward line. Ned Long being hampered and only operating at 50% also hurts and may mean they need to rely on a veteran like Ryan, Cogs or Charlie Cameron to turn back the clock Big question Can the Bulls stars overcome challenging matchups? It's red everywhere when you look at the opposition the Bulls will be lining up against with the likes of Heeney, McCluggage, Whitfield & Parker all facing difficult matchups. Can they overcome where others have been restricted and score enough to keep up with Ararat or will they succumb to the challenge? Prediction This is set to be a high scoring classic. Starts everywhere. Two great seasons have been put together. One of these two is going to be extremely unlucky to be knocked out week 1 of the finals. It could well go down to the wire with Laird, RoB and Soligo needing big games to drag Ararat over the line. There'll be nails bitten and brows wiped but when it comes time for the final siren Ararat should come out on top. Ararat by 15.
Howe. Ooft. Elliott. Gross! Korumburra are in the lead early Serengeti 10/1/10 v Korumburra 197/3/66 @Mick
Serengeti are closing the gap as both teams start to lift their games @Mick Serengeti 466/5/93 v Korumburra 477/6/80