Hogg Premier League 2014

[One Club Player]

I was tossing up between Ellis at home and Dunstan away as to who to have on the field and went with Ellis.

Cost me the game against Has Been.

I was pretty happy to get away with a win after McEvoy's late out. My two trades sucked this week. Pav to Zorko and McDonnough to Ambrose

[Groover]

Very happy to get a result this week, had alot of underperformers, thank GAJ for GAJ!

[Hondo]

I would have won had I not traded Buddy to Zorko

I'm still dirty about that sideways fail trade

[Groover]

you can always trade back

[CoverKing]

I learnt last year to not sideways trade premiums.

Did it twice last year early and costed me for the whole year.

[Q.]

The Titch/Rohan sub situation really ****** me over this week.

[Q.]

Oh dear REB....trades in Mumford, doesn't play and reports this morning suggest he is going in for knee surgery this week!

[CoverKing]

Ouchies!
2 from 2, quite happy with my start, got 2196 with two scores under 30 on my field so wont complain.

[Hondo]

I would have won had I not traded Buddy to Zorko

I'm still dirty about that sideways fail trade

And this week Zorko gets only 82 but still claws back 53 of the points that trade cost me last week.

It's a funny game this SC. I bet that move ends up break even from here.

[Rik E Boy]

Round 2 Results

Hondo SCC 2320
Squeakeroos DTC 2098

MILLER MOSQUITOES 2035
Longwood Lions 1922

Darksiders SCE 2216
Underdogs 2173

Has Been 1988
Poon Army 1967

Cork in the Ocean 2228
Hawkeye 1839

Buddy Franklin 2155
cyrilanddaleshow 2088

The Ginger Ninjas 2046
Spuds 2029

REBCats 2085
Q Before You 2043

Richo Richo Man 2196
Captain Who? 2091

Ladder

1 Cork in the Ocean 2 0 4597 4081 112.64 8
2 MILLER MOSQUITOES 2 0 4280 4104 104.29 8
3 Richo Richo Man 2 0 4472 4312 103.71 8
4 REBCats 2 0 4310 4260 101.17 8
5 Has Been 2 0 4274 4225 101.16 8
6 Spuds 1 1 4260 4010 106.23 4
7 Hondo SCC 1 1 4579 4412 103.79 4
8 Buddy Franklin 1 1 4372 4313 101.37 4

9 Underdogs 1 1 4487 4475 100.27 4
10 Captain Who? 1 1 4265 4284 99.56 4
11 The Ginger Ninjas 1 1 4134 4203 98.36 4
12 Darksiders SCE 1 1 4458 4542 98.15 4
13 Squeakeroos DTC 1 1 4273 4451 96.00 4
14 Poon Army 0 2 4149 4233 98.02 0
15 cyrilanddaleshow 0 2 4346 4441 97.86 0
16 Q Before You 0 2 4264 4361 97.78 0
17 Longwood Lions 0 2 4053 4210 96.27 0
18 Hawkeye 0 2 3803 4459 85.29 0

Cork in the Ocean has announced themselves as the form team of the Hogg Shield after racking up a decent score and topping the table in elite leagues in the early part of the season. After knocking off the Darkside last week they had a day out against whipping boy Hawkeye to earn themselves a nice little percentage booster. There won't be too many 350 point wins in this league so it's advantage Corky early.

Richo Richo is also off to a good start after I selected him to finish near the relegation zone, something CoverKing no doubt thanks me for after I selected him to win the comp last season and then he then proceeded to spud it up. Richo cleaned up the Captain by over a hundred points to advance to third on the table and with good scoring happening as well..

Speaking of good scoring Hondo was sensational this week racking up 2320 to knock off Squeaky who couldn't follow up his opening round win. Darksiders bounced back with a win over Underdogs and after a tough opening set of fixtures are well placed at 1-1. Teams that didn't score so well but remained unbeaten included the REBCats who had their first win over Q for a couple of seasons and Has Been who inexplicably won his match against Poon Army despite failing to score 2000 points. Far to say the Beeners dodged a real bullet there.

Hawkeye are really struggling and he has some company in the Longwood Lions who have started the season very poorly. Poon Army are also struggling to score a decent score and the reigning premier Q Before You hasn't quite got going yet in his premiership defence. The Ginger Ninjas and Buddy Franklin opened their account this week but wycbloods can't say the same thing after they suffered a narrow loss.

A few low scores this week so anyone who didn't score but still got the four points will be a happy coach indeed. If you are like Hondo or Darksiders you're thinking 'eh, what's all the fuss about'. Bastards.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 3 Previews

Squeakeroos DTCvs. MILLER MOSQUITOES

This league is so tight that the seven points between them equates to eleven spots on the ladder. At the moment MILLER has a few issues. Deledio is still out, Nick Nat is unlikelu and his backline isn't as good as Squeakys. My tip - Squeakeroos DTC.

Hondo SCC vs. Darksiders SCE - MATCH OF THE ROUND

Both of these teams are scoring very well at the moment but remarkably, the loser of this match will be a Richmond like 1-2. Both of these sides have a lot of shared players but Hondo appears to have the better forward line with Mitchell a bit of problem for the Darkside. My tip - Hondo SCC.

Longwood Lions vs. Has Been

Both teams have to do something about Pearce Hanley, especially the Beeners who have a lot of youth in the backline. The Lions appear to have more than a few non SC relevant players in the side and this strategy is causing Alaska problems at this level. With Big Boy to return, Has Been is the team more likely to bounce back to the required point scoring needed to win the game. My tip - Has Been.

Underdogs vs. Hawkeye

sharksta is in top form at the moment sitting inside the top five in the Hogg and looks set for a top four spot this season. Hawkeye looks set to be in Divvy I next year. Dogs easily. My tip - Underdogs.

Poon Army vs. Buddy Franklin

The Army is facing defeat on all fronts with PODs not firing and premos missing in action. Buddy Franklin is slowly starting to challenge after an opening round loss and i expect them to win their second on the trot in this match. My tip - Buddy Franklin.

Cork in the Ocean vs. The Ginger Ninjas

Corky has nailed his initial squad and the scary thing is it has room to grow with the midfield carrying plenty of youth. His forward line is solid and he has four premos in the backline plus Sandi and Sauce in the ruck. We all need to put a curse on a few of his guys or this season could be decided a long way from home. My tip - Cork in the Ocean.

cyrildanddayleshow vs. Q Before You

This season is starting to mimics Q's first season in Hogg Premier when he got off to a very poor start and was unable to crack it for an early win. While Q timed his run to perfection last year he has copped more than his share of bad luck so far this season. wycbloods is having an almost mirror image season to date which makes this match very tough to select. cyril has plenty of dayles in is forwardline with a bakery looming in an area where Q is the weakest. In a real toss of the coin job I'm selecting Q Man to open his account. My tip - Q Before You.

Spuds vs. Richo Richo Man

At the start of the season the Spuds looked like a bloody good side but the events of recent weeks have meant that a few things need to go right for him to defeat CoverKing. Paddy Ryder needs to be selected, Impey or Ambrose need to be selected, Carlton need to pull their finger out. I can't see all of these things happening so I'm selecting Richo Richo Man. My tip - Richo Richo Man.

REBCats vs. Captain Who?

After I brilliantly traded in Mummy last week, Captain Who has the better side on paper. He has four Hawks in the backline so this match won't be decided until very late. It might be the performance of the Captain's Hawks that decides this game even though Mitchell and Suckling are in both teams. Those who have selected Tom YoYoatore this season know that he gets 150 one week and bugger all the next. Last week he scored bugger all so I'm tipping that Libba might just get me over the line. My tip - REBCats.

Very tough writing these. Everyone has a chance to win unless you are Hammo or Woggy.

regards,

REB

[Q.]

Need Bartel to play an absolute blinder to beat bloodsy. Trust him to be about the only bloke without Ellis in his team

[CoverKing]

Ellis on the pine for me thankfully aswell.

I've been spuds by 29 + rougheads score so happy with that win. Should win by about 100 I would think. Hopefully post over 2300 aswell despite some below scores today (not including GAJ and PD who everyone has)

[wycbloods]

Q first time I've got the selection of Ellis right you're stiff haha.

[Q.]

Q first time I've got the selection of Ellis right you're stiff haha.

Good job. I should have left the injury prone prick as emergency too.

[Rik E Boy]

Round 3 Results

Squeakeroos DTC 2221
MILLER MOSQUITOES 2066

Darksiders SCE 2259
Hondo SCC 2197

Has Been 2165
Longwood Lions 2040

Underdogs 2175
Hawkeye 1973

Buddy Franklin 2430
Poon Army 2235

Cork in the Ocean 2166
The Ginger Ninjas 2032

cyrilanddaleshow 2267
Q Before You 2223

Richo Richo Man 2238
Spuds 2168

REBCats 2206
Captain Who? 2108

Ladder

1 Cork in the Ocean 3 0 6763 6113 110.63 12
2 Richo Richo Man 3 0 6710 6480 103.55 12
3 Has Been 3 0 6439 6265 102.78 12
4 REBCats 3 0 6516 6368 102.32 12
5 Buddy Franklin 2 1 6802 6548 103.88 8
6 Underdogs 2 1 6662 6448 103.32 8
7 MILLER MOSQUITOES 2 1 6346 6325 100.33 8
8 Darksiders SCE 2 1 6717 6739 99.67 8

9 Squeakeroos DTC 2 1 6494 6517 99.65 8
10 Spuds 1 2 6428 6248 102.88 4
11 Hondo SCC 1 2 6776 6671 101.57 4
12 cyrilanddaleshow 1 2 6613 6664 99.23 4
13 Captain Who? 1 2 6373 6490 98.20 4
14 The Ginger Ninjas 1 2 6166 6369 96.81 4
15 Q Before You 0 3 6487 6628 97.87 0
16 Poon Army 0 3 6384 6663 95.81 0
17 Longwood Lions 0 3 6093 6375 95.58 0
18 Hawkeye 0 3 5776 6634 87.07 0

Don't look now but here comes Buddy Franklin who racked up an impressive 2430 to beat all comers but more importantly the struggling Poon Army in their round three match. Much like the $wan midfielder, Buddy is back in town and scoring points after a slowish start to the year and the Budster now sits in 5th on the ladder.

The Grand Finalists of the past two seasons, Q Before You and Captain Who have not managed to find the 'on' switch just yet and time is running out for both to make their usual mark in the season. Q was one of many coaches sent to Ellis Island this week as cyrilanddayle got that call right and opened their account for the season. The Captain appeared to be chasing points all week and this turned to desperation by turning his back on Gablett as skipper and hoping that Mitchell would do his normal number on the Cats. It's history now that this didn't happen and the Captain copped a series of defeats this week.

Richo Richo continued his barnstorming start to the season even if the anticipated 2300 didn't arrive as he easily peeled the spuds who have only accounted for last played Hawkeye in the first three rounds and looks short of points this season. MILLERS are in a similar boat but have been winning games but that came to an end this week as they got rolled by Squeaky who are now 2 and 1.

In the match of the day the Darkside prevailed and all of a sudden Hondo is under the pump a little after dropping two of the first three games. Has Been remains unbeaten so far this season as he wasn't punished for his poor week last week. This round he returned to form somewhat against the Lions who admitted to missing the starting gun this season.

Corky remains top of the heap after putting in a quieter game but they still scored enough points to account for one of the lesser lights in Hogg Premier in The Ginger Ninjas. In the other match the mighty Underdogs made short work of Hawkeye who are in all sorts of bother and appear to have one foot out the exit door and headed to divvy I but Woggy can turn it around.....ok, maybe he's actually rooted and he can't.

regards,

REB

[Groover]

Not pushing the panic button just yet, but definitely leaning on it.

[Rik E Boy]

Round 4 Previews

Darksiders SCE vs. Squeakeroos DTC

The Darkside appears to be vulnerable this week with Ellis, Michie and Thomas in the midfield. The fact that Michie is still in the Darksiders lineup shows a coach who looks at the big picture, he's clearly backing Michie to get a game at some stage so he can pocket 50k. But just when it looks I'm about to pick against the Darkside again a closer look at Squeaky's combination shows an unforgiveable sin...no Ablett! Ablett will absolutely cane the Giants this week so the Darksiders appear to be a good thing. My tip - Darksiders SCE.

MILLER MOSQUITOES vs. Has Been

Looking at the respective lineups it's hard to envisage anything other than a Has Been victory. The MOSQUITOES have had the Mortein applied to them in recent weeks. Misfiring players such as Roughead and Watson, donuts from Deledio, Mitchell and Clurey and an underwhelming backline that is all too much to rectify in one week. My tip - Has Been.

Hondo SCC vs. Hawkeye

It's Hondo's turn to beat up on Woggy whose Hawkeye combination is looking more like the 1949 Hawks rather than the current model. In fact, I reckon Woggy would take 1949 the way Hawkeye are going. Hawkeye have been the more consistent combination this season but unfortunately for them, they've been consistently bad. This would be a major upset if Hondo got done here. My tip - Hondo SCC.

Longwood Lions vs. Buddy Franklin

Alaska has been listening to too much Pink Floyd 'no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun'. Now he is having to play catch up football in a league where even the smallest lapses get punished. Buddy Franklin are a combination that will relish the opportunity to consolidate his place in the top eight. After a first round loss they haven't done much wrong and I reckon they can win their third on the trot. My tip - Buddy Franklin.

Underdogs vs. The Ginger Ninjas

The Ginger Ninjas are one of the few teams to punt on Bernie Vince and this move has burnt him badly as Bernie isn't getting the ball and he's leaking money. Underdogs meanwhile, jumped on McCrae and this is just one line where the Underdogs have it all over the Ninjas. The Ninjas forwardline is poor even by this year's standards and you get the feeling Gingernuts is rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic already. My tip - Underdogs.

Poon Army vs. Q Before You

It's desperation time here for Hammo and Q Man as they don't have a win between them after three rounds in Hogg Premier this season. You would have to make every post a winner if you make a zip-four start and that's the fate the awaits the loser in this one. Now I've been tipping Q every week and he keeps on stuffing up my tips but it is just too much fun tipping against the Poon Army so Q it is again. My tip - Q Before You

Cork in the Ocean vs. Richo Richo Man MATCH OF THE ROUND

From the ridiculous to the sublime this match sees this season's Premier League bolters square off for the rights to early season premiership favouritism. Corky was flying high over the first four weeks but his scoring took a hit last week and he is looking at a possible three donuts in the mids in this game. CoverKing, for his part has gone for a few PODs and his selection of Rory Sloane in particular has paid dividends. Now, we can't have Richo Richo man win the Hogg, he'd be unbearable! So I have to do my bit and start talking up CoverKing because as soon as I do his form goes to the shitter. This magnifcent side won't lose a game all season - give him the cup now! My tip - Richo Richo Man

cyrilanddayleshow vs. Captain Who?

Do you want old man Groover with his finger on the button? Well, yes, because at least it's not me pushing the panic button LOL. This week the captain faces another tough match in the form of cyrilanddayle who appears to have mastered the art of high scoring losses this season. Bloods took out Q Man last week so perhaps he's starting to get that winning feeling. A trade from Caddy to Lloyd appears to be on the cards for the Captain as I don't believe he can win the match with his current squad. In what looms as perhaps the closest game of the round I reckon Captain might just sneak home, consigning cyrilanddayle to another high scoring loss. My tip - Captain Who?

Spuds vs. REBCats

Due to the fact my mob don't seem to ever get a huge score, another close match appears to be on the cards in this clash. The Spuds have never beaten the REBCats in Premier League and will need to do so or cop a three match losing streak. They've already played the bye Hawkeye as well so Spuds need another win soon. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Buddy against the Demons but the rest of the Spud forwardline is a barry crocker. Just as well I have Gary Rohan to teach him a lesson. I'm probably jinxing myself here but I'm tipping a result for the REBCats to continue our improbable start to the season. My tip - REBCats.

Been tipping reasonably well in recent weeks except I keep tipping against Darksiders (WTF?) and I keep tipping Q Man who must have dropped a mirror on a black cat while walking under a ladder looking for his lost rabbit's foot. I had to stick with Q because Hammo is on drugs but I set things straight, turning to the Darkside at last.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

**** me. I bring in Fasalo a week late, paying 70k overs for him and he gets subbed off at half time after five possessions in the first half. My 2014 Lemons list includes

Josh Caddy
Shane Mumford (zero points for the REBCats)
Fasalo

Get ******. Time for a Beer, GRRR

regards,

REB

[Q.]

Oh, so you're to blame REB.