Round 1 SCS v BB Mid way through the third term, and the hometown Sandgropers (923/10/92) have put in some sparkling performances to trail @choppers Banchang Barcrawlers (933/13/72) by just 10 points. Southern Cross are confident of a first up win, with Cumming, Hinge, Laird, Fyfe and Greene, needing to outscore Banchang’s Dawson and Riccardi by 11 points, to take home the chocolates. Go Sandgropers!!!
Update from Groote sees the home team in command:- Groote 1,337/15/89 HPD 777/10/77 Hughenden looking to make up a massive 560 points, in the final third of the game, for the win.
Update from Horsham (where a new scoreboard have been built during the off-season): @tyze1 Current Scores: Horsham 874/87 (10 players) leads Staghorn Flat 684/76 (9 players) Predicted Final Scores: Horsham 1262/84, Staghorn Flat 1190/79
@martyg Vikings 1395/15/95 def Bunyips 1105/15/73 The atmosphere was electric as the Nuytsland Vikings took on their rivals, the Blanchtown Bunyips, in a fierce battle on the skull filled field. The spectators were on their feet, cheering their teams on as the players took their positions. The Vikings got off to a flying start, with their star midfielder, Liberatore, dominating the centre of the field. His precise passes and strong tackles set the tone for the game, and the Bunyips struggled to keep up. Despite their best efforts, the Bunyips were unable to break through the Vikings' defence, led by Young. His quick reflexes and strong marking kept the Bunyips' forwards at bay, frustrating their efforts to score. As the game progressed, Heeney the Vikings' star forward, stepped up to the plate. His lightning-fast footwork and accurate kicking saw him score goal after goal, extending the Vikings' lead. The Bunyips fought back fiercely, with Horne-Francis leading the charge. His agility and speed proved too much for the Vikings' defence, and he managed to slip past them to score a much-needed goal. However, the Vikings were not to be outdone. With their ruckman English dominating in the middle, they managed to regain control of the game. The Bunyips' Daicos and Durham fought hard in the midfield, but their efforts were in vain as the Vikings maintained their lead. As the final siren sounded, the Vikings emerged victorious, much to the delight of their home crowd. The three best players for the Vikings, Young, English and Liberatore, were hailed as heroes, while the Bunyips' Horne-Francis, Daicos and Durham were commended for their valiant efforts. On the other hand, the three worst players for the Vikings, Cunnington, Constable and Newman, and the three worst players for the Bunyips, Chesser, Hollands and Ugle-Hagan, were left to ponder their performance and seek ways to improve for the next game. It was a thrilling match that showcased the best of both teams, and the spectators left the field with memories that would last a lifetime. The Centuries Vikings: Shannon Hurn 115 Hayden Young 137 Tom Liberatore 118 Chad Warner 114 Tom Mitchell 109 Timothy English 134 Bunyips: Ben Keays 102 Josh Daicos121 Sam Durham108 Jason Horne-Francis136 Reilly OBrien 102 Big Tap: English
Final result from the Horsham V Staghorn Flat match with the Huskies running out 74 point winners (1254 vs 1180), with the match in the balance until early on Sunday. The Bulls added depth to their squad during the off-season, with Zerk-Thatcher, Long and Hunt covering emergency positions.. Meanwhile the Huskies added Doedee and Papley onfield, with Williams added to the emergency list. The Huskies were well lead by the ever-reliable Witts (140), new recruits Doedee (118) and Papley (93) and Horsham regulars McGovern (106) and Bailey (95). Solid supporting scores, between 70 and 80 were produced by eight players, making sure Horsham had it's most competitive round 1 score since the club's formation. Staghorn Flat were well lead by Coniglio (143), Nankervis (112), Ward (100) and Lynch (93). But the game was lost by Gunston (33), Lobb (34) and the unlucky Whitfield (40). Horsham are now 1-0 and sitting 6th, whilst Staghorn Flat are 0-1 and 12th. BAFFU 3 votes - S Coniglio (SFB) 2 votes - J Witts (HH) 1 vote - T Doedee (HH) Big Tap J Witts (HH) defeated T Nankervis (SFB) 140 to 112 Next round Staghorn Flat host Pakenham and Horsham travel to Banchang.
Round 1, 2023 - Southern Cross Sandgropers 1170/15/78 def Banchang Barcrawlers 1082/15/72 In a match that offered few highlights and raised many questions regarding training standards at the clubs, the hometown Sandgropers, managed to fall over the line against @choppers visiting Barcrawlers, by 88 points. The game started relatively brightly for the locals, with both Docherty (108) and Rich (112), providing much drive from defence, the two racking up the ball and easily holding off the visitor's forwards. There were some nice passages in the third quarter where the game opened up a little, with LDU (143), putting in a monster effort to keep his side in the match, and preseason trade bait Farrell (100), showing the hometown fans, what they were missing out on. Cameron (103), and Rioli (126), kept the scoreboard ticking over for Southern Cross, and the match looked to be in the bag midway through the third when the visitors held a 10 point advantage, albeit, with three less player yet to get on the ground. For some reason, the Sandgropers' players thought that being in such a position meant they could play some bruise free footy. In a worrying sign for the coach, the group managed to score a combined total of 247 points, not even a 50 average! Yes, the team managed to win, by 88 points, but sterner tests will come, where such efforts will result in losses. Not really a lot to cheer about, apart from the W! BAFFU L.Davie Uniacke (BB) 143 points - 3 votes J.Rioli (SCS) 126 points - 2 votes D.Rich (SCS) 112 points - 1 vote Giant Tap P.Ladhams (BB) 72 points def B.Grundy (SCS) 69 points, by 3 points Go Sandgropers!!!
Serengeti 1288 def King Island 972 With the Monarchs ruck duo of NicNat and Hickey out, there was excitement amongst the locals to see what new recruit Jamieson could do. That excitement quickly faded to dismay as big Cal decided he didn't feel like rucking and plonked himself at the top of the goalsquare. Not only did he fail to touch the football, he continually impeded the other forwards and in the confusion Toby McLean didn't even come on the ground until the second half. Meanwhile the Buffalo backs had a field day setting up an impenetrable wall across halfback and continually driving the ball forward for the visitors, with 3 of them tonning up; Saad 115, Ridley 107, Burton 102. The Monarchs midfield battled manfully, attempting to read the opposition taps, emerging superstar Tom Green leading the way with 134. But despite Redman's (118) best efforts, the backline was completely overwhelmed by the avalanche of entries, Toby Greene capitalising the most with 104. The Monarchs host Southern Cross next week, with supporters praying for a speedy return of their veteran rucks. The Buffalos, looking impressive with depth on all lines and players returning, will again be on the road, this time at Cow Bay. Votes 3 Green 2 Redman 1 Saad Big Tap Lycett 87 def Jamieson 7
The Barracuda's finish on 1,337/15 89.1 defeated the Prairie Dogs @Batfink on 1,195/15 79.9 A good solid hit out for the home side to start the season 2023, Corn Boy Cripps was a ball collecting zombie with 25 disposals. The Bont did jobs in th middle, Guthrie had 15 disposals. Berry playing on the dead wing. In defense Weitering was a gun with 20 touches out of the defensive end, whilst McGov lead from the goal square, had a head clash in Q2, Lloyd cherry picked with 28 disposals whilst Touhy played the outside game. Stanley smashed 29 hit outs, however conceded 3 frees. Up forward was where all the action was happening Errol had 24 touches and 1 goal, was a running machine from the centre, Mad Jack had 6 big marks and a goal, AstroNaught played very deep and wasn’t helped with giving away 3 frees. Tomahawk had his right calf strapped, however he still managed 2 goals. Off the bench, Smith was loping off the wing, kicking a nice long bomb and Lewis Young was excellent rotating out of defense with 8 intercepting marks. The visitors New recruit Ginbey had 12 marks and rotated through the defense, great start. Ash also rotated in defense, however very quiet. Ratugolea, gave away frees and spent a lot of time in defense. Rayner name in the forward line, however spent a lot of time defending, Logue had a disappointing start to the season with only 10 possessions. Breust bagged 3 goals to do all the lifting for the P Doggies. Chol tried chopping it out in the ruck. Clayton the gun had 33 disposals for the day, Mills had lots of possessions while Langford floating around the ground, however had 3 frees against. Sam Berry shadowed the Jarrod flavoured Berry on the dead wing. The heat was on in defense, Brennan Cox however rose to the occasion, 30 possessions, Barrass grabbed 10 contested marks and DBJ racked up 27 disposals. IQ was ….. looking for the ball but couldn’t find it. For the home team to take the 4 points is a confidence booster to start the season. BOG – Brennan Cox (HPD), Corn Boy Cripps (GEB) & Weitering (GEB)
The round 1 match in the Goldfields was a close one, with the local Prospectors just getting over the line against the travel-weary Cormorants, after their big move to Carnamah in WA in the off-season. @ron swanson (Sorry for the late post and the lack of updates). Note that the averages / projected scores are somewhat useless at the start of the season. They'll make more sense as the season progresses. Both teams seemed to use this match to shake of some early cobwebs, with some terrible displays all over the ground. There were however some players who had turned up to play, with some usual suspects from Coolgardie (J Sicily and T Miller) putting some tons on the board, while a pair of Cormorant forwards (B Brown and J Rachele) were picking apart the Prospectors defence, kicking bags of goals and getting the scores on the board. Neither coach should be overly disappointed nor impressed with the overall performance of the sides. There was a lot of average, some stand-outs, and a lot of improvement to be had. The giant tap was easily won by the visitors. S Darcy, Carnamah, 96 points defeated O McInerney, Coolgardie, 67 points, by 29 points. The votes: 3 - D Rioli, Carnamah, 126 2 - J Rachele, Carnamah, 116 1 - T Miller, Coolgardie, 113 Next up sees Carnamah host their first home game at their new ground, against perennial contenders the Ararat Armadillos, while Coolgardie are on the road to North Queensland, to take on the Hughenden Prairie Dogs. Good luck to all four teams.
a mouth watering tussle between the Armadillos and the Crocs delighted round 1 fans of the oval ball game. Cow Bay showed they will be a force in 2023, with Jordan Clark (100), Taranto (103), De Goey (130) and the Sheeeeeeeeez (114) all raising the bat. Visiting Croc fans were also happy James Worpel found some form with a sneaky 97 points, after disappointing many with his performances last year. The locals had a few go large but a lot go small, with Ryan (171) covering for Stewart (18), Treloar (132) & Gawn (140) carrying the whole midfield (all <75) and Ziebell (102) showing Tex (37) and the Chad (47) how the old boys should do it. Final result was 1310 vs 1223 with a round 1 win for Ararat, however the young squad Cow Bay have assembled will cause many an upset this year methinks
First game down and Bunyips are hosting Christmas Island Smugglers @DamoH Bunyips have the yips early with 3 players down for 173 (57ave) Smugglers off to a flyer with 3 players down for 267 (89ave) This may be my last update, sorry @DamoH, my 50th birthday, getting married and my partners 40th all happening Saturday. Footy might be taking a back seat.
Not good enough mate - I expect updates after every game!! Congrats and enjoy the day - that is quite a Saturday!