DISCLAMER: Full nerd ‘Too Serious’ nuffy stuff below, I’ve been bored during the bye rounds. I know there aren’t too many OG coaches still around sadly, but I just wanted to shout out this is the 15th year of the ORFFL, which is crazy and I’m sure one of the longer standing keeper/dynasty leagues around. As a celebration, I wanted to have a look back and see what the Mallacoota Magicians best 15 team would look like. But more than that, I wanted to make it a bit more of a ‘fun’ exercise – no duplicate players in different positions of course, and I had to cover all seasons for 2012-2026 to represent all 15 slots. I’m sure all the underlying TS data is on the site somewhere, but to keep it easy I just used actual SC stats and not specific ORFFL scoring. It’s not always going to be the highest season statistically as there are many years players cross over, but I think I’ve tried to manage to find a suitable alternate year. I’ve added some other arbitrary restrictions like no ‘one year wonder’ type players that have a big spike for 1 year, or players that I just trade in for a single year or two at the end of their career – longevity for the squad gets rewarded. BEST 15 MALLACOOTA MAGICIANS 2012-2026 DEFENDERS LACHIE ASH (2025) – 22 games, 2356 points, 107 ave Ash’s breakout 2025 earned himself an AA blazer and was the highest a defender has scored for the Magicians. Ash is having a successful back-to-back campaign in 2026 and hopefully still has many years of premium SC scoring to come. BACHAR HOULI (2019) – 19 games, 2000 points, 105.27 ave Houli’s 2019 was outstanding earning All Australian honours, a nearly Norm Smith Medal, and surprising his only SC ton for a season on record. Houli provided a decade of consistency for the Magicians and was one of the inaugural players. JARRAD MCVEIGH (2014) – 22 games, 2298 points, 104.4 ave McVeigh was a certifiable SC stud in 2014, gaining DEF status for the first time and backing up his massive 2013 All Australian campaign (sadly a MID only in SC that year, a year before DPP adjustments came in!). JAYDEN SHORT (2022) – 22 games, 2173 points, 98.7 ave It was surprising to see Short not have a year where he averaged triple digits. 2022 was statistically Short’s best year, but average high 90’s from 2020-2023, including his club B&F in a premiership year 2020. HM/EMG: BRAYDEN MAYNARD (2020) – 17 games, 1740 points, 102.3 ave Love him or hate him, Maynard had an unexpected breakout in 2020 and earned an All Australian gig. He backed it up again with a 90 average in 2021, but outside of this peak has been a mostly irrelevant fantasy player. MIDFIELDERS NAT FYFE (2015) – 18 games, 2228 points, 123.7 ave This man needs no introduction and is the natural captain of the Magicians side. Any number of years could have been picked for Fyfe, but it had to be 2015 – his highest SC average, winning his first Brownlow medal, and got his club to the GF playing on a broken leg! MICHAEL BARLOW (2013) – 21 games, 2231 points, 110 ave Barlow’s memorable debut in 2010 as the highest scoring rookie ever had him on fantasy radars early. Speaking of broken legs, Barlow suffered one of the worst we had seen in 2011. 2012 was a slowish comeback year, but in 2013 he was back to his ‘fantasy pig’ best and more than earns his spot on this list. MITCH DUNCAN (2017) - 21 games, 2307 points, 109.8 average One of my personal favourites, Duncan was a supremely consistent and versatile player over the more than 10 years of service for the Magicians. 2017 was his best year doing the grunt work as an inside mid. SEB ROSS (2016) – 22 games, 2067 points, 93.9 average Perhaps a surprising name to see on this list, Ross broke out in 2016 when the Magicians desperately needed – playing all games that season and backing it up averaging tons in 2017 & 2018. Ross’ game unfortunately wasn’t entirely suited to the way modern footy was played, but at his peak he was an established performer. HM/EMG: JACK REDDEN (2012) – 22 games, 2265 points, 102.9 average Redden looked like he was going to be a future star averaging 100 in just his third season breakout in 2011 and backed it up with an even better 2012 campaign. He never quite hit these fantasy heights again but was a valuable member of the inaugural Magicians squad. FORWARDS DAYNE ZORKO (2021) – 20 games, 2182 points 109.1 ave Zorko the Magician™ was a fantasy stud from day dot, averaging 100 in his first year as a mature age recruit. His fantasy status would flip flop between midfielder and forward eligibility over the years, with his standout years being 2016 & 2021 where he averaged almost 110 as a forward. MICHAEL WALTERS (2020) – 14 games, 1384 points, 98.8 ave Son-son was a great AFL story, and the Magicians certainly appreciated it when he entered the scene in 2013 with a breakout performance. He entered his peak in the 2018-2020 period, including averaging 100 SC and making AA in 2019, and closely following it with a superb 2020 shortened year. Unfortunately, injury and father-time would catch up with him after this, but he was an amazing player to watch. HARLEY BENNELL (2012) – 22 games, 2140 points, 97.2 ave One of the biggest “What If?” stories in recent times, Harley burst onto the scene in the first year of ORFFL in 2012 averaging almost 100 in just his 2nd year as a forward eligible player. He had 3 further years of scoring prowess boasting 15 games and finally topping the SC ton in 2015, but little did we know that would basically be the last we saw of ‘The Magic Man’. SHAI BOLTON (2023) – 23 games, 2225 points, 96.7 ave Bolton had long been one of the biggest talents and highlight reels in the AFL but finally made his fantasy mark in 2023 with a full breakout season. He moved to Fremantle soon after and is having a great 2026 campaign. HM/EMG: NICK HIND (2021) – 22 games, 2046 points, 93 ave OK I know I said no one year wonders (to be fair he had a great 2022 also), but I had to give this guy a shoutout – he moved from the Saints to Essendon and had a juicy half back role while still being forward eligible in SC, which we all know is fantasy gold. RUCK TRISTAN XERRI (2024) – 23 games, 2757 points, 119.8 ave Speaking of breakout years, Xerri had probably one of the biggest ever – in 2024 he became the outright number one ruck and improved his SC average by almost 50. Technically his 2025 campaign topped this with an average of 127 which is the highest ever for a Magician, but we’ll always remember 2024 fondly. INTERCHANGE BEN MCEVOY (2018) – 17 games, 1732 points, 101.8 ave Big Boy had to get in the team somewhere, being the Magicians inaugural first round pick and a stalwart for more than a decade. After a personal best year in 2012 with the Saints, he would then move his trade to the Hawks where he would become a premiership player. ??? (2026) I figured the 2nd interchange spot can be whoever ends up performing the best this year which is actually a fairly long list at the moment – Lachie Ash, Tristan Xerri and Shai Bolton are rivalling their previous best years, and other stars like Bailey Dale, Zac Bailey, Jack Ross, and Sam Berry are having great seasons. I might come back in a few months and update this spot!