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.