Solomon’s Soldiers (1620) vs Puttanesca Chiefs (1909)
Solomon’s Soldiers have been posting 1800s, but such good form never felt sustainable. The Puttanesca Chiefs have been sustainably putting up awesome scores for ages. Their last 1800 score came in round 10 – and that isn’t even a bad score.
Mark will be delighted to see the return to form of Patrick Dangerfield (151), who until this week, had been quite ordinary. He was a noticeably better player when ‘Danger’ was in the team name. Nevertheless, between him and Lachie Whitfield (150), there was joy galore at the Puttanesca table, as well as a tough-luck story for Whitfield, who only gets two Dangergawn votes. Throw in the return of Jack Macrae (133) and the revived form of Tim Kelly (98, against his old team) and there is so much to like about this team’s chances of going back to back. You’d have to think that only continuously playing Steven Motlop (44) would stand in the way of Coach Buscumb and another grand final appearance.
Over at the soldiers, plenty of young kids dropped the ball. Riley Bonner scored 36 and he wasn’t even the worst performer in defence – looking at you Ryan Clarke (29). Throw in another three forties and a late withdrawal from Jack Viney and you can see how the low score eventuated. With an eye firmly on next year, don’t be surprised to see no more wins, but plenty more trades from the Nuriootpa based team.
Rico’s Roughnecks (1913) vs Shire Scourers (1809)
It was a good week to have workman-like saints. Roughneck Luke Dunstan (103) impressed his coach and Scourer David Armitage (110) rewarded Coach Schonfeldt’s faith. It was a bad week to have former super star swans in the team. Roughneck Luke Parker (59) and Scourer Josh Kennedy (27) both made an otherwise entertaining match hard to watch for the coaches. That doesn’t even factor in Dan Hannebery, who is so irrelevant I don’t know if he is injured, playing, at the Roughnecks or on the waiver wire.
Some unusual, but pleasant occurrences helped Adam get the win. Chad Wingard (97) took no marks but laid six tackles en route to a decent total. Jaeger O’Meara (123) looked like a talent worth the investment – he is in excellent form (he has a five round average of 111.6) Nic Newman (64) played. This win was important as it keeps Adam in touch with the top two and separates him from the middle of the pack.
I’ve kept my eye on Cam Rayner, who has been a solid draftee for the Roughnecks this year and is pressing his case to make the Roughnecks starting 22. Of particular interest to me, however, has been the differential in his form at home vs away over the last six matches:
|
At Home |
Away |
|
Essendon 67 |
@ North 108 |
|
GWS 38 |
@ Fremantle 102 |
|
Carlton 60 |
@ Hawthorn 83 |
|
Average: 55 |
Average: 98 |
Given that Brisbane are at home next round, I don’t think this is the round to recall him, Adam.
The Love Sparkles (1913) vs Defenestrators (2032)
Coach Ritchie posted a healthy 1913 and won comfortably. Coach Burgess Snr posted a healthy 1913 and lost comfortably. Paul, on the rebound, has posted 2019, 1981 and now 2032. This coach does not let his troops lose two in a row.
The Love Sparkles posted ten hundreds to the seven of the Defenestrators. Jack Redden (135), Callan Ward (107) and Todd Goldstein (125) are three players drafted in the top six of the inaugural draft, who have all hit form at the right time of year. The other top-six inaugural draftee, Toby Greene (61) is back and will be better for the run. The Love Sparkles are in good form and, given their form, that number two seed looks a lot more appealing than the number three seed. Imagine if Dad learns to predict Jamie Cripps’ bummers (He followed up a 104 and a 98 with 30 this week).
Alas, as good as the Love Sparkles were, they were still defenestrated. Tom Mitchell (157), Andrew Gaff (109), Stephen Coniglio (111) and Ed Curnow (110) are four of the top six midfielders in the competition and they provide such a sturdy base from which to launch awesome scores. It was also nice to see Jonathon Ceglar (62) get a late reprieve onto a list and then a late reprieve into the starting 22 after Matt Kreuzer’s injury. Feel good story to add onto the general awesomeness of winning well.
Speaking of feel good, Rory Sloane (111) made Paul very happy after signing that five year extension. Luke Shuey (116) made Dad very happy too. Their exchange in Ultimate Footy shapes to be a fair deal and a mutually pleasing deal as both coaches can enjoy their club’s star midfielders.
Such is ‘Fyfe’ (1885) vs Redshins (1650)
After last week’s glorious return to form, it is genuinely surprising that the Redshins lost to this team lower on the ladder. But given the round of football we just had, at least the Redshins are not alone – Geelong, Port and Hawthorn all lost games against lower ranked teams. The Redshins will certainly be ruing the missed opportunity, for they would be in the top six had they saluted.
There was certainly an element of drop-off from last week. Trent Cotchin backed his 103 up with a 48. Ben Cunnington backed up his 114 with a 66. Tom Cutler backed his 142 up with a 59. An awful injury to Nic Naitanui further sours matters for the Redshins. It was one of those awful weeks.
As for Such is ‘Fyfe’, it must be a huge relief to finally sing the club song again. A difficult season with very few wins makes this weekend’s victory even sweeter for Nathan. I wrote that sentence with Such is ‘Fyfe’ in mind, but it applies to Fremantle too. In further good news, there were three docker tons for Coach McLaren – David Mundy (122), Luke Ryan (111) and Sean Darcy (103). Darcy’s fine form reminds the purple army that life in the ruck without Sandilands is by no means a bleak proposition. Again, that sentence was written with Such is “Fyfe’ in mind, but applies to Fremantle as well. You’ll excuse me for conflating the two.
MaherShalalHashBaz (1943) vs The Bailout Plan (1306)
Given I scraped past The Bailout Plan with only seconds to spare in our last encounter, this weekend was much more enjoyable. I love it when Essendon play the Gold Coast suns. (Side note: Essendon scored 94 to 1 against the suns in the first quarter a few years back). Zach Merrett (138), Dyson Heppell (125) and Andrew McGrath (107) all enjoyed the easy pickings. Another four centuries and three nineties helped to lift my score to a nice total. That’s four wins in a row, which makes me the hottest team right now (thankfully, the others in the top six keep beating each other in alternate weeks).
The Bailout Plan have a difficult relationship with Thursdays. This week, Thursday was the winner. Four players didn’t take the field and only one emergency counted. Between that and Robbie Gray’s 25 and Will Hoskin-Elliott’s 24, there was little to cheer for. Two of the next four are against bottom four teams. Perhaps, given that rounds start on Friday again, there will be one last victory in 2018 for the Bailout Plan.