Southern Cross Sandgropers

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I'll happily 'Go the Grope!', although possibly in more ways than one...

 

The Barcrawlers look forward to welcoming The Gropers to our part of the world in Round 2 , where I'm sure that much crawling and groping will feature down 'The Strip' after the game.

 

After what seems like an eternity the head of the Sandgropers recruiting team Dean Rioli, yeah that fat kid, has finally been roused from his drunken stupor to land his primary target Nathan Fyfe. Dean was quoted as saying 'We are delighted to announce securing the signature of Nat Fyfe as the first ORFFU Sandgroper. We believe his boyish good looks will prove very attractive to the bachelorettes of the town as we seek to not only dominate the ORFFU competition but to also stimulate population growth.........geez that was a mouthful, someone get me another pie and a beer'. Needless to say Dean will not be issuing any press releases in the future, all releases will now be handled by club President Kevin 'the butcher' Bacon. We do however continue to believe that he adds value to our recruiting team and will now assist our new head of recruitment Scott Cummings, assist him in eating the pies that is. Southern Cross now eagerly await their second round pick.

 

With a definite eye on the future, club President Kevin 'The Butcher' Bacon is pleased to present the initial 20 man Sandgroper squad. It has been decided that it will be lead by marquee signing and inaugural captain, Nat Fyfe. /Portals/0/Users/169/01/5801/Field%20View.jpg Team Stats: Southern Cross - eagle_eyed DEF: Michael Johnson (29,172), Lachie Hansen (25,99), Jackson Thurlow (19,4), Sam Docherty (20,13, Luke McDonald (18,0) MID: Nat Fyfe (22,72), Luke Shuey (23,66), Mitch Duncan (22,76), Dale Thomas (26,157), David Myers (24,65), Jack Martin (19,0), Dom Sheed (18,0) RUC: Paddy Ryder (25,149), Scott Lycett (21,10) FWD: Lance Franklin (27,182), Mark LeCras (27,115), Michael Hurley (23,79), Chris Yarran (23,84), Sam Kerridge (20,12), Jack Fitzpatrick (22,14)
AVERAGE AGE: 22.65 years old (max 29, min 18) AVERAGE GAMES: 68 (max 182, min 0)

 

It's finally here! Round one is only days away and the town of Southern Cross is brimming with excitement over their inaugural ORFFU home game against Cow Bay. The locals have decked out the town in red, blue, yellow and white, Kevin has organised the portaloos to cater for the extra numbers expected on the weekend, and there is a quiet confidence that the Sandgropers may be meeting the Crocs in the right week. With an almost full strength squad to choose from and some hostile summer temperatures expected everything may be falling into place to start the season with a win. The boys have moved into a light training mode and these next few days are all about the game plan. Cow Bay, beware the Sandgroper!!!

 

Round 1 It was a huge night in Southern Cross last night after the 'Gropers sent their supporters into raptures by securing a first up win agains Cow Bay's Crocs. An outstanding game by the frenchman (took home the round 1 meat tray), captain Fyfe and some promising performances from the youngsters (Kennedy, Kerridge, Duncan) helped get the Sandgropers over the line. I'm sure the crocs will be heartened by the fact that there's a lot of improvement to come from some of their kids but at the same time they'll be spending the long bus & plane trips home wondering what could have been if they'd onlyplayed to the potential they showed to get drafted in the first place. We've woken this morning to the sparkly sight of the streets being paved in glass (note to Club Hotel; serve drinks in plastic on game days) and red, gold, blue & white colours adorning the buildings and vehicles of the town. We can only imagine the carnage should we have been beaten, although with our young list it willonly be a matter of timebefore we can stop imagining and see it first hand. Round 1 voting for the Gold Cross (best 5 players in each match get votes) 5 - M LeCras 4 - N Fyfe 3 - D Myers 2 - M Johnson 1 - M Duncan

 

Round 2 The Sandgropers returned from Bangchang victorious, boasting a 2 and zip record. The support from the fans when the team bus pulled up in the town was immense with local businesses closing for the afternoon as The Club Hotel offered 2 for 1 middies to celebrate the win. With only 3 players starring, the win was built on an even performance from another 10 players with only Kerridge and Ryder letting down the side with poor performances, at least Paddy can blame his on injury. Round 3 will present some selection headaches with Ryder probably missing through injury and Fyfe suspended. The match committee will be hoping for some players to make the cut after just scraping through with a squad of 15 last week and currently looking like there may be only 13 players available this week. The recruiters will definitely have some questions to answer after opting for youth and potentially leaving the club short of eligible players. Round 2 voting for the Gold Cross 5 - L Shuey 4 - N Fyfe 3 - C Yarran 2 - L McDonald 1 - D Myers Gold Cross Leaderboard 8 - N Fyfe 5 - M LeCras, L Shuey 4 - D Myers 3 - C Yarran 2 - M Johnson, L McDonald 1 - M Duncan

 

Round 3 Southern Cross 1058/14/76 defeated by Blanchetown 1217/15/81. Well it had to happen sometime. Missing both Ryder and Fyfe was always going to make it difficult, but then for LeCras to go down early and Kerridge cop a finger in the eye only made the difficult impossible. Some outstanding individual performances by Mitch Duncan (142), Buddy (130) and Shuey (113) were counter acted by injuries (LeCras 20 & Kerridge 37) and just down right poor performances (Fitzpatrick 37 & Last weeks POOYA winner Yarran 47). Blanchetown took the match with some more even performances, with higher scores form Prestia (126), Pendlebury (115), Jacobs (112) & S.Selwood (111) and only 1 score below 50 coming from the usually reliable Mayne (35). The Sandgropers know they will be missing Fyfe again next week but will be hoping for a quick recovery from Ryder to help sure up their ruck stocks and if possible some match time for the younger players so they can field a full team. Full scores below: <table width='464' border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0] <col width='64' style='width: 48pt;[/img] <col width='132' style='width: 99pt;[/img] <col width='114' style='width: 86pt;[/img] <col width='154' style='width: 116pt;[/img] <tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td colspan='2' style='height: 12.75pt; width: 147pt;]Southern Cross <td class='xl66' style='width: 86pt;] <td class='xl66' style='width: 116pt;]Blanchetown
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Franklin <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]130 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]115 <td class='xl66]S.Pendlebury
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Shuey <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]113 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]112 <td class='xl66]S.Jacobs
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]D.Thomas <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]82 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]111 <td class='xl66]S.Selwood
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]M.Duncan <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]142 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]71 <td class='xl66]SD.Thompson
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]M.LeCras <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]20 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]126 <td class='xl66]D.Prestia
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]L.McDonald <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]79 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]35 <td class='xl66]C.Mayne
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]S.Kerridge <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]37 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]79 <td class='xl66]R.Gray
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]M.Johnson <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]76 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]70 <td class='xl66]D.Armitage
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Hansen <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]88 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]90 <td class='xl66]J.Geary
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]M.Hurley <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]70 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]64 <td class='xl66]R.Laird
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]C.Yarran <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]47 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]55 <td class='xl66]J.Schulz
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]D.Myers <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]86 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]60 <td class='xl66]P.Duffield
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]J.Fitzpatrick <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]37 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]68 <td class='xl66]H.Ballantyne
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]A.Kennedy <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]51 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]86 <td class='xl66]D.Pearce
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td class='xl65' style='height: 12.75pt;]S.Blease <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]0 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]75 <td class='xl66]T.Langdon
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;] <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]1058 <td align='right' class='xl65' style='text-align: center;]1217 <td class='xl65]
Round 3 voting for the Gold Cross: 5 - M.Duncan 4 - L.Franklin 3 - L.Shuey 2 - L.Hansen 1 - D.Myers Gold Cross Leaderboard: 8 - N.Fyfe, L.Shuey 6 - M.Duncan 5 - M.LeCras, D.Myers 4 - L.Franklin 3 - C.Yarran 2 - M.Johnson, L.McDonald, L.Hansen *In the event there are multiple players tied for 1st position at seasons end, the count back will be based on number of 5 vote games, then 4 vote games etc.

 

Southern Cross were hoping to regroup this weekend with a team bonding trip to Gisborne and 4 points to boot. The fixture they'd penciled in for a win is now looking less concrete with the news the MRP has offered Luke Shuey a weeks holiday for striking. This will leave the team short of 2 first choice midfielders, 1 first choice forward (LeCras), 1 interchange (Kerridge) and possibly their first choice ruck (Ryder). With little to no bench cover, the diminishing job security of Fitzpatrick and the lack of playing time for many of the rookies the Sandgropers could end up with a match day squad of just 10 players. When there is supposed to be 11 reserves to cover situations just like this the recruiters would be wise to take some annual leave and get the hell outof town!

 

Please, lie down and never get up, don't turn up, go missing on the plane trip, get hit by the wild drop bears Gisborne has, fall into one of your mines, something... Just let me win! If you only have 10 players, it might make it a whole lot more interesting. Then again, I think this week might be one of the few weeks I play with a full team hoping Lee and Billings come into the Saints squad. Either way hopefully it is a close fought match. Your team bonding activities might like to include a flower garden tour, as I'm sure all of your 'men' love, or maybe some wine tasting the night before the game. I'm sure the locals would be willing to help out with any of your needs, although watch for the rogue knife in your side. The people are desperate for the Grenades to get a win, and who knows what lengths they might go to

 

Round 4 Gold Cross votes: Yarran (116) - 5 Johnson (109) - 4 Duncan (101) - 3 Hansen (81) - 2 McDonald (80) - 1 Gold Cross Leaderboard: M.Duncan - 9 N.Fyfe, L.Shuey, C.Yarran - 8 M.Johnson - 6 M.Lecras, D.Myers - 5 L.Franklin, L.Hansen - 4 L.McDonald - 3

 

I'll have Nick Smith (taken pick 80 PSD) line up on... oh, his injury worsened. I'll play him on the ever-random Buddy instead. And thanks for the heads-up on the toilet paper (we'll pack our own). The Whalers are finally finding form having given our supporters their first home win and we are ready to thwart your attempt at putting us under! Even though your list looks good on paper, we will be helping you get draft picks!

 

Congratulations to the boys on sending those Whalers back to their paradise home. For tonight at least the locals will see Southern cross as their own little piece of paradise whilst they celebrate their teams third win of the season. Kevin 'the butcher' Bacon has been chaired through the main street and toasted on many occasion after his master plan to cut off the hot water, remove all toilet paper from the visitors rooms and make them sleep in tents on the bitumen net ball courts helped the home team to a win. I'm sure the boys will briefly enjoy the win before turning their attention to this weeks match against the Orangutans. Round 5 Gold Cross votes: 5 - M.Duncan 4 - N.Fyfe 3 - L.Franklin 2 - P.Ryder 1 - L.Shuey Gold Cross Leaderboard 14 - M.Duncan 12 - N.Fyfe 9 - L.Shuey 8 - C.Yarran 7 - L.Franklin 6 - M.Johnson 5 - M.LeCras, D.Myers 4 - L.Hansen 3 - L.McDonald 2 - P.Ryder

 

After a 29 point loss to the Orangutangs cost the Sandgropers a spot in the 8 the time has come to stop shielding the players and to start pointing fingers. The only problem with this is 2 hands are required after the debacle that was round 6. With 5 players scoring under 50 points they would have only needed to score an extra 6 points each to secure the win. In no particular order the Southern Cross Spuds for round 6 were: L.Franklin - 31pts C.Yarran - 38pts S.Kerridge - 45pts S.Lycett - 42pts D.Sheed - 31pts Sheed is excused from criticism as he only played a quarter and nearly outscored guys that played the whole match. Rant over, now for the Gold Cross votes: <table width='291' border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0] <col width='227' style='width: 170pt;[/img] <col width='64' style='width: 48pt;[/img] <tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt; width: 170pt;]Round 6 Gold Cross Votes <td style='width: 48pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]N.Fyfe <td align='right]5
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]P.Ryder <td align='right]4
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Shuey <td align='right]3
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]M.Johnson <td align='right]2
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]M.Duncan <td align='right]1
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Gold Cross Leaderboard
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]N.Fyfe <td align='right]17
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]M.Duncan <td align='right]15
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Shuey <td align='right]12
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]C.Yarran, M.Johnson <td align='right]8
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Franklin <td align='right]7
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]P.Ryder <td align='right]6
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]M.LeCras, D.Myers <td align='right]5
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]L.Hansen <td align='right]4
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]L.McDonald <td align='right]3

 

A disappointing home performance from the Sandgropers, but we must give votes: <table width='288' border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0] <col width='224' style='width: 168pt;[/img] <col width='64' style='width: 48pt;[/img] <tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt; width: 168pt;]Round 7 Gold Cross votes <td style='width: 48pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Hansen <td align='right]5
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Fyfe <td align='right]4
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Hurley <td align='right]3
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Ryder <td align='right]2
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Johnson <td align='right]1
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Gold Cross Leaderboard
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Fyfe <td align='right]21
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Duncan <td align='right]15
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Shuey <td align='right]12
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Johnson, Hansen <td align='right]9
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Yarran, Ryder <td align='right]8
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]Franklin <td align='right]7
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]LeCras, Myers <td align='right]5
<tr height='17' style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='height: 12.75pt;]McDonald, Hurley <td align='right]3

 

It's been a busy day for the list management team at Southern Cross. After much deliberation, nuts were put on the rock and tough decisions were made. The board agreed that the club needed to sacrifice proven players for promising youth and an improved draft position. The first move of the day saw reliable defender Michael Johnson move to Christmas Island in exchange for developing young forward Jake Stringer and pick 10 in the msd. This not only provided some much needed depth up forward but gave the club 2 selections in the top 10. Not long after, an approach from Packenham saw the board cut their losses and move on the expensive and erratic forward Lance 'Buddy' Franklin. In return the Parasites sent over talented young swingman Sam Day and promising first year midfielder Matt Crouch. In order to make room for Crouch the board made the tough call to move on spiritual leader Beau Waters. Many of the locals will be sad to see Beau leave (not least of all the SCS medical team), his courage and dedication will be sorely missed. The board are excited by the new additions to the squad and draft, that not only bring talent with them but also the depth the squad has been lacking. With just over a week to go in the trade period the board will continue to try and improve the club's position, looks like there may be some more late nights to come at Groper Park.

 

It's been a busy couple of days for the Sandgropers, 4 players have been traded out and 5 have been traded in. The board are determined to add some depth and quality to the list and have been prepared to trade out some big names in order to achieve their goals. 2 games have been lost this season due to not being able to field a full side, converting those losses to wins would have Southern Cross with a record of 5 & 2, sitting comfortably in the 8. The board are taking a breather to assess where the squad sits and decide if there needs to be any further action before the mid season draft. Players traded out: M.Johnson - Christmas Island L.Franklin - Packenham D.Thomas - Pearcedale S.Lycett - Pearcedale Players traded in: J.Stringer S.Day M.Crouch M.Kreuzer T.Bell Players de-listed: B.Waters S.Butler S.Blease

 

Southern Cross was very active during the mid season byes, turning over almost a third of the list in order to:
1. Prevent having a short squad on match day
2. Attract some more youth to the club (especially up forward)
3. Sort out issues of team balance & depth
Myself and the board are pleased with our trades, but only time will tell if they were the right moves. With a view to being contenders in 2 - 3 seasons it was seen as prudent to move on a couple of the older statesmen and replace them with some promising youth that will hopefully be peaking when the window is open. The board & locals are sad to see young gun Jack Martin and other WA boys Buddy Franklin & Michael Johnson depart however they understand the need to improve depth and become more competitive. With 2 losses by less than 50 points, being able to field 15 players would mean a record of 5 & 2 rather than 3 & 4. In saying this they are excited to see Harry Taylor & Andrew Swallow return home, coupled with the recruitment of some exciting youngsters and a quality ruck man in Matthew Kreuzer the future for Southern Cross looks bright. There may even be a sneaky chance they could scrape into the 8 this season.
<table width='100%' align='left' style='width: 100%;' border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0] <td valign='top' style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; width: 100%; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;] <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;]Mid Season Trades <table width='524' style='width: 392.9pt;' border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0] <tr style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; width: 236.9pt; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
Out <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; width: 156pt; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
In
<tr style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
M Johnson <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
J Stringer
<tr style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
L Franklin <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
S Day
M Crouch
<tr style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
D Thomas
S Lycett <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
M Kreuzer
T Bell
<tr style='height: 12.75pt;] <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
J Martin <td style='padding: 0cm; border: #000000; height: 12.75pt; text-align: left; background-color: transparent;]
H Taylor
A Swallow
<p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;] <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;]The trading left only 1 active selection for the mid season draft and the club are please to welcome a project player in Charlie Cameron (FWD). The recruiting team were excited with what they saw in his first match and predict big things for him in the future. <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;] <p style='margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt;]So with all these changes expect to see a new look team in a week's time when The Sandgropers host The Parasites in the inaugural Battle of the Bugs&amp;rdquo; match at Groper Park. The locals can't wait to see the boys in action.