ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 1 As has been the case with some of my previous ORFFA round reviews the Round 7, 2026 edition will be posted in multiple parts. The review of the eight games themselves will be posted later in the week and are largely focused on the players that scored 120 + SuperCoach points or recorded ORFFA team-highs in Round 7. @Bandit's greedy Spelunkers had two players that ranked first on their line overall in the ORFFA for Round 7 – midfielder Marcus Bontempelli who was the top ranked player for the round overall with 163 points and ruck Luke Jackson (141). @snoz' sGundagai Grasshopper forward/midfielder Izak Rankine was the top ranked forward with 149 points. Bontempelli, Jackson and Rankine were all first round PSD picks, however Rankine is at his second club, having been traded by the Lefties. For the 2026 season the Bont and Jackson are the number two ranked midfielder and ruck respectively for points per game whilst Rankine is ranked 24th among forwards. Defenders led the way with 10 of the 26 120+ plus scores in Round 7 and there were several draft bargains is this group including Archie Roberts who scored 151 to rank first among defenders for the round and ranks first for the season with an average of 115 points. With an extremely astute pick @Jen ’s Lilacs selected Roberts with pick 55 at the 2024 PSD. Points for ranking after Round 7 This post includes an image with the 16 ORFFA clubs sorted by their points for ranking after Round 7. Several other columns from the ladder have been included and I have added two columns, change from points for to ladder rank and points for difference to ave. After Round 7 of the 2026 ORFFA season the average points for per club is 8,285 which works out to 1,183.6 points per game, an average of 78.9 points per game for each player in a 15 player ORFFA team. The team closest to this average are @chris88 ’s Nareewillock Nuffers who are averaging 1,186.3 points per game +2.7 points on the average. It was a close fought battle in terms of nearest to the pin of 1,184 in Round 7. @That KI Guy ’s Lefties finished closest, just two points away with a tally of 1,186 whilst @graeme ’s Cows fell just short of this mark with a score four points shy of this mark, 1,180. @JC ’s Battlers were two points behind the Cows on 1,178 points. Four clubs are averaging less than 35.0 points per game more than the average score of 1,183.6 with the teams joining the Nuffers in this category being the Devils (+32.0), Lefties (+15.8) and Packers (+11.7). Six teams have an average less than 40.0 points per game below the average being Cows (-17.3), Battlers (-22.2), Uglies (-25.6), Tigersharks (-27.7), Wombats (-30.0) and Lilacs (-39.9). It is amazing that on the points for rankings only 71.9 points per game separate the fourth ranked Cradle Mountain (1,215.6 points per game) and the 13th ranked Lovely Bank Lilacs (1,143.7). This equates to a variance of just under five points per player across the 15 player teams. When the two clubs played a head to head game in Round 3 the swing was far greater than this and the Lilacs had a 111 point victory over CMD, 1,144 to 1,033. In terms of points for the gap of 191.3 points per game from the top placed Spelunkers to the fourth placed Devils is actually more than the 170.9 point gap from the Devils to the last placed Codpieces. For the top five teams and bottom two teams on the points for ranking there is a strong correlation between ladder position and points for ranking. Three clubs in these ranges have the same position on both, Charlies Opening (1st), Gundagai Grasshoppers (2nd) and Iron Knob (16th). Three clubs near the top or bottom of the ladder are one position higher on the ladder than their points for ranking, Cradle Mountain (3rd on the ladder), Larrikin Lagoon (4th) and Venus Bay Vultures (14th). Gariwerd Cockatoos drop slightly on the ladder to fifth whilst ranking third for points for. Two clubs in the middle of the ladder are one position higher on their ladder than their points for ranking – Mount Beauty in ninth position on the ladder followed by Shark Bay in 10th. In Australian Rules Football the bounce of an oval shaped ball can lead to some unexpected and unusual results. The ORRFA ladder is following suit and seven clubs have a points for rank that is four or more positions different to their ladder rank after Round 7. For the teams ranked sixth to ninth and 12th to 14th on the points for ranking their ranking in this category has a weak correlation to their ladder position. The quartet of clubs from sixth to ninth on the points for ranking – Wineglass Bay Packers (6th), Nareewillock Nuffers (7th), Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles (8th) and the Birdsville Battlers (9th) have all slid down a snake to be at least four positions lower on the ladder and due to this have their ladder position in red. Conversely luck has been on the side of the teams 12th to 14th on the points for ranking – Wagga Wagga Wombats (12th), Lovely Bank Lilacs (13th) and Junee Jets (14th) with this trio of clubs all being six positions higher on the ladder resulting in their ladder position being green. The Wombats are sixth on the ladder and average 1,153.6 points per game, 41.7 points less than the 11th placed Packers with 1,195.3 points per game. In comparison the biggest difference between points for ranking and ladder position at the end of the 2025 home and away season was three places with the Gariwerd Cockatoos and Wineglass Bay Packers swapping places. The Packers ranked sixth for point for with 1,238.7 points per game, 102.6 points ahead of the Cockatoos 1,136.1 points per game to rank ninth in this category. Gariwerd had the ascendancy on the ladder, finishing sixth with 10 wins and five losses, 10 premiership points ahead of Wineglass Bay who managed to square their ledger even with an odd number of games, finishing ninth with seven wins, seven losses and one draw. All other 14 ORFFA clubs finished 2015 with a points for ranking within two places of their ladder position. The points for gap from fourth to 13th at the end of the 2025 home and away season was 160.2 points, more than double the gap from 4th to 13th after Round 7, 2026. In 2025 the Nuffers ranked 4th with 1,265.5 points per game whilst the 13th ranked Iron Knob Codpieces tallied 1,105.3 points per game. I would expect that as the 2026 season progresses and each club ends up playing each of their rivals once during the home and away season the variances between points for and ladder position will reduce. However with the teams from fourth to 13th being separated by less than 75.0 points per game the likelihood of the team with an inferior points for to that round’s opponent having a victory is more likely than in a typical ORFFA season. Whilst the highest scoring players are recognised the ORFFA is also good at celebrating mediocrity. For several years @anthak ’s Gariwerd Cockatoos and my Cradle Mountain Devils even battled it out for the mediocrity cup in head to head battles between the clubs. At the end of Round 7 of the 2026 season two players have averaged the average ORFFA player score of 78.9 points per game Larrikin Lagoon Lefties forward/midfielder Brayden Cook and Cradle Mountain Devils forward/midfielder Darcy Wilson. Maybe it is a carry-over from the mediocrity cup days but the first ORFFA club to draft these two players was my Devils. With pick 34 in the 2021 PSD Cradle Mountain selected forward/midfielder Brayden Cook. After three seasons the Devils delisted Cook in the 2024 pre-season. At the 2024 PSD the Devils selected forward/midfielder Darcy Wilson with pick 10, resulting in Wilson effectively replacing Cook on the CMD list. In the 2026 pre-season the Lefties recruited free-agent Cook with PSD pick 50.
Some mighty impressive analysis there @dmandrews . The vagaries of the FIXture list mean WKI has already played the top 2 teams. In round 4 we were beaten by COP (1397 v 1368). We would have had a 100+ point win against any other team. Then in round 7 we were smashed (1471 v 1137 ) by GGH. The 'hoppers scored the highest points for for the round by >100, while we were within 46 points of the average score. By way of contrast, our next two fixtures are against VBV and BIB (14th and 13th respectively. Which I think reinforces your point about the deeper we go into the fixture list the more even table positions compared to points for will become. One further observation. Some of the cows have very variable scores. I am unsure what the average is, but I suspect the average would be <20. WKI has 12 of its regular team (including emergencies) players above a standard deviation of 20. Zac Bailey (std dev 29) heads that list .
ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 2 At the bottom of this post is an image ranking the 16 ORFFA clubs by points for in Round 7, other columns include points against, result and points difference to the average score of the round. A breakdown of each clubs score by the five lines – defense, midfield, ruck, forward and interchange is included. Each club’s donuts, late in and late in scores are listed when applicable. In the eight games over Round 7 the 16 ORFFA clubs amassed 19,328 SuperCoach points at an average of 1,208 points per team which equates to 80.5 points for each player in a 15 man team. ORFFA average team score for Round 7 Closest to Average Defense 335.8 Gundagai Grasshoppers 321 Midfield 326.2 Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 314 Ruck 74.9 Birdsville Battlers 75 Forward 310.3 Nareewillock Nuffers 309 Interchange 160.9 Mount Beauty Uglies 159 Total 1,208.0 Nareewillock Nuffers 1,208 The ORFFA average team score of 1,208 for Round 7 is 24.4 points higher than the 2026 average team round score of 1,183.6. After Round 3 teams were averaging 1,161.1 points per game. 60 players across the ORFFA player pool including free agents gained dual-position eligibility after Round 3. This provided coaches with greater flexibility in spinning the magnets for selection of their 15 player ORFFA team and contributed to slighhtly increased scoring. At the end of the 2025 ORFFA home and away season the average ORFFA team score for a round was 1,184.4 points per game, just 0.8 points higher than the 2026 average after Round 7. If the trend of higher scores from Round 4 to Round 7 continues the 2026 average will rise above the 2025 average after Round 8 and might be able to reach 1,200 points. I expected the midfield to be the highest averaging starting line in the ORFFA, however it was the defenders who finished on top with an average of 335.8 points per team at 83.9 points per player, just ahead of the midfielder line with 326.2 points per game at 81.5 points per player. The interchange average of 80.5 points per player ranked third ahead of forwards (77.6) in fourth position and ruck (74.9) in last. The range from highest position average of 83.9 points per players for defenders to lowest position average of 74.9 for the ruck, being 9.0 points per player is smaller than I expected. The Nuffers were the team that got closest to matching an average Round 7 ORFFA line score with the Nareewillock starting forward quartet scoring 309 points, 1.3 points less than the average of 310.3. The Nuffers Round 7 team score of 1,208 matched the average team score across all 16 teams. Other lines which were closest to the team average for a line were Grasshoppers defenders, Battlers ruck and Uglies Interchange. Nine teams had at least one late out In Round 7 with three clubs having two late outs resulting in a total of 12 late outs in the ORFFA. Seven of these late outs were replaced with a late inclusion whilst another five late outs were unable to be replaced by an emergency resulting in the team being short one player and scoring a donut in that position. The Round 7 donut five-pack across the ORFFA was comprised of one defender, two midfielders, one ruck and one forward. The varying results of the trio of clubs that had a pair of late outs highlights the importance of having emergencies that are ready to play and can be called upon if there is a late withdrawal. The Gundagai Grasshoppers had the misfortune of having two late withdrawals on the same line – the forward line. Calsher Dear and Charlie Curnow were both late outs, Grasshoppers forward emergency Beau McCreary scored 53 points. Iron Knob had two late outs which were both able to be replaced with an emergency. Due to each team being able to name a maximum of four emergencies across the five lines the line least likely to have emergency cover is the single player ruck line. Jarrod Witts was a late out for Iron Knob, but by being one of the four teams that had a ruck emergency they were able to bring in a replacement. Ruck/forward Bailey Williams came into the side and scored 73 points. In the forward line Mabier Chol was a late withdrawal and the emergency forward Zac Williams scored 38. Iron Knob’s two late ins scored a total of 112 points at an average of 56 points per player. The Venus Bay Vultures two late outs were a pair of midfielder/defenders Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Bo Allan who average 103 points per game and 52 points per game respectively. Fellow D/M Caleb Windsor replaced Alan in defense and Jagga Smith replaced NWM. In a superb result for the Vultures both late inclusions scored more than the average of the player they replaced. Windsor scored 80 points and Smith was phenomenal, scoring a Vultures team-high 104 points. The seven late ins across the ORFFA scored 514 points at an average of 73.4 points per player. Amazingly two of the late ins weren’t just solid role players for their team but thrived with the late call-up to reach triple figures and be there club’s highest scoring players for the round. The player joining Smith in this category was Junee Jaguars defender Ben Miller who scored 106 points. Round 7 scores by starting position in the ORRFA The top five clubs for each position in Round 7 are listed below. Defense Rank Team Score 1 Wineglass Bay Packers 465 2 Shark Bay Tigersharks 429 3 Lovely Bank Lilacs 407 4 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 402 5 Cradle Mountain Devils 387 The Wineglass Bay Packers led the way with 465 points in defense which was also the highest overall line score in the ORFFA for the round. The gap from the highest team defense score to the lowest team defense score of 279 by the Battlers was 186 points which equates to 46.5 points per player. This was the smallets range across all positions in Round 7 of the ORFFA. Four starting defender quartets scored 400+ points with the Packers joined in this category by Shark Bay Tigersharks (429), Lovely Bank Lilacs (407) and Charlies Opening Spelunkers (402). The top five defense was rounded out by the Cradle Mountain Devils with 387 points. Midfield Team Score 1 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 425 2 Gundagai Grasshoppers 415 3 Cradle Mountain Devils 408 4 Nareewillock Nuffers 405 5 Mount Beauty Uglies 397 A quartet of teams scored 400+ points in the midfield with reigning premier Charlies Opening Spelunkers ranked first with 425 points. They were closely followed by Gundagai Grasshoppers (415), Cradle Mountain Devils (408) and Nareewillock Nuffers (405). The Mount Beauty Uglies ranked fifth in the midfield with 397 points to be just three points shy of averaging 100 points per player in the midfield. The top five midfields for Round 7 all ranked in the top seven for highest team score of the round. The correlation to being ranked in the top five and performing well with your overall team score was higher in the midfield than any other line. The ORFFA clubs that had the top four ranked midfields for Round 7 of the 2026 season were the four teams that made the ORFFA preliminary final in 2025. The range from the highest ranking midfield in the Spelunkers to the midfield team low of 163 points by the Shark Bay Tigersharks was 262 points which is 65.5 points per player. Ruck Team Score 1 Charlies Opening Spelunkers 141 2 Mount Beauty Uglies 134 3 Cradle Mountain Devils 103 4 Gundagai Grasshoppers 96 5 Venus Bay Vultures 92 With the ruck comprised of a solitary player the variation for this line is likely to be greater than the multi player lines and this rang true in Round 7.It isn’t always the case in the ORFFA but for Round 7 there was a strong correlation between having a dominant ruckman and a high performing midfield. The clubs that ranked in the top four for starting ruck in Round 7 were also ranked in the top 5 for midfield line score indicating that this quartet of rucks – Luke Jackson (141-Spelunkers), Max Gawn (134-Uglies), Tim English (103-Devils) and Brodie Grundy (96-Grasshoppers) were providing great service for their respective midfields. The Vultures Darcy Fort was the fifth ranked ruck with 92 points. Five starting rucks had sub 55 scores including a donut for Shark Bay. One thing we didn’t see in Round 7 was an out of position (OOP) player starting in the ruck and in fact there were no OOP’s across the 13 starting position on the ground for the ORFFA teams. Forwards Team Score 1 Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 376 2 Birdsville Battlers 361 3 Gariwerd Cockatoos 359 4 Cradle Mountain Devils 357 5 Wineglass Bay Packers 355 The Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles ranked first among forward line starting quartets with a tally of 376 points. Making this feat even more impressive is the fact that three of the Cows starting forwards for Round 7 weren’t even at the Cows 24 months ago. A trio of Cows starting forwards were selected at the 2025 PSD, Murphy Reid, Shannon Neale and Logan Morris. The Cows highest ranked forward Josh Treacy has only been a regular in the side from 2024 onwards. Only six points separated the second ranked forward line and the fifth ranked forward line. The teams in this category were Birdsville Battlers(361) and Gariwerd Cockatoos(359) followed by Cradle Mountain Devils (357) and Wineglass Bay Packers (355). The range from the Cows top ranked forward line to the 16th ranked forward line, the Lovely Bank Lilacs (178) was 198 points which is 49.5 points per player. Interchange Team Score Int positions 1 Cradle Mountain Devils 218 F/M Def 2 Gariwerd Cockatoos 215 Def F/R 3 Shark Bay Tigersharks 204 Mid Mid 4 Iron Knob Codpieces 194 Mid Def 5 Gundagai Grasshoppers 193 Mid Mid With the 13 on-field positions locked in as four defenders, four midfielders, one ruck and four forwards the ability to have two players from any position on the benches provides flexibility for ORFFA coaches in how they structure their team. Although there were five donuts in Round 7 across the ORFFA none of these were on the interchange, the full complement of 32 interchange players in the FA for the round. T Below is a breakdown of these 32 interchange players by position. Mid 11 Def 8 Ruc 3 F/R 3 Fwd 3 D/M 2 F/M 2 Total 32 A wide range of combinations were used on the interchange by ORFFA teams during Round 7 but the most popular positions to start on the bench were midfielders and defenders with 11 players and eight players respectively. Five clubs started their Round 7 game with two players on the interchange that play the same position including three clubs that started with a duo of midfielders. The three clubs that started two mids on the bench were Gundagai, Shark Bay and Junee Jaguars. The Nuffers started with two defenders on the bench and the Cows had a very different strategy, starting two pure forwards – Tom Papley and Mitch Owens. The other 15 clubs between them had less pure forwards starting on the bench than the Cows. The only other pure forward to start on the interchange across the ORFFA in Round 7 was Cooper Sharman for the Lefties. The Venus Bay Vultures were the only club that covered all four bases with their starting interchange for Round 7, having veteran defender/midfielder Luke Parker starting alongside first year forward/ruck Cooper Duff-Tytler. Cradle Mountain had the highest ranked interchange for Round 7 with 218 points and were one of three benches to score 200+ along with Gariwerd Cockatoos (215) and Shark Bay Tigersharks (204). Iron Knob Codpieces (194) and Gundagai Grasshoppers (193) had the fourth and fifth ranked starting interchanges respectively for Round 7. Sorry I haven't posted the actual game reviews for Round 7 yet. With the Round 7 ladder being very different to points for rank and with defenders not midfielders leading the way for 120+ scores I wanted to dig a bit deeper on these two aspects. I am about to leave home to head in to Marvel Stadium for St Kilda vs Richmond. I will do some more work on the game reviews for Round 7 tonight.
ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 3 The margins of the eight ORFFA games in Round 7 fell into three categories – 40 to 49 points, 110 to 119 points and 200+ points. Iron Knob had the smallest winning margin of 42 points, followed by Gundagai Grasshoppers (44) and Birdsville Battlers (47). The Packers were the highest scoring team that lost, with their 1,262 points ranking sixth but still resulting in a 44 point loss to the Hoppers who ranked fourth. The two victorious teams in the middle bracket were Junee Jaguars by 111 points in the lowest scoring game of the round and Mount Beauty (117) who ranked fifth for points for. The three top ranked teams for points for in Round 7 had the three highest winning margins with Cradle Mountain Devils scoring 1,473 points and recording a 291 point victory to rank first in both categories. The ladder leading Charlies Opening Spelunkers ranked second with 1,423 points and had the third highest winning margin (215). The Gariwerd Cockatoos were the reverse, ranking third with 1,353 points and second with a winning margin of 2223 points. Wagga Wagga Wombats 955 lost to Junee Jaguars 1,066 In the opening ORFFA game of Round 7 the fourth placed Wagga Wagga Wombats with a record of four wins and two losses hosted the Junee Jaguars who had a squared ledger of three wins and three losses along with a percentage of 100.4%. From each named 15 player team 14 players took the field and the teams were very closely matched with Junee having an advantage of five points, 960 to 955. Midfielder Jye Caldwell was a late out for Wagga Wagga due to an ankle injury and was not replaced in the team leaving the Wombats a player short and the WWW tally stuck on 955 points. With Daniel Turner being a late out for the Junee Jaguars Ben Miller was promoted from being a defender emergency to starting on the ground in defense and excelled to score 106, increasing the Jaguars tally to 1,066 to record a 111 point victory, join Wagga Wagga on four wins for 2026 and rose up to eighth place on the ladder. In a three man midfield Wombat M1 Luke Davies-Uniacke scored 131 points to be the third ranked midfielder in the ORRFA for the round. LDU had 34 disposals comprised of 18 kicks and 16 handballs, five tackles, six clearances and two goal assists to continue his impressive 2026 form. The Wagga Wagga Wombats selected Luke Davies-Uniacke with pick 4 at the 2018 PSD. LDU is averaging a career-high 114 points per game to be the seventh ranked mid in the comp after Round 7. The only other two Wombats to score 80+ in Round 7 were defender duo James Sicily with 110 points to be the second best player afield and Josh Worrell (86). After Round 7 this Wombats duo were both ranked in the top 20 defenders - Sicily in 15th place with 98.1 points per game, just ahead Worrell (97.6) in 16th place. Of the 15 starting rucks that played in Round 7 (Shark Bay had a donut in the ruck) this game had the 14th and 15th ranked players in this category. The Wombats Marc Pittonet won the contest 37 SC points to 31 against Jaguars counterpart Ned Reeves. It was the only line battle that the undermanned Wombats won for the game. A positive for Wagga Wagga coach @Lenny120 in Round 7 was 18 year old forward/midfielder Sullivan Robey gaining valuable ORFFA experience and scoring 68 points from the interchange. It has been a meteoric rise in the past 12 months for Robey to go from playing suburban footy for Rowville, start playing Under 18’s for Eastern Ranges, be selected by the Wombats with pick 9 at the 2026 PSD to then make his ORFFA debut. The Jaguars made exceptional use of their extra rotation on the bench and greater player availability against the Wombats and Miller made the most of his late call-up to score a team-high 106 points.Miller was one of three Jaguars in triple figures along with fellow defender Caleb Daniel (101) and midfielder Tim Taranto (100). The ability of ORFFA clubs to be able to call on emergencies to cover a late out can be the difference between winning and losing. Rarely is the difference in emergency cover provided by opposing teams in an ORFFA game as stark as the Wombats having the sour taste of a late out donut whilst the Jaguars savoured the sweet taste of a late inclusion ton. @Len utilised Junee’s extra player well which contributed to the Jaguars winning each of the four multi-player line contests. The biggest advantage was the Jaguars defenders led by late call-up Miller along with veteran Daniel outscoring the Wombats forwards 305 to 236. The Junee defender duo, Miller and Daniel that reached a century in the victory against the Wombats have had vary different ORFFA careers. The Marble Bar Misfits selected Daniel at 18 years of age with pick 29 in the 2015 pre-season draft. During his second ORFFA season 171 centimetre tall Daniel was a revelation, averaging 79 points per game playing as a forward and won the ORFFA Rising Star Award. In the 2018 ORFFA Grand Final Daniel scored 112 points playing as a forward/midfielder to be a member of the Misfits premiership team. Between the 2024 and 2025 ORFFA seasons the Marble Bar Misfits rebranded to become known as the Junee Jaguars. Daniel has averaged 75+ points in 10 of his 11 seasons from 2016 to 2026. After Round 7 of the 2026 season Daniel was averaging 95.2 points per game, the sixth 90+ average of his career. Whilst some players like Daniel are highly sought after and spend a decade plus playing for the ORFFA club that drafted them there are others such as Ben Miller who spend most of their career in the ORFFA player pool toiling away at state league level. Miller has spent nine years in the ORFFA player pool from 2018 to 2026 hoping that he could break through to the big time and have an extended stint on an ORFFA list. In 2024 Miller’s perseverance was rewarded when he was selected by the Marble Bar Misfits with pick 4 in the 2025 MSD. Miller has averaged 70+ in all three seasons at the Misfits/Jaguars and arguably the biggest highlight of his career was scoring 106 points in the Round victory against the Wombats to be the Junee’s best player. It was Miller time in the Jaguars Round 7 victory against Wombats however he will face strong competition from his teammates to become a regular in JJ’s best 15. Generally if you are selected in the first four picks of a pre-season draft by a club that finished in the bottom four on the ladder the previous season you have a long wait before you play in a premiership if you get to experience it at all in your ORFFA career. One player that had a very different experience was Tim Taranto who was selected by the Misfits with pick 2 at the 2017 pre-season draft. The Misfits finished 17th on the ladder in 2016 with four wins and recorded their fifth consecutive bottom three finish. In Taranto’s debut season Marble Bar made a meteoric rise from 17th in 2016 to third in 2017. After suffering a 20 point loss to the Cows in the 2017 Grand Final the Misfits had a fairytale conclusion to the 2018 season, finishing eighth on the ladder and won a road Grand Final against seventh placed Cradle Mountain by 112 points. Forward/midfielder Taranto played in the F2 position in the Grand Final victory and averaged 88.7 points in the 2018 season. Some people say that after the Misfits won the 2018 ORFFA premiership Taranto was telling anyone that would listen that he was ‘The Difference’ for Marble Bar. In the first five seasons of their ORFFA history from 2012 to 2016 the Misfits had been cellar dwellers and then as soon as ‘The Difference’ Taranto arrived in 2017 they transformed into a powerhouse club and made back-to-back Grand Finals. We probably need Len’s input as to whether there is any truth to this Taranto tale or whether it is fiction. With 100 points Taranto was one of three Jaguars to score a century against the Wombats and TT was averaging a club-high 104 points after Round 7. Venus Bay Vultures 1,131 lost to Birdsville Battlers 1,178 The Venus Bay Vultures suffered a major blow, with defender/midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera being a late withdrawal for the Round 7 home game against the Birdsville Battlers due to a calf injury. NWM was the eighth ranked defender in the ORFFA after Round 7, averaging 103 points per game. Wanganeen-Milera was named as VBV’s M1 for round 7 and was the number 1 ORFFA defender last year, averaging 115.0 points per game in 2025. With exceptional judgement @Fitzy ’s Vultures drafted NWM with pick 20 at the 2022 PSD. Second year player Jagga Smith was the late inclusion in the Vultures midfield and was recruited by the club with pick 8 in the 2025 PSD despite being sidelined for the entire 2025 season due to an ACL injury. Smith made an immediate impact on ORFFA debut for the Vultures in Round 1, 2026 by scoring 113 in the Vultures 35 point victory against the Lefties to poll one Les W Medal vote. As a late inclusion against Birdsville in Round 7 Smith recorded his second ton, scoring a Vultures team-high 104 points, 27 points more than an impressive 77 points per game average in his first season playing in the ORFFA. The Vultures had emergency cover for two late outs, defender/midfielder Bo Allan was a late out and was replaced by fellow D/M Caleb Windsor who scored 80 points. Although Venus Bay are in a rebuilding phase, Fitzy isn’t gifting games to talented youngsters, they need to earn their place in the selected 15. It was a great sign that young late-ins, 20 year old duo Smith and Windsor made the most of their late call-up to score 184 points between them against the Battlers. 2026 ORFAA number one PSD pick, ruck/forward Cooper Duff-Tytler has also split his time between ORFFA seniors and state league games. Darcy Fort scored 92 for VBV to be the fifth ranked starting ruck of Round 7 and his hit-out work contributed to the Vultures midfield quartet outscoring their Birdsville counterparts 345 to 307. Smith was one of three Vultures mids to score 85+ along with veteran duo Elliot Yeo (90) and Jack Crisp (85). Crisp and Yeo are two of the four members from the Vulture 2019 premiership side that remain playing for the club seven seasons later along with defender Dan Houston (86) and defender/midfielder Luke Parker (94). The experience passed on and example set by this quartet is pivotal for the Vultures young crop of players. Eight players including the quartet of 2019 premiership players scored 80+ against Birdsville. The only player in this category not mentioned above is an experienced player recruited by Venus Bay with pick 11 in the 2024 dispersal draft – forward Patrick Dangerfield (81) who was a two-time Les W Medal winner with the Foul Bay Chickens in 2016 & 2017. After Round 7, 2026 the Vultures are averaging 1,081.0 points per game, a 40.5 point per game improvement on the 1040.5 point average during the 2025 home and away season. Venus Bay’s two wins in the first seven rounds of 2026, already surpasses their solitary win in 2025. On the road @JC ’s Birdsville Battlers desperately needed a Round 7 victory to remain within striking distance of the top eight. The Battlers finished seventh in 2025 with nine wins and six losses but had been unable to recapture that form in 2026, recording only one win from their first six games to be 13th on the ladder. Hard-running midfielder Bailey Smith delivered a best afield 130 point performance for the Battlers in his eighth season on the club’s list to play a pivotal role in Birdsville recording a 47 points victory against Venus Bay, 1,178 to 1,131. Birdsville selected Smith with pick 4 at the 2019 PSD and he was averaging a career-high 123 points per game after Round 7 to be the fourth ranked mid in the game. Bailey is averaging 115+ points for the second season in a row after missing the entire 2024 season due to suffering an ACL injury in the pre-season. The Battlers best line in the victory against the Vultures was the forwards with this quartet amassing 361 points to be the second ranked forward line for the round. Two Birdsville forward/midfielders selected at the 2023 PSD reached triple figures, one mature-age player - Sam Flanders (120) selected with pick 36 and top 10 pick Bailey Humprey (103). Flanders had initially been selected by Lovely Bank Lilacs with pick 11 at the 2020 PSD. Flanders was unable to become a regular in the ORFFA until his fourth season in the FA player pool and first season with Birdsville in 2023. Flanders was the equal sixth ranked forward of the round with 120 points and was averaging 92 points after Round 7 – ranked 12th among FA forwards. It is Flanders’ third season averaging 85+, having a career-high of 119.0 points per game playing as a midfielder/forward in 2024. Humphrey was selected by the Battlers with pick 5 at the 2023 PSD and his 103 points in Round 7 was 29 points than his average of 74 after Round 7. 2026 PSD first round selection, defender Josh Lindsay selected with pick 13 scored 81 against the Vultures and is averaging an impressive 76 points per game in his debut season.
ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 4 Nareewillock Nuffers 1,208 lost to vs Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1,423 In a 2025 Preliminary Final minor premiers Charlies Opening Spelunkers at home won a high quality shoot out against Nareewillock Nuffers by 64 points 1,534 to 1,469. The Nuffers finished third on the ladder in 2025 with 11 wins and four losses. Nareewillock have fallen back to the pack in 2026 and entered their Round 7 game against the Spelunkers with a record of two wins and four losses. Nareewillock were unable to achieve the upset result, having a 215 point loss to Charlies Opening. In recent seasons the Nuffers have been one of the best performed teams in the ORFFA, having three consecutive top six finishes from 2023 to 2025. The Nuffers have been unable to reach these lofty heights in 2026 and on a points for basis have been a middle of the road team this season. Nareewillock’s score of 1,208 in the Round 7 loss to the Spelunkers matched the ORFFA average team score for the round. @chris88 's Nuffers were also the closest team to the average ORFFA team score of 1,183.6 over the first seven rounds, being +2.7 points to average 1,186.3 points ranked seventh in the FA. Defender Bailey Dale scored a team-high 128 points for the Nuffers in Round 7 to be the sixth ranked defender of the round. Dale is in his 12th season in the ORFFA player pool but was a slow burn after averaging less than 75 points per game in each of his first six seasons from 2015 to 2020. After Venus Bay Vultures selected Dale with pick 45 at the 2020 PSD he took his game to another stratosphere to average 95 points per game and was a member of the Vultures Grand Final team in 2021. Several seasons later Dale was acquired by the Nuffers. For the sixth straight season Dale is averaging 90+ in 2026, being the 24th ranked defender with 95.2 points per game. Nareewillock had the fourth ranked midfield in round 7, scoring 405 which included two tons – Caleb Serong (118) and Ed Richards (117). The Nuffers selected then defender Richards with pick 27 at the 2019 PSD and midfielder Serong a year later with pick 7 at the 2020 PSD. This duo were critical to the Nuffers rise up the ladder from 16th in 2022 to fifth in 2023. Serong has averaged averaged 95+ points per game in all four seasons from 2023 onwards and has a career-best of 115.7 points per game in 2024. 2026 is Richards’ third season in a row averaging 95+ points per game, having a career-high of 111.3 ppg in 2025. The Nuffers forward line score of 309 against the Spelunkers was the closest to the forward line ORFFA Round average of 310.3 for Round 7. Forward/midfielder Jack Ross led the way with 107 points to be one of five Nuffers to score a century. The only other player in this category not previously mentioned in this post is defender Connor Idun (105). Charlies Opening won all 18 games they played in 2025 to win the ORFFA Premiership in convincing style. @Bandit’s Spelunkers maintained their dominance early in 2026 to win their first six games of the season to extend their winning streak to 24 games. The Spelunkers delivered a clinical performance against the Nuffers, particularly in the middle of the ground to record a 215 point victory, 1,423 to 1,208 to increase their winning streak to 25 games. Charlies Opening ranked first in the ruck (141 points) and midfield (425 points) for Round 7, recorded the second highest team score for the round and the third greatest winning margin for Round 7. With their victory the Spelunkers consolidated their position on top of the ladder and were two games and points for ahead of third place. Ruck Luke Jackson with 141 points and midfielder Marcus Bontempelli with 163 points were the highest scorers in the ORRFA for their positions across the ORFFA to deliver a brutal one-two punch to the Nuffers. In the lead up to Round 7 of the ORFFA there was talk that Charlies Opening Spelunkers superstar midfielder Bontempelli might be better off not playing in an attempt to recover from not one but two injury issues – an injured knee and a bruised heel. Not only did the Bont take his place for the Spelunkers but he completely dominated to score an ORRFA Round-high 163 SuperCoach points. With some astute drafting @Bandit selected Bontempelli with pick 15 at the 2014 ORFFA PSD. Bont was one of the youngest players on an ORFFA list in 2014, with his 18th birthday having been on 24 November 2013. In his debut season Bontempelli averaged 78.6 points per game. For his next dozen seasons from 2015 to 2026 the Bont averaged 100 + SC points in each season including 110 + in all eight seasons from 2019 to 2026. In 2024 Bont won the ORFFA’s highest individual honour, winning the Les W Medal for the league best and fairest, averaging 126 points per game and played every game for COP. In the current 2026 season Bontempelli is averaging 126 points per game after Round 7 – ranked 2nd among ORFFA midfielders. In the vast majority of his ORFFA career Bontempelli has played alongside Zach Merret, a player who joined Charlies Opening’s at the same draft, being selected with pick 48 in the 2014 PSD - an absolute steal. Merrett scored 105 against the Nuffers in Round 7 and was averaging 114.8 points per game to the end of Round 7. The Spelunkers selected Jackson with pick 3 in the 2020 PSD. Jackson had an average in the 90’s in 2023 and 2024 and elevated his game in 2025 to average 113.0 points per game. Jackson has continued his rise in 2026 to average 130.0 points per game -ranked second overall in the ORFFA. For Round 7 the Spelunkers had the fourth ranked defense with a tally of 402 points. A pair of Charlies Opening defenders scored 120+, a 2019 first round pick Nick Blakey (124) along with an experienced player – Lachie Whitfield (133) recruited from a rival club just under 12 months ago. Whitfield and Blakey were the fourth and ninth ranked defenders respectively in the ORFFA for Round 7 and were among a COP quartet to score 120+ in Round 7 – the most of any team. Blakey was selected by Charlies Opening Spelunkers with pick 10 at the 2019 PSD. In his debut season Blakey was a forward however the Lizard quickly settled into life in defense. Blakey is the 10th ranked ORFFA defender in 2026, averaging 100, his third consecutive season averaging 95.0+ SC points. Whitfield was selected by the Marble Bar Misfits (now rebranded as the Junee Jaguars) with pick 3 at the 2013 PSD. Whitfield was a member of the Misfits team that defeated the Devils in the 2018 Grand Final to win the ORFFA premiership. During the 2025 mid-season trade period the Spelunkers acquired defender Lachie Whitfield and forward Jeremy Cameron from the Junee Jaguars in exchange for George Wardlaw and Connor MacDonald. During 2025 Whitfield was a member of the Charlies Opening team that defeated the Devils to win the ORFFA premiership. Six Spelunkers reached triple figures against the Nuffers with defender Jayden Short (102) joining the above mentioned players in this category. Until the end of Round 7 Charlies Opening were averaging an incredible 1,406.9 points per game, a mark that was only surpassed twice in the first 14 seasons of the ORFFA from 2012 to 2025. The second best season average belongs to the Spelunkers themselves, averaging 1,414 points per game in their premiership winning 2025 season. The all-time ORFFA record is held by the Foul Bay Chickens with 1,416 points per game during the third ORFFA season in 2014. Remarkably this was only 12 points more than the second ranked team of 2014, the Iron Knob Codpieces with 1,404 points per game. The only other team to average 1,400 points in a season is the Spelunkers current strongest challenger for the ORFFA premiership, the Gundagai Grasshoppers, in 2023 the Grasshoppers averaged 1,400 points per game.
ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 5 Cradle Mountain Devils 1,473 defeated Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles 1,180 With their coach @dmandrews on ORFFA review duties the Cradle Mountain Devils were on their best behaviour and raised the bar to score an ORFFA round-high 1,476 in a home victory against the Cows. This surpassed CMD’s previous season best score of 1,297, set the previous round by 179 points. The Devils delivered a clinical performance with each of the five lines averaging more than 90 points per player led by 408 points from the midfield – ranked third for the round. On each of the multi position lines half of the Devils players reached triple figures. Ruck Tim English (103) also reached the ton which resulted in eight of CMD’s 15 players reaching this mark in an impressive team performance which also had seven scores between 80 and 99. English was one of a quartet of Devils to record a Round 7 the ton that have played every game for CMD that they have been available for in the first 7 rounds. The other players in this category were defender duo Josh Battle (143) and Rory Laird (105) along with acting captain, forward/midfielder Toby Greene (103) after starting in the midfield. The Devils low point of the game occurred during time-on of the fourth quarter when ruck English suffered a concussion. Battle was the second ranked ORFFA defender for Round 7 with 143 points. It was apt that the Birdsville Battlers selected Josh Battle with pick 41 at the 2017 PSD. During his first seven seasons in the ORFFA player pool Battle was the personification of a battler to have a career-high of 71.8 points per game in 2019 and averaged between 63.0 and 72.0 points per game in five consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2023. Battle is in his third consecutive season with the Devils in 2026 after being selected by the club with pick 58 at the 2024 PSD. Battle averaged between 79.0 and 85.0 points per game in his first two seasons with Cradle Mountain in 2024 and 2025. To the end of Round 7, 2026 Battle was averaging a career-high 92.3 points per game - ranked 23rd among ORFFA defenders. This would make him the D2 at a typical ORFFA club a significant progression from being viewed as a depth player when he joined the Devils. Throughout the first seven rounds of the 2026 ORFFA season the Devils made multiple changes each week and were trying to determine who was in the best 15. Against the Cows four players that had missed out on selection in at least one game this season reached the ton with each of these players being dual position players that are eligible to play in the forward line. A trio in this category, Jordan De Goey (127), Ed Langdon (122) and Darcy Wilson (112) were part of a quartet of midfielder/forwards along with acting captain Toby Greene comprised of two players starting in the midfield, one player playing in the forward line and one player starting on the bench. Greene and Langdon started in the midfield, Wilson started in the forward line and De Goey commenced on the bench. This four player f/m group proved very effective, combining for 464 points at an average of 116 points per player. After being overlooked for senior selection in Round 1 Peter Wright played six consecutive ORFFA games for the Devils and is averaging a career-high 90 points per game after Round 7. Wright started 2026 as a forward and gained ruck eligibility after Round 3. After Round 7 of the ORFFA season the average ORFFA team score for the season was 1,183.6 points per game which equates to 78.9 points per game for a 15 player team. After Round 7 Darcy Wilson was one of two players in the ORFFA averaging 78.9 points per game along with the player he effectively replaced on the CMD list, Brayden Cook who is a fellow forward/midfielder and now plays for the Lefties. Cradle Mountain selected Cook with pick 34 at the 2021 PSD but in three years at the club he was unable to become a regular in the Devils 19 player squad. After Cook was delisted before the 2024 PSD the Devils selected then 18 year old forward midfielder Darcy Wilson with pick 10 at that PSD. During his first two seasons with the Devils in 2024 and 2025 Wilson’s average per game was in the 60’s. Wilson was named the Devils interchange emergency for Round 1 of the 2026 season. After a few rounds building form and confidence at state league level Wilson played his first FA game of 2026 in Round 4, scoring 95 points in the Devils victory against the Wombats. Wilson followed this up with 81 points in Round 5 before missing Round 6 with illness, he was brought straight back in for Round 7 and scored 112 points to consolidate his place in CMD’s best 15. After Round 3 Cradle Mountain were 11th on the ladder with one win and two losses. The performance of recycled players that CMD have recruited as free agents after they were delisted by a rival ORFFA club has been pivotal to Devils form improving after Round 3 to go on a four game winning streak, the third longest current streak in the comp at the end of Round 7. Over this four round period Cradle Mountain rose eight spots on the ladder from 11th to third. Cradle Mountain were one of four club’s to have at least three players score at least 120+ in a Round 7 ORFFA game along with fellow Tasmanian clubs – Charlies Opening Spelunkers (4) and Wineglass Bay Packers (3) along with fellow mountain club the Mount Beauty Uglies (3). Seven of the 14 players from these four clubs that scored 120+ in Round 7 are recycled players from other ORFFA clubs comprised of three Devils, one Spelunker – Lachie Whitfield, one Uglies player - Max Gawn and two Packers defenders - Bodhi Uwland and John Noble. All three Devils players that scored 120+ in Round 7 were free agents who were selected in a pre-season draft after pick 40. With a season-high 127 points against the Cows, forward/midfielder Jordan De Goey was the second ranked ORFFA forward for Round 7. De Goey was initially selected by the Iron Knob Codpieces with pick 2 in the 2015 PSD. During the 2026 pre-season DeGoey was delisted by Iron Knob. Cradle Mountain selected De Goey with pick 45 at the 2026 PSD. With 122 points in round 7 fellow fwd/mid Ed Langdon was the fifth ranked ORFFA forward for the round. In 2016 the Gundagai Grasshoppers selected Langdon with pick 37 at the PSD. Langdon was selected by the Devils with pick 42 at the 2024 PSD and with their next pick at 58 they selected defender Josh Battle. CMD’s fourth highest scorer of Round 7 was also a recycled player – former Lovely Banks Lilac player Peter Wright was selected by the Devils with pick 30 at the 2025 MSD. CMD’s recycled record could have been even better, however with the benefit of hindsight 2026 performances indicate that they made a MSU – Monumental Stuff Up with one delisting decision in the 2026 PSD. Cradle Mountain selected defender Wayne Milera with pick 46 at the 2025 MSD and Milera averaged 79.3 points in 2025, a fraction above the ORFFA average of 79.0 points in 2025. On Grand Final day in 2025 Milera scored 101 from the D4 position. Despite this CMD delisted Milera before the 2026 PSD. Before delistings were made Milera had the seventh highest average at CMD among players that were eligible to play defense in 2026. The Shark Bay Tigersharks selected Milera with pick 53 at the 2026 PSD. Milera has been one of the revelations of the season to average a Shark Bay team-high 103.6 points per game and will be covered in more detail in the Shark Bay game report. From a CMD perspective only two players that have played at least 50% of games are averaging triple figures after Round 7, – ruck Tim English (104.5) and midfielder Jack Steele (102.1). Over Cradle Mountain’s four game winning streak from Round 3 to Round 7they have risen eight spots on the ladder from 11th to third and are on track to have their 10th consecutive ORFFA top eight finish. On the road @graeme ’s Waikickamoocow Incorrigibles scored 1,178 in Round 7 against an unmerciful Devils outfit, a slight improvement on the Cows average of 1,164 pints per game at the end of Round 6. The Cows delivered a consistent team performance with 12 scores between 65 and 95. Two players were below this mark and one shining light, forward Josh Treacy scored 120 to be the equal sixth ranked forward in the ORFFA for the round. The Cows selected Treacy with pick 68 in the 2023 PSD. In his debut season with the Cows Treacy averaged 56 points per game and mainly played in the seconds. Over the next two seasons Treacy established himself in Waikickamoocow’s best 15, averaging 84 points per game in 2024 and 78 points per game in 2025. Treacy has exploded in 2026 to establish himself as the number 1 key forward in the Cows forward line paddock, averaging 102 points per game – ranked fifth in the ORFFA. The Cows displayed brilliant team chemistry in the forward line with the quartet of starting forwards under 24 years of age scoring 376 points to lead the ORRFA in Round 7. 23 year old key forward Josh Treacy was joined in this category by three forwards who the Cows recruited at an extremely productive 2025 PSD,19 year old forward Murphy Reid (86) and a pair of key forwards, 23 year old Shannon Neale (91) and Logan Morris (79) who turned 21 years of age on the final day of Round 7, Sunday 10 May. With their first pick at the 2025 PSD the Cows selected Reid at pick 11, Neale with their second pick at 27 and Morris with their fourth pick at 63. Against the Devils the Cows played eight players eligible to play in the forward line with other players in this category being a pair of forwards who started on the bench – Tom Papley and Mitch Owens along with forward/midfielder Zac Bailey and 23 year old ruck/forward Max Heath. Although outnumbered Heath played his best game of the season to score 88 against Cradle Mountain’s three pronged ruck division. Two Cows defenders recorded scores in the 80’s against the Devils– veteran Nic Newman (88) along with Connor O’Sullivan (83) in his third ORFFA season after being selected by WKI with pick 9 at the 2024 PSD. Over the first seven rounds of the 2026 ORFFA season the ball did not bounce Waikickamoocow’s way. Despite ranking eighth in points for with an average of 1,166.3 points per game the Cows found themselves languishing seven positions lower on the ladder in 15th place.
ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 6 Mount Beauty Uglies 1,303 defeated Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 1,186 The only two clubs that have achieved the extremely impressive feat of winning back-to-back ORFFA Grand Finals played against each in Round 7 with 2023 and 2024 premiers the Mount Beauty Uglies hosting 2015 & 2016 premiers, Larrikin Lagoon Lefties. In recent seasons the Uglies have finished fair higher on the ladder than the Lefties. In six consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2025 Mount Beauty finished between fourth and sixth place on the ladder. In all six seasons during the same period Larrikin Lagoon had a best finish of 13th in 2023. There was a dramatic script change in the first 40% of the 2026 home and away season with the Lefties rebounding from a Round 1 loss to the Vultures to record five consecutive wins from Round 2 to Round 6 to be fourth on the ladder. Fortunes also changed for the Uglies, finding themselves in the unfamiliar position of being 12th on the ladder with two wins and four losses entering their Round 7 home game against the Lefties. The Uglies task for Round 7 became more difficult when defender Xavier Taylor was a late withdrawal and they were a player short due to having no defender emergency. @bama's 14 player Mount Beauty outfit had the three best players on the ground, including usual suspects, ruck Max Gawn (134) and midfielder Zak Butters (130) which went a long way to the undermanned Uglies gaining the ascendancy to record a 117 point victory 1,303 to 1,186 against the Lefties. Max Gawn has the distinction of being the only player in ORFFA history to win the Les W Medal three times and showed his class by being Mount Beauty’s best player despite being double teamed in the ruck by a Lefties pair that are both averaging 105+, Tristan Xerri and Jordan Sweet. With 134 points Gawn was the second ranked FA ruck of Round 7. Gawn is one of 37 players in the 2026 ORFFA player pool that was in the initial ORFFA player pool for the inaugural ORFFA Draft just over 14 years ago in April/May 2012 however he took longer than the majority to establish himself at ORFFA level. Gawn was overlooked in the 26 round inaugural draft. One and a half seasons after the ORFFA commenced Gawn was selected by Powlett Plains Packers with pick 3 in the 2013 Expansion Draft. At some point between the middle of the 2013 season and the start of the 2015 season Gawn changed clubs and moved from the Packers to the Uglies. Gawn was the ruck emergency for MBU in Round 1, 2015 and became a regular in the Uglies side during the second half of the 2015 season, averaging 102 points per game. Gawn was a joint Les W Medal with Cows midfielder Tom Mitchell in 2018 and won the award outright in 2019 and 2025. In 11 of his 12 ORFFA seasons from 2015 onwards Gawn has averaged triple figures including seven seasons with 120+ SC points per game. After Round 7 Gawn averages 127.6 points per game – ranked fourth in the comp. If you were picking an ORFFA All-Time best 15 to mark the first 15 seasons from 2012 to 2026 Gawn would arguably be the first player selected, filling the starting ruck role. Given Gawn’s journey from having an ugly start to his time in the ORFFA player pool as an undrafted player to emerge as an absolute beauty and All-Time great it is very fitting that his miraculous transformation took place playing for @bama’s Mount Beauty Uglies. Three Uglies scored 120+ against the Lefties with Gawn being joined in this category by a duo who have spent their entire ORFFA careers with Mount Beauty – defender Daniel Rioli (121) and midfielder Zak Butters. The trio of Gawn, Butters and Rioli were all-members of Mount Beauty’s back-to-back premiership teams in 2023 and 2024. The Mount Beauty Uglies selected Rioli with pick 25 at the 2016 PSD. Rioli has averaged 90.0+ points per game twice in his career – 92.9 in 2024 and 92.1 in 2022. The Uglies selected Butters with pick 19 at the 2019 PSD. Butters is averaging 110.0 + points per game for the fourth season in a row and is the third ranked ORFFA mid in 2026, averaging 125 points per game after Round 7. The Mount Beauty starting midfield quartet scored 397 points against the Lefties to be the fifth ranked midfield of the round. Two MBU mids averaging triple figures in 2026 scored 90’s against the Lefties – Sam Walsh (94) and Christian Petracca (90). One player on each of Mount Beauty’s starting lines scored a ton with this quartet being completed by veteran forward/midfielder Brad Hill who scored 106 starting in the F1 position. Larrikin Lagoon were one of five clubs that had a ruck starting on the interchange for Round 7. Despite leading the ORFFA for points per game over the first six rounds Tristan Xerri commenced on the bench in Round 7 and Jordan Sweet started in the ruck with the duo taking on Uglies ruck Max Gawn. Xerri scored a team-high 120 points and Sweet scored 82 points. The Lefties selected Xerri with pick 68 at the 2022 PSD. During 2022 and 2023 Xerri had an average in the 70’s and was unable to establish himself as a permanent member of LLL’s best 15. Xerri took his football to another stratosphere, averaging 119.9 points per game in 2024 and has exceeded this mark in his next two seasons. After Round 7 Xerri was the number one ranked player in the ORFFA, averaging 138.6 points per game. With their first two selections at the 2026 pre-season Larrikin Lagoon selected two Duursma brothers – youngest brother, midfielder Willem Duursma at pick 2 followed by middle brother Zane with pick 14. The oldest Duursma brother Xavier was already a Lefties player so after the first round of the 2026 PSD all three Duursma brothers were united at Larrikin Lagoon. A factor in the Lefties rise up the ladder in 2026 has been some superb drafting at the PSD this season. Four players selected at the 2026 PSD are averaging 75+ points per game for the Lefties after Round 7, Willem Duursma (85.2 points per game after Round 7), along with forward/midfield trio Deven Robertson (84.5 – pick 39), Harvey Thomas (83.3 – pick 34) and Brayden Cook (78.9 – pick 50). Robertson scored 105 on club debut for the Lefties in Round 1 then cruelly suffered a season ending ACL injury in Round 3. The Lefties made six selections at the 2026 PSD, the only player in this category not mentioned above is defender Judd McVee selected with pick 30. After Round 7 the average ORFFA player score for the season is 78.9 which is Cook’s average. 163 players in the ORFFA player pool are averaging at least 78.9 points per game after Round 7 of the 2026 season which equates to roughly 10 players per FA club averaging 78.9+ after Round 7. It is an incredible feat for a club to recruit four players in this category at this seasons PSD, especially given that this quartet are all under 25 years of age - W Duursma (18 years old), D Robertson (24), H Thomas (19) and B Cook (23). Cook made his Lefties club debut starting in the midfield in Round 2 and played in a victory on debut. In a consistent season Cook has a season-high of 99 points in a Round 4 victory against Iron Knob, only two points less than the Lefties team-high for the game. When the Lefties make their return to the ORFFA finals, possibly as soon as this season the performance of @That KI Guy in selecting Willem Duursma and then making superb selections at the 2026 PSD targeting mature age recruits ready to make an immediate impact will be viewed as a key event. Lovely Banks Lilacs 1,066 lost to Iron Knob Codpieces 1,108 The Lovely Banks Lilacs entered Round 7 sixth on the ladder with a record of four wins and two losses and had restricted opposition scores, conceding 1,101 points per game - ranked second in the comp.From a defensive point of view the Lilacs again performed well in Round 7 to restrict Iron Knob to 1,108 points. The Lovely Banks starting defender quartet combining for 407 points - ranked third in the ORFFA for the round and won the line battle against the Codpieces forwards by 101 points. Having less players available for selection than a typical ORFFA team and a breakdown in communication between the Lovely Banks medical department and their coaching staff proved costly. Midfielder Jai Culley was a late withdrawal and the Lilacs didn’t have a midfield emergency so they were a player short, playing with 14 men against a 15 player Iron Knob team. In the middle of the ground Lovely Bank adapted well with a quartet comprised of one ruck and three midfielders scoring 305 points, 12 points more than the 293 points scored by the Iron Knob quintet that started in the middle of the ground. Things went awry for the Lilacs in the forward arc with the four starting forwards scoring an ORFFA round-low 178 points. The LBL forwards lost the line battle against the IKC defenders by 127 points which played a critical role in the Lilacs suffering an upset 42 point loss, the smallest margin of the round. The performance of the Lilacs highlights how small the margins are in ORFFA battles and how significantly things can vary from week to week. After Round 7 the Lilacs are seventh on the ladder with four wins and three losses. Although Lovely Bank lost to the 16th placed Codpieces in Round 7, four weeks earlier in Round 3 they played brilliant football to have a 111 point victory against Cradle Mountain who are currently third on the ladder. The Round 7 highlight for Lovely Banks supporters was the phenomenal performance of 20 year old defender Archie Roberts who was the top ranked defender for the round with 151 points – ranked second overall in the ORFFA. Against Iron Knob Roberts had an equal career-high 42 disposals comprised of 31 kicks and 11 handballs, took 11 marks, had 700 metres gained and two goal assists. At the end of 2025 Roberts career-high was 34 disposals, a figure he exceeded four times in the first 7 rounds of 2026, 37 disposals in Round 3 followed by 42 disposals three times (Rounds 4,6 and 7). Roberts is in his third consecutive season with Lovely Banks Lilacs after being selected by the club with pick 55 at the 2024 PSD, an absolute bargain in the fourth round. Several ORFFA clubs that had multiple selections in the first three rounds of the 2024 PSD would be questioning how they overlooked Roberts. To add insult to injury more than 15 top 50 selections from the 2024 PSD are currently ORFFA Free Agents or no longer in the ORFFA player pool. @Jen ’s Lilacs are maximising Roberts’ strengths and whilst his 151 against Iron Knob was a season-high he has been exceptional in 2026 from Round 2 onwards to score six consecutive tons from Round 2 to Round 7. Roberts is averaging 115 points per game, ranked first among all ORFFA defenders. Three Lilacs defenders scored a century with Roberts joined in this category by Karl Amon who was the eighth ranked defender with a score of 125 and Tom McCarthy with 107 in his second season with the club. Amon is one of LBL’s most experienced players, having been selected with pick 10 at the 2019 MSD. In the first six rounds of the 2026 season Lovely Banks defender Callum Wilkie average 110 points and was the only player in the comp to play 100% game time in all six games. LBL’s defensive structure was thrown out when Wilkie suffered a back injury, in the second quarter of Round 7 which ruled him out of the second half, leaving the Lilacs with 13 players and no-one to rotate on the bench. The fourth and final Lilac in triple figures was midfielder Isaac Heeney with 118 points. Heeney is in his 12th season with Lovely Banks, having been the first pick overall at the 2015 pre-season draft. After Round 7 Heeney averages a career-high 127 points per game to be the number one ranked midfielder in the comp. It is Heeney’s third consecutive season averaging 105+ SC points per game. The game between Iron Knob and Lovely Banks featured the top two ranked defenders in the ORFFA after Round 7. Jack Sinclair was the Codpieces best player with 117 points and was the second ranked defender in the ORFFA after Round 7 with an average of 112 points per game. Iron Knob selected Sinclair with pick 11 at the 2015 mid-season draft and he was a slow burn. It wasn’t until his third season in 2017 that Sinclair became a regular in Iron Knob’s team. In five seasons from 2017 to 2021 Sinclair averaged between 77.0 and 87.0 points per game. Sinclair has been exceptional from 2022 onwards, averaging 105+ points in all five seasons. The three IKC players to reach triple figures against the Lilacs were an eclectic mix which included one player at the peak of their powers in Sinclair, a young gun in midfielder Levi Ashcroft with 109 from the interchange and experienced forward Jack Gunston (113) who has had a late career resurgence. Ashcroft was the number one pick in the 2025 ORFFA PSD and spent some time on the weekend opposed to the player that was selected with the same pick a decade earlier – the Lilacs Heeney. The Codpieces selected Gunston with pick 36 at the 2026 PSD. Gunston is averaging 84.5 points per game after Round 7 to have his best season playing in the ORFFA since averaging 96.0 points per game in 2018. @churchboy 's Iron Knob used their numerical advantage superbly, a 15 player to 14 player advantage at the start of the game increased to a 15 to 13 advantage in the second half due to Wilkie’s back injury. The Codpieces interchange duo of Levi Ashcroft and defender Sam Collins (85) combined for 194 to be the fourth ranked interchange of the round. A total of seven IKC players had 80+ scores in the victory against the Lilacs with each of the four player lines having one player in this category not mentioned above – defender Colby McKercher (95), midfielder James Peatling (83) and forward/midfielder Josh Rachele (86).
ORFFA Round 7, 2026 (AFL Round 9) Review – Part 7 Gariwerd Cockatoos 1,353 defeated Shark Bay Tigersharks 1,130 The Gariwerd Cockatoos recorded a convincing 223 point victory against theShark Bay Tigersharks, 1,353 to 1,130 in a brilliant team performance that included nine scores of 80+. In the 2026 pre-season midfielder Noah Anderson was the main component of a high profile trade from Larrikin Lagoon to Gariwerd. Anderson had initially been drafted by the Lefties with pick 2 in 2020. Anderson scored 132 on club debut for the Cockatoos in Round 1 but was unable to reach triple figures in his four games after that which included scoring 85 against the Lefties in Round 6. After Gariwerd’s 64 point Round 6 loss to the Lefties GC Head Coach @anthak posted to Lefties HC @That KI Guy “Did some good trading preseason Fitting that Sweet outperformed Noz Anderson in your win.” Playing as the Lefties starting ruck Sweet scored 116 points. Anderson was well aware of his coaches post and responded in emphatic fashion with his scintillating on-field performance in Round 7 against the Lefties to score a team-high 145 SC points - the third highest score in the ORFFA for the round. Anderson had 20 kicks, 11 handballs, took 10 marks and had three goal assists in the victory against Shark Bay. In his first game for the season after recovering from a foot injury Jake Bowey was the Cockatoos highest scoring defender with 105 points and was one of half a dozen Gariwerd players to reach triple figures. The Cockatoos ranked in the top three for two lines in Round 7, second for the interchange with 215 points and third for the forward line with 359 points. Shark Bay played without a ruckman and Gariwerd took full advantage in the middle of the ground to score 480 points from the midfield quartet and ruckman, a massive 317 point advantage over the 163 points scored by the Tigersharks four midfielders. Touk Miller was drafted at pick 15 by the Cockatoos at the 2015 pre-season draft and is in his 12th consecutive season with GC but recently had a positional change after playing eight consecutive seasons as a pure midfielder from 2018 to 2025. Miller again started 2026 playing in the midfield but had a positional change after Round 3 to now play as a midfielder/forward. Starting as a forward in Round 7 Miller scored 101 points against the Tigersharks, just above his season average of 98.6 points. Other Cockatoos to reach the ton were forward Kade Chandler (104), defender Kane Farrell (119) after staring on the bench and forward/midfielder San Durham (106). With their victory Gariwerd improved their record to four wins and three losses to be fifth on the ladder, one spot higher than the sixth position the Cockatoos finished in at the end of the 2025 home and away season. Gariwerd are averaging 1,241.3 points per game after Round 7 to rank third in the FA, a 105.2 points per game improvement on their 2025 average of 1,136.1 points per game – ranked ninth. Although the Tigersharks ranked 12th for the round with a score of 1,130 points there was much to like about the performance of @PhilArthur’s team in his first season as Head Coach. Shark Bay performed better than the ORFFA average on three lines - scoring 429 in defense – ranked second, had the third ranked interchange with 204 points and ranked sixth in the forward line with 334 points. The 10 players across these three lines combined for an extremely impressive 967 points to have a 94 point advantage over the Cockatoos. Shark Bay’s best player against Gariwerd was defender Wayne Milera who scored 127 to rank seventh for defenders in Round 7. Milera is the clubhouse leader for ORFFA recycled player of the year and has a commanding lead in this unofficial category. Just over a decade ago Milera was initially recruited onto an ORFFA list by Iron Knob in 2016 with PSD pick 15. In 2023 Milera was a member of the Grasshoppers Grand Final team and scored 83 points in the D3 position. Cradle Mountain selected Milera with pick 46 at the 2025 MSD and Milera averaged 79.3 points in 2025 a fraction above the ORFFA average of 79.0 points in 2025. On Grand Final day in 2025 Milera scored 101 from the D4 position. Despite this CMD delisted Milera before the 2026 PSD. The Shark Bay Tigersharks selected Milera with pick 53 at the 2026 PSD. Milera made an instant impact for his new club against the Devils in Round 1, being best afield with 142 points – the equal third highest score of the round. Milera has been a revelation as the Tigersharks best defender in 2026 and is averaging 104 points to be the seventh ranked defender after Round 7. It has been an incredible rise by Milera to go from an average ORFFA player to one of the top defenders in the comp to the end of Round 7. Shark Bay fell three points shy of having a clean sweep of defender tons in Round 7 with Mac Andrew scoring 103 points, Aliir Aliir 102 and Logan Evans 97. Shark Bay’s second best player against the Cockatoos was forward/midfielder Harry Sheezel with 126 points to be the third ranked forward of Round 7. Sheezel is in his fourth season in the ORFFA and has had eventful and extremely productive start to his career. Sheezel was initially selected by the Foul Bay Chickens with pick 10 at the 2023 PSD. Harry had an incredible debut FA season to average 99.5 points playing as a defender/forward. The Chickens disbanded at the end of the 2023 season. With the first pick at the 2024 dispersal draft the Dunsborough Dung Beetles selected Sheezel. In 2024 and 2025 Sheezel averaged 105 points + and after playing as a pure defender in 2024 he played as a defender/midfielder in the latter season. During the 2026 pre-season @PhilArthur took over as Head Coach and the club relocated to become the Shark Bay Tigersharks. In 2026 Sheezel is averaging 119 points – ranked second among FA forwards. In the front half of the ground another pair of Tigersharks scored a century, forward/midfielder Joel Frejiah with 116 in the F2 position and midfielder Hugo Garcia with 101 after starting on the interchange. Although Shark Bay had a 94 point advantage over Gariwerd across the forward line, defense and interchange this quickly dissipated in the middle of the ground with the Tigersharks structure thrown out by not having a ruck and scoring a donut in this position. Without a ruckman SBT mids struggled to get their hands on the ball and despite having a four player midfield they only managed 163 points, the lowest scoring starting midfield for the round, 59 points less than the next lowest score. Three Shark Bay mids scored less than 35 points each and 75 points between them, less than the 88 points that defender/midfielder teammate Marcus Windhager scored by himself starting in the M3 position. In the middle of the ground Shar Bay were outscored by 317 points, 480 to 163, resulting in a 223 point loss. Shark Bay are averaging 1,155.9 points per game to the end of Round 7, a 50.6 point per game increase on the 1,105.3 points per game they averaged in 2025 playing as the Dunsborough Dung Beetles. Gundagai Grasshoppers 1,306 defeated Wineglass Bay Packers 1,262 In the final game of Round 7 the Gundagai Grasshoppers held on for a 44 point victory at home after being strongly challenged by the Wineglass Bay Packers. The Grasshoppers ranked in the top five for three lines in Round 7, second in the midfield with 416 points, fourth in the ruck with 96 points and fifth with 193 on the interchange. In defense Gundagai scored 321 points which was the closest aggregate to the ORFFA defense average of 335.8 points for Round 7. Gundagai suffered a setback pre-game when not one but two forwards – Charlie Curnow and Calsher Dear were late withdrawals. Fellow forward Beau McCreary was a late inclusion and the Grasshoppers were reduced to a three man forward line and a donut in the fourth position. Forward/midfielder Izak Rankine playing in the F2 position entered the game with a season average of 76 points per game and almost doubled his output to score 149 points to be the second ranked forward for the round. Rankine had the license to roam wherever he liked in the front half of the ground and he utilised this to full effect to have 33 disposals, took 10 marks, laid nine tackles and kicked a goal in a best afield performance. Izak Rankine was selected by the Lefties with pick 2 in the 2019 PSD. On 27 September 2021 Lefties Head Coach @That KI Guy posted “Welcome to the Lefties carousel of misfortune. Lefties send Izak Rankine to Gundagai for Nick Coffield @snoz” Coffield averaged more points per game in 2021 than Rankine and also had the higher season-high, 79.4 points per game in 2020 to Rankine’s 69.2 points per game in 2020. Carousel of misfortune sums it up aptly for the Lefties as Coffield missed the entire 2022 season with an ACL injury and had more injury setbacks in 2023 including a calf injury. Coffield is currently an ORFFA free agent. After Rankine averaged 82.6 points per game in his second season for the Grasshoppers in 2023 he increased his output to average between 95.0 and 100.0 points per game during 2024 and 2025. Rankine was unable to replicate this early in 2026 but had a three game average of 111 points from Round 5 to Round 7 culminating with the 149 points against Wineglass Bay. The best performed midfielder in the game was Gundagai’s Lachie Neale with 121 points. Neale was selected by the Gundagai Grasshoppers with pick 280 at the inaugural ORFFA Draft in April/May 2012. Neale was the only player selected in the inaugural ORFFA draft to score 120+ points in Round 7. In Gundagai’s 2020 premiership winning season Neale averaged 134.4 points per game to win the Les W Medal. Neale has been incredibly consistent over the past dozen seasons from 2015 onwards to average 100.0 + points in 11 seasons and fell just short in the exception, averaging 99.8 points in 2021. Three Grasshoppers mids scored a century against the Packers with Neale being joined in this category by Jordan Dawson (115) from the M4 position and Hugh McCluggage (111) from the interchange. Another trio of Hoppers scored 95+, midfielder Jai Newcombe (97), defender Lawson Humpries (96) and ruck Brodie Grundy (96). Grundy is averaging 128.6 points per game after Round 7 to the third ranked ruck and player overall in the ORFFA. Against the undefeated Grasshoppers it was a very competitive performance by the Wineglass Bay Packers to record the sixth highest score of the round with 1,266 to have a 44 point loss, the second smallest margin of the round. @Tracey ’s Packers were phenomenal at either of the ground to deliver the highest line score of the round with 465 points in defense and had the fifth ranked forward line with 355 points, only 21 points behind the number one ranked Cows forward line. In the two arcs Wineglass Bay amassed an incredible tally of 820 points from their eight players at a phenomenal average of 102.5 points per player. Each Packers starting defender scored 85 + with the quartet comprised of Bodhi Uwland (137), John Noble (129), Lachie Ash (111) and Josh Daicos (88). Two Packers defenders that started their careers with other ORFFA teams ranked in the top 7 FA defenders of Round 7 with Uwland fourth and Noble seventh. Uwland was initially selected by the Marble Bar Misfits with pick 78 in the 2022 PSD. Wineglass Bay recruited Bodhi Uwland with pick 6 in the 2024 mid-season draft. After having an average in the 70’s during his first two seasons with the Packers Uwland has taken his game to another stratosphere in 2026 to average 98.6 points per game after Round 7. Noble was selected by the Whitsunday Warriors with pick 46 at the 2020 PSD. With pick 19 at the 2024 dispersal draft Wineglass Bay selected Noble. In 2025 Noble averaged 98.3 points per game and has 129 points in Round 7 took him above this mark, increasing his 2026 average to 99.0 points per game – 0.4ppg more than teammate Uwland. Noble and Uwland both rank in the ORFFA’s top 15 defenders after Round 7. Six Packers reached triple figures against the Hoppers with the players in this category not mentioned above being defender midfielder Finn Callaghan (100) and forward Jacob Van Rooyen (112). Forward/midfielder Riley Sanders scored 125 for Wineglass Bay to be the fourth ranked forward in the ORFFA for the round. Sanders is in his third consecutive season with the Wineglass Bay Packers after being selected with pick 3 at the 2024 PSD. After averaging less than 75 points per game in each of his first two seasons Sanders has taken his game to another stratosphere in 2026 and after Round 7 ranks 11th among FA forwards in 2026 with an average of 95 points per game. 2026 is the Packers second consecutive season ranking sixth in the ORFFA for points for however they have been unlucky with head-to-head matchups and have had a lower ladder position in both seasons. Wineglass Bay had a squared ledger of seven wins, seven losses and a draw to finish ninth in 2025. After Round 7 the Packers are 11th on the ladder with two wins and five losses. Hopefully as the season progresses Packers points for ranking is better reflected on the ladder.