Heard Island round 1 team D: BEllis, JMcGovern, Lloyd, Johannisen (Clarke) M: MCrouch, Fyfe, Swallow, Liberatore (AngBrayshaw) R: Kreuzer F: Daniher, Patton, Matera, Cox (Stephenson) I: LRyan, Maynard (Constable) NEW: Matera
I think that technically is the lowest losing margin possible, with it being half a point due to OOP. In reality it's still one point but let me have this at least! Harry T going down not helping the injury carnage at the Ducks. Happy with the output from new recruits Zaharakis and Lewis. Might call upon the secret weapon Mitch Wallis for next week with Libba going down. Richie Douglas has been told to straighten up and make sure he targets one of our ORFFF opponents when he is back.
Ironically given the injury crisis enveloping the Misfits the Avengers may be my strongest squad this year, though I suspect I'll still be bottom half and it was a purely lucky win
The Fugitives have made a solid start accounting for the Virgins 1416 - 1313. Shiel (129) & Macrae (120 led the way with Gunston, Martin & late preseason recruit Goddard all toning up. On the sidelines Bonner and Harbrow were both excellent in the twos and will put some pressure on Rampe & Salem at selection this week The Virgins were far from useless with the 5th highest score of the week. Veteran Simpson dominating down back in a BOG display. Sicily and Hurn were excellent for the away team however a lack of midfield depth proved costly in the end. The Virgins will look to open their account against Wedge Island whilst the Fugitives will look to make it two on the trot against the 29ers.
Mole Creek Glow-Worms 1184 def by Mt Thirsty Boozers - 1339 Mole Creek shot out of the gates and took an early lead against the reigning champs, but ultimately the Boozers class and depth let them ease to a comfortable win with a guy named Lance Franklin shutting the door on any hopes for Mole Creek. The Boozers will be concerned about the loss of Ryder for some time but will be pleased to get a win whilst carrying low scores from Brown, Sinclair, Rockliff, Murphy who will all be expected to improve on this weeks outing. (Brown should preform much better when not playing in a monsoon.) The Glow Worms were valiant and broke even across the middle and forward half of the ground, although having an OOP ruckman was made even worse when Crozier went down injured and unfortunately defense was a major issue with the top score being Adam Saads 66 . The Boozers host fellow winners Maralinga this week whilst Mole Creek travel to Nangkita with both teams looking to get off the mark.
ORFFF Round 1 highlights The Fugitives @tyze1 cracked the 1400 point barrier first up in defeating Useless loop @YAD69 1416-1313. Walpole @port_leschenault broke the club record winning margin with a 194 point victory over the Bucks @Dale Duivesteyn who surprisingly was the strongest backed side in the Round 1 upset poll. Interestingly Walpole remains the only team not to win a match by 200 points while the Noahs @That KI Guy remain the only team not to lose a match by 200 points. I would wager that the first will be broken by the end of April but would expect the Noahs to want to hold on to their own record for the remainder of the season. The Noahs won their 3rd straight Round 1 match (the only team to do so) in defeating the Whales @Darran while the 29ers broke through for their maiden win over the Dangerless Dropbears @stowie and registered their first win against Victorian opposition since 2016. ORFFF Round 1 lowlights The Ducks @thokash only managed 1134, their lowest ever score, and compounding their misery they fell by 1 point to the Avengers @Len whilst fielding an out of position ruck. The Ducks must hate Round 1 never having tasted victory and copping 7 point and 1 point losses in 2017 and 2018. The other team to be 0-3 in Round 1 is Mole Creek @ViQBoZ who extended their losing streak to 5 straight despite causing some concern in the Premiers @leematty1 coaching box in the early and middle stages The Bucks tied the all time losing streak of 11, matching Mole Creek’s losing run in 2016-17. The Glow-Worms, Shags @anthak, White Pointers @Bearfly and Bucks fall to 0-3 all time against their Round 1 opponents (Mt Thirsty, Maralinga @Brett Sanders, Port Lincoln @MrsBear and Woylies respectively), and the Whales to 0-3 away to Neptune Island (1-3 overall).