Thank you to Bandit for the great round review which follows, and to Lenny120 for his usual diligent work on the ladder.
Round 12 was the Kokoda Track/Trail Round, which set out to recognise the Diggers who fought in the SP in WW2. Following in the footsteps of the Hawks in the AFL, this round will support the efforts of the Kokoda Track Foundation in helping to raise money for the health and education of those currently living on the Track.
The Kokoda Track Foundation provides health and education programs for children on the track who often struggle to receive basic medical care and schooling - a basic social need which is often denied through lack of funding.

Marble Bar 1238 v Venus Bay 1129

Marble Bar starting to hit their straps after an injury ridden start to the season. Some of the sources closer to the club claim the clubs home ground rock hard surface was leading to a lot of soft tissue injuries such as grazed elbows and gravel rash knees. The fine white sand of Pippie Beach proved to be a welcome tonic for the Misfits, who revelled in the softer conditions. Enright (116), Terlich (119), Steven (106) and Whitfield (110) lighting it up for the Misfits, whilst Shaw (100), Mundy (120), Pearce (101) and Kreuzer (136) tried valiantly for Venus Bay. Venus superstar Jobe Watson will be out for a few weeks after stepping on a discarded syringe at the water's edge in the forward pocket whilst Andrew Gaff looked like he really couldn't GAFF forcing coach Fitzy to take a week off to ponder his ORFFA dilemmas.



Foul Bay 1415 v Lovely Banks 1317

A match committee night out on the sauce left Foul Bay in a precarious position coming into the final games for the round against the much improved Lovely Banks outfit, however they managed to scrape through with the Pav (106) and Johnson (99) getting them home. Earlier on Adocock (103), Swan (148), Thompson (108) and Duncan (121) had given Lovely Banks a flying start, and the Hobbit (101) did his pinchy best to get them over the line but at the end of the day the Chooks got home in a close one. Anyone coming up against Lovely Banks in the run home should be afraid, they are hitting their straps at the right time of the year, whilst the Chickens are enjoying being one out and one back with everyone focussing on the Iron Knob boys.



Gundagai 969 v Powlett Plains 1056

The match up between the Grasshoppers and the Packers was ultimately decided by which team could field the more complete lineup. The fact that Gundagai had four of the top 5 scoring players on the field (ROK 153, Mitchell 125, Goodes 111 and Rockliff 101) shows the potential this team has when they will have a full side on the paddock, but when fielding a side 4 players short it was always going to be tough. The Packers continue to drive for finals football at the end of the year, but will need to sort out the contract with Buddy (61) shortly to get the big guy back into some sort of form. Scully (100) and Bellchambers (105) played well for the visitors, with Gawn (36) and Gorringe (23) making up numbers in the forward line.



Cradle Mountain 1159 v Darraweit Guim 1190

In a gripping battle between Darraweit Guim and Cradle Mountain the result was done to a couple of kicks. With the Guim missing Maric and both West and Jamar being left out of the Cradle Mountain side, it was left to the likes of Carlisle (30) from Cradle Mountain and Vickery (36) from Darraweit to do their best in their role as makeshift ruckmen. Three of the best six players on the ground were Cradle Mountain midfielders in Pendlebury (154), Redden (113) and Zaharakis (110) which resulted in the Devils midfield combing for 467 points an advantage of 103 points over a Darraweit midfield led by Foley (110) and Walker (108), but the defensive line of Darraweit (342 total) proved to be the difference as they were simply too strong for the Devils' forward line (255). The second and third best players on the ground both started on the interchange bench and are two of the oldest players in the ORFFA, being Darraweit's Brent Harvey with 125 and Devil Dustin Fletcher with 114.



Wagga Wagga 1237 v Whitsundays 1126

The under rated Wagga Wagga outfit get home against the islanders who looked a bit out of sorts being this far inland . A highlight of the match was the Warriors coming out in camouflaged Hawaiian shirts in respect of the Kokada veterans, however this also unfortunately meant that the forwards were hard to target in the backdrop of the Livingstone National Park end of the ground during the first quarter. Goddard (134), Thompson (119), Bustanut (110) and Shiel (115) were rampant mopping up the loose ball from the inbound entries of the Warriors, whilst Kennedy (106), Sloane (112), Barlow (104) and Talia (129) fought valiantly for the Warriors. Wagga firm up their position in the 8, whilst the Warriors start to consider the future of Rebecca Judd as a barista at the Tiki Bar.



Charlies Opening 1241 v Birdsville 1206

Another match committee selection disaster from the Spelunkers, with Hansen and Hooker being left out of the side for Atley and Hill, costing the team 150 points and nearly costing them the match. The clash between the Birdsville forwards (Brown, Cloke, Mayne and Porps for 355) and the Spelunkers backline (Shaw, Mackie, Atley and Reid for 375) being a highlight of the game. Elsewhere Jack (138) did as he pleased, with Joey (102) and Gunston (104) providing good support for the Opening, with Ebert (109) and McEvoy (105) holding their heads high for the Battlers. In a match that went right down to the wire, a spud effort from Moloney (34) cost the Birdsville boys the win.



Mount Beauty 1153 v Gariwerd 1190

The match between the Uglies and the Cockies was very difficult to report on, mainly due to the heavy cloud of fog that descended onto the ground just prior to the game starting. In a low scoring affair the Mount Beauty centre core of Leuenberger (121), Cotchin (104), Sidebum (99), Bennell (106) and Wingard (88) nearly snatched the win for the home side, but a consistent across the ground performance from Gariwerd got the job done, with only Gray (114) and Masten (107) cracking the ton. Mount Beauty left to dwell on selection of Rioli as substitute and the below par performances of Ellis (38), Batchelor (26) and McGlynn (44) as some factors in the narrow loss.



Iron Knob 1218 v Larrikin Lagoon 1173

The flag favourites sneak home with a 45 point win over the improving Lefties. Iron Knob captain Gary Ablett misread the fixture posted in the canteen and thought the game was away this week. The mistake was realised the moment his private Gulfstream jet touched down at Larrikin Lagoon, but by then it was all too late, and Sam Day (18) was forced to try and cover for the super star. The Lefties did their best to take advantage of the situation with Priddis (129), Hale (110) and Monfries (108) firing up, but Bailey (34), NicNat (79) and Lynch (59) let the side down, with Lynch's lack of pressure in the forward 50 letting the Iron knob backline of Hanley (117), Harbrow (110), Garland (90) and Grima (103) run amok. After the game coach Gravenger conceded it might have been a bit too tall an order to expect Lynch to tag all four backman at once, but he was overloading his own backline in an effort to get some good rebound football happening. The Codpieces will need to have a word to Ablett's personal assistant to ensure the logistical issues from this week are a one off.



Waikikamoocow 1312 v Nunawading 862

For some reason the teams travelling to Ekatahuna at the moment are reluctant to field a full side. Maybe it has to do with the outbound flight being consistently over loaded with some of New Zealand's finest Pinot, resulting in the cabin crew having to limit the number of available seats. The travelling outfit from Nunawading were forced to leave a ruckman at home, giving Sauce Jacobs an afternoon off, resulting in a pedestrian score of 64. Staker (110), ZeeBull (109), McVeigh (123) and Mitchell (106) were on fire for the cows, with Mitchell rumoured to be rested for the coming week. With the Nuffa's appearing to suffer from a bit of fatigue in the closing stages of games, Coach Andy is debating moving the cheerleaders off site temporarily so the players can adopt more traditional methods of recovery after training.

Ladder after Round 12 ORFFA action:

Iron Knob 44 16945

Foul Bay 40 16171

Waikickamoocow 40 15222

Birdsville 32 14976

Wagga Wagga 32 14878

Venus Bay 32 14779

Powlett Plains 32 14731

Darraweit Guim 32 14377

-----------------------------------

Charlies Opening 28 15292

Gariwerd 22 14263

Cradle Mountain 20 14244

Mt Beauty 20 13643

Whitsundays 20 13545

Nunawading 16 12979

Larrikin Lagoon 8 14111

Marble Bar 8 13179

Lovely Banks 6 13720

Gundagai 0 10629



Things continue to tighten in the bottom half of the Top 8, with 5 teams on 8 wins and only separated by points for. Charlie's Opening remain well in contention for a Top 8 spot courtesy of their formidable points for total.



Next Week - Round 13:

(AFL 16) 12/7 - 14/7

NAIDOC Celebration



Due to the deleterious history of this country, every week of the ORFFA is an Indigenous week, and we have a NAIDOC week celebration, amongst that, in Round 13.

NAIDOC week is from the 7th to the 14th July and there are events all around Australia (for when you're not at the ORFFA). Info can be found here: www.naidoc.org.au/


On the ORFFA front, some vital matches - perhaps highlighted by the Birdsville-Wagga Wagga contest, and the Powlett Plains-Foul Bay match-up. Top 8 combatant Venus Bay faces what might now be termed a danger game against Lovely Banks.


For 10th placed Gariwerd and 9th placed Charlie's Opening, a vital contest to stay in touch with the Top 8, and the Whitsundays-Cradle Mountain match looms as a potential elimination final in terms of making the Top 8.



Waikikamoocow v Marble Bar

Nunawading v Iron Knob

Larrikin Lagoon v Mount Beauty

Gariwerd v Charlies Opening

Birdsville v Wagga Wagga

Whitsundays v Cradle Mountain

Darraweit Guim v Gundagai

Powlett Plains v Foul Bay

Lovely Banks v Venus Bay