The race for the 8 may be down to only 9 teams but every spot inside the 8 is still up for grabs. At the other end of the ladder it's a race in 4 to see who avoids the wooden spoon. The Race for the Top 8 Groote Eylandt Barracudas Current Position: 1st, 14 wins - 1 loss, 20469 points for Matchups remaining: Staghorn Flat (14th), Pearcedale (13th) The Barracudas have put together another stunning season and sit well and truly clear at the top of the table. Although their remaining two opponents are both capable of producing strong scores on their day, it's hard to picture a scenario where Groote lose both remaining games, the chasing Sandgropers win both of theirs and make up the 1200+ points required to overhaul and take top spot. Predicted finish: 1st Southern Cross Sandgropers Current position: 2nd, 12-3, 19290 Matchups remaining: Christmas Island (16th), Hughenden (8th) A strong recruiting campaign has been backed up by a strong performance on field and has the Sandgropers sitting in second for the 2021 'FU season. Although top spot may be just out of reach, with injuries biting at Southern Cross at the wrong time of year, just consolidating a top 4 spot is a more pressing focus. Fortunately they run into the Smugglers for the penultimate round which should give them the 13th win they need to ensure a top 4 spot before the face the Prairie Dogs in a tough final round matchup. Predicted finish: 3rd Ararat Armadillos Current position: 3rd, 11-4, 19598 Matchups remaining: Pakenham (15th), Christmas Island (16th) Does this side ever struggle? Despite dealing with injuries to key players for most of the season, the Armadillos have somehow managed to keep on performing, showing the depth of talent available in the squad they have put together. With the easiest run home of any remaining contenders, we're backing them to jump up a spot and grab a top 2 position to close out the season. Predicted finish: 2nd Nuytsland Vikings Current position: 4th, 11-4, 18803 Matchups remaining: Serengeti (5th), Cow Bay (10th) One of the more inconsistent campaigns has seen the Vikings hold a top 4 spot even though their scoring power sits 7th overall for the comp. Copping bulk unavailabilities at different times of the season has been a major factor but their ability to secure 11 wins so far shows that when the full squad is available their is plenty of talent at Vikings' disposal. A mid-season midfield recruiting drive looks like it will serve the team well with key unavailabilities hurting as the season draws to a close but will it be enough to hold onto a top 4 spot with two tricky encounters remaining? Predicted finish: 5th Serengeti Buffaloes Current position: 5th, 10-5, 19878 Matchups remaining: Nuytsland (4th), Korrumburra ((6th) After looking like finals may even be a struggle at different points in the season, the Buffaloes have found form late in the season and are now eyeing off the Vikings top 4 spot. If they are to grab it they will have to do it the hard way with matchups against two of the current top 8 to close out the season. After getting past overseas rivals Banchang in round 15, confidence is high and it may come down to a head to head battle with the Blowflys in the final round to see who is able to take that spot. Predicted finish: 4th Korrumburra Blowflys Current position: 6th, 10-5, 18999 Matchups remaining: King Island (11th), Serengeti (5th) One of the 4 teams logjammed on 10 wins, the Blowflys strong scoring should see them safely into the finals even if disaster struck and they lost both remaining games. Depth has always been the issue for Korrumburra and although we're tipping that to be the reason they miss the top 4 they may just be timing their run perfectly with the squad primed to be fit together as finals kick off. Predicted finish: 7th Banchang Barcrawlers Current position: 7th, 10-5, 18815 Matchups remaining: Cow Bay (10th), Coolgardie (9th) Any slip up aganst an enigmatic Crocs outfit this week would have the foreign impostors from Banchang under real pressure. After sitting pretty in the upper reaches of the table for much of the season, injuries have hit hard and the Barcrawlers are now clinging to their spot in the top 8. Lose this week and they'll likely face an early elimination final against the Prospectors in the final round. We don't think it will happen but it would make for an entertaining climax to the season should they stumble. Can somebody please find Jon Ceglar and get him up and going for this weekend?! Predicted finish: 8th Hughenden Prairie Dogs Current Position: 8th, 10-5, 18198 Matchups remaining: Eden (12th), Southern Cross (2nd) Is it too much to say the surprise packet of the 2021 season? After finishing last season in 13th spot, the Prairie Dogs have climbed the table on the back of a career year from Clayton Oliver and the emergence of an impressive young backline. Unavailability to some key performers is threatining to put an end to the fairytale run but we are believing in magic to see the Dogs do enough to get over the line against Eden and then get enough reinforcements to top the Sandgropers and grab a finals berth Predicted finish: 6th Coolgardie Prospectors Current position: 9th, 8-7, 17918 Matchups remaining: Horsham (18th), Banchang (7th) So that leaves the Prospectors. A record of 10-7 would be a brutal way to miss the finals but that is the cold reality staring the Coolgardie boys in the face. Their best hope of a way in is a Banchang slip up this week and then a head to head matchup where winner takes all in the final round (if they can make up a huge points differential...) but a Hughenden side missing key personnel, at least for the upcoming round, could also open the door to a finals berth if they drop both remaining games and the Prospectors take care of business on their end. For now, all the Prospectors can do is bank a win against bottom of the table Horsham and then see where the cards fall for the final week. Predicted finish: 9th Predicted ladder 1. GEB 16-1 2. AA 13-4 3. SCS 13-4 4. SB 12-5 5. NV 12-5 6. HPD 12-5 7. KB 11-6 8. BB 11-6 9. CP 10-7
The 'Race' for the Wooden Spoon Horsham Huskies Current Position: 18th, 1-14, 14670 Matchups remaining: Coolgardie (9th), Eden (12th) It's been a tough introduction for the newest inductee to the ORFFU family. However the task at hand has been taken with both hands and coach Wolffy has already made an impressive start to the necessary rebuilding work. It's almost certain that will be aided with the no.1 pick in this years draft. Even though they have scored more than the 16th placed Smugglers, the two wins they'd need to overtake them would be highly unlikely. Blanchetown Bunyips Current Position: 17th, 2-13, 15647 Matchups remaining: Pearcedale (13th), Staghorn (14th) A maturing squad and impressive mid-season recruiting has the Bunyips squad showing signs of life. After comitting and sticking true to a rebuild through youth, Blanchetown are putting together a squad that has enough there to suggest this might be the last year for a while that they occupy the bottom rungs of the ladder. They face two of the more unlucky sides of season 2021 in the remaining two rounds and we're backing the Bunyips to continue showing signs of improvement to win at least one of them and have even more to show for the future. Christmas Island Current Position: 16th, 3-12, 14404 Matchups remaining: Southern Cross (2nd), Ararat (3rd) The lowest scoring team of the year have managed to put together enough good performances at the same time to ensure they won enough games and at least avoid the wooden spoon. It's unlikely they win anymore with the toughest close to the season but it's equally unlikely that the Grenades win the two games they'd need to overhaul the Smugglers. Those 3 wins showed there are signs of life Christmas Island but 2021 was not the year for it all to come together. Pakenham Parasites Current Position: 15th, 3-12, 16192 Matchups remaining: Ararat (2nd), King Island (11th) On the topic of unlucky teams, with all respect to the Panthers and Bulls, the Parasites may have claim to be the unluckiest of all. In a season where not much has gone right, Pakenham have just not had the opportunity to have a serious run at it in 2021. Even though they have only had the 3 wins for the year, their is just no chance they drop further (although can we really right off more bad things happening this year?) and we are even predicting at least one more win before season end.
Um, pretty sure the bottom ten teams ranked by total points after round 17? This would mean it is a race in two for the number 1 pick between HG & CIS. @JPK would be able to confirm.
Also, great write up. My plan is obviously to win both remaining matches, although I do concede that HPD will be a tricky tie. Go Sandgropers!!!
Yeah, certainly only a theoretical chance for Pakenham to finish bottom with their points for so high. Pretty sure Christmas Island are actually only on 3 wins though and not 4. That first matchup after the bye against Pearcedale I don't think has been updated yet. And with the low points for the Smugglers have there is still hope for the Huskies!
6. DRAFT (a) The Pre-Season Draft will commence on a date as outlined by the board. The draft will run in reverse league ladder order after the Grand Final. Ladder order is calculated as: Bottom 10 as at the end of the regular season rankings. The top eight ranks are calculated as 1 GF winner, 2 runners-up, 3-4 highest for points in semi-final loss and 5-8 highest regular season ranking in knock out final loss and adjusted for PSD trading.
Haha, love it. Cunnington and Libba big ins but the forward line talisman Greene I'm tipping will be too much of a loss...
Great work @wrightbrendan So I need two big wins to then be bundled out in the first week of the finals and get a one-position worse pick in the PSD... maybe I could tank? I do have a few players out this weekend
Great write up. Sadly I'll be only making up the numbers in the 8 if I hang on. A mounting injury toll is wreaking havoc at Hughenden as we limp to the finals.