2025 ORFFA Finals Week 1 review

The eight teams that made the 2025 ORFFA finals were comprised of four clubs attempting to win their first ORFFA premiership and four clubs who already had at least one ORFFA premiership in their trophy cabinet. Each of the teams chasing their first ORFFA premiership played another club attempting to win their first title. Fresh of a 15 win, zero loss home and away season, minor premiers Charlies Opening Spelunkers hosted the eighth seeded Wagga Wagga Wombats and third seeded Nareewillock Nuffers hosted the seventh seeded Birdsville Battlers. On the other side of the bracket each of the last four clubs to win an ORFFA premiership had games against each other. 2020 premiers Gundagai Grasshoppers hosted 2022 premiers Gariwerd Cockatoos and 2021 premiers Cradle Mountain Devils hosted 2023 and 2024 premiers, the Mount Beauty Uglies.

It is rare for an ORFFA team to score 1,500 points in a final, this weekend was the exception not the rule. Amazingly the four winners in week 1 of the 2025 finals fell just short of averaging this mark, with the winning quartet of teams averaging 1,499 points each. For the fourth time in history and the first time since 2022 all four home sides had victories on in the first weekend of the 2025 ORFFA finals. Three of the finals winners scored 1,540 plus, minor premiers Charlies Opening recorded the third highest score of the round with 1,547, just behind fellow Tasmanian team, fourth seeded Cradle Mountain Devils, 1,550 and second placed Gundagai Grasshoppers with a round-high 1,558 points. Reputations of individual players are made and enhanced during the ORFFA finals. These three clubs, Spelunkers, Grasshoppers and Devils accounted for 12 of the 16 players that scored over 135 across the ORFFA Finals and Zac Dawson games on the first weekend of August, with each club having at least three players in this category. The third placed Nuffers are more focussed on opposition analysis than their fellow top four teams and gave a defensive masterclass with all six pure defenders scoring 90+ in their quarter final victory.

A review of the four Zac Dawson games will be posted later this week.

2025 ORFFA Quarter Finals Part 1

(1) Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1,547 defeated (8) Wagga Wagga Wombats 1,123 by 424 points

@Bandit ’s Spelunkers had their third consecutive ORFFA top eight finish in 2025, equalling their longest sequence of top eight finishes, set in the FA’s first three seasons from 2012 to 2014. In between these trio of seasons Charlies Opening suffered a top eight drought, finishing between ninth and 16th in the eight season period from 2015 to 2022. In their return to the finals in 2023 Charlies Opening won a club record 14 games in the home and away season, finished second on the ladder to record their highest ever finish and averaged a club record 1,320.3 points per game. Surpassing the 1,295.5 points per game set 11 years earlier in 2013 by just under 25 points per game. In between the 2023 and 2024 seasons the number of teams in the ORFFA, reduced from 18 to 16 resulting in each team playing two less games in a home and away season, reducing from 17 to 15. From a total points scored basis @Bandit’s Spelunkers were the clear-cut best team in the ORFFA, averaging 1,381.9 points per game in 2024 to break their club record for the second year in a row. Charlies Opening weren’t quite as dominant from a head to perspective, finishing second on the ladder with a record of 13 wins and two losses. The Spelunkers made the 2024 preliminary final but were outplayed by reigning premiers Mount Beauty Uglies who went on to win back-to-back premierships.

During 2025 Charlies Opening had one of the best home and away seasons in the history of the Association, becoming the fourth team in the 14 season history of the ORFFA to have an undefeated home and away season. The Spelunkers fell narrowly short of breaking the record for highest average points per game in an ORFFA home and away season. Charlies Opening’s average of 1,413.6 points per game was just 2.2 pointer per game shy of the Foul Bay Chickens 1,415.8 points per game in 2014.

In 2025 @Lenny120 ’s Wagga Wagga Wombats finished eighth to make their first finals appearance since 2022 when they also finished eighth. The Wombats best ORFFA home and finish was fifth place in 2014. The Wombats made the 2014 Grand Final and lost to minor premiers Iron Knob Codpieces, 1,292 to 1,400.

In Round 8, 2025 the Wagga Wagga Wombats at home lost to the Charlies Opening Spelunkers by 337 points, 1,108 to 1,345. The Wombats faced a monumental challenge to try and upset the previously undefeated Spelunkers in a 2025 quarter final. The degree of difficulty increased significantly before the opening bounce had even taken place as four players named in the Wombats 15 man team failed to take their place in the team. The most notable late withdrawal was defender/midfielder Connor Rozee who thrived during 2025 in a new role as a defender/midfielder to average105 points per game, ranked second for Wagga Wagga. Three Wombats emergencies were late inclusions however forward emergency Nick ‘the Wizard’ Watson’s impressive looking spells from the sideline didn’t count in the score as the Wombats had a full four player forward line and a donut in the midfield.

Most of the Wombats who played in the quarter final performed well with nine of the 14 players that took the field scoring more than 85. Inside midfielder Tom Liberatore had been the Wombats best player in 2025, polling 28 votes to finish equal ninth in the Les W Medal. Libba delivered a customary courageous performance in the quarter final, scoring a team-high 119 points. In the twilight of his career forward Jack Gunston has turned the clock back in 2025 and kept his impressive run of form going to score 108. After being a late inclusion midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke didn’t miss a beat to score 112. WWW’s triple figure quartet was completed by defender Josh Worrell who capped off his career-best season with 105.

Bandit’s Charlies Opening Spelunkers had the three best players on the ground in their quarter final victory over the Wombats and had an even spread comprised of one player on each of the four player lines. The Spelunkers bookended the ground on week one of the finals having the top ranked defender in their ORFFA, Nick Blakey with 155 points as well as the top ranked forward, ruck/forward Luke Jackson with 142 points after starting in the F1 position. In the middle of the ground 2024 Les W Medal winner Marcus Bontempelli scored 151 to be the ORFFA’s third ranked midfielder. Despite missing the first four rounds of the 2025 ORFFA home and away season the Bont ranked first for COS in the Les W Medal, finishing equal sixth overall with 29 votes.

Eight Spelunkers reached triple figures against the Wombats and in an extremely consistent performance only two players had sub 85 scores as the club extended their winning streak to 16 games. The one sour point for Charlies Opening was key forward Jess Hogan suffering a foot injury and scoring six points. Hogan has been ruled out of the Spelunkers home preliminary final against the Nuffers.

(2) Gundagai Grasshoppers 1,558 defeated (6) Gariwerd Cockatoos 1,410 by 148 points

In 2025 @snoz ’s Gundagai Grasshoppers became the first club in ORFFA history to register 10 top 4 finishes at the end of the home and away season. The Grasshoppers finished fourth at the inaugural 2012 season. Gundagai then unexpectedly embarked on a rebuild and won three consecutive wooded spoons from 2013 to 2015. In two gigantic Grasshopper leaps Gundagai rose back to the top four, finishing 14th in 2016 followeed by a fourth place finish in 2017. In each of the last nine seasons from 2017 to 2025 the Grasshoppers have set an incredibly high standard to finish in the top four in all nine seasons which including finishing on top of the ladder three times, 2020, 2022 and 2023. This season Gundagai finished 2nd on the ladder with 13 wins and two losses, averaging 1,386.5 points per game.

To many people’s surprise including club Head Coach @anthak, Gariwerd rose from 13th on the ladder in 2024 to sixth in 2025, having 10 wins and five losses. In the home and away game between the two clubs in Round 2 the Grasshoppers at home comprehensively defeated the Cockatoos 1,402 to 1,080. 2025 is the Gariwerd Cockatoos first finals appearance since winning the 2022 ORFFA premiership. Anthak’s Cockatoos have fond memories of playing the Grasshoppers on the road as the second seeded Gariwerd defeated minor premiers, Gundagai by 134 points in the 2022 Grand Final to win the club’s first premiership.

In this weekend’s quarter final the Grasshoppers and Cockatoos both reached great heights with the two teams combining for a round-high 2,968 points between them. An incredible 757 points at an average of 151.4 points per player by the five Grasshoppers that started in the middle of the ground was the catalyst for Gundagai recording a 148 point victory, 1,558 to 1,410. Ruck Brody Grundy was best afield with a white-hot 200 and provided great supply for starting midfield quartet Hugh McCluggage (157), Jordan Dawson (149), Lachie Neale (142) and Clayton Oliver (109). Eight Hoppers reached triple figures with other players in this category being, forward/midfielder Izak Rankine (129) from the F1 position, defender Callum Mills (125) and midfielder Patrick Cripps (125) from the Int 2 position. Grundy was the second ranked ruck and second ranked players overall in the ORFFA for the first weekend of the finals and McCluggage was the top ranked midfielder. Fellow mids Dawson and Neale ranked fourth and equal sixth on this line across the ORFFA respectively.

Before the finals campaign had commenced key forward Charlie Curnow had already been ruled out by the Hoppers for the season. With durable forward/midfielder Jy Simpkin having a rare game on the sidelines in week 1 of the finals Gundagai fielded a makeshift forward line and excluding Rankine the other three forwards combining for a total of just 93 points at an average of 31 points per player. On Tuesday the Hoppers had another setback with the club announcing that Lachie Neale would miss the remainder of the 2025 season due to a quad injury.

Gariwerd posted a very respectable score of 1,410 which is good enough to win most finals but wasn’t enough against a white-hot Hoppers outfit. Defender/midfielder Max Holmes (154) and veteran midfielder Touk Miller (122) led the way for the Cockatoos who narrowly lost the ton count 7-8. Holmes finished equal ninth in the Les W Medal with 29 votes. Miller is of only two players on the Cockatoos list born before 1998 along with fellow midfielder Matt Crouch who is currently injured. In an impressive sign for the future the seven Cockatoos tons were evenly spread across the ground, comprised of two defenders, two mids, forward duo Justin McInerney (114), and Kade Chandler (103) along with ruck Jordan Sweet (110). The second Gariwerd defender to reach the ton was Jake Bowey (106) and the second mid in this category was Williem Drew (114).

 

2025 ORFFA Quarter Finals Part 2


(3) Nareewillock Nuffers 1,341 defeated (7) Birdsville Battlers 1,206 by 135 points


After more than a decade in the ORFFA wilderness a rebuild implemented by former Nuffers Head Coach @TheTassieHawk and continued by current Head Coach @chris88 resulted in Nareewillock breaking through for their first finals appearance in 2023.The Nuffers finished fifth in 2023 with 13 wins and four losses and continued their miraculous rise in 2024 to win the minor premiership with 13 wins and two losses. In their first Grand Final appearance the Nuffers had a loss to the Mount Beauty Uglies. The Nuffers maintained a high standard in 2025 to finish third on the ladder with 11 wins and four losses.


The Birdsville Battlers have regularly finished in the middle of the ORFFA ladder and recorded their eighth top eight finish in 2025. The Battlers highest home and away place is fifth, twice, in 2013 and 2024. During 2015 seventh placed Birdsville had a dream first two weeks of the finals to win to road finals and advanced to an unexpected Grand Final which they hosted against the eighth placed Larrikin Lagoon Lefties. With the result of the game on the line the ball refused to bounce the Battlers way, a la the AFL Saints in 2010 and Birdsville suffered a heartbreaking six point loss, 1,288 to 1,294.


With two rounds remaining in the 2025 home and away season Birdsville were in ninth position with seven wins and six losses, two premiership points behind the eighth placed Wineglass Bay Packers. The Battlers won their last two games to finish seventh and have had back-to-back top eight finishes for the first time since 2015-2016. Whilst the Battlers finished below the Nuffers in 2025 they won the head-to-head game between the two clubs with the Birdsville having a home 1,150 to 1,058 victory against the Nuffers in Round 11.


An impressive performance by a six pack of pure defenders set up a 135 point victory for @Chris88’s Nuffers against Birdsville in this weekend's quarter final led by starting defenders Jordan Clark (122) and Connor Idun (112). Defender duo Mark Keane (102) and Mason Redman (98) averaged exactly 100 points each from the bench and two other starting defenders in Bailey Dale (97) and Harry Himmelberg (92) recorded 90’s. All up the six Nareewillock pure defenders combined for 623 points at an average of 103.8 points per game, numbers that some teams in the finals including my own Devils would be very pleased to be getting from their midfield. Midfielders Matt Rowell (134), Errol Gulden (115) and Ed Richards (100) increased the Nuffers triple figure tally to six. In terms of the ruck the good news was that NN had an in-position ruckman in Thomas Sims, the bad news was that he was only able to contribute 23 points.


One of the comeback stories of the year was forward/midfielder Bailey Smith’s return for the Birdsville Battlers in 2025 after missing the entire 2024 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Smith was a revelation in 2025, averaging 115 points per game and polling 28 votes to finish equal eighth in the Les W Medal. As his club’s M1 Smith scored a team-high 119 points in the quarter final. The Battlers had a formidable task going up against a Nuffers midfield quartet that all average more than 105 points per game. Birdsville Head Coach @JC assigned Cooper Lord with a run with role on Caleb Serong. Lord entered the game averaging 53 points per game, half of Serong’s output. Lord was incredible in the quarter final to set new career-highs of 22 disposals, 14 contested possessions and eight tackles whilst restricting Serong to 19 disposals. Lord took the points with 111 SC points to Serong’s 75. Defender Joel Jeffrey completed the trio of Battlers in triple figures. Another trio of Birdsville players recorded 90’s, defender duo Harris Andrews (92), Rory Lobb (90) and forward/midfielder Matthew Kennedy (95). Birdsville didn’t have the depth to challenge the Nuffers and late in the game Birdsville Head Coach JC muttered under his breath Stupid Flanders! Defender/midfielder Sam Flanders scored a team-low 47 points to be one of five players that recorded sub 65 scores. Some higher profile players in this category were defender Luke Ryan 58 and forward/midfielder Bailey Humprey (59) who each averaged more than 80 in the H & A season.


(4) Cradle Mountain Devils 1,550 defeated (5) Mount Beauty Uglies 1,123 by 427 points

In 2023 and 2024 Mount Beauty won the ORFFA premiership after finishing fourth at the end of the home and away season and winning a home final in week 1. For their 2025 finals campaign Bama’s fifth placed Uglies had a road game against the fourth placed Devils. Mountain teams Mount Beauty and Cradle Mountain were familiar foes, having their fourth finals encounter against each other this decade. In the most recent finals encounter and latest ever finals encounter between the two clubs the fourth placed Uglies defeated the eighth placed Devils 1,398 to 1,359 in the 2023 preliminary final. All three finals between Cradle Mountain and Mount Beauty before 2025 had been won by the home side who had finished fourth at the end of the home and away season, the position CMD finished in this season. During the 2025 home and away all-mountain battle Mount Beauty at home defeated Cradle Mountain by 178 points, 1,273 to 1,095, restricting the Devils to their lowest tally of the h & a season.

Attempting to win a road final is a difficult enough task, the Uglies were then faced with having a numerical disadvantage on the field before the ball had even been bounced with Nathan Broad was out of Mount Beauty’s team due to illness and defender emergency Jayden Hunt didn’t take the field. Matters went from bad to worse for the Uglies when midfielder Hayden Young suffered an adductor injury in the first quarter after starting the game on the bench. Young took no part in the game after quarter time, restricting Mount Beauty to 13 players and no interchange for the last three quarters of the game.

When high profile recruit, defender/midfielder Rory Laird was listed as out - managed by the Devils for the home quarter final against the Uglies the locals at Cradle Mountain and members of the ORFFA community were wondering what on earth was going on. These questions intensified when Devils captain Jack Steele tossed the coin, walked to the bench and stayed there for the entire first half, playing zero game time before the main break. Even passionate Cradle Mountain fans were wondering had the Devils coaching staff including Head Coach @dmandrews completely lost the plot?

Despite being down on numbers, both in terms of fans in the crowd and players on the field @bama's Mount Beauty battled courageously until time on of the second quarter. With two minutes and 40 seconds left in the second quarter the Devils had opened up an 86 point lead, 841 to 755. The frenetic pace of the first half caught up with the undermanned Uglies with the Devils dominating either side of the main break to extend their lead to 277 points, 1,117 to 840 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Half-way through the third quarter Devils captain Jack Steele made his first appearance on the ground. Late in the game the Uglies suffered another setback with Will Day suffering a foot injury and ended the game on the bench.

Two-time Uglies premiership ruckman Maz Gawn added to his legacy in 2025 by winning the Les W Medal with 48 votes, finishing four votes ahead of Lefties ruck Tristian Xerri. Gawn became the first player in ORFFA history to win the Les W Medal three times, having previously won in 2018 in a tie with Cows midfielder Tom Mitchell and outright in 2019. Gawn is one of two players to win multiple Les W Medals along Foul Bay Chickens Patrick Dangerfield who went back to back in 2016 and 2017. In the quarter final against the Devils, Uglies ruck Gawn had 21 disposals, 29 hit-outs, kicked a goal and scored a team-high 131 SuperCoach points. Gawn was joined in triple figures by fellow Mount Beauty veterans Jack Viney (121), Christian Petracca (117) along with 24 year old midfielder Will Day (113) and 22 year old key forward Sam Darcy (119). Christian Salem (97) was the Uglies top ranked defender and fell three points shy of reaching a ton. Despite being down on numbers, both in terms of fans in the crowd and players on the field Mount Beauty battled courageously until time on of the second quarter. With two minutes and 40 seconds left in the second quarter the Devils had opened up an 86 point lead, 841 to 755. The frenetic pace of the first half caught up with the undermanned Uglies with the Devils dominating either side of the main break to extend their lead to 277 points, 1,117 to 840 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Half-way through the third quarter Devils captain made his first appearance on the ground. Late in the game the Uglies suffered another setback with Will Day suffering a foot injury and ending the game on the bench.


Two-time Uglies premiership ruckman Maz Gawn added to his legacy in 2025 by winning the Les W Medal with 48 votes, finishing four votes ahead of Lefties ruck Tristian Xerri. Gawn became the first player in ORFFA history to win the Les W Medal three times, having previously won in 2018 in a tie with Cows midfielder Tom Mitchell and outright in 2019. Gawn is one of two players to win multiple Les W Medals along Foul Bay Chickens Patrick Dangerfield who went back to back in 2016 and 2017. In the quarter final against the Devils, Uglies ruck Gawn had 21 disposals, 29 hit-outs, kicked a goal and scored a team-high 131 SuperCoach points. Gawn was joined in triple figures by fellow Mount Beauty veterans Jack Viney (121), Christian Petracca (117) along with 24 year old midfielder Will Day (113) and 22 year old key forward Sam Darcy (119). Christian Salem (97) was the Uglies top ranked defender and fell three points shy of reaching a ton. Midfielder Zak Butters finished fifth in the Les W Medal with 31 votes but had a rare down day in the Uglies quarter final loss.

Cradle Mountain defeated Mount Beauty Uglies by 427 points, 1,550 to 1,123 to record CMD’s third home finals victory in club history. The previous victories were also in week one of the finals, against Iron Knob in 2019 and the Uglies in 2021. The Devils greatest positional strength for many years is its three headed ruck division and this came to the fore in their quarter final victory. CMD had two of the three highest rucks in the ORFFA across the entire 16 clubs on the weekend with 2023 Les W Medal winner Tim English ranking first overall in the comp with 202 points. Rowan Marshall was the third ranked ruck with 144 points.

Whilst the Devils having two rucks in the top 16 players across the ORFFA in the first weekend of the finals the club also having two forwards in this category was a major surprise. Forward/midfielder Ryan Maric (141) and pure forward Aaron Naughton (137) were the CMD forwards in question among the 16 players overall to score 135+ in the first weekend of ORFFA finals. Maric was the third ranked FA forward, one place ahead of team-mate Naughton who was playing his first game at senior level since the mid-season break. A fifth Devil, the club’s first ever pre-season draft pick Nick Vlastuin, pick 10 at the 2013 PSD joining the 135+ brigade, scoring 138 from defense. A total of eight Devils reached triple figures in the quarter final victory against the Uglies with the two remaining inaugural Devils, defender Dayne Zorko (101) and midfielder Scott Pendlebury (106) being joined by Tasmanian defender/midfielder Sam Banks (105) in this category.


Preliminary Finals


The 2025 ORFFA quarter finals and the days that followed reinforced that one of the best types of ability is availability.

(1) Charlies Opening Spelunkers vs (3) Nareewillock Nuffers
(2) Gundagai Grasshoppers vs (4) Cradle Mountain Devils

The Spelunkers and Grasshoppers have been the clear-cut best two sides of 2025, having just two losses between them, both for the Hoppers. Whilst the top two seeds both get to host a preliminary final, both clubs have lost a member of the winning quarter final team and will be hosting a recent finals nemesis in a Preliminary Final.Yesterday the Grasshoppers announced that midfielder Lachie Neale would miss the remainder of the 2025 season. The Hoppers are hosting the Devils in a final for the third time and are suffering a bad case of déjà vu with injury hit Gundagai teams losing at home to Cradle Mountain in a 2021preliminary final and a 2024 semi final. Forward Jesse Hogan has been ruled out for the Spelunkers who host the Nuffers, a team that recorded an away finals victory against Charlies Opening in a 2023 quarter final.

 

Wow......simply magnificent Dean once again. The most thorough of all reviewers FA has ever had. Thank you for the great read mate !

 

stunning @dmandrews , but then we have come to expect such in-depth analysis. We are extraordinarily fortunate to have your contributions - thank you.