The 2023 Grand Final is here, with a mouthwatering matchup between the unbeaten Lake St Clair Devils and the surprise packets the Pomona Wood Nymphs. Both teams have taken different routes to the final, with the unbeaten all conquering Devils boasting an 8-0 regular season record before a 104 point semi final victory (scoring 1012 along the way), whilst the Wood Nymphs 61 point semi final win came off the back of a consistent 6-2 season. There's some interesting matchups to play out in the grand final - but as we know these games are won and lost in the midfield.... The Devils midfield last week racked up 475 alone via Garner, Swanson, Conti & Whitfort, while the Nymphs mids including Marinoff, Mia King, Bruton and Lucas-Rodd can quickly increase the scoring on any given day. This midfield battle will be a beauty The last they met? Well it was only 2 weeks ago in Round 8 where the Devils overran the Nymphs by 109 to clinch the minor premiership. That day saw huge games by Mon Conti (146) and Ebony Marinoff (138) and a head to head match up seems likely again! A huge congratulations to both @dmandrews and @anthak for getting their sides to the first weekend in November and may the best team hold the 2023 ORFFW premiership cup aloft come Sunday afternoon
Awesome, thanks for the preview. The Wood Nymphs are thrilled to be playing in the grand final after the regular heartbreak from previous seasons just missing the finals each year. We have been building our team in anticipation for this weekend, and we’re pleased to welcome Nic Bresnehan back into the lineup following an extended absence through injury, meaning we’ve got our best-13 out on the park this weekend. The retiring Ash Brazill is unlucky to miss out on selection which would have made her last game a grand final, however she is named as an emergency so her dream isn’t over just yet. Here is the Pomona team, subject to any late changes: Pomona Wood Nymphs Out: Lulu Pullar (Head inj) In: Nicole Bresnehan DEF: Nicole Bresnehan, Jodie Hicks, Brooke Brown (Bianca Jakobsson) MID: Ebony Marinoff, Jenna Bruton, Mia King, Tilly Lucas-Rodd (Jasmin Stewart) RUCK: Lauren Pearce (Tahlia Gillard) FWD: Sabrina Frederick, Danielle Ponter, Courtney Hodder (Ashleigh Saint) INT: Rebecca Beeson, Jade Ellenger (Ash Brazill) Good luck to Lake St Clair. You have been clearly the best team all season, and would be a deserving winner! But we’re coming for you
Lake St Clair Devils team for the Grand Final No change Def: Angelique Stannett, Meghan McDonald, Georgia Clayden (Meara Girvan) Mid: Jasmine Garner, Monique Conti, Claudia Whitfort, Emma Swanson (Lily Mithen) Ruc: Jess Good (Lucy Wales) Fwd: Sarah Rowe, Emma King, Eden Zanker (Kate Shierlaw) Int: Kirsty Lamb, Olivia Vesely (Charlotte Baskaran) For the 2023 ORFFW Grand Final Lake St Clair will field the same 13 player team that defeated the Valkeries by 104 points in last week’s preliminary final at home. The Devils are on a nine game winning streak, however their last loss was at the same time last year in the 2022B ORFFW Grand Final. On the biggest stage Lake St Clair cracked under the intense pressure applied by the Trailblazers, could only manage a score of 700 points and were defeated in the GF by 267 points. Lake St Clair are attempting to win their third ORFFW premiership, having won in 2020 and the 2022B season. Both times the Devils had luck on their side. The 2020 season came to a sudden halt after Round 6 due to COVID. As Lake St Clair were top of the ladder with five wins at the end of Round 6 they were declared the 2020 ORFFW Premiers. Katanning also finished with five wins and were only points for behind the Devils. At the end of Round 5 Katanning Krushers were on top of the ladder, undefeated before suffering their first loss of the season in Round 6. To win the 2020 ORFFW premiership LSC had some luck with when the season concluded. In 2022 the Devils hosted the Valkeries in the Grand Final and again had some luck to prevail in a thriller by 13 points. Thanks for the preview FreoDockers. I agree that the result of the midfield battle will be critical to the outcome of the 2023 ORFFW Grand Final. Throughout 2023 the Devils have had the best starting midfield in the ORFFW with the quartet of Jasmine Garner (124), Monique Conti (105), Claudia Whitfort (98) and Emma Swanson (93) averaging 420 points between them. The Devils have dominated at clearances and amazingly have three players ranked in the top four for clearances per game. Garner is second with 7.1 clearances per game closely followed by Conti and Whitfort in equal third on 6.9 clearances. Wongan Hills midfielder Charlie Rowbottom led the league with 7.1 clearances to finish just ahead of the Devils trio. With Pomona are able to break even in the clearances or even have a narrow loss in this category it would go a long way to them getting the GF victory Pomona are the ORFFW team best equipped to match it with the Devils in the midfield and their starting midfield four of Ebony Marinoff (131), Jenna Bruton (96), Mia King (92) and Tily Lucas-Rodd 83) combine to average 402 points per game between them – ranked second in the ORFFW and only 18 points shy of the Devils. Wood Nymph midfielder Marinoff was runner-up in the league best and fairest with 33 votes and was joined on the front page of the leaderboard by LSC duo Garner (4th with 28 votes) and Conti (equal 10th) with 18 votes. @anthak and I have competed against each as coaches on TooSerious for over a decade, having both been coaches in the ORFFA since the Association’s inaugural season in 2012. My Cradle Mountain Devils and anthak’s Gariwerd Cockatoos have followed a similar trajectory throughout most of their time in the ORFFA. The Devils and Cockatoos were both mid-table in the ORFFA’s early years which led to the two club’s battling it out for the mediocrity cup which inspired the two club’s to reach greater heights. From 2016 to 2022 the Cockatoos and Devils each made the finals six times in seven years. Cradle Mountain won the 2021 premiership and the Gariwerd Cockatoos followed suit by winning the flag in 2022. Despite both Cradle Mountain and Gariwerd consistently making the finals they never played a final against each other during this time. Finally Anthak and I get to play against each other in a final in another ORFF* league and battle it out for the title of ORFFW premiers with his Pomona Wood Nymphs taking on my Lake St Clair Devils. Anthony is the only TooSerious member that I have met in real life. We had a brief chat before an Australian Boomers basketball game in Melbourne quite a while back, I think it was in July 2016. Anthak well done on Pomona breaking through to make the finals and then progressing to the ORFFW Grand Final, good luck for the game.
Thanks mate, I was thinking that it would be great to play against you because you always come up with the goods with the history and trivia worthy notes! I got a little emotional reading your post just now I didnt realise we hadnt actually faced each other in a final yet. Our ORFFA teams have definitely followed very similar paths over the whole history of the league, its uncanny. But it was 2022 when the Cockies won the premiership though, not 2021. Apart from a couple of other TS members who I already knew before they became members, you are also the only TS member I have met in person - it was great to meet up that day, Im glad we did. Was it really a Boomers game? Do you remember who they were playing? Anyway, good luck for the granny. I do hope to win! and if I do, there will be some serious soul searching at Lake St Clair after the outcome in 2022b (which I had forgotten about until you mentioned it this evening).
Game by game matchups (emergencies in brackets) Suns vs Bombers LSC - Georgia Clayden, Claudia Whitfort, (Meara Girvan) PWN - Brooke Brown Bulldogs vs Kangaroos LSC - Jasmine Garner, Emma King, Kirsty Lamb, (Kate Shierlaw) PWN - Nicole Bresnehan, Jenna Bruton, Mia King Power vs Giants LSC - 0 PWN - Jodie Hicks, Rebecca Beeson, (Jasmin Stewart, Ashleigh Saint) Cats vs Hawks LSC - Meghan McDonald, (Lucy Wales, Charlotte Baskaran) PWN - Tilly Lucas-Rodd Eagles vs Crows LSC - Emma Swanson PWN - Ebony Marinoff, Danielle Ponter Lions vs Demons LSC - Eden Zanker, (Lily Mithen) PWN - Lauren Pearce, Courtney Hodder, Jade Ellenger, (Tahlia Gillard) Blues vs Saints LSC - Jessica Good, Olivia Vesely PWN - (Bianca Jakobsson) Pies vs Tigers LSC - Monique Conti, Sarah Rowe PWN - Sabrina Frederick, (Ash Brazill) Dockers vs Swans LSC - Angelique Stannett PWN - 0
First game Suns vs Bombers LSC - Georgia Clayden 38, Claudia Whitfort 112, (Meara Girvan 31) PWN - Brooke Brown 58 Running tally LSC 150/2/75 PWN 58/1/58
Second game A huge game for Jasmine Garner, whilst Mia King was a late withdrawal. Bulldogs vs Kangaroos LSC - Jasmine Garner 150, Emma King 44, Kirsty Lamb 35, (Kate Shierlaw 50) PWN - Nicole Bresnehan 41, Jenna Bruton 81, Mia King DNP Running tally LSC 379/5/75.8 PWN 180/3/60
Third game Jasmin Stewart comes into the Pomona side as a late inclusion for Mia King. I kinda hope Ashleigh Saint is needed as a late inclusion too after her 5-goal performance. Power vs Giants LSC - 0 PWN - Jodie Hicks 66, Rebecca Beeson 73, (Jasmin Stewart 43, Ashleigh Saint 76) Running tally LSC 379/5/75.8 PWN 362/6/60.3
Saturday night games. Cats vs Hawks LSC - Meghan McDonald 34, (Lucy Wales 68, Charlotte Baskaran 48) PWN - Tilly Lucas-Rodd 98 Eagles vs Crows LSC - Emma Swanson 87 PWN - Ebony Marinoff 103, Danielle Ponter 72 Lions vs Demons LSC - Eden Zanker 51, (Lily Mithen 41) PWN - Lauren Pearce 78, Courtney Hodder 92, Jade Ellenger 92, (Tahlia Gillard 39) Running tally LSC 551/8/68.9 PWN 897/12/74.8 I’ve turned the tide on the averages and have taken a decent lead overnight, but with only 1 player playing tomorrow, vs 5, I’m not at all confident of holding on!
Thanks for the score updates @anthak. Pomona are certainly taking it up to the previously unbeaten Lake St Clair outfit. We are set for a very exciting and close finish which is likely to come down to the last player on the field, Devils defender Stannett attempting to reel in Pomona's lead.
Blues vs Saints LSC - Jessica Good 54, Olivia Vesely 78 PWN - (Bianca Jakobsson 29) Running tally Running tally LSC 683/10/68.3 PWN 897/12/74.8 After the Blues vs Saints game Pomona have strengthened their grip on the game with the Devils unable to lift their scoring rate. It is effectively Pomona - 214 + Fredericks vs the Devils last three players - Conti, Rowe and Stannett.
Pies vs Tigers LSC - Monique Conti 124, Sarah Rowe 60 PWN - Sabrina Frederick 64 (Ash Brazill 25) Running tally LSC 867/12/72.3 PWN 961/13/73.9 Devils defender Stannett is the last player on field and needs to score 95 points for Lake St Clair to reel in Pomona's lead. It looks likely that for the second ORRFW Grand Final in a row the Devils as hosts will suffer an upset Grand Final loss, which will result in Pomona winning their first ORFFW premiership.
70 from Stannett sees LSC almost catch up, but not quite! Thanks for the updates today DMA, I’ve been busy all day. I can’t believe I’ve won. My team has had a good year and obviously has the firepower to win it all, but it’s heartbreaking for Lake St Clair to lose their first game of the season in the grand final! Unofficial scores see Pomona win by 24 points! LSC 937/13/72.0 PWN 961/13/73.9
@anthak congratulations on Pomona winning the 2023 ORFFW Premiership. I don’t know how I managed to type the wrong year for Cradle Mountain and Gariwerd’s premierships, facts that I know. I have corrected now, thanks for pointing out my mistake. When I have made errors you are usually the first one to pick it up. In the ORFFA Cradle Mountain won their first flag in 2021 and Gariwerd succeeded them by winning the premiership the following year in 2022. We met up before the Australian Boomers played the PAC 12 All-Stars on 14 July 2016. A current Boomer – Matisse Thybulle played for the PAC 12 All-Stars. I haven’t been able to find a link to the box score for that game but did find a link to the box score for the game between the Boomers and the PAC 12 All-Stars two days earlier on 12 July 2016 if you want to know who was playing in the series. https://livestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/BANT/304799/index.html#ASFSK Pomona’s score of 961 was just six points shy of the Trailblazers tally of 967 in the 2022B Grand Final. The LSC Devils were far more competitive in the 2023 Grand Final, however a more even performance form Pomona enabled them to win the premiership. The Devils had the best three players on the ground and also the worst three players on the ground in this weekend’s GF. Below is a look at the line match-ups with the +/- being from the Devils perspective. LSC PWN Def -86 Fwd Mid +148 Mid Ruc -24 Ruc Fwd -10 Def Int -52 Int Total -24 Total LSC convincingly won the midfield battle by 148 points but Pomona won the other four lines. After being best on ground in Lake St Clair’s 2022 Grand Final win with 134 points Jasmine Garner was again best afield in the 2023 Grand Final with 150 points. Ebony Marinoff may have missed out on the league best and fairest but she led her flag winning team with 103 points in the Grand Final and would be the favourite for another award, the best and fairest winner of a premiership winning side. The Devils will be trying to strengthen their forward line and defense at the 2024 ORFFW PSD. Whilst Lake St Clair were the form side going into the Grand Final Pomona were better on Grand Final day. In the ORFFA and ORFFW there have been several times where the dominant side throughout the home and away has been upset in the finals and a team that has peaked at the right of the year has won the premiership. Pomona had to overcome Mia King being a late withdrawal, weakening their side and they were still good enough to defeat the Devils. @anthak congratulations again on Pomona winning the 2023 ORFFW flag.
Thanks mate! and thanks for acknowledging Mia King’s absence. She has been one of my best players this season, but I have a very deep midfield and I was glad that Jasmin Stewart was a capable replacement. In hindsight, I should’ve still had Cathy Svarc on my list. I delisted her prior to this season, and then drafted Jasmin Stewart with my first pick in the PSD, and then Svarc got selected with the very next pick. It was really hard to delist Svarc, and I should’ve redrafted her. I let her go because of my midfield depth (I had/have 7 mids who would be genuine first-13 players on most ORFFW teams) and her age. Jasmin Stewart is 6 years younger than Svarc. But Svarc is still a star of the competition! And Stewart hasn’t had as good a year as I thought she would. She’s shown glimpses though and will be better for the run in her first season back. But yeah, your midfield dominated overall this game with some huge individual scores. My midfielders on the interchange did ok though. Jade Ellenger is such a good player. And it’s so great that Bec Beeson has had a successful return from concussion when it was feared she might not ever play again. Most of my players are fairly young, and most have been on my list for a fair while. I will try to do a report about my premiership team to show how it’s been built. But I am still working on one of these for my ORFFA team’s 2022 premiership season, so hopefully it doesn’t take me that long to complete!! I’ve been very impressed by my forwards this season. Hodder, Ponter and Frederick. They’ve been so consistently great all season. I love the way they all play IRL too! and the other forwards on my list too like Ashleigh Saint, Courtney Jones and Ash Brazzil! Love the way they all play, all such X factors! My defense has been my weakest link but im glad they were good enough to get the job done. The drop-off from Bianca Jakobssen this season has been unfortunate and she’s ended up being an emergency for me most of the time. My MSD pick-up of Lulu Pullar worked really well for me to strengthen my back-3 in the absence of the injured Nicci Bresnehan. Then just in time for the grand final, Bresnehan was back just as Pullar was unavailable injured herself. Bresnehan didn’t play so well in her first game back, but wasn’t bad enough to hurt. One defender I’m very pleased with is Jodie Hicks, who I initially drafted when she had barely played a game, and she’s turned into a star. I’m a little concerned about my rucks, with Lauren Pearce not as good as she once was now she’s getting older (but she put in a strong performance for the grand final, as a champion should!); and Erin McKinnon falling out of favour at the Saints. My other ruck Tahlia Gillard is actually a tall defender IRL, and just a young promising prospect to me. I suspect Sabrina Frederick will be a ruck next year which will make my list management interesting. @dmandrews , hopefully you can win another flag in the coming years, but I’ll be trying to go back to back next year. Last year’s premier ended up with the wooden spoon this year! Hopefully I can avoid that fate and put together another competitive season! My team had never made the ORFFW finals before, but I kept plugging away and now get the chocolates! Just goes to show all the teams have a chance year to year. This has been fun. Well done to everyone involved for another great ORFFW season!
A Huge congrats to you @anthak, your team certainly came up with the goods when needed! Fantastic updates and write ups from you and @dmandrews over the weekend as well. Again, well done everyone, and here's to the Pomona Wood Nymphs!!
Results are now official The rivalry round rematch has seen Pomona defeat Lake St Clair for the first time in 5 attempts and also foil what was shaping as the first ever perfect ORFFW season by the Devils. Congrats to @anthak on Pomona’s first ever title and commiserations to @dmandrews who has now finished premiers or runner up in 4 of the 5 seasons of ORFFW competition, and a lowly 3rd place in 2021 !