Hogg Premier League 2016

[Rik E Boy]

Round 10 Preview
tips in bold

Has Been v Honey Badgers
Ben Rolfsburgers v Hondo SCC
Underdogs v Captain Who?
Pool Swimmers v Q Before You
Richo Richo Man v Squeakeroos
Les's Men v Poon Army
Cork in the Ocean v SHARKS
Longwood Lions v Ecky's Fevolas
REBCats v Delicious

Longwood Lions v Ecky's Fevolas MATCH OF THE ROUND

A big match between two last round winners and big improvers of this season. Ecky's ramped up their scoring last week and are in prime position to consolidate their spot at the top. Nic Nat will play say the Eagles but I have my doubts about him and worse for Aaron Hall owners, Rocket Eade has doubts about him. The big player for Ecky is Tom Rockliff who was the reason for their spike in form but the Fevs also have a few players you can't rely on too much such as Wagner (who tonned up last week!), Rich, Stringer and Lycett. Lycett is an interesting selection that provides ruck coverage in case NIc Nat misses for the Fevs.

The Lions have Nic Nat as well but doesn't appear to have the same quality coverage so if Nic does miss it is advantage Fevs. Alaska will be hoping that Zaharakis doesn't cop another tag after he was shut out by Barlow last week but the Lions also have a few head scratchers in their line up with Scott Thompson of North leading the way on that score.

There won't be much in this match but I think Ecky has the higher ceiling and that Rocky could be the difference again...well, Rocky and Scotty Lycett.

Ecky's Fevolas by 44 points.

The Rest

Has Been has the runs on the board and I reckon they can bounce back at the expense of the Honey Badgers. Hondo and Benny Rolfs will be close and we all know who wins those close ones. Hondo for another nailbiting win. He must be greyer than Mick Malthouse by now unless he's as bald as Rocket Eade. Captain Who will be too good for the Underdogs who are looking like the vulnerable team in the top eight especially as I think Q Before You will defeat the Pool Swimmers.

Richo has been in good form lately but my spidey senses are tingling and I can smell an upset. I reckon Squeakeroos are about ready to get a run on and that they'll turn Richo into roadkill. Poon Army can't possibly win three in a row so he'll get done as Les's Men ends his losing run and I don't like my chances against Delicious. In the other game we have the bottom two sides squaring off in what is a vital match for Cork in the Ocean. Lose this one and Corky goes 1-9 and is almost certain to get relegated. I think the SHARKS can keep their hopes of remaining in the top flight alive for another week in the mockbuster.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

ACK! Lonergan and MCCarthy have sunk me. I need Pendles to beat GAWN by 23 to get up over Delicious. Think I might come up short there. Can not wait to rage trade Lonergan's useless arse.

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

Less rookies on field than Ben saved me this week because I missed the Danger 229 VC score while Ben jagged it

I should have checked his side earlier because had I seen his Danger VC I would have matched it

That said him VCing Danger forced him to take Brown's 66 over Petracca's 89

[Rik E Boy]

Round 10

Has Been 2412
Honey Badgers 2321

Hondo SCC 2533
Ben Rolfsburgers 2427

Underdogs 2401
Captain Who? 2303

Pool Swimmers 2628
Q Before You 2390

Richo Richo Man 2334
Squeakeroos 2210

Les's Men 2449
Poon Army 2365

Cork in the Ocean 2195
SHARKS 2121

Longwood Lions 2494
Ecky's Fevolas 2321

Delicious 2504
REBCats 2484

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 8 2 0 22085 21332 103.53 32
2 Ecky's Fevolas 7 3 0 21779 21257 102.46 28
3 Delicious 7 3 0 21699 21215 102.28 28
4 Richo Richo Man 7 3 0 21664 21181 102.28 28
5 Longwood Lions 7 3 0 21616 21216 101.89 28
6 Captain Who? 7 3 0 21887 21515 101.73 28
7 Underdogs 7 3 0 21855 21495 101.67 28
8 Ben Rolfsburgers 5 4 1 22161 21837 101.48 22

9 Q Before You 5 5 0 21395 21504 99.49 20
10 Poon Army 5 5 0 21764 21974 99.04 20
11 Pool Swimmers 4 6 0 21865 22057 99.13 16
12 Has Been 4 6 0 21075 21322 98.84 16
13 Honey Badgers 4 6 0 20931 21610 96.86 16
14 REBCats 3 6 1 21980 21870 100.50 14
15 Les's Men 3 7 0 21660 22047 98.24 12
16 Squeakeroos 2 8 0 21110 21504 98.17 8
17 SHARKS 2 8 0 20511 21103 97.19 8
18 Cork in the Ocean 2 8 0 20446 21454 95.30 8

The Pool Swimmers ended their losing run in sensational style after they smashed out a mighty 2628 that locked the Q Man out of the top eight for another week and reinvigorated Pooly's spluttering season. It was a huge scoring round of SuperCoach as two other sides cracked the 2500 mark. Hondo got back on top of the ladder with his big win over Benny Rolfs and Delicious cleaned up my REBCats in a close one after valleys notched up 2504 in a fine performance (GRRR).

It wasn't a good look for the bottom two teams though as they both missed the bus with some pretty ordinary scoring. Second last SHARKS dropped the game to Corky and despite Squeaky looking less than flash these two sides look the bet for the drop next season. In terms of higher honours seven teams look pretty good for a finals spot from here but Ben Rolfsburgers has left the door open for half a dozen teams who would have hopes of staging a dramatic late entry for a finals spot.

So into the bye weeks we go with quite a few teams looking safe and the bottom five looking a bit nervous as a relegation battle looms. The teams in the middle have plenty to play for and the comp could look a bit different in three weeks...play on lady and gentlemen!

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 11 Preview
tips in bold

Has Been (8) v Ben Rolfsburgers (7)
Underdogs (6) v Honey Badgers (5)
Pool Swimmers (6) v Hondo SCC (6)
Richo Richo Man (6) v Captain Who? (7)
Les's Men (8) v Q Before You (12)
Cork in the Ocean (10) v Squeakeroos (7)
Longwood Lions (7) v Poon Army (5)
REBCats (6) v SHARKS (5)
Delicious (6) v Ecky's Fevolas (8)

Delicious v Ecky's Fevolas - MATCH OF THE ROUND
These two sides have been in massive form in recent weeks and it's second versus third in the Premier League match of the round. While trying to aid in quite frankly what will be guesswork this week, I noticed that these two sides are the only teams that have Luke Dahlhaus and Nic Nat in their teams. Despite this, Delicious still only have six absentees from last week's 22 that took the field (um, that's what those numbers mean boyos). If it wasn't for injury valleys would have been perfectly set up for this round but fate has it that his opponent has those very same blokes out so that two player advantage has been saved. Some astute coaching there from valleys with a bit of luck which is always handy.

The key PODs in this game are Tom Rockliff for Ecky's and big Maxxy Gawn for Delicious. Both players have the ability to go massive so whichever player goes off largest could decide the outcome. It won't be as simple as that of course but I'm liking Max Gawn to tear it up against Sinclair who will have Naismith as backup. I can see Gawn going rather large this week and he might just drag the Demons..and Delicious along with him.

Delicious by 53 points.

THE REST
Like I said severe guesswork for the rest. Par for players out in Premier League for this week appears to be 6-7 players out. A couple of teams are way over and I can't see them winning this week. Les's Men had a win last week and may benefit from an almost tank by Q Before You. It might be just team building and or trade management for Q this week because 12 down is a lot. While I'd give Q the benefit of the doubt and say team management I'm not so sure about last placed Cork in the Ocean who are 10 down this week. If he can get the win against Squeakeroos this week that's two relegation contenders beaten in two weeks so an absolutely massive game for Corky. The three player advantage that Squeaky has this week should prove decisive.

I've basically gone with the numbers with most tips. I think I can take out the SHARKS despite being against the numbers and I've selected some teams on the basis of form (i.e Richo Richo Man) or lack of it (tipping against Benny Rolfs)..but then again I might have tipped Has Been because I don't want Ben Rolfsburgers to slam the door shut on my own faltering finals aspirations. Kudos to the Honey Badgers (who I've tipped against) and Poon Army for having a mere five players unavailable from last week's 22 nice work that. Poony could be a team to watch during the bye period because he locks himself in a dungeon in order to prepare for the bye period. Hammo will also be hoping that Has Been can keep the door open for the rest of us.

regards,

REB

[Q.]

haha ****, 12 down, FMSC

can't even trade my way out of that one

[Alaska]

haha ****, 12 down, FMSC

can't even trade my way out of that one

He is Tanking,...

i thought no one will want to face him for the next two bye rounds. So I checked.
Groan I have him next week.

[Q.]

yep, pencilling in the loss this week, make up for it next two

[Rik E Boy]

Even when I don't have 22 I'm still guaranteed at least three spud ups. Gibson FFS.

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

Round 15 is the closest I will come to a tank

[Rik E Boy]

Round 15 is the closest I will come to a tank

Who are you playing SHARKS, Corky or Squeaky?

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 11

Has Been 2064
Ben Rolfsburgers 1972

Honey Badgers 1996
Underdogs 1852

Hondo SCC 2113
Pool Swimmers 1974

Captain Who? 1973
Richo Richo Man 1889

Les's Men 1785
Q Before You 1500

Squeakeroos 2091
Cork in the Ocean 1817

Longwood Lions 1970
Poon Army 1924

SHARKS 1941
REBCats 1892

Delicious 2015
Eckys Fevolas 1975

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 9 2 0 24198 23306 103.83 36
2 Delicious 8 3 0 23714 23190 102.26 32
3 Captain Who? 8 3 0 23860 23404 101.95 32
4 Longwood Lions 8 3 0 23586 23140 101.93 32
5 Ecky's Fevolas 7 4 0 23754 23272 102.07 28
6 Richo Richo Man 7 4 0 23553 23154 101.72 28
7 Underdogs 7 4 0 23707 23491 100.92 28
8 Ben Rolfsburgers 5 5 1 24133 23901 100.97 22

9 Has Been 5 6 0 23139 23284 99.38 20
10 Poon Army 5 6 0 23688 23944 98.93 20
11 Q Before You 5 6 0 22895 23289 98.31 20
12 Honey Badgers 5 6 0 22927 23462 97.72 20
13 Les's Men 4 7 0 23445 23547 99.57 16
14 Pool Swimmers 4 7 0 23839 24170 98.63 16
15 REBCats 3 7 1 23872 23811 100.26 14
16 Squeakeroos 3 8 0 23201 23321 99.49 12
17 SHARKS 3 8 0 22452 22995 97.64 12
18 Cork in the Ocean 2 9 0 22263 23545 94.56 8

The standard was pretty high in the Premier League as the league went up over 300 spots during the first of the bye weeks. Top side Hondo led the way in the Hogg this week with a massive 2113 which was more than enough to belt an unlucky Pool Swimmers whose 1974 would have beaten almost anyone in the Hogg this week. Has Been, Squeakeroos and Delicious also cracked the 2000 mark in a week when most didn't.

Q Man copped the raw end of the scale this week and Les's Men where the lucky team to get a valuable win with a score of only 1785. Other teams that failed to flatter where the REBCats who had a spud fest from our so called keepers, Cork in the Ocean and Underdogs. With Squeakeroos and SHARKS getting up it was a bad week for the Cats and things are starting to get a bit desperate at Cat Land!

Another team who might be wondering where their next win is coming from is Benny Rolfs who can't seem to close the deal on eighth spot. Luckily for the Rolfs, none of the chasing pack appear to be capable of closing the gap. Has Been are looking good for the first time since Round 1 and they found something this week to get back amongst the contenders.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 12 Preview

Has Been v Underdogs
Pool Swimmers v Ben Rolfsburgers
Richo Richo Man v Honey Badgers
Les's Men v Hondo SCC
Cork in the Ocean v Captain Who?
Longwood Lions v Q Before You
REBCats v Squeakeroos
Delicious v Poon Army
Ecky's Fevolas v SHARKS


No real preview possible this week as SuperCoach only show scoring players from last week now and not the entire squad. Looking through the sides you don't need to be Sherlock to work out that many players of last week's eighteen won't be playing this week. Some pretty important matches coming up this week. Pool Swimmers will be hoping to build on some improving form by keeping the top eight door open and beating Benny Rolfs.

My match against Squeaky is massive as SHARKS are right behind us in the relegation fight. Has Been are back but appear to be hit harder than most in terms of bye damage. It's all pretty much top versus bottom stuff so Underdogs v Has Been is probably match of the week for this week but who wins this week is anyone's guess..but it probably won't be me LOL.

regards,

REB

[valleys07]

I am down to 16 this week, not including some benchies that mightn't make the cut!

I'm resigning myself to a loss this week.

[Rik E Boy]

Round 12

Underdogs 2010
Has Been 1925

Pool Swimmers 1696
Ben Rolfsburgers 1664

Honey Badgers 1861
Richo Richo Man 1586

Hondo SCC 1978
Les's Men 1863

Captain Who? 1877
Cork in the Ocean 1627

Q Before You 1978
Longwood Lions 1495

REBCats 1962
Squeakeroos 1801

Poon Army 1901
Delicious 1528

SHARKS 1902
Eckys Fevolas 1849

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 10 2 0 26176 25169 104.00 40
2 Captain Who? 9 3 0 25737 25031 102.82 36
3 Underdogs 8 4 0 25717 25416 101.18 32
4 Delicious 8 4 0 25242 25091 100.60 32
5 Longwood Lions 8 4 0 25081 25118 99.85 32
6 Ecky's Fevolas 7 5 0 25603 25174 101.70 28
7 Richo Richo Man 7 5 0 25139 25015 100.50 28
8 Poon Army 6 6 0 25589 25472 100.46 24

9 Q Before You 6 6 0 24873 24784 100.36 24
10 Honey Badgers 6 6 0 24788 25048 98.96 24
11 Ben Rolfsburgers 5 6 1 25797 25597 100.78 22
12 Has Been 5 7 0 25064 25294 99.09 20
13 Pool Swimmers 5 7 0 25535 25834 98.84 20
14 REBCats 4 7 1 25834 25612 100.87 18
15 Les's Men 4 8 0 25308 25525 99.15 16
16 SHARKS 4 8 0 24354 24844 98.03 16
17 Squeakeroos 3 9 0 25002 25283 98.89 12
18 Cork in the Ocean 2 10 0 23890 25422 93.97 8

With five weeks to go until the Hogg Premier League finals, Hondo SCC is the team to beat. Hondo is on top in the scoring and the premiership table even though the coach has fessed up to a wipeout in the third bye week. It will take a good side to beat Hondo this year but there are obviously a few contenders in this league. Captain Who? has been up and about for most of the season and it's probably time I started to rate Sharksta's effort as the Underdogs continue to defend their premiership ranking from most challengers.

A few top eight sides had bye blowouts this week with Delicious, Richo Richo Man and Longwood Lions all well down on their usual form. It's even worse news for Ecky's Fevolas who scored well and lost which is never a good look during the bye weeks. It is difficult to score well three times in a row at this time of year so you've just got to win whenever you have the troops on deck.

Speaking of down on their usual form Benny Rolfs are in freefall after suffering their 5th straight loss last weekend. After Round 7 the Rolfs were top of the table after knocking off Eckys Fevolas but it's been downhill for them ever since and after many attempts this was the week they finally fell out of the top eight. The team to take their place is the Poon Army. As Team Ackermanis, Poony won the first ever Hogg Premier League but this is perhaps his best season with the league's ranking up to 478 now. It's been a big season by the Poon who I had pencilled in as a Divvy I side next year.

Speaking of relegation candidates, it was good news for the SHARKS who made it back to back victories with a massive upset win over Ecky's Fevolas. Meanwhile, my REBCats managed a priceless four points up against one of my main relegation rivals. If I finish third in scoring and go down I'm going to be about as happy as Chris Scott was on Saturday night.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 13 'Preview'

Has Been v Pool Swimmers
Richo Richo Man v Underdogs
Les's Men v Ben Rolfsburgers
Cork in the Ocean v Honey Badgers
Longwood Lions v Hondo SCC
REBCats v Captain Who?
Delicious v Q Before You
Ecky's Fevolas v Squeakeroos
SHARKS v Poon Army

Again no real way of researching these games but as the rounds start to run out matches are starting to get important. The tips above are pretty much plucked out of thin air (being polite there, too much class!) so this means I've probably picked nine winners. Hondo has fessed up that this week will be a wipeout which is good news for top eight rivals Longwood Lions. A few weeks ago Q Before You did the same so I'm thinking they might be pretty well set up against Delicious which would be an upset as far as the ladder is concerned.

Then newest top eight side is evil bye master Poon Army but the SHARKS have been doing it well over the bye period as well so this will be a test for Hammo. I reckon he just sneaks over the line and consolidates his spot in the eight. Richo Richo was in white hot form until recently and his match against the mighty Underdogs shapes as the match of the round which I think Sharksta can win. A loss to Richo here would make them look a bit vulnerable to the hopeful sides sniffing around outside the eight. One team who won't be sniffing around the eight is the REBCats who gambled and lost on a bye strategy that now looks set to bite us on the arse...I've got no players and the Captain will flog me.

Has Been and Pool Swimmers have fought back in recent weeks in terms of scoring but are finding consistency elusive. The winner will be right back in town with frustration awaiting the loser of this match. I'm backing the reigning premiers to remain relevant in this year's competition in the last of the bye rounds. Eckys got rolled by the SHARKS last week but I think they might fight back and put the heat on the Squeakeroos who are starting to cop some relegation worries. Cork in the Ocean is a further game back and I can't have them against the Honey Badgers. In the other game Ben Rolfsburgers have lost edge in recent weeks but I'm tipping they will return to the winners list against Les's Men.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 13

Has Been 1761
Pool Swimmers 1487

Underdogs 1720
Richo Richo Man 1555

Ben Rolfsburgers 1982
Les's Men 1722

Cork in the Ocean 1604
Honey Badgers 1464

Hondo SCC 1741
Longwood Lions 1543

Captain Who? 1759
REBCats 1472

Delicious 1803
Q Before You 1712

Ecky's Fevolas 1674
Squeakeroos 1645

Poon Army 1854
SHARKS 1636

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 11 2 0 27917 26712 104.51 44
2 Captain Who? 10 3 0 27496 26503 103.75 40
3 Underdogs 9 4 0 27437 26971 101.73 36
4 Delicious 9 4 0 27045 26803 100.90 36
5 Ecky's Fevolas 8 5 0 27277 26819 101.71 32
6 Longwood Lions 8 5 0 26624 26859 99.13 32
7 Poon Army 7 6 0 27443 27108 101.24 28
8 Richo Richo Man 7 6 0 26694 26735 99.85 28

9 Ben Rolfsburgers 6 6 1 27779 27319 101.68 26
10 Has Been 6 7 0 26825 26781 100.16 24
11 Q Before You 6 7 0 26585 26587 99.99 24
12 Honey Badgers 6 7 0 26252 26652 98.50 24
13 Pool Swimmers 5 8 0 27022 27595 97.92 20
14 REBCats 4 8 1 27306 27371 99.76 18
15 Les's Men 4 9 0 27030 27507 98.27 16
16 SHARKS 4 9 0 25990 26698 97.35 16
17 Squeakeroos 3 10 0 26647 26957 98.85 12
18 Cork in the Ocean 3 10 0 25494 26886 94.82 12

The SuperCoach Gods are smiling on Hondo at the moment. Two weeks ago Hondo bemoaned a potential wipe out for this round and he was drawn to play Longwood Lions who are having their best season in the Premier League to date. Well Alaska might be feeling a bit like Adam Simpson at the moment after his Longwoods fluffed their Lions as they crashed to a 198 point defeat. Now listen here Hondo, check out my form. THAT'S what a wipe out looks like. It was smooth sailing for the Captain who was never troubled and they remain a game behind the league leaders after 13 matches.

The Underdogs had a big match against Richo Richo Man with both sides in the eight. The Dogs got the job done on the bit and the joke's on Richo if he ends up in ninth spot. That's considered a good result though by Tiger fans so he might not be all that unhappy until he learns you don't get draft picks in fantasy football. Delicious hit back hard against a misfiring Q who can't quite get into the swing of things this season. I doubt he will be repeating this season's early strategy next year as the Q man is starting to head towards the middle of the Queue.

While Q are going backwards Poon Army are most definitely going forwards. It was another big bye week win for Hammo against the SHARKS who had shown some decent bye week form themselves. The Army are now sitting pretty in 7th spot and are eyeing further honors later in the year. Ben Rolfsbergers had lost the plot for about five weeks but they bounced back to top form which is bad news for Richo in particular. The Rolfs smashed out a massive (for this round) 1982 which was more than enough to thrash an unlucky Les's Men who carded quite a good score but got done.

Has Been's premiership defence appears to be back on track although he is one match further back then he would like. Cork in the Ocean have bobbed up yet again after they cleaned up the Honey Badgers who went even worse than the REBCats. In the other game Squeakeroos lost another heartbreaker as Ecky's Fevolas hung on for a 29 point victory that could well lead to Squeaky featuring in Division I next season.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 14 'Preview'

Has Been v Richo Richo Man
Les's Men v Pool Swimmers
Cork in the Ocean v Underdogs
Longwood Lions v Ben Rolfsburgers
REBCats v Honey Badgers
Delicious v Hondo SCC
Ecky's Fevolas v Captain Who?
SHARKS v Q Before You
Poon Army v Squeakeroos

Again not much chance to research as SC chugs through the last of the bye rounds in review mode. So it's guestimate time once again. With only four weeks to go until the finals and relegation things are getting a bit tight for some teams. Hondo remains the inform team of the competition and I'm tipping him to defeat Delicious in what is the match of the round. Another big clash is between Longwood Lions and Ben Rolfsburgers who went large last weekend. I reckon Benny boy might be back which is bad news for Alaska.

Les's Men have a pretty ordinary ladder position that is not wholly deserved and I reckon that the SC Gods will smile on the 'Bians and that Pool Swimmers will sink this weekend. Underdogs should be far too strong for Cork in the Ocean despite their recent improvement. The Fevs and the Captain is another big match up with Captain Who in pretty good form once again I'll trot out the line that the Captain will salute this weekend. I know REB get some more material.

The SHARKS and the REBCats are both going to enjoy victories over teams that are above them on the ladder. I can feel it me water folks. It won't be good news for Squeaky though as the Poon Army will keep marching towards the final eight and Squeakeroos will have trouble avoiding the noose that he slipped a few seasons ago. Has Been and Richo have turned the corner and it will be the Beeners that head north while the out of form Richo heads South as they shake hands going the other way.

Good luck to everyone except the Honey Badgers.

regards,

REB

[Banker]

Silly REB, you're stuffed now! I only win when you tip against me

[Rik E Boy]

Silly REB, you're stuffed now! I only win when you tip against me

Nope. You're ass is mine. Might as well have a laugh before I get relegated LOL.

regards,

REB