Review of the Walesy Appreciation Round

What can you say about our patron that has not already been said? A simple thank you does not suffice. So, a Concert for Walesy has been organised and Elton John has agreed to interrupt the very final leg of a farewell tour that is genuinely his last to come out (?) to the land down under to share his and our appreciation of @walesy.

All lyrics by Bernie Taupin, which is fitting as without Bernie who knows if Reginald Dwight would have had success? And that’s like TS, a site that would not be the same without walesy pulling the strings in the background; thanks chief. The playlist ignores the obvious in favour of the interesting. A bit like the walesy’s approach to drafting in ORFFL.

Affendicos will recognise that the songs are mostly in chronological from 1971 to the 1974 album “Caribou”, after which Paul Buckmaster’s spare, elegant simplicity was often replaced by over-production. The curtain is about to rise …

“Making friends for the world to see
Let the people know you got what you need”
Friends (1971)
Lovely Banks Lilacs 1102 v Nareewillock Nuffers 1118
Aint love grand? A meeting of two souls turns into a beautiful friendship and a life together. Hang on, you don’t want an ageing agony aunt, you want to know about the outcome of the Household Cup and all the twists and turns. It was serious stuff, but all in good fun (not). Recommend a new pair of rubber gloves Jen to look after your hands while doing the dishes and cleaning those hard-to-reach areas.

Those who play SC will be upset by the sight of Tom Stewart (167) appearing in lilac livery after trading him out last round because of a life-threatening injury. That’s my weekly whinge about bloody Chris Scott; and was the Nuffer’s Chris among the most annoyed? Fortunately, no. BTW, what is it about you guys and Rucks? Are you ruck averse? 18 points for the Lilacs and 27 points for the Nuffers. How to score better is apparent, but where do you find a ruck?


“Comic book characters never grow old
Evergreen heroes whose stories were told”
Roy Rogers (1973)
Foul Bay Chickens 1360 v Wineglass Bay Packers 1295
Tracey’s Packers pushed the chooks all the way, meaning this leg of their farewell tour of ORFFAland was no cakewalk. You will be missed CR. No Selwood, no matter. Still got Danger, Libba, Goldy and Ziebell.

For the home team Brennan Cox came back to reality with a thump, while new boy Sheezel continued his amazing first season form. For the Packers the giant connection provided 3 scores in the 90’s. Lukosius and Liam Baker were excellent. However, the injury to Cameron took some of the glow off another otherwise grand performance; probably would not have changed the result but it might have had CR perspiring a little.


“Hair ring molasses abounding
Common lap kitch sardin a poor floundin”
Solar Prestige a Gammon (1974)
Cradle Mountain Devils 1243 v Charlies Opening Spelunkers 1264
A bit of nonsense which seemed fitting as we waited for Banditto to get his comeuppance for the ill-gotten gains afield. But in what might be seen as an upset the devils got rolled, Go to the round 3 thread for dmandrew’s comprehensive analysis of the game.


Of interest was whether the devil’s three headed ruck monster would monster the Commish’s twin purple headed monstrosity. Those without a ruck can only look on and reflect on the drafts which provided this imbalance. Nearly a monster score (139, 124, 78) for the former but the freo combo (132, 98) was pretty good.


“No Cordon Bleu can match the beauty
Of your pies and peas”
Grimsby (1974)
Iron Knob Codpieces 1058 v Wagga Wagga Wombats 1119
Those who are confused should recall a post Lenny made from the UK. Don’t recall? Your scribe, observed, noted and has now put to use. While not as well known as “San Francisco, wear some flowers in your hair”, “Grimsby” does have a memorable couplet about its wild sands. I wonder whether a young man of the cloth would approve.


A lot of points left on the bench in this match (Thilthorpe (99) and Barrass (110) respectively). The former was particularly costly as there was a donut of the I/C bench. Please reach out Churchboy for help with setting your team up. Should have been a W. A lot of teams probably covet the knobs’ core of JDG and Macca, admire JUH’s stand, Notwithstanding the foregoing, really like Lenny’s team, some terrific talent (Rozee, LDU, Sicily, Ridley). Will this be the year the wombats make a run at the title?



“I read books and draw life from the eye
All my life is drawings from the eye”
Grey Seal (1973)
Marble Bar Misfits 1249 v Mt Beauty Uglies 1111
Could not find a spreadsheet reference, so this will have to suffice. Continued great work Len – long may it continue. Some play the misfits sans their giant stars, others with. It was the latter for bama (and his sidekick HeavyMen); hope you enjoy the concert. The 220 points from J Kelly and Whitfield allowed Len to kick back and sample some of his favourite tipple.

All joking aside, some really good signs on-field for the Uglies amongst the younger brigade (O Hollands, Butters, Pedlar, Day). Petracca and Zuhaar add some starch, just need some more quality depth. Len knows his Misfits are giantcentric with a dash of swan. Perhaps another exodus from GW will further diversify his mob.


“Trampling down the prairie rose, leaving hoof tracks in the sand
Those who wish to follow me I welcome with my hands”
Indian Sunset (1971)
Dunsborough Dung Beetles 1058 v Birdsville Battlers 1119
Powerful song – recommend you all read the lyrics as they conjure up emotive images. How does a middle-class Englishman write so many stunning songs about the west? But I digress. This was about the clash between teams coached by JC and Cursing. Collectively you could field a very strong side from these two squads, but individually there are some gaps and hence both will battle (Josh Battle on the bench for the Battlers, lol) against the stronger teams.

For the dungs the defence (Atkins, Allir Allir, May) is looking promising albeit the latter is pushing the age barrier a bit. Oh, and Tom Green is a cracker. Cerra, Dylan Moore, Bailey Smith and Lachlan Hunter would grace any team and provide a foundation for some good results.


“Jesus blows up balloons all day
Sits on the porch swing watching them fly”
Levon (1971)
Gariwerd Cockatoos 1191 v Whitsunday Warriors 1240
TiB is Jesus and ant is Levon; one is a dreamer the other an industrialist. You can see it in their teams, one calculating with discarded former prems an approach that cannot be criticised as it earned him a flag. The other approach is to cobbled together 28 players – the only reason TiB has 28 is because “dems da rules”, otherwise who knows how many he would have? 25? 33? And some weeks (just don’t try to predict which ones) it all gels. Like round 3.

Touk, Laird and Seb Ross all performed as one would expect cocky types to perform but they were uncharacteristically let down by their teammates. Witts and Andrews were excellent for TiB’s team, as was young MacKenzie (again). And Mitch Hinge finally delivered – you might say he was the hinge around which the performance swung.


“I’ll go my way alone
Grow my own, my own seeds shall be sown, in New York City”
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (1972)
Gundagai Grasshoppers 1535 v Waikikamoocow Incorrigibles 1137
The ‘hoppers on to three wins for the seasons, the cows angling for an early MSD pick. The boy who moved from Jan Juc to the Jersey Shore keeps delivering, but we are not allowed to mention it. One line from one of graeme’s favourite Taupin lyrics: “Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown” sums up the mismatch. Bimodal performance from the cows (5 going ≥100, 5 going <50) whereas the lowest ‘hoppers score was 63 with 9 going ≥100). Pretty solid huh. Don't really want to elaborate.


“But they pumped you full of rifle shells as you stepped out the door
Oh you danced in death like a marionette on the vengeance of the law”
Ticking (1974)
Larrikin Lagoon Lefties 772 v Venus Bay Vultures 1033
Thought KIGuy would appreciate the lyric with Fitzy’s birds of prey proving too strong for a random, recreant, rabble rival.

Based on the last few years, had expected a big score from the Vultures. But are those days over and they have come back to the chasing pack? They are looking old (Docherty, Shuey, Franklin, Shiels) and not really soaring like a predator. But have a look at the forward line score – 40, 44, 27, 53! Ain’t going to cut it if that continues, in fact there must be doubts about whether they will make the eight this year?

What new can be said about the LLL’s squad? Nothing encouraging IMO. KIGuy has documented their outs this week, need them back fast. Perhaps “limited resources to trade-up” might cover it? Oh, have you traded your 2024 round 1 pick yet?

 

Hahahahahahaha.............does every Kiwi suffer from verbose verbal diarrhea?

As always my friend, you've outdone yourself. Witty, charming and sarcastic all in one. A poet of great order !
Thanks Graeme, but maybe consider changing your mobs name to WaikikamooCALF

 

Well hard to stay annoyed (after a quick scroll down to see the scores), when the review carries such witt, charm & hints of sarcasim (credit Snoz )
No whistling or smirking this week for those on the Mount.
Looking forrward to seeing better news in next weeks edition & being able to hum a bit of Grey Seal (classic song of one of the all time double LPs).
I also think the cat might appreciate a win rather than getting kicked, now hides behind the couch when sees laptop being opened