Black Swamp 29ers Team Thread

The Black Swamp 29ers are pleased to announce their bid to take part in the impending ORFFF competition. For the ignorant and/or uninitiated Black Swamp is a small but spirited township in the New England region of NSW and the town and planned footy field - to be known as "the Paddock" (the $500 cost is to be funded by the raffle of meat trays at home games during the 2016 ORFFF season) - is bisected by the 29 degrees south parallel of Latitude, hence the club nickname the 29ers.

With a population of just 186 people Black Swamp will seek to attract fans from neighbouring towns including Tenterfield, Tabulum and Downs and across the region ensuring a packed Paddock every other Saturday afternoon. Pregame burnout competitons, half time burnout competitions and post match burnout competitions are amongst the planned entertainment at this early stage although the club is keen to hear of any ideas the players and WAGS have once the squad is recruited.

For those opponents on the wrong side of the QLD/NSW border (Chinchilla and Dingo Beach) we are around 2 and a half hours South of Toowoomba on the A3 and A15 highways and for those hailing from origins further South and West (everyone else) we are around 5 and a half hours North East of Coonabarabran on the B56 and A15 highways.

While Black Swamp Football Club represents one of the lowest socio-economic areas in the whole of Australia and is proud of its country working class heritage and hence will be using bus to travel to and from the majority of it's away games the well heeled franchises amongst the ORFFF are welcome to make good use of the local airport which is a few clicks to the North East of Tenterfield:-

http://airportguide.com/airport/Australia/New_South_Wales/Tenterfield-YTFD/runways.php

It's only recommended for small plane use but watch out though as despite several hundreds of dollars being spent on repairs and maintenance over the airports 20 years of existence the landings have been known to cause a few passengers to revisit their breakfasts



Whichever and whatever your mode of arrival visiting teams are invited to bunk down overnight at the clubrooms or alternatively they can stay at a discounted group rate of $25 per night player (inclusive of a 6 pack) at the Tenterfield Tavern which is owned and operated by Dave "Davo" Davidson. Given weekly rent in Black Swamp is around $45 per week once your transport rolls into town you should have plenty of cash left over for some pre and post game activities whatever your club's and players preferred style.

We expect a strong rivalry with the Chinchilla Chumps who are closest opponents geographically speaking of those who have nominated thus far, and we expect to contend strongly from the get go a decent home ground advantage against teams which are not used to the 10 degree slope of the Paddock as measured from goal square to goalsquare.

 

Black Swamp 29ers Football Club 2016 Playing List (updated progressively as the inaugural ORFFF draft unfolds)

Rd1 (Pick 9) - Joel Selwood, Rd2 (Pick 24) - Marcus Bontempelli, Rd3 (Pick 41) - Trent Cotchin
Rd4 (Pick 56) - Jarrad McVeigh, Rd5 (Pick 73) - Michael Barlow, Rd6 (Pick 88) - Jack Viney

Rd7 (PIck 105) - Callum Sinclair, Rd8 (Pick 120) - James Bartel, Rd9 (Pick 137) - Jack Newnes
Rd10 (Pick 152) - Dominic Sheed, Rd11 (Pick 169) - Justin Westhoff, Rd12 (Pick 184) - Chris Masten

Rd13 (Pick 201) - Chris Yarran, Rd14 (Pick 216) - Cale Hooker, Rd15 (Pick 233) - Dane Swan
Rd16 (Pick 248) - Zachary Clarke, Rd17 (Pick 265) - Jarryn Geary, Rd18 (Pick 280) - Sam Mayes

Rd19 (Pick 297) - Josh Bruce, Rd20 (Pick 312) - Shaun Grigg Rd21 (Pick 329) - Andrew Walker
Rd22 (Pick 344) - Colin Garland, Rd23 (Pick 361) - Jordan Murdoch, Rd24 (Pick 376) - Ben Brown

Rd25 (Pick 393) - Tom Cutler, Rd26 (Pick 408) - Troy Menzel, Rd27 (Pick 425) - Paul Puopolo
Rd28 (Pick 440) - James Kelly, Rd29 (Pick 457) - Kieran Collins, Rd30 (Pick 472) - Cameron Wood

Possible Black Swamp lineup:-
Def - 3 McVeigh, 8* Bartel, 13 Yarran, 17** Geary (32 Mayes)
Mid - 14 J Selwood, 4 Bontempelli, 9 Cotchin, 7 Viney (36 Swan)
Fwd - 21 Barlow, 10*** Sheed, 39 Westhoff, 30 Clarke (27 Bruce)
Ruck - 18 Sinclair
IC - 16 Newnes, 12**** Masten (6 Grigg)

Backups
1 Walker (D/F)
5 ****** Troy Menzel (F)
11 ******* Cameron Wood (R)
20 Colin Garland (D)
23 ******** Jordan Murdoch (M)
25 ********* Tom Cutler (D)
26 Hooker (likely to remain D/F in 2017)
28 Paul Puopolo (F)
29 ********* Kieran Collins (D)
47 James Kelly (M)
50 Ben Brown (F)

* has worn 3 but has graciously accepted the number 8 in order to keep Mark McVeigh happy
** has worn 14 but was happy to wear 17, Jarryn reminded 29ers skipper Joel Selwood that he won the Bendigo Pioneers B&F ahead of him in 2006
*** has worn 4 but was keen to pull on the number 10 so as to keep the Bont in his preferred number
**** has worn 7 but offered to take a new number on joining Black Swamp, and was handed the number 12
***** has worn 32 but will proudly pull on the number 5 instead
****** has worn 36 but will be wearing the number 11 instead
******* has worn 21 but will be wearing number 23 for the 29'ers.
******** has worn 26 but will be wearing number 25 for the 29'ers.
********* has worn 32 but will proudly pull on the prestigious #29

For official media interview requests please pm @TheTassieHawk

 

As outlined above Black Swamp is a proud locality on the outskirts of Tenterfield NSW, it is highly possible Google Earth has erroneously absorbed Black Swamp into the greater township.

So if you try plugging Sandy Hill NSW (via Tenterfield) into the Chinchilla team bus Navman you will have no trouble getting to Tenterfield and then instead of travelling 35km straight through to Sandy Hill you get to Black Swamp by turning left into Black Swamp Road about 14.6km out of Tenterfield after you cross over the bridge spanning the Cataract River, as indicated by this here mud map:-

 

The Black Swamp 29ers are pleased to announce to our members the 2016 BSFC fixture featuring 7 home games @ the Paddock, including the inaugural 6 Stubby Derby against Chinchilla Chumps (@choppers).

We are also at home for the first-ever "Tassie Tussle" against Mole Creek (@ViQBoZ) in Round 9 a week later (gate takings to be donated to the Mole Creek Community Bushfire Recovery Fund)

Our remaining home games are against Drouin (Round 2 - which coincides with the Oracles of the Bush Festival from 31 March - 3rd April http://oraclesofthebush.com), Walpole (Round 3), Cockburn (Round 4), Maralinga (Round 12) and Port Lincoln (Round 14).

Our away schedule includes

• our debut match against Wedge Island (@Bearfly) in Round 1
• back-to-back road matches "down south" against Jan Juc and Rutherglen in Rounds 5 and 6 followed up immediately by the trip "up north" to Dingo Beach in Round 7
• Neptune Island in Round 10 and we will travel from there to Mt Thirsty (Edited) for our Round 11 clash with the Boozers
• 2 more long distance road trips to Heard Island and Useless Loop in Rounds 13 and 15 however after long and intense pre-season negotiation we are please to announce a partnership with a mysterious Eastern European "import-export" company that will enable us to use charted aircraft for 50 players/coaches/staff/fans/WAGS to and from both of these matches in return for carrying unspecified cargo in either or both directions (what can possibly go wrong??)

All in all it's a mixed bag, we avoid travelling to Maralinga which would have required us to play in our alternate HAZMAT Radioactive strip and obtain waivers from the playing group but we have 2 out of 3 WA teams and Heard Island amongst the 8 away matches so it promises to be a tough schedule but one which we look forward to playing.

 

Round 1 - away to Wedge Island

Tuesday night (22nd March) - training 6pm followed by the 2016 season launch at the BSFC clubrooms

Wednesday morning (23rd March) - an extended squad of 26 will be required to board the team bus at the Tenterfield Tavern at 7am sharp, free brekkie will be served for players and families from 6:15am. Let your families know there is plenty of room on the bus at this stage if they wish to travel for the game - but access will be first in, first served.

Cale, Chris 1 (Yarran) and Chris 2 (Masten) will not be required. Cam Wood has not been sighted all pre-season so he can remain behind as well and these 4 will host the BSFC Official Fan Day at the Tenterfield Tavern while this weekends match concludes on Easter Monday.

Wednesday evening (23rd March) - we arrive in Hay NSW around 730pm and will have a light skills session at the local park before heading back to our accommodation at the Riverina Hotel.

Thursday morning (24th March) - we hit the road at 7am sharp, arriving at Port Willunga around 2pm. We are travelling over to Wedge Island by jetboat so be sure to take your ASADA approved travel sickness pills by 1pm as it might be a bumpy ride.

Thursday evening (24th March) - the initial side plus emergencies will be announced prior to the match commencing and will be adjusted if required on Saturday morning.

As Wedge Island are putting on a spread after the game we will most likely depart on Tuesday morning and arrive back in Tenterfield next Wednesday, Tuesday night's accommodation is at the Station Motel in Parkes, unless you don't manage to crack the half ton in which case you get to sleep aboard the team bus.

If you have any questions or can't make tonight's training then let myself or one of the leadership group (co-captains McVeigh and Selwood, or vice captain Cotchin) know ASAP.

Cheers, TTH

 

Thanks once again to @Bearfly and the White Pointers for the game in Round 1, the better team won.

Round 1 was a disappointing 106 point loss (1098-1204). The Bont, The Hoff, Jack Viney and the Co-Captain Joel Selwood all cracked the ton and picked up the 16-12-8-4 votes in the BSFC best and fairest - as a Forward eligible player the Hoff has his B&F points doubled so leads the way on 24 after the first round. There was a fair drop off after that, with James Kelly scoring 100 as an unused emergency the only other player scoring over 89 points.

It is fair to say the BSFC Fan Day on Monday became a little heated and aggressive when the team failed to crack the 1100 point Barrier in Round 1, but the damage to the Tenterfield Tavern should be fixed fairly shortly and hopefully the fans have had time to settle down and get their emotions under control before the team arrives back in Black Swamp this afternoon ahead of their Wednesday night training session at the Paddock from 7pm.

By reports a few fans seem to have arrived early for training to give the boys some "encouragement" and constructive feedback, as all passionate fans are known to do:-

 

The town of Tenterfield is pretty much the centre of the known universe this week with the start of the Oracles of the Bush Festival yesterday (it runs to 3rd April, http://oraclesofthebush.com) and also the inaugural home match for the regions ORFFF representatives Black Swamp Football Club.

With only 20 players to pick from Jordan Murdoch is the unlucky omission from this weeks squad. Collins, T Menzel and Wood remain unsighted at training while McVeigh and Masten will hopefully return to the team in a few weeks while the long term injured will be gradually increasing their nightly training loads at the Tenterfield Tavern.

The coach has been upbeat this week describing last weeks effort as Un-Black Swamp-like and predicting a record team score against the highflying Drouin Dropbears, and targeting a dramatic rise up the ladder to at least 14th spot this week.

The Black Swamp 29ers fans have been less forgiving, giving Zac Clarke a good old fashioned kneecapping as he hobbled to his car after missing Wednesday night's training, but they are a loyal mob and will be focussing on making the Paddock a hostile place to visit for any of Drouin's players that manage to navigate the treacherous path from the Black Swamp carpark to the clubrooms and ground.

Drouin are another side to boast 3 players who wear the #29 with pride for their AFL clubs although it remains to be seen whether all of Pavlich, Pittard and Vickery suit up for the Dropbears. We await @stowie's team selection but are sure we will be facing a very strong opponent.
Our home game will have an Oracles of the Bush Theme, with a half time Bush Poetry competition replacing the regular burnouts completion held adjacent to the playing field. The burnouts will instead be held after the game. Expectations are that with the influx of tourists the game could exceed 100 spectators.

The meat tray prize in this weeks raffle is an absolute whopper, tickets will be $0.50 cents each or 3 for $2. Funds are low after last weeks road trip but with this week the first of 3 consecutive homegames we are hopeful of raising sufficient funds to keep Trent Cotchin's hair product supply stocked until the mid season break, hopefully with enough left over to purchase extra bandages and magic spray to help Jared McVeigh (Edited thanks Choppers) make his debut at some point in the near future.

Cheers, TTH

 

Thanks once again to @stowie and the Dropbears for the game in Round 2, the better team deservedly humbled the lesser.

Round 2 was a disappointing 93 point loss (1100-1193). Callum Sinclair, James Kelly, Ben Brown and Trent Cotchin all cracked the ton and picked up the 16-12-8-4 votes in the BSFC best and fairest - as Forward-eligible players Sinclair and Sideshow Bob have their B&F points doubled so Sinclair leads the way on 32 after 2 rounds. There was a fair drop off after that, with Shaun Grigg as an unused emergency the only other player scoring over 86 points and the Bont/Newnes/Viney/Selwood quartet snagging only 300 points in the engine room after leading the side well in Round 1, the defence was also disappointing managing a paltry 217 points.
The Tenterfield Police force have responded to some minor trouble at the weekends match - really the headline "mass, widescale riots cause cancellation of the Oracles of the Bush Festival - Army called in to restore order" is overblowing things a great deal - and will be enforcing a strict 1 slab per person limit to BYO alcohol for the next 2 home games at the request of Black Swamp and ORFFF officials.

Round 3 sees the boys from the Swamp playing at home again in a 15th vs 16th clash with the extremely young but prodigiously talented Walpole Woylies (@port_leschenault), which could well determine the early favourites for the ORFFF wooden spoon. If the Black Swamp side had a full list to choose from the coach would be looking to send a bunch of players back to the ressies to find form and fitness, instead there are unlikely to be wholesale changes and we will be looking for players to take a good, hard look at themselves, train hard and play for the jumper as well as their own personal pride this weekend.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 2
Sinclair - 32
The Hoff - 24
The Bont and Ben Brown - 16
James Kelly - 12
Jack Viney - 8
Joel Selwood and Trent Cotchin - 4

 

Thanks once again to @Port_Leneschault and the Woylies for the game in Round 3.

Round 3 saw the 29ers open their account with a nailbiting 6 point victory over the young but game Woylies who produced by far their best performance of the 2016 season. Nothing separated the teams over the weekend and deep into the last quarter it appeared that the visitors had enough of a lead to chip the ball around the back half and hold on narrowly. But nobody told veterans Joel Selwood and Jim Bartel the match was over and with 142 and 110 points respectively they helped Black Swamp to nudge ahead by 6 points just before the final siren sounded.

The 29ers players were euphoric, the fans were delirious (perhaps because most had been on the sauce all afternoon bracing for yet another heartbreak) and coach TTH was simply happy to avoid another loss at home. The Tenterfield Police Chief Inspector Wiggum praised the behaviour of the 29ers fans - and was pleased to send home the 50 or so police co-opted from elsewhere in far North-Eastern NSW as the Woylies took a lead of 350 points into the last game - without any significant incidents of crowd trouble. The one slab per person maximum BYO policy will continue next week.

No less than five 29ers cracked the ton with Duckwood, Cotchin, Kelly and Newnes picking up the 16-12-8-4 votes in the BSFC best and fairest for their 142, 129, 121 and 111 point efforts - with Ducky's 142 setting the all time club record - and Jim Bartel narrowly missed out from becoming the first Defender to feature in the B&F votes with 110 points this week.

Round 4 sees the boys from the Swamp playing at home yet again in a 13th vs 14th clash with the high scoring but desperately unlucky-to-date Cockburn Avengers (@Len). Cockburn have been playing run and gun fantasy football but neglecting to run both ways, however in the cold light of Monday morning Black Swamp realises it will be a tough ask to lift their game yet again after 3 weeks of improving scores to notch the 1300 points required to challenge the visitors.

To be blunt we will be happy to continue to have a full team to pick from with numbers having dwindled to the point where we were considering playing Jack Viney o.o.p. as D4 last week, which coincidentally would have achieved the same result as Sam Mayes 48 points in that spot. We were pleased to see Chris Masten back (even as an unused IC emergency) and reports are Co-Captain Jared McVeigh will finally get out on the training track this week. Jordan Murdoch should be fresh after a week off, while Andrew Walker is probably a fortnight away (at least) and Dom Sheed is likely to be pressing for selection before the Mid Season break.

Black Swamp Fitness guru Lance Whitnall indicated that Chris Yarran is currently "as fit as I am" which means that we suspect he could need to cut back on the burgers, knuckle down and lose 45kg before being considered for selection.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 3
Sinclair - 32
The Hoff - 24
Joel Selwood and James Kelly - 20
The Bont, Ben Brown and Trent Cotchin - 16
Jack Viney - 8
Jack Newnes - 4

 

Thanks once again to @Len and the Avengers for the game in Round 4.
Round 4 saw the 29ers prove the punters wrong (and gave TTH the opportunity to do his best Mark Williams post 2004 Grand Final impersonation) with a solid 3 figure win over the visiting Avengers who were strangely off their game this weekend. Great club spirit was typified by Chris Masten who in his first game for the 29ers filled in admirably for Callum Sinclair as an out of position ruck and actually won the battle with the Avengers Shaun Hampson 26 SC points to 11. Jared McVeigh also debuted and the defence lifted in his presence.
Three 29ers raised their bats with James Kelly once again defied father time scoring 111 ahead of Cotchin and Duckwood on 104 and 100 respectively to take the 16-12-8 votes in the B&F. Kelly's stellar form sees him leading the B&F on 36 votes while Justin Westhoff took the 4 votes (doubled as a Fwd. eligible player) with 99 which gives him a share of 2nd place with Callum Sinclair.
The club is displaying some promising signs but will be facing a very stern test away to Jan Juc (@thokash) in Round 5. We are trying to sort out a Thursday night practice match somewhere in Southern NSW or Northern Victoria so will be aiming to depart for our second road trip of the year on Thursday morning.
We have decided against remaining on the road prior to the Rutherglen away match in Round 6 so we will be heading back to Black Swamp by late afternoon on the Tuesday. Once againlet your families know there is plenty of room on the bus at this stage if they wish to travel for the game - but as always access will be first in, first served.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 4
James Kelly - 36
Sinclair and The Hoff - 32
Trent Cotchin and Joel Selwood - 28
James Kelly - 24
The Bont and Ben Brown - 16
Jack Viney - 8
Jack Newnes - 4

 

Thanks once again to @thokash and the Ducks for the game in Round 5.

Round 5 saw the 29ers notch up their first road win and 3rd consecutive ORFFF victory with a come from behind 97 point win against Jan Juc. Best afield was Paul Puopolo who scored in 151 and was constantly a challenge for the Jan Juc defence, scoring the 16 votes (doubled as a forward eligible player) to open his account in the Black Swamp B&F and move to 2nd overall. Tied for the 12 & 8 votes were Co-captain Selwood (who moves to the outright B&F lead) and young gun Jack Viney with 144 (and 10 votes) apiece. Michael Barlow collected his first B&F votes with 128 SC points earning him the 4 votes (doubled as a forward eligible player).

A joint training session with the Gundagai Hoppers (ORFFA, @snoz) on the Thursday night on the way has been credited for motivating the 29ers to put together their most commanding display in their short history with their round 5 score being the 5th week in their history they have set a new club benchmark - which now stands at 1379. We also note the exercise was a mutually beneficial one with the Hoppers also dispatching the visiting Misfits over the weekend, despite some of their side feeling the after effects of slabs 19, 20 and 21 from the joint training session given the 29ers were on a strict 8 beer limit the night before the game which meant we only managed to down 6 slabs by ourselves.

We can report to all ORFFF teams that the Sovereign Motel in Gundagai had a great early morning breakfast buffet on Friday morning, however this has been surpassed by the Royal Mail Hotel in Jerilderie which we checked into late on Monday night after departing Jan Juc shortly after the game given the short recovery before Friday's game.

Black Swamp will be training Tuesday night after reaching Black Swamp and again Thursday and expect to see Andrew Walker up for consideration this week against Rutherglen or next week against Dingo Beach. Kieran Collins and Colin Garland will be under consideration if Walker misses and we remain confident that Sam Mayes may crack the lineup or at least line up as an emergency given he scored 85 plus in the AFL in Round 4 before being dropped for Round 5 (WTF Leppa??). Chris Masten has shown he is almost back to full fitness and Zac Clarke was promising in his return AFL match last weekend which provides strong backup for the Ruck, Forward and potentially interchange lines.

Chris Yarran and Dom Sheed are both upping their training loads but appear to be at least a month away. Troy Menzel is likely to be rested for a week after being knocked out on the weekend in the 2's. Cameron Wood is also now going about his business quietly in preparation for challenging for an emergency spot if either of the first stringers cops another injury in the coming weeks.

With the short week factored in the club will be departing for Rutherglen at 5.30am on Friday morning and arriving shortly before the commencement of the match. Once again let your families know there is plenty of room on the bus at this stage if they wish to travel for the game - but as always access will be first in, first served.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 5
Joel Selwood - 38
James Kelly - 36
Sinclair, The Hoff and Puopolo - 32
Trent Cotchin - 28
Jack Viney - 18
The Bont and Ben Brown - 16
Michael Barlow - 8
Jack Newnes - 4

 

Thanks once again to @tyze1 and the Fugitives for the game in Round 6.

Round 6 saw the 29ers notch up their fourth consecutive ORFFF victory with a 44 point victory against Rutherglen. Best afield was 29ers co-captain Joel Selwood who scored 138 banking the 16 votes in the Black Swamp B&F and taking an early stranglehold on the award, doubly impressive given his lack of a preseason. Michael Barlow collected his second consecutive B&F votes taking the 12 votes (doubled as a forward eligible player) after firing up for 134 points. Jim Bartel smashed out 123 to secure the 8 votes (doubled as a defender eligible player) to open his account and become the 12th player to poll in the 2016 B&F. Jack Viney scored 120 points to take the 4 votes.

The 1246 points scored was someway off the previous weeks high water mark, however the 29ers managed to hold on for an important victory (1246-1202) and their recent momentum seems them occupying a spot in the ORFFF top 4.

Round 7 sees the 29ers with a 3rd consecutive road trip – this time the side is traveling North to face Dingo Beach (@insider) in yet another “8 pointer” between teams in the pack behind the pacesetting 6-0 trio. The Butchers have faced team selection pressures in recent weeks but are expected to lift their game in Round 7 as every Queensland side does when facing opposition from NSW.

Black Swamp Vice Captain Trent Cotchin’s cheekbone injury in Round 6 opens up a midfield spot for Shaun Grigg who has been somewhat unlucky not to get a spot in recent weeks and showed strong form in the AFL with a 135 point monster on the weekend. The 29’ers defensive stocks are still low with Chris Masten named as an out of position emergency and fortunately not being needed in Round 6.

The team will be leaving Rutherglen at 730am Monday morning and arriving back to Black Swamp at around 830pm Monday night. Training will be held Tuesday and Thursday night, with the Thursday night session to be held jointly with the COLUMBOOLA Commissioners (from the Chinchilla area Alternate Reality Fantasy Football League). As such the bus will be departing at 2pm sharp on Thursday, and arriving at 6.45pm in Columboola. After training we will be staying at the Royal Motel in Miles and then departing at 6.30am Friday morning for the drive to Dingo Beach. Once again let your families know there is plenty of room on the bus at this stage if they wish to travel for the game - but as always access will be first in, first served.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 6
Joel Selwood - 54
James Kelly - 36
Sinclair, The Hoff, Puopolo and Barlow - 32
Trent Cotchin - 28
Jack Viney - 22
The Bont, Ben Brown and Bartel - 16
Jack Newnes - 4

 

Thanks once again to @insider and the Butchers for the game in Round 7.

Round 7 saw the 29ers notch up their fifth consecutive ORFFF victory with a 57 point victory against Dingo Beach. Best afield was 29ers young gun Marcus Bontempelli who smashed a lazy 149 points earning his 2nd lot of 16 votes in the Black Swamp B&F (the first was round 1). Joel Selwood has maintained his lead in the award by snagging the 12 votes with a score of 132 and is now in the top 4 of the ORFFF competition best and fairest.

The ability of Justin Westhoff to win games with mammonth scores has made him a fan favourite at Black Swamp and 121 at the death against Dingo Beach was crucial in earning the win and 8 votes (doubled as a forward eligible player) for the Hoff. The most pleasing performance of the weekend was from James Bartel who commanded the backline for 113 points which earns him 4 votes (doubled as a dedender eligible player) which was his second consecutive week in the votes after a slow start to the season.

The team total of 1387 was a club record marking the 6th week out of 7 that the team has set a new mark and the first time that we recorded the highest score of the round. Every single point was needed to defeat the Butchers who were gallant in defeat scoring the 3rd highest score of the round in an impressive display, but unfortunately they could not avoid a 3rd consecutive defeat.

We currently stand 4th in the comp with a 5-2 record and have a tough test ahead against our fiercest rivals the Chinchilla Chumps in Round 8. @choppers has built a fine playing list and are deservedly amongst the punters favourites for the inaugural ORFFF title with their imposing 6-1 record.

The match will be more than a rivalry match it is NSW vs Queenland, Chump against 29er, Silvertails (Chmups) verus the working class (29ers), Macolm vs Tony, Good versus evil ………. and only one team will prevail and hold the 6 Stubby Derby trophy at the end of the day.

Team selection wise Black Swamp is sweating on Trent Cotchin‘s cheekbone replacement surgery but luckily he has been able to be seen by New England’s finest (veterinary) surgeon Frank N Stein who managed to graft a part transplant of the hardest substance known to man - no, not TTH’s grandmother in law’s dessert - part of Mitch Robinson’s forehead. Fortunately for Black Swamp's insurance company Trent’s hair was mostly undamaged by the original injury and surgery and will be fit to line up when Trent recovers.
The team left Dingo Beach at 630am Monday morning and arriving back to Black Swamp at around 10pm Monday night. Training will be held Tuesday and Thursday night, with the Thursday night session to be focussed on martial arts and hand to hand combat as we know the Chumps will be playing a physical brand of footy seldom seen since the days of David Rhys Jones and Greg Williams.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 7
Joel Selwood - 66
The Hoff - 48
James Kelly - 36
Sinclair, Puopolo, Barlow and the Bont - 32
Trent Cotchin - 28
Bartel – 24
Jack Viney - 22
Ben Brown - 16
Jack Newnes - 4

@choppers please note that as the 29ers bus was travelling back down south today the driver Otto was overpowered momentarily as we approached the northern outskirts of Chinchilla and when he regained consciousness a half hour later unknown players may have stopped by the Chumps home ground and brought some of their AFL footy player (ie Grade 2) level creativity to re-decorating the club rooms in the 29ers colours and possibly enjoyed leaving some rotten prawns and kangaroo sh#t in the lockers of several of your teams pretty boys like Armitage, Higgins, Griffin and Mackie.*

* note that these actions are not condoned by the coach and management of the Black Swamp 29ers Football Club, and certainly aren't our marketing department's (aka Cale Hooker who is working in a “non football” role) idea to manufacture a rivalry with our nearest neighbour to boost this weeks home crowd figure in order to (a) replenish Trent Cotchin's hair product supply and also (b) pay for another 6 weeks of all you can eat pizza, pasta and steak nights for Chris Yarran as required under the long term injury provisions of his playing contract.

 

Thanks once again to @choppers and the Chumps for the game in Round 8.

The first ever 6 stubby challenge was a battle of attrition as indicated before the bounce with the Chumps losing their star playmaker JPK and the 29ers losing their forward line general Michael Barlow. Both teams seemed more intent on niggling their opponents than putting a decent score on the board.

The 22 point loss broke the 29ers club record 5 game win streak. For the losing team best afield was Jack Viney with 116, which snagged him 16 B&F votes and moved him to 4th in the Black Swamp B&F. Next best were The Bont with 112 and Shaun Grigg with 103 proving them with 12 and 8 votes respectively. James Bartel scored 96 to snag the 4 B&F votes (doubled as a Defense eligible player) which means he has polled in the last 3 games.

The low team score this week was especially disappointing given that the Chumps score was very gettable, unfortunately the lack of a (125 plus) monster score and several players dropping off after promising half time or 3 quarter time scores left the door ajar for the visitors and the better team took the win. Coach TTH observed that the 29ers hot form had been on the back of Joel Selwood having a 5 week purple patch and that other players need to step up if he has a rare down week.

Black Swamp remain 4th in the comp with a 5-3 record and face another key home match up against the 5th placed Mole Creek Glow-Worms in the first ever Tassie Tussle. @ViQBoZ has built a team of fine youngsters with some champion veterans and the Glow-Worms have had a happy knack of scoring more points than the opposition.

Both teams will be desperate for the win as the loser is likely to be overtaken by at least one or two of the 4-4 teams and to be drawn into what appears to be a tight battle for top 8 positions

Team selection wise Black Swamp is likely to welcome Trent Cotchin back and is hopeful that Michael Barlow can train the house down to earn another opportunity. Chris Masten scored 109 SC points to remind selectors that once fully recovered form injury he is a strong contender for a spot in the best 15. Andrew Walker looked much improved second week back in the AFL and will put the heat on the forwards who lined up in Round 8 if Barlow does not return and provides another defensive option if Barlow does return. If Cam Wood bothers to turn up to training he is a possible shock emergency option.

Training will once again be Tuesday and Thursday nights this week.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Votes after Round 8
Joel Selwood - 66
The Hoff - 48
The Bont - 44
Viney - 38
James Kelly - 36
Sinclair, Puopolo, Barlow and Bartel - 32
Cotchin - 28
Ben Brown - 16
Grigg – 8
Jack Newnes - 4

 

@ViQBoZ and the Glow-Worms are welcomed to town this week as both teams have a second crack at gaining some 2016 rivalry bragging rights as we clash in the first ever Tassie Tussle in ORFFF Round 9. As Black Swamp is at elevation the 18-20 degree temperatures should be quite comfortable for the boys from the Apple Isle.

With Vice Captain Trent Cotchin back this week the Swamp have 21 playing AFL and Barlow and Wood are emergencies for their teams. In addition we have Cutler and Sheed due back by the midseason break. Hopefully Coach TTH will get a chance to watch part of the Giants and Dogs match to see how Collins goes in his debut match.

Black Swamp's draft tactic of trying to avoid unproven or injury prone players seems to be working out OK to date, it's just a pity Geary and Garland have both been a little of their game in the same season when we have been missing Yarran and Walker and Cale Hooker undertakes his World Tour. Barlow being out at the same time as Sheed sees Josh Bruce named for the second successive week and hopefully he gets a stack of it against the Bombers so that he can contribute to posting a decent team total.

The Creek have lost their inspirational skipper GAJ, but we rate their talented side very highly and look forward to the contest, it appears they have 7 players in the Melbourne vs Brisbane match so we will need to set them a challenging target to aim at on Sunday afternoon.

Black Swamp will be putting on a Tassie-sourced post match spread and the frothies will be of the Cascade variety if the home side win and Boags if the visitors take out the "W". The 29ers "Tassie Boys" Ben Brown and Colin Garland will be Co-MC's as the Glow-Worms appear to be lacking a Tassie contingent.

 

Thanks once again to the Glow-Worms for the game in Round 9. We enjoyed the after match festivities greatly as the Cascade products flowed freely. @ViQBoZ got into the spirit of the Tassie Tussle by wearing the “Losing Coaches Red Checked Shirt” and here is a digital photo of the shirt - as modelled by one of Mole Creek's travelling fans - courtesy of the official photographer Cale Hooker who is expanding his employment skillset admirably in 2016.



Unlike the closely matched Cascade skolling contests afterwards, the match itself ended up as a one sided affair with the experienced 29ers outfit flexing their muscle against the youthful Glow-Worms to notch a club record 240 point victory. The result was especially pleasing given the struggles of Co-Captains Selwood and Mcveigh. For the 29ers best afield was Trent Cotchin whose stunning 151 (equal club record with Paul Puoplo) on return form a broken cheekbone earned him 16 votes in the B&F. Shaun Grigg scored 116 to take the 12 votes, while Jack Viney with 116, James Kelly 113 and the Bont 112 completed a midifled sweep taking the 12, 8 and 4 votes on offer. Josh Bruce narrowly missed becoming the 14th 29er to poll in the B&F votes in 2016 with a dazzling 107 point 4th quarter cameo.

Black Swamp remain 4th in the ORFFF with a 6-3 record and head to Neptune Island this weekend to take on the competition’s undefeated juggernauts who are on a 9 game rampage thus far this season. @That KI Guy has ORFF* premiership pedigree and it is no surprise that he has built an awesome team however the 29ers are keen to take on the pacesetters and give it their best shot. The Avengers and Ducks appear to be on a charge for top 4 positions so a win for the 29ers would keep their noses ahead for another week.

Training will be on Tuesday night this week. On Thursday morning an extended squad will be required to board the team bus at the Tenterfield Tavern at 7am sharp, free brekkie will be served for players and families from 6:15am. Let your families know there is plenty of room on the bus at this stage if they wish to travel for the next 2 games (Neptune Island and Mt Thirsty) - but access will be first in, first served. We will arrive in Hay NSW around 730pm and as with our Round 1 preparation we will have a light skills session at the local park before heading back to our accommodation at the Riverina Hotel and a team meeting followed by selection of this week’s team. The next morning we will hit the road at 7am sharp, arriving at Port Willunga around 2pm. We are travelling over to Neptune Island by jetboat so be sure to take your ASADA approved travel sickness pills by 1pm as last time it was a bumpy ride.

Following the completion of Round 9 the team will be departing Monday morning to Port Lincoln - the bus will depart Port Willunga on Friday afternoon and driver Otto and some of the hangers on will enjoy a long weekend in Port Lincoln after arriving there Friday evening. The team will be on the road for 2 weeks - arriving back in Black Swamp on the Wednesday lunchtime prior to Round 12, following a Round 11 match away to Mt Thirsty.

Black Swamp Football Club B&F Top 10 after Round 9
Joel Selwood - 66
The Hoff and The Bont - 48
James Kelly and Cotchin - 44
Viney - 38
Sinclair, Puopolo, Barlow and Bartel - 32

(Shaun Grigg – 20, Ben Brown – 16 and Jack Newnes - 4 have also polled)