Birdsville Battlers

For the Battlers fans out there, here are some of the predictions doing the rounds about how we might go this year:
<div class='Quote' style='font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;]<em style='font-size: 10px;]chris88 wrote:
<p style='font-size: 10px;][span style='font-size: 10px;]I'll start tonight with the Battlers from Birdsville: <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Birdsville Battlers:[/b] <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Key arrivals:[/b]Brent Moloney, Jesse Lonergan, Shannon Byrnes. <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;][/b] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;][/b] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;][/b] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Key departures:[/b]Sam Iles (again, why the hell was he delisted in the AFL?), Nick Malceski <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Key players:[/b]The Battlers will be looking to midfield dynamos Marc Murphy, Brad Ebert and Daniel Wells to lead from the front in the middle. The defensive trio of Houli, Geary and Fisher will need to chalk up good points most weeks, while Sauce Merrett and Ash McGrath might lend handy support up back or down forward. Up forward JC will be hoping big Jono Brown can turn back the clock one more time, and that a focused Travis Cloke recaptures some consistent form. <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Potential X-Factors:[/b]The drafting of Jesse 'The Hulk' Lonergan at pick 12 was hailed by many fellow ORFFA coaches as a good choice. Meanwhile the performances of Brisbane duo of Daniel Rich and Brent Moloney in the midfield have the potential to make or break the Battlers - get good seasons from them both and all of a sudden Birdsville's midfield looks deep and capable of some healthy scoring. <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Question Marks:[/b]Can Travis Varcoe recapture his pre-injury magic? Can Shannon Byrnes capture any magic at his new club? Can Jono Brown beat Father Time (most likely with his bare hands)? Can the Battlers' unheralded ruck duo of Ben McEvoy and Zac Clarke do enough to support their more high-profile teammates? <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]<strong style='font-size: 10px;]Summary:[/b]If everything clicks, the boys from Birdsville are a definite flag contender. A midfield of Murphy, Wells, Ebert and one of Rich or Moloney could easily notch up 500+ points by itself. The backline scoring might be a little shallow, and coach JC will hope ruckmen McEvoy and Clarke can stand up over the season, but overall Birdsville have talent, depth and a good mix of youth and experience. <p style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 18px;] In terms of premiership odds, at the end of last year we were 2nd favourite
<div class='Quote' style='font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;]<em style='font-size: 10px;]ChiefRussell wrote:
With the 2012 season now officially over, the betting agencies were very quick to frame the market for the 2013 season. The ORFFA is no different to the AFL and I have been able to get my hands on the early odds for next year.

4.00 - Foul Bay
6.00 - Birdsville
<div>

then drifted slightly... <div class='Quote' style='font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;]<em style='font-size: 10px;]ChiefRussell wrote:
<p style='font-size: 10px;]Updated odds in lieu of changed player positions as well as AFL club retirements and delistments, just in time for the next trade period. <p style='font-size: 10px;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]4.00 Foul Bay <p style='font-size: 10px;]6.00 Iron Knob <p style='font-size: 10px;]7.00 Cradle Mountain <p style='font-size: 10px;]8.00 Birdsville <p style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 18px;] then there was a slight 'go' for us in the market... <div class='Quote' style='font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]7.00 Birdsville (Why did Sam Iles get delisted by Gold Coast again?) <p style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 18px;] and in the end we look like starting the season on the 4th line of betting... <div class='Quote' style='font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;] <p style='font-size: 10px;]8.00 Birdsville <p style='font-size: 10px;]Love, love, love Jesse Lonergan. He is behind a few in a deep midfield squad though. Clear top 4 side for mine. <p style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 18px;] <p style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 18px;] So there you go folks. Hopes are high for the Battlers to be there at the pointy end in 2013!!

 

<h2>[span style='color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;]Lonergan's injury blow Birdsville Battlers recruit Jesse Lonergan will miss the start of the 2013 season after injuring his hand in Satuday's intra-club practice match, held at Southport.

Lonergan fell awkwardly on his left hand late in the third quarter. Scans following the game revealed that Lonergan had fractured his left hand and is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.

Birdsville Battlers Coach, JC, confirmed the results to birdsvillefc.com.au

'Unfortunately scans have revealed a fracture in Jesse's hand.'

'Jesse has had a fantastic pre-season and had done everything possible to gain selection for the first game of the season.'

'While the injury is extremely disappointing for Jesse, he will be back training and available for selection in the early part of the season.'

 

Round 1 Birdsville 1420 defeated Whitsundays 1213 A cracking start for the Battlers posting a terrific score of 1420. As always, we thoroughly enjoyed the post-match festivities with the lads from the Whitsundays. Def: Houli (77), Geary (144), Merrett (79), Fisher (DNP) replaced by Russell (43) Mid: Murphy (104), Ebert (116), Wells (107), Rich (61) (E: Treloar 113) Ruc: McEvoy (99) Fwd: Brown (40), Cloke (92), Mayne (120), Porplyzia (74) (E: Varcoe 61) I/C: Howlett (164), Moloney (100) B&F votes were awarded as follows: 5. B. Howlett 4. J. Geary 3. C. Mayne 2. D. Wells 1. M. Murphy

 

anthak wrote:
hey mate, not sure if you saw my question in the blog section. You are due to travel down to Gariwerd for Round 4. We will be traveling from the Whitsundays in the immediate days preceding our match, so Im wondering if you want us to pick you up on the way? Also hoping you can chip in on the cost, or maybe at least pay for fuel No need to pay for a flight home Ant. Since I'm probably flying on the Whitsunday's dime anyway after I won our bet, you may as well hitch a ride!

 

Round 2 Birdsville 1210 defeated Darraweit Guim 968 A solid win to follow up last week's promising start. Howlett, McEvoy, Ebert, and Moloney have all started the season in fine form. While no one around the club is complaining about the 2-0 start, a couple of underperformers are already on notice. DEF: Fisher (69), Houli (66), Geary (48), Merrett (106)
MID: Murphy (92), Ebert (100), Wells (68), Rich (77)
RUC: McEvoy (130)
FWD: Brown (33), Cloke (79), Mayne (61), Porps (59)
I/C: Moloney (95), Howlett (127)
EMG: McDonald (Def), Treloar (Mid), Varcoe (Fwd), M Jones (IC) B&F votes were awarded as follows: 5. B. McEvoy 4. B. Howlett 3. D. Merrett 2. B. Ebert 1. B. Moloney

 

Round 3 Birdsville 1545 defeated Marble Bar 1134 A big score and another solid win see Birdsville's beloved Battlers sitting second on the ladder with a 3-0 start to the year. Despite the positive start, the lid remains well and truly on here at Birdsville. We're not kidding ourselves and know that the terrible run of injuries our last 2 opponents have had made a potentially difficult start to the year much easier for us. As such, it's difficult to get an accurate guide about where the Battlers are at. <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]Birdsville Battlers (TOTAL - 1545) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]Back: Fisher (62), Geary (113), Houli (110), Merrett (77) (E: McDonald) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]Mid: Ebert (73), Murphy (114), Rich (118), Wells (125) (E: Treloar) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]Ruck: McEvoy (139) (E: M Jones - OOP) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]Fwds: Brown (129), Cloke (133), Mayne (95), Porplyzia (61) (E: Varcoe) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]I/C: Howlett (80), Moloney (116) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;] <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]B&F votes were awarded as follows: <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]5. B. McEvoy <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]4. T. Cloke <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]3. J. Brown <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]2. D. Wells 1. D. Rich

 

<p style='line-height: 12pt;]Round 4 <p style='line-height: 12pt;]
<p style='line-height: 12pt;]Birdsville 1285 defeated Gariwerd 1216 <p style='margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 12pt;]After a flying start, Birdsville were well over 900 from 9 players on the back Travis Cloke's phenomenal 195. Sadly, the &amp;lsquo;Sunday 6' could barely cobble together 300 as the Battlers held off a gallant Cockatoos outfit. Burgoyne and Cooney proved particularly difficult for the Battlers to contain. <p style='margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 12pt;] <p style='margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 12pt;]Despite the win, and a 4-0 start, the selection axe may fall on a couple of players whose performances thus far have been sub-standard. <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt;]
<p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt;]Birdsville Battlers - 1285 <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt; outline: 0px;]<strong style='outline: 0px;]Back:[/b]Fisher (88), Geary (75), Houli (99), Merrett (29) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt; outline: 0px;]<strong style='outline: 0px;]Mid:[/b]Ebert (96), Murphy (98), Rich (77), Wells (119) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt; outline: 0px;]<strong style='outline: 0px;]Ruck:[/b]McEvoy (109) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt; outline: 0px;]<strong style='outline: 0px;]Fwds:[/b]Brown (32), Cloke (195), Mayne (95), Porplyzia (8) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; line-height: 12pt; outline: 0px;]<strong style='outline: 0px;]I/C:[/b]Howlett (86), Moloney (79) <p style='line-height: 12pt;] <p style='line-height: 12pt;]B&F votes were awarded as follows: <p style='line-height: 12pt;]5. T. Cloke <p style='line-height: 12pt;]4. D. Wells <p style='line-height: 12pt;]3. B. McEvoy <p style='line-height: 12pt;]2. B. Houli 1. M. Murphy

 

<p style='line-height: 12pt;]Round 5 <p style='line-height: 12pt;]
<p style='line-height: 12pt;] <p style='line-height: 12pt;] <p style='line-height: 12pt;]Birdsville 1313 defeated by Fowl Bay 1342 <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]The Batters had their first taste of defeat for the year in a highly competitive contest against the Chooks from Fowl Bay. Moloney continued his great form since joining the Battlers and was well supported by Wells, Houli and Jono Brown. A solid effort against last year's champs, whose superior depth proved just a little too much in the end. <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;] <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]There was more disappointing news this week though, with young Dan Rich busting his shoulder at training. He's likely to miss around 8 weeks. Some better news in the form of Jesse Lonergan's return from injury. Jesse played in the magoo's on the weekend and displayed all of the attributes that the Battlers drafted him for - great clearance work, quality disposal and genuine physical presence. He even floated forward to kick a couple of handy goals. Jesse will probably need a couple more games in the two's to get some match fitness under his belt as he pushes his case for senior selection. <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;] <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]Birdsville Battlers - 1313 <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]D: Fisher (86), Houli (113), Geary (93), Merrett (64) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]M: Murphy (99), Ebert (77), Wells (125), Treloar (50) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]R: McEvoy (90) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]F: Brown (106), Cloke (63), Mayne (72), Byrnes (97) <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]IC: Moloney (127), Howlett (51) <p style='line-height: 12pt;] <p style='line-height: 12pt;]B&F votes were awarded as follows: <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]5. B. Moloney <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]4. D. Wells <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]3. B. Houli <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]2. J. Brown <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;]1. M. Murphy

 

Results and B&F votes for rounds 6 to 10:
<table border='0' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='639' style='border-collapse: collapse; width: 483pt;] <col width='21' style='width: 16pt;[/img] <col width='89' style='width: 67pt;[/img] <col width='20' style='width: 15pt;[/img] <col width='21' style='width: 16pt;[/img] <col width='89' style='width: 67pt;[/img] <col width='18' style='width: 14pt;[/img] <col width='21' style='width: 16pt;[/img] <col width='105' style='width: 79pt;[/img] <col width='17' style='width: 13pt;[/img] <col width='21' style='width: 16pt;[/img] <col width='89' style='width: 67pt;[/img] <col width='18' style='width: 14pt;[/img] <col width='21' style='width: 16pt;[/img] <col width='89' style='width: 67pt;[/img]
<td style='height: 15pt; width: 16pt;] <td style='width: 67pt;] <td style='width: 15pt;] <td style='width: 16pt;] <td style='width: 67pt;] <td style='width: 14pt;] <td style='width: 16pt;] <td style='width: 79pt;] <td style='width: 13pt;] <td style='width: 16pt;] <td style='width: 67pt;] <td style='width: 14pt;] <td style='width: 16pt;] <td style='width: 67pt;]

<td style='height: 15pt;] <td class='xl66]R6 <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66]R7 <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66]R8 <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66]R9 <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66]R10

<td style='height: 15pt;] Mt Beauty <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] Gundagai <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] Lovely Banks <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] L.L. Lefties <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] Iron Knob

<td class='xl65' style='height: 15pt;]W 1275 - 948 <td class='xl65]W 1126 - 577 <td class='xl65]W 1251 - 1098 <td class='xl65]L 1140 - 1246 <td class='xl65]L 994 - 1468

<td style='height: 15pt;] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66] <td class='xl66]

<td class='xl65' style='height: 15pt;]5 Murphy <td class='xl65]5 McEvoy <td class='xl65]5 Murphy <td class='xl65]5 Mayne <td class='xl65]5 Ebert

<td class='xl65' style='height: 15pt;]4 Cloke <td class='xl65]4 Fisher <td class='xl65]4 Houli <td class='xl65]4 Murphy <td class='xl65]4 Clarke

<td class='xl65' style='height: 15pt;]3 McEvoy <td class='xl65]3 Houli <td class='xl65]3 Wells <td class='xl65]3 Russell <td class='xl65]3 Treloar

<td class='xl65' style='height: 15pt;]2 Treloar <td class='xl65]1 Mayne <td class='xl65]2 Cloke <td class='xl65]2 Fisher <td class='xl65]2 Wells

<td class='xl65' style='height: 15pt;]1 Ebert <td class='xl65]1 Moloney <td class='xl65]1 M Jones <td class='xl65]1 McEvoy <td class='xl65]1 Houli

 

B&F leaderboard at the mid-season break:
22 McEvoy
17 Wells
15 Cloke, Murphy
12 Houli
9 Howlett, Mayne
8 Ebert
7 Moloney
6 Treloar
5 Brown
4 Clarke, Geary
3 Merrett, Russell
2 Fisher
1 Jones, Rich

 

anthak wrote:
Did you mean to give Mayne just 1 vote in Round 7? Indeed I did Ant. He and Moloney scored the same and the match committee doesn't do half votes and prefers to round down rather than up.

 

Birdsville management welcome Lewis Jetta to the Batttlers in exchange for sending our 2nd round pick in next years pre-season draft to the Wagga Wagga Wombats. Coach JC is delighted to see some youth and excitement injected into the Battlers struggling forward line. Despite the mid-season byes, coach JC has demanded that some of the lads have a run in the second tier comp, the AFL, this week in order to regain some much needed form. The players are on notice that mid-season delistings are imminent and that continued poor form will see them shown the door. Some of the Battlers struggling older forwards have been firmly in coach JC's sights.