ORFFA ROUND 10 REVIEW ~ International Appreciation Round~ By sNoZ



Gundagai lost to Charlie's Opening, 1053 to 1136
In the battle of top 3 Vs bottom of the table, Charlie's Opening hung on to win in a low scoring affair by only 83 points. Both teams were hit by cavity inspections at Customs, with Charlie losing Gunston at JFK airport & the Hoppers plane took off without two forwards, last seen playing ultimate Frisbee on the beaches of Miami.
Led by Mackie's (117) welcome return to form, Charlie had no real standouts but an average score of 75 across the board was enough to compensate for Petrie Dish (58) who did nothing but grow bacteria. The Hoppers were surprisingly led by the mini three: Adams (114), Dwyer (100) & Taylor (101) but could not overcome their inept forward line.



Birdsville Battlers crushed Venus Bay, 1220 to 980
This middle of the table battle saw two teams going in different directions. The Battlers have now won 4 in a row, led by Ebert (147), SMurph (106), young gun Treloar (118) and even Clokey (110) for a solid all- around score of 1220. Now one game out of the eight, the Battlers are making a serious mid-season push to the Finals, but will need Laird (25) and White (37) to pull their socks up.
Venus Bay were hurt by tattoo boy's late out (Beams 0) & no covering emergencies. Continuing their Jekyll & Hyde performances, the Vultures have gone LWLWL over the last month and will need more from Parker (60), Mayes (45) & Blair (40). Gibbs (128) & Mundy (115) must have sore backs carrying their mates.



Lovely Lilacs in a thriller over Marble Bar, 1196 to 1149
In a match that came down to 47 points, the Lilacs win a close one against the Misfits & hang onto 8th spot on the ladder. With 3 wins in their last 5 games, the Lilacs will need to keep pressing as others are knocking on the door of the top 8. Led superbly by Duncan (136) & Thompson (102), the Lilacs went with no Ruck & concentrated on shagging all of Misfit Ryder's taps, with strength in numbers across all lines.
The Misfits continue to be ‘thereabouts' but need help. Playing one short in defense, Bruce (42) needed to do more & Yeo (17) needs to wake up. The W's ~ Ward (122) & Whitfield (127) in the Mids carried Stevens (45) & Dunstan (30) whilst the forward line remains strong.



Wagga Wagga Wombats 1429 take out Waikikamoocow 1274
Now only separated by 5% on the ladder with 7 wins each, the Kiwi's run of 4 straight wins comes to a halt with the Wombats running out easy victors by 155 points.
Hard to tell what went wrong with the Incorrigibles, led by McVeigh (104) & Duffman (102), NDS chipped in with (111) & star mid fielder Fyfe powers on with another great score of (128). Jacobs (126) & Robison (102) also teamed up well, but Hannebery's injury (55), Carmeri's no show (31) & less than solid Hibberd (69) need to step up.
The Wombats all hit their stride, with 7 player's hitting the ton. Young star Prestia (146) was everywhere, Dunn (149) & Eski (102) repelled all in the backline, Lycett pinch hitting in the ruck (104) was amazing whilst Buddy (146) and Schultz (111) continued their forward domination.



Whitsunday Warriors slip past the Nuffers, 1199 to 1169
Another close affair saw the Warriors take out the back sliding Nuffers by a mere 30 points. The Nuffers have now lost 4 of 5 games & see their top 8 aspirations taking a serious hit. The Warriors though continue to push, having won 3 of 5 & their last two on the trot. Still 2 games out of the 8, they will need their recent surge of form to continue. Birch (102) was solid, Lobbe was all over the ground (145) & Tutt (100), JJK (116) were welcomed back to an improving forward line. Hrovat (56) came off the bench to fill in for Thomas (0), whilst Sloane (63) was below his best. The General (84) continues to show what he will eventually be.
The Nuffer's brought in Sylvia for his first game (8), a move which fell horribly flat, whilst JPK (102) was again solid in the Mids. Mohr (108) played one of his best games in defense to make up for Simpson's (83) below par score. Charlie Dixon (67) tried hard in the ruck but the forward line needs more help with Dawes (61) continuing to plod.



Iron Knob Codpieces 1351 pip the Dirigibles 1316
Fifth placed Darraweit took it right up to one of the two undefeated teams but fell short by only 35 points in a classic shoot out. Scoring 1316 was better than all but two other teams this round, so Darraweit should take some serious confidence into the 2nd half of the season.
The Codpieces remain neck and neck at the top of the table with Foul Bay & continue to show the force they will be in the Finals. With 5 tons, the Cods have serious depth. Griffen was a late call up off the bench & scored a superb (94), whilst GAJ (106), Jones (127) and Goldy (102) stood out. Hanley led a rock solid defense with (133) & the interchange boys of Douglas (92) & Minson (96) continue to put their hands up.
Darraweit had great leaders in NicNat (142), Goddard (157) & old man Harvey (124). Youngster Seedsman was wonderful, chipping in with (89) but the Guim probably lost this match up forward when Coniglio could only muster an (18).



Gariwerd Cockatoo's 1209 chip the Packers 1080
This bottom of the table clash saw the Cockatoo's reverse 4 straight losses with a solid win over the limping Packers by 129 points. Both squads seem to be playing out the year with an eye on next season & sit 4 games out of the 8; rebuilding remains a priority.
Hurn (157) & Smith (133) were exceptional for Gariwerd in defense but mini Mitchell (34 oop) in the ruck just couldn't get his diminutive height up enough to get the ball to his Mids, with Lids (80), Masten (60) and Stevens (84) needing more of the ball.
(CONTINUED OVER)
The Packers were led by Carrots (127) and Scully living up to his payday finally (123), not to mention the resurgent Greenwood (106) but were let down by CBeams (35), late out foot man Fasolo (0) and limping Grundy in the ruck (27). Dempster (45) in defense was also well below par.



Cradle Mountain get past the Uglie's, 1068 to 1023
The Devils did just enough to remain in 7th place by taking out Mt Beauty (14th place) with a low scoring 45 point victory. Heading into the 2nd half, the Uglie's season is all but over with 1 win in 5 games, but the Devils will need to do a lot more to remain finals bound.
Playing 4 short, Cradle Mountain had only 2 emergencies with neither really helping out (Brown 46 & Smith 43), late out Stevie Johnson hurt, but Pendles (139) and Heppell (118), not to mention super interchange player Zaha (154) helped them over the line.
Mt Beauty had their own troubles, with Viney (85) filling in well for Steele (suspended) & Menzel (52) doing ok filling in for Boyd, but with no ruck man (Gawn 0), Hartlett (13) getting injured & NRoo putrid (34), the team was left to rely on stalwarts Martin (108), Newman (104) & Ellis (114) to shoulder the load.



Foul Bay Chickens destroy Larrikan Lagoon, 1592 to 1089
Top of the table Foul Bay never took their foot off the pedal to humiliate the Lefties by over 500 points. The ASPCA was nearly called to protect Larrikan, who with a full squad could only average 72 points a player across the field, never enough to challenge these ferocious Chickens.
Priddis (128) did his best for the Lefties but mediocrity rifled thru the rest of the lines. Hale (56), Daniher (52) and Grant (86) needed to do more up front, Selwood's late out was covered well by rookie Lloyd (72) but Durryea (66), Thompson (54) and Baguley (66) were a sieve in defense.
Foul Bay continue to march on to the finals with an amazing 1592, just 8 shy of the magical 1600 score. Nine centurions shows strength in numbers, led by Bartel (152), Stokes (147), Libba (142) & having Dalhaus (109) on the interchange bench shows how good these guys are when he can't start on the field. Even with Roughy (71) and Danger (91) quiet, this team will be formidable.