Three sides remain undefeated at the top of the ORFFA ladder after Relton Roberts Round - Round 3 - of action over the weekend.
And, aptly a few players channeled the brilliance of the aforementioned Mr Roberts, scoring closer to 0 than harbouring any delusions of adequacy.
Anyway, onto the review:

Birdsville 1545 defeated Marble Bar 1134

The Battlers had a Round 3 party, and every one of its players were invited, as Birdsville kicked the sweep against Marble Bar 1545-1134.

Nine players topped the ton for Birdsville, led again by McEvoy (139) and the frighteningly good midfield of Murphy, Rich, Wells, Moloney. Big Jono Brown enjoyed a welcome return to form with 129.

For Marble Bar, Paddy Ryder shaded his opponent in Ben McEvoy with 145 points, while Callan Ward, Rhys Stanley and Jack Steven also notched tons.
But Birdsville's greater depth shone through overall, with the Misfits forced to play Banana Firrito OOP up forward.

Gariwerd 1330 defeated Whitsundays 1256

Coach Anthak is celebrating after the boys from down Halls Gap way celebrated their first win, an impressive 74-point triumph over the Warriors.

Mighty performances from Brett Deledio (140), Chris Masten (141) and Bundy Christensen (108) led an even across-the-board effort for the Cockies.

For the Warriors, who were far from disgraced, six players topped 100 - led by rookie sensation Ollie Wines (121) and Travis Boak (134).
However the match was marred by a serious knee injury to the General, Jono Patton, who will miss a lengthy stretch of football. League coaches I am sure will join to wish Patton the best as he recovers over coming months.

Darraweit Guim 1191 defeated Larrikin Lagoon 1178

In the close, low scoring game, the Blimps held on for a nail biting 13-point win over the newcomers from the Lagoon.

The Paddock faithful were in shocked silence after injuries to McPharlin and Newnes saw both red-vested early; the former with a goose-egg score, the latter with only 15. Cunnington with 127 was the only highlight.

However a late game fightback led by captain Maric (120) and featuring Walker (137), Shane Edwards (122) and Rance (92) saw the Blimps lead late.
Despite a further late injury and red vest to Nathan Van Berlo, the Lefties vastly improved Angus Monfries was unable to score enough points in the late match to bridge the gap.

Monfries (120), Priddis, (122), Scott Selwood (121) and young dynamo Reece Conca (105) led the scoring for the Lefties, whose 1-2 record belies three very good performances in their first season in the ORFFA.



Powlett Plains 1273 defeated Nunawading 1159

The Packers continued on their merry way, disposing of a much improved Nunawading by 114 points.

Philosoraptor's Packers were led by a monster game from David Armitage (175), as well as its brigade of veterans - Hodge, Newman, Nick Riewoldt, Kane Cornes and Buddy Franklin all topping the ton.

Liam Jones enjoyed his best game of the season with 87.

For the Nuffers, Josh Kennedy starred in the midfield with 136. Matty Broadbent provided drive off the bench with 112, and mature-aged recruit Ben Hudson scored a highly unexpected 113.

However Nunawading's cause wasn't helped by being one short due to injury - an affliction that has hit a few ORFFA teams hard in the early going and has prompted earnest discussion at league level about tweaks to list sizes.

Waikikamoocow 1376 defeated Lovely Banks 1210

The boys from across the ditch notched win number two for the season, outplaying a game Lovely Banks outfit late in the game to win by 166 points.

After some encouraging early-game performances from Lilacs' defenders Jake Carlisle (135), Brenna (146), Adcock (90) and Jack Grimes (83), the Lilacs established a lead going into the final set of games.

However they were unable to cope with a last quarter blitzkrieg from the cow-kickers, led by a rejuvinated Justin Westhoff (150) and big Sauce Jacobs (106).
Other good scores were notched by defenders Taylor and Hibberd (103 and 105) and the midfield trio of McVeigh, Hannebery and Fyfe (all 120+)

For the Lilacs, Scott Thompson and Dane Swan (105 and 91) tried hard in the midfield while Hayden Ballantyne was a welcome return to the side with 73.

Iron Knob 1440 defeated Venus Bay 1096

The top of the table clash proved to be a bit of a fizzer, with the Codpieces from Iron Knob flexing their muscles and recording a 300+ point win over Venus Bay.

For Iron Knob, it was a case of 'Who needs Gary Ablett?' The little master only scored 112, but it was his teammates that stole the spotlight - most particularly the silky Pearce Hanley down back (141) and the bullish Jack Darling up forward (141).

Goldstein and Minson continued to make their case for being the best ruck duo in the ORFFA. Douglas tonned up off the bench, and young forwards Jack Riewoldt and Breust were handy.

Regrettably for Venus Bay, and number of players struggled in the same week. Watson, Gibbs, Higgins, Howe and Parker were well down on previous weeks, while Matty Kreuzer's injury is sure to cause further heartache at the selection table in the coming weeks.
The Vultures' best scorers were Malceski (108), Clancee Pearce (113), Gibbs (95) and Gaff (93).

Foul Bay 1241 defeated Mt Beauty 1155

Foul Bay made the most of some untimely opposition injuries to notch their first win of the year, an 86-point triumph over Mt Beauty.

Even with losing Beau Waters to injury early, Mt Beauty would still have had some confidence in making up lost ground over the last day of the match-up.
But despite the best efforts of Cotchin (139), Martin (150) and boom youngster Wingard (123), injuries (Dickson), late withdrawals (Batchelor) and the green vest (Ellis) hit hard.

The form of key player Steele Sidebottom (39) remains a concern, though the return of Leuenberger in the ruck has been welcomed.

Meanwhile for Foul Bay, a consistent effort was led by Josh Kennedy up forward (139), with help from Bartel, McLean and Michael Johnson.
A number of big names continue to struggle for Foul Bay though - if they hit their straps in the same week, God help us all.

Charlie's Opening 1127 defeated Gundagai 1009

Charlie's Opening strengthen their hold on a Top 8 spot with a hard-fought win over Gundagai.

In what was a very low scoring contest, Leigh Montagna was Charlie's Opening's top scorer with just 102. Dan Jackson and Andrew Swallow both compiled 99 to be next best, while a number of big names played well below expectations (and form).

For an injury-hit Gundagai outfit, only Toovey (102) topped the ton, while ROK, Bugg and Jono Griffin all score 90+. The Grasshoppers remain winged by injury at the moment, going into the match two players short.


Cradle Mountain 1247 defeated Wagga Wagga 1181

The boys from Tassie broke their duck with a close win over the previously undefeated Wombats.

Cradle Mountain were led home by Scott Pendlebury, who top scored with 124. Redden, Jude Bolton and Liam Shiels all also notched up 100+ scores, while the returns of Steve Johnson and Dale Thomas will, I'm sure, be welcomed as well.

For Wagga Wagga, Big Dean Cox almost single-handedly carried his team to victory with 171 points. However, only Goddard and Taylor Hunt joined him in breaking the ton, with the Wombats' midfield failing to fire.

Ladder after Round 3

Iron Knob 12 4363

Birdsville 12 4175

Powlett Plains 12 3684

Waikikamoocow 8 3880

Wagga Wagga 8 3821

Venus Bay 8 3800

Mt Beauty 8 3731

Charlies Opening 8 3582

Darraweit Guim 8 3401

Foul Bay 4 3843

Whitsundays 4 3617

Larrikin Lagoon 4 3520

Cradle Mountain 4 3469

Gariwerd 4 3469

Nunawading 4 3454

Gundagai 0 3386

Lovely Banks 0 3355

Marble Bar 0 3154


Round 4 - X Remembrance Round - World Penguin Day
World Penguin Day is on the 25th April each year, which is as great a day as any to take a moment - or a round - to remember our former esteemed leader, Xenomorph.
At some stage last year he went missing, never to return; however he did do a whole bunch of great work to get this league up and running and the Match Committee remembers.



Mawson Base Penguins relocated to Wagga Wagga in the off-season and have been rewarded a home game in this round of significance to them.



1 Cradle Mountain v Marble Bar

2 Wagga Wagga v Gundagai

3 Charlies Opening v Foul Bay

4 Mount Beauty v Venus Bay

5 Iron Knob v Lovely Banks

6 Waikikamoocow v Powlett Plains

7 Darraweit Guim v Nunawading

8 Larrikin Lagoon v Whitsundays

9 Gariwerd v Birdsville