Where once there were 6, now there is only 5. That was the story of Round 12 of the ORFFL, as 5 of the 6 teams on 8 wins at the start of the round managed to keep it up and go to 9. Which means its still very tight at the upper reaches of the ORFFL ladder, and by tight I mean we have an intredasting last 5 weeks of the regular season to navigate.

Head over the break as we review the results of Round 12 and tell if and/or why your club is awesome/sucks chaos balls.

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TARWIN LOWER PIGS 1160 Def by TORRUMBARRY THUNDA 1360

The Thunda of Torrumbarry continued on with their post-break form dispensing with fellow mid-tabler Tarwin Lower by a sizeable 200 points. Kerr (116, 2 game avg. 113) relishing playing for his new club without a hard tag, Douglas (99, 2 game avg. 100) relishing not being KOd in the first quarter. Goodes (148) and BadBoyBernie (124) had crackers for Torrumbarry, while Higgins (104) reminded ORFFL watchers of what he is capable of. Thats right, scoring a century with disarming infrequency.

Over at Tarwin Lower it was a case of being nowhere near enough being nowhere near good enough. NRoo (117) managed his 7th century for the season, and Hanley (119) his 6th, but without Pendles, the TLPs midfield is in dire straits. Failing to reach 300 when the league average is 377 should send alarm bells ringing through the club. Sitting in 12th, 2 games behind 11th, TLPs finals dreams could be over if they dont arrest this slide.

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POOWONG POTOROOS 1112 Def COULTA COULDABEENS 1086

Twas a strange match this one. Verily. Relief for Poowong as they got up by just 26 points, and no doubt some degree of frustration for Coulta as they rue and lament what so easily could have been. First the Potoroos, who had the playing S.Thompson (143) return to his dominating ways, Gary (110) move back over the 100 point line and Mzungu (106) score his first ton since R3; a welcome return to form. That being said, the last 2 weeks (952, 1094) have been horrendous for Poowong, and with a difficult draw heading into the finals, they need to find points and players fast or risk languishing in the bottom half of the 8.

The Couldabeens performance on the weekend was symptomatic of their moniker. Oh what etc.  While Priddis (170) was mighty, and Reilly (107) and QStick (110) provided handsome age/scoring returns; the absence of Burgoyne and Bartram left a rather large scoring hole in the Coulta side. 2 of them actually. The loss sees them slip to 8th, and having missed a games worth of points, particularly vulnerable to the rising tide beneath them (no, the rising tide does not lift you up, it merely exacerbates the probability of drowning).  Despite having no Sarge to marshall the troops on field, this team needs to keep winning if it wants to stay alive in late August.

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BONNIE DOON BANDITS 1256 Def by SARAH ISLAND SAVAGES 1427

"You only get one shot at the king, best not miss". Well, the Bandits pulled out their Glocks and Sawn-offs but were unable to get within range, losing to the Savages by 170 points. Mayne (139), NicNat (120), Jori (118), Minno (117), Chaplin (114) and Chip (100) all smashed out centuries, but really the win was due to one man in particular. That mans name is Kepler. Coming into the side for just his 2nd game of the season, the SubiacoSpecialist knocked up a 90 to go with his 103, bringing his average to a healthy 97. Thanks, big guy. Ill call you in a month.

At Bonnie Doon I imagine it will be rather difficult to come to terms with the fact that big Cox (215) hit an an ORFFL record high score and yet still lost the match. Comfortably. Harvey (125), Daisy (102), Mitchell (109) and Griffin (111) all managed to fire, but with Tippett (23) knocked out, Reid (46) and Megahead (42) poor, and Gwilt (50) and Griffiths (68) vested, the bad managed to cancel out the good. Life is funny like that. The Bandits desperately need recruits Golby and Hargrave to return to a still brittle defence if they are to make any inroads up the ladder.

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MERTON MEERKATS 1225 Def by MALLACOOTA MAGICIANS 1413

An 8 point game and there could be only one winner. It was Mallacoota by the way, defeating Merton by 188 points and moving up to 3rd spot in the process. It was a performance that appeared to scream "Heres Johnny!", the Magicians announcing their return to blistering, premiership form in style. 8 players, including Risky, made their way into triple-digit territory (perhaps one too many), Mcveigh (152) averaging a staggering 145 since the break. Whatever coach/tyrant Johnny said to his midfield is clearly working wonders. With a tasty draw for the last 5 weeks of the season, it would not surprise to see Mallacoota take out the minor cup. Oh, and did I mention Fyfes soon to return with his cyborg enhanced shoulder? Be scared, ORFFL.

With Richmond lining up against the Melbourne, Merton coach SCSS could be forgiven for sniffing a victory earlier in the week. But as we all know, that kind of nostril inhalation is fraught with danger; Martin and King MIA from the FWD line made all the difference in the end. OOPS Mohr (39) and debutant Derrickx (30) not the handiest replacements. Tuck (133) ,Grigg (133), and Zorko (121) continued to score at will, but the above mentioned OOPS, Glass (58) and Davis (42) scoring like key defenders and Horselys (53) dismal downturn in form meant the Kats were never really in the game.

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WARBURTON WANDERERS 1178 Def GLENROWAN GUNSLINGERS 1086

In yet another of Rond 12s low scoring affairs the affectionately nicknamed Wallys got up by 92 point over the Gunslingers. Despite a midfield (276) that is wilting under the toll of injuries, and a defence (235)  that continues to be a weakness, the Wanderers of Warburton came away with their 9th win of the season. Boom recruits Hi-Low (103) and Schofield (108)  carried on with their post break form, while Lewis (130) and Hale (114) had a relaxing training run on Sunday. The win keeps them in the ORFL Top4, and next week brings the possible return of Murphy, and possible subsequent high scores. Also, Griffen (past 2 weeks. 60, 73) could possibly use some strong words of encouragement.

Sadly for Glenrowan they were unable to sustain their form of last week, dropping 226 points in the space of 7 days. Ah, the follies of youth. Wasnt all bad though, Rioli (159) posted his 4th hungy of the year and Abrtel (113) his 6th. Other than that it was a pretty bleak affair. Sinclair (22) vest wearing ways certainly didnt help, nor Iles non turnuppence. Sitting at 4-8 at 2/3rds of the way through the season, the Gunslingers are caught between pushing for 8th spot and reloading for next year. On the latter, some good news. Word is that Ziebell is to be the first IC/MID MPP. Score!




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PURNULULU BUNGLE RANGERS 1120 Def by POPANYINNING PYRITE  1326

A game that truly lived up to its pre-game hype, Popanyinning smashing an unsuspecting PBR by a Warnockian 206 points.  I gotta tell ya, when I was checking the teams on Friday night, I openly questioned the Pyrites persistence with Reid. Wright or Kosi could easily score a solid enough 70. Popanyinning and Reid (129) showed me what-not on Saturdee, kicking 6. Goals. Helping the Pyrites FWD line (382) to only its 3rd +300 score of the year. If Popanyinning can get that area of the park to score consistently to go with the envy of all midfields (avg. 450), it would be somewhat troubling for future opponents. If I was a mid-table team Id be getting a bit nervous in the britches right now.

I feel a rather tedious sense of deja vu when writing that Selwood (116) once again tonned up for the Rangers on the weekend.  Probably because hes done it every week hes played. Shaw (112), Adcock (111), Atley (102) and surprisingly, Pfluffer (100) all hit the magical triple figures. The FWD line is still a bit of a train wreck (194, avg. 269), although Harpers 0 didnt exactly help this round.




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QUEENSTOWN QUOLLS 1079 Def by MOUNT BUGGERY DISAPPOINTMENTS 1222

The second of the 8 point Games Of Round 12 series saw Mount Buggery do the business to a plucky Queenstown, 143 points the final margin. The Disappointments midfield (326, avg. 412) may have slipped below its high standards on the weekend, but their defence (328, avg. 267) managed to find its way to over 300 points for just the 2nd time this year.  Naturally at the pointy end of the ground (343, avg. 357) they continued to DOMINATE all comers.

The Quolls on the other hand put in a typically Queenstownian performance. Their midfield (422, avg. 413) was mighty.  They suffered some bad luck - Hampson (8) out for the season.  Their defence was patchy - only Yarran (114) tonned up. And their forward line (222) a disaster.  At 6-6 , and in 11th spot due to a glut of low scores, the Quolls have hard work to do to get back inside the 8 with 5 weeks to play. A little bit of luck wouldnt go astray either.

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MILIKAPATI SNAKES 1319 Def JIMCUMBILLY JACKRABBITS 1202

Milikapati retained their minty medal over the weekend  in a comfortable 117 point win over a valiant Jimcumbilly. For the victors, Kelly (148) was immense, and Pavlich (175) more immenser still. Jack (102) had a relatively poor one, but it didnt really matter as Birchall (109), Breust (113) and Greene (126) all scored well in the exhibition match held on Sunday. The win keeps the snakes in the hunt for the yellow jersey, which would probably go well with their already yellow guernsey.

Jimcumbilly once again suffered the misfortune of Lindsay (49) and Droopys (32) violent score swings, which is a bit of a shame as their defence (319) - formerly a sore point - has really picked up since the midseason break. Brock (116 all day) continues to be recruit of midseason, showing up fellow midfielder and vest wearer Moloney (24).  Bears mentioning too that NDS (115) hit his 8th ton of the year, and Blair (116) just his 2nd. Sitting at 3-9 though, it might be time to start watching the U18 champs going on.




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WOY WOY WIZARDS 1089 Def by HUMPTY DOO HAMMERHEADS 1176

Which brings us to our last batch of teams, cellar dwellers Woy Woy and Humpty Doo, two teams who may have already asked themselves "Lachie or Jaeger?". I dont know the answer to that, but on the weekend the Hammerheads surely knew the answer to the Wizards, defeating them by 87 points. While Paine (44), Hams (27), Hooker (46) and Goldy (59) fell back to earth this week, Jetta (90) continued his good form undiminished.  BigSauce (143) covered himself in glory with 61 hit outs, and Judd (126) scored exactly what he did last week. More of that plz. The win moves Humpty Doo off the bottom for the first time in a long time. How long? I also do not know.

I dont want to write that Woy Woy have angered some kind of fantasy higher force, but I certainly want to think it. Not only was Black an uncovered late-out, Malceski tonned up as a late in. Frank Narelle, thats cruel. Chappy (141) provided some relieving pointage, along with Lake (106) and Monty (100).  But that was about it really. On the plus side either of Jaeger or Lachie will turn out to be fine players.




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