Spelunkers team to take on @Lenny120 's Wombats Def: Riley Bonner, Andrew Brayshaw (OOP), Darcy Gardiner, Jayden Short (Oliver Florent) Mid: Marcus Bontempelli, Zac Merrett, Jack Bowes, Bayley Fritsch Ruck: Sean Darcy Fwd: Sam Petrevski-Seton, John Ceglar, Lachlan Murphy, Nick Blakey (Mitch McGovern) Bench: Sydney Stack, Rory Atkins (Tarryn Thomas)
I'd have to be massive underdogs coming in to this matchup, fearsome opponent in Gundagai. Hopefully this year the Vultures have held their form back till now... lol. In all seriousness my small hopes rest on my weak forward line, need McCarthy and The Big O to have a field day vs Gold Coast.
I finally pick up a giant and just when I need him .... Finlayson is injured. Just how much influence do you have @Len ? So it looks like 14.5 each with the cows fielding an oop in defence. Looks like a pretty level contest. Probable side: D - J McGovern, N Newman, M Hibberd, K Dunkley* (oop) M - N Fyfe, D Prestia, B Crouch, M Robinson R - S Jacobs (R O'Brien) F - S Menegola, B Parfitt, J Dunkley, T Papley (Z Bailey) I/C - D Howe, T McLean * - RS eligible
Will be VERY interesting to see how Sauce performs over in Perth. ROB out has ended quite a few seasons for quite a few people.
Cradle Mountain Devils team for Week 1 of the finals vs Iron Knob Out: J Hopper (hamstring), J Gresham (eye), D Zaharakis (omitted), J Lever (omitted) In: T Membrey, T Nankervis, D Heppell, D Thomas Defenders - D Rich, N Vlastuin, Z Jones, D Thomas (J Lever) Midfielders - S Pendlebury, D Zorko, J Steele, J Redden (C Mayne) Rucks – T English Forwards – R Marshall, T Lynch (Ade), T Membrey, L Breust (B Daniels) Int: T Nankervis, D Heppell (D Zaharakis) Four changes for Cradle Mountain’s home final against Iron Knob including two forced changes with forward Jade Gresham out with an eye injury and midfielder Jacob Hopper a late withdrawal due to a hamstring injury. Defender Jake Lever who was a late inclusion is one of two omissions along with midfielder David Zaharakis. Ruckman Toby Nankervis returns from a leg injury for his first game since the mid-season bye and will be joined on the interchange by Dyson Heppell who has missed several weeks due to a foot injury. Forward Tim Membrey has been recalled and boomerang Devil Dale Thomas has recovered after being a late out with illness last week and will take his place in defense. Some late re-shuffling of the Cradle Mountain team due to Hoppers late out however it a is a big positive that the Devils are able to pick a squad of 19 players all in position.
Misfits off to a very average start thanks to an insipid performance by their prime feeder club 5/421/84. Kiwis yet to get out of bed, bloodbaths must be more enjoyable after a full night's rest
@Len - Dan Howe "played" last night for a relaxed, if cold, 61 SC. How cool were the pictures of the weather from Canberra last night? Straight out of an ACT Tourism promotion video. As if to demonstrate how fickle fantasy games games can be, having struggled to field a team all season, Jack Ross will play tomorrow after Dustin Martin was ruled out. Jack was a throw at the stumps M - E; had Dusty been ruled out yesterday he probably would have been on the field for our clash.
I literally could have picked any other opponent and I would have been sitting reasonably comfortably on Saturday night. Instead, I bugger it up, the Lilacs are flying and this one is heading right down to the wire. Why does this happen every year?
I think you'll be right Chief. Jen's more annoyed she left Thomas' 95 on the bench in place of Banfield.
In the 2018 ORFFA Preliminary Finals the Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles hosted the Marble Bar Misfits and the Iron Knob Codpieces hosted the Cradle Mountain Devils. Week 1 of the ORFFA 2019 finals has resulted in return match-ups between these clubs but with the hosting rights reversed. In 2018 it was the two travelling teams that were victorious with the Cows 1,326 being defeated by the Misfits 1,356 and Iron Knob 1,219 being defeated by Cradle Mountain 1,331 Cradle Mountain entered their home elimination final against Iron Knob with a record of two wins and three losses from their five finals and were hosting an ORFFA Final for only the second time in their club’s history having unexpectedly hosted last years Grand Final after finishing the home and away season in seventh place but lost to the eighth placed Marble Bar Misfits by 126 points. Iron Knob have got more finals experience to draw on than the Devils, having made the finals in all seven seasons that the ORFFA has held them from 2013 onwards and the Codpieces tasted the ultimate success in 2014 having a perfect 20 win and no losses season. Cradle Mountain finished second on the ladder at the end of the 2019 home and away season with a record of 14 wins and three losses, four places ahead of Iron Knob who finished sixth with 12 wins and five losses. In the head to head game between the two clubs in the home and away season Iron Knob won a thrilling game at home by 23 points, 1,351 to 1,328 but could have won by more as all four emergencies scored tons. The Devils got off to a flyer on their home deck led by their captain Scott Pendlebury (138) in this weekend’s Elimination Final and opened up a sizeable advantage early in the second quarter- however Iron Knob were able to reduce the margin in the second half of term number two with two tons from Jack Macrae (137), the retiring Scott Thompson (102) ably supported by Gary Ablett with 98. Pendles trusty sidekick Dayne Zorko (142) was prominent for CMD in the first half. For Iron Knob forward Brody Mihocek (112) also scored a ton however two sub 35 scores from OOP ruck Luke Hodge (32) and defender Jarrod Harbrow (26) have been costly. Cradle Mountain have only one sub 65 so far – Dyson Heppell In his return from a foot injury. Daniel Rich (106) and Tim English (101) increased the Devils tons tally to four. At half-time it is Cradle Mountain 674/7 @ 96.3 per player vs Iron Knob 741/9 @ 82.3 per player The Codpieces remaining six players include two West Coast Eagles in Luke Shuey and Jack Darling along with Tiger Jack Riewoldt who has form at this time of the season having scored a massive 219 in week 1 of the 2018 finals to propel his side to a road victory against the Grasshoppers. Five of Cradle Mountain’s remaining eight players have averaged at least 90 points per game in 2019 – the three exceptions are forward Tim Membrey (80), defender Dale Thomas (78) returning after missing last week with illness and ruckman Toby Nankervis (75) returning from a leg injury to play his first ORFFA game since the mid-season break.
Why is it that after strong seasons we see a raft of out of the ordinary scores come ORFF finals time? I am not talking the giants, the suns, the dons and norf. But powerhouse franchises putting up there worst scores of the year. Go figure. @Len and his Misfits 884/12 clinging to a points lead over the cows 774/9 (E&OE). Both sides have had to wear an oop score. Players to come: for the defending champions - Hickey, Sloane and Mundy for the 2017 champions - J McGovern, S Jacobs (ROB), B Crouch, Prestia, Fyfe, N Newman. Very much game on.
Been a painful post bye period that's for sure, but unless something very odd happens you have me by at least 200
Congratulations on the win @ChiefRussell my boys put up a good fight but just couldn't get across the line. This is all good signs for the future for my team and I know what I need to look at come draft time.
You had me very concerned @Jen on Saturday night when my Geelong and North boys failed to fire (bar a few) and then when Seb Ross was going bananas in the first half I thought I was cooked. Fortunately for me your last couple of players failed to fire and I had enough points in the bank to hold on. Congrats on a good season. I know there will be bigger and better things to come for you in the coming years.
Cradle Mountain have scored 1,331 including six tons to defeat Iron Knob’s tally of 1,241 with five tons and two other scores in the 90’s. Five players scored at least 130 for the game comprised of three Devils, Dayne Zorko who defied being under an injury cloud to top score with 142 followed by the first and second players selected by CMD at the inaugural PSD – Pendlebury and Daisy Thomas with 138 each whilst for Iron Knob Jack MaCrae and Jack Darling scored 137 and 130 respectively. At the other end of the spectrum Iron Knob had the three lowest scores of the game with Jarrod Harbrow (26), Luke Hodge (32 due to being an OOP Ruck and Jack Riewoldt (49) whilst the Devils three lowest scores were Dyson Heppell (50), Tom Lynch of the Crows variety (53) and Jack Steele (54). Iron Knob and Cradle Mountain have been evenly matched in their two encounters this season as demonstrated by two of Devils four games with a margin of less than 100 points this season being against the Codpiece for a win and a loss. Well done @jimbowan on Iron Knob finishing in the top eight for the eighth consecutive season, a very impressive feat.