Each year, we see some hard luck stories. The occasional game decided by 1 or 2 points, where the loser can feel hard done by. Sometimes one team will have several of these games in a year, and this can affect potential finals runs, or trigger a reset and reload for the next year.
One team has had a number of these games over our league history. What separates this team from the rest is that this has happened across multiple years, across multiple meaningful games, and indeed ruined a potential dynasty to rival that of the Chiefs. Gentlemen, I present to you, the Roughnecks.
2016
To begin right at the start, we had a very even competition in 2016. With everyone having the same opportunities with the inaugural draft, some used them better than others (see the Soldiers for an example of terrible drafting to begin a league). This evenness meant any game could go close, and indeed the wooden spooner was only 2 wins away from playing finals (still the closest margin between 6th and 10th in league history). Adam and his Roughnecks (co-owned by Rico at the time) were the first to suffer the cruellest of losses this season, with a 1 point loss to MaherShalalHashBaz in week 5. Jordan would take this momentum on to the minor premiership with a 13-4 record, however Adam would continue to experience mixed results, and just sneak into finals in 6th with a 7-10 record. However, once you’re in, anything can happen…
Week 1 of the finals saw Nathan with “Such is Fyfe”, a team that went 12-5 and was built to win from the start with less youth than some other teams, only missing the top 2 and the bye that goes with it on percentage, taking on the 7-10 Roughnecks. Remember when I said in finals anything can happen? Well, it happened here. A 25 point win to the Roughnecks prematurely ending Nathan’s season. While the finger can be pointed at a few Fyfers, the story here was clearly the midfield of the Roughnecks. 4 scores above 125 (2 of those above 140) set up a very nice score of 1912 which was enough to get the job done. One demon slayed, onto Champs 16 and coach Nelson. (Ironically, Nathan scored exactly 1912 the next week in the 5th place battle – if that had happened a week earlier it would have been a tie, and so Nathan would have advanced based on ladder position).
If we thought a 25 point margin was close, that was nothing on this prelim final. A game that ebbed and flowed, and it all came down to the final game of Essendon Vs the Doggies, with James Kelly and Shane Biggs taking on Lachie Hunter, Devon Smith, and Craig Bird (yes, he was a guy that played). Adam needed his 3 guys to gain 65 points on Nelson’s 2 (a draw with 64 not being enough due to ladder positions), which seems like a good shot, knowing Hunter was fast becoming a premium, and Smith a headache in the forward line. Unfortunately, Smith chose this week to miss the mark. Off a season average of 80, he trotted out a measly 56, meaning the Roughnecks only gained 56 points of the required 64, and so fell 8 points short of making the maiden Ultimate Keeper League grand final. Heath Shaw (124) and Patrick Cripps (139) the guys to take Nelson to the winning score, while Brad Crouch only scoring 46 was part of the reason (maybe) for his future trade to the Soldiers. Now I’m not one to assign blame without merit, and certainly not to a guy who top scored for his team, but Adam Treloar with 134 could have done so much more. 1 goal, 4 behinds his scorecard for the Pies. A 3-2 split would have given the win to Adam, however that’s the way it goes sometimes.
I won’t spend too much time on the grand final (I’ve laughed at Jordan enough for that), except to make one observation as it relates to the Roughnecks. While it is true he would have lost to the Champs again (only by 6 points this time), he did score enough to beat the runners up in Jordan. This means of course, that the Roughnecks were one goal (9 or 12 point play) during prelim final week away from hoisting the inaugural premiership sword.
As much as you can argue that a 7-10 record does not deserve a premiership, you can’t deny that there was some bad luck here from what could have been the ultimate Cinderella story in our debut to the world of dynasty leagues.
2017-2018
These are the two years that, while the Roughnecks were a team to be feared with a 3rd and 2nd place finish in the home and away seasons respectively, the games that sent them home were not so much bad luck but beaten by a better opponent.
2017 saw Adam, Jordan, and Nelson all end the season on an 11-6 record, however Adam was able to clinch the number 3 seed on percentage, giving him the chance to play Greg in the elimination final. Adam did what he needed to do with a comfortable win, setting up a match against the number 2 seed Chiefs (then known as Stranger Danger) for the right to play in the grand final. Adam had been down this road before, and so he knew what was at stake. What he didn’t know, indeed, couldn’t have known, that he was facing the start of the first dynasty of our generation. Mark did what we have become accustomed to him doing, and took care of business in August, with a 58 point win knocking Adam out of the finals race in prelim weekend once again. There were no real spuds on the Roughnecks team, however no one went big, with Mark holding a 5-0 advantage of players going 120+.
Another year of disappointment, but the core was still young and able to go big (evidenced by a 2272 scored against Nelson in week 15. Bring on 2018.
2018 was the Roughnecks most dominant year in this league, with a 14-3 record good enough for 2nd, with Mark only percentage ahead of him in 1st. A handful of low scores provided the 3 losses, and this year he split his series with Mark 1-1, and so there was respect, but not fear, of the reigning champs. The finals presented an exciting week 1, with both the 3rd and 4th seed losing to the lower ranked teams. This might have sparked fear in Mark and Adam, but they didn’t show it both winning through to the grand final (though Adam for a change was on the positive side of luck, scraping past Greg with an 11 point win). Grand final week followed a familiar script, with Mark smashing out a 2076 to waltz to back-to-back premierships. Jack Macrae single handily broke Adam’s heart with a score of 190 (highest individual score in a grand final to date), while Dangerfield chipped in with a very handy 158. Aside from Charlie Curnow, once again there was no spuds creating this loss, just a team at the top of their game flexing some muscle.
2019
2019 was another unique year for the league. Mark went 15-2, and only (we thought) a natural disaster could prevent him from getting the threepeat. The Roughnecks had an off year by their standards. After a 3rd and a 2nd place finish, they slid to 6th with a 8-9 record for 2019. For the second year in a row, the teams in 5th and 6th both won through to the second week of finals, with Adam defeating Greg (this is a trend – 3 straight years) in week one to set up a 4th straight prelim final, this time against the over achieving Soldiers who somehow got into 2nd spot on the ladder with the rebuild taking shape. This was a danger game for the Roughnecks, as they did lose both head-to-head games against the Soldiers during the year. However, all demons were quickly cast aside with a destruction of this young opponent. A 200+ point win in a final is nothing to be sneezed at, and now the grand final against Mark Jordan awaited.
Yes, you read (and probably remember) that correctly. The 15-2 Chiefs lost to the 9-8 MSHB in the upset of our generation. Josh Dunkley went nuclear with 150, while on the other end of the spectrum Allen Christiansen only got 12 points, on 30% game time making it count, leaving the door open for Jordan to enter his second grand final, the same as Adam.
The grand final was an epic encounter, with both teams doing all they could to claim the unlikely premiership. Heading into Sunday, I spent the day with coach Burgess, and he did not want to know the scores. Adam had more tons, but Jordan had some bigger ones, making it as tight as it gets.
The final game, which of course no one cared about was Freo Vs Port. I say no one cared, and this is true, however the care factor about Connor Blakely (Adam), Justin Westhoff, Dan Houston, and David Mundy (all Jordan) couldn’t have been higher. Connor Blakely (season average 74.8) was holding down the fort, with the Roughnecks holding a lead of 211 with the one player Vs 3 matchup. Justin Westhoff (season average 77.3), Dan Houston (season average 80.3), and David Mundy (season average 80.5) were standing in the way. If everyone played average, the Roughnecks would have won by 47 points. Jordan’s 3 scored a combined 261 giving him the lead of 50, not counting Blakely. All Connor had to do was score within 23 of his normal average and the title was his. Enter the biggest choke job of all time. 74% game time for 35 points will live in league infamy as the biggest disaster in Roughneck history. Jordan broke through for his first premiership, while Adam was left to lick his wounds once again.
4 prelim finals, 2 of which resulted in trips to the grand final, a couple of players doing things slightly different and there could have been 2 trophies in the cupboard, levelling the dynasty of the Chiefs. Instead, it’s on to 2020.
2020
The Covid year arrived. The AFL made the quarters shorter making scoring lower resulting in closer games, and we played with no bye rounds, but we got through a season. And once again, the script was very similar to previous years. The Chiefs were the minor premiers (again), the Roughnecks were the 2 seed and so guaranteed a prelim final appearance (again).
The Roughnecks thought their fortunes were changing with a 1 point win over Paul in week 4 sparking a 5 game win streak to have him entrenched in the top part of the ladder, once again only percentage separating him from Mark in 1st with a 12-3 record. In a break from tradition, the 3rd and 4th teams won through to the prelims, which left the top 4 battling it out on prelim weekend.
Adam had the unenviable task of playing Paul – a team similar to his own that had been around the mark every year so far, but never tasted glory. This match was the closest final of Adam’s career so far (which is hard to believe with all the close games seen), but once again he came up on the wrong side of the ledger. Max Gawn continued his assault of Adam with a ton (much harder to do with the short quarters), and with less spuds on the field Paul was able to make the grand final at Adam’s expense. Zac Fisher with 23 was quickly cut by Adam post this season, never to darken his doorway again, while Lambert (35) and Houli (38) both had their careers at Roughnecks HQ cut short (one by delisting, one via trade in 2021).
As we saw in 2016, this story has another knife-to-the-gut ending. Paul went on the face Mark in the grand final and was soundly beaten. However, Adam in his battle with the Soldiers for the rights to draft pick 7, got a score that comfortably beat both of them (not with Fisher playing however, that cut came quick). Lambert decided THIS was the week to score 90, while Houli scored 55 – both scores (only one of them required) the previous week would have led to a premiership, and with luck going the other way, it would have led to a 5 year tally of Adam 3 titles, Mark 2 (Jordan and Nelson none, so for the sake of league parity this has at least been good).
2021-2022
After 5 straight prelim finals, 2 of those being wins before losing the big dance, the last 2 years have seen a changing of the guard at the Roughnecks.
2021 started with a 6-5 record prior to the bye rounds, however coach Adam made the decision during this year that with the other teams in the league building their own lists up to contend, that it might be time for a reset. There was a trade to bring Jake Lloyd in for one last roll of the dice, but as the season went on, this mindset changed, and the exodus of the Roughnecks list began.
The Roughnecks still finished the home and away season in 5th, and won the elimination final, making a 6th straight prelim final in 2021. For the third time in 6 years, Adam found himself on the losing end of a Mark masterclass and was bundled out by over 150 points.
2022 post draft saw the biggest exodus of talent in one night that we have seen. In some deals made pre-draft, Tim English and Adam Treloar left the Roughnecks on new journeys, bringing in young talent for a rebuild to the Roughnecks. During the year more talent has left, with Hunter, Parker and Sicily (who was drafted in the pre season draft) all sent out in exchange for 1st round picks, to once again help Adam load up at the draft.
With the number of teams rebuilding at the moment, Adam still made finals, however it was a quick kill in week one, ending the streak of prelim finals, but still pointing to a bright future with lots of young talent currently developing, and more to come in the 2023 draft.
Will there be a premiership in the Roughnecks future? I am confident the answer to this is yes. The Chiefs, Defenestrators and Soldiers time will pass, and the new rebuilt teams like the Sparkles and Roughnecks will take their place. All I know is that with a little bit of luck, anything can happen.