Round 13
Richo Richo Man 2285
Poon Illuminati 2047
Chicken Twisties 2135
Delicious 2005
Inner Sanctum 2486
Q Before You 2208
Has Been 2342
Roosters 2181
REBCats 2217
Wadey's Warriors 2128
Ecky's Fevolas 2274
Ben Rolfsburgers 1516
Mediocre at Best 2456
Sharks 2251
TEAM_FISH 2452
Hondo SCC 2293
Hips Don't Lie 2211
Captain Who? 2110
Ladder
1 Hips Don't Lie 10 3 27180 26456 102.74 40
2 Ecky's Fevelas 8 5 27567 26331 104.69 32
3 Chicken Twisties 8 5 26847 26085 102.92 32
4 Roosters 8 5 26917 26239 102.58 32
5 Inner Sanctum 8 5 27765 27676 100.32 32
6 Q Before You 7 6 27218 26348 103.30 28
7 Hondo SCC 7 6 27317 26997 101.19 28
8 REBCats 7 6 27078 26859 100.82 28
9 Has Been 7 6 27797 27582 100.78 28
10 TEAM_FISH 7 6 27487 27513 99.91 28
11 Richo Richo Man 7 6 26744 26964 99.18 28
12 Captain Who? 6 7 27644 27437 100.75 24
13 Delicious 6 7 26868 26689 100.67 24
14 Mediocre at Best 6 7 27278 27210 100.25 24
15 Sharks 6 7 27175 27357 99.33 24
16 Poon Illuminati 4 9 26483 27018 98.02 16
17 Wadey's Warriors 3 10 26585 27538 96.54 12
18 Ben Rolfsburgers 2 11 23587 27238 86.60 8
It's a tale of woe for the Beeners who were evicted from the house as soon as he put his bags on the floor. With one match remaining in the minor round the REBCats required a miracle to make eight after captain Neale spudded up the day before. Coach REB kicked the figurative feline and didn't bother checking the scores until late and suddenly realised he was in with a sneaky chance. It was a nervous few minutes during the scaling period but when the numbers dropped the Cats had scraped in by .04% to make the finals. It is the second straight year that the top scoring team in the league has missed the finals.
With the top scoring team thus on ice thoughts move along to the contenders. Inner Sanctum was mighty impressive in dispatching Q Man as Hippys carded the regulation win and Ecky had an absolute romp over what is left of Ben Tanksbergers. While REB was fighting to make the eight, Hammo was spudding it up against Richo Richo who once again left his best work too late. You could say the same for FISH who had a poor season but did not have time to recover and make the eight. Mediocre at Best also finished the season strongly but couldn't make up that poor start. Poon illuminati survived the drop after Wadey couldn't do an eleventh hour escape against the Cats and Captain Who and Sharks were both teams who had some brilliant early form but dropped away quite a bit towards the latter part of the season.
Looking forward I think the top four sides don't look especially unbeatable with Inner Sanctum and Hondo looking good things. If those two get done this week, which is unlikely, it would be anyone's flag from the six that remain. I think Inner Sanctum look the strongest but I won't be bemoaning my luck in having to play them first up in case One Club Player hunts me for sport.
Finals
1st Qualifying Final - Hips Don't Lie vs. Roosters
Like most of these finals this one is going to be a tight affair (the best kind if you are lucky enough). Roosters has the edge not having to cover Lachie Neale and Hippy also has to cover Laird and O'Brien. Balancing this up a bit is that the Chooks will be sweating on the return of Elliot Yeo and Max Gawn. Not sure what the Geo is with Yeo but the whisper around the traps is that big Maxy will be back next week to face Ryder and Marshall. Even if Yeo does not suit up Hippys look to have a few more dodgy players to get rid of so I reckon the Roosters will be crowing at the end of this one. My tip - Roosters.
2nd Qualifying Final - Eckys Fevolas vs. Chicken Twisties
Both teams have a heap to cover but Twisties backup troops look a little thin on the ground and include inconsistent types such as Wingard, Parfitt and blokes with no job security like Close. In comparison Ecky can call on Noble and Woodcock as their lesser lights and these guys seem to return a handy 70 most weeks. Like Roosters, Ecky has managed to hold on to Gawn so he will loom as a major trump card in this fixture if selected. Twisties have bugger all guns to call upon and would need The Bont to get another 199 to make Ecky look up from his newspaper. Can't see Twisties winning this one. My tip - Ecky's Fevolas.
1st Elimination Final - Inner Sanctum vs. REBCats
After sweating it out for the past month and pulling every desperate move I could think of to make the eight, I looked up and checked Sanctum's team and wonder why I bothered. Inner Sanctum is ahead in every department and it is going to take some clever glyvening by Professor Rink to come out on top in this particular fixture. I'm a bit like Carlton 99, I snaffled that finals spot that Essendon should have had. The only thing I can hope for is a couple of off days by one or more of Sanctum's many gun uniques. Naturally this wily old dog has a trick or two up his sleeve but by the end of the day the Cats will most likely be in the dog house. My tip - Inner Sanctum.
2nd Elimination Final - Hondo SCC v Q Before You
A bit of an old school rivalry here with two teams who have had many fine battles over the years in Hogg Premier. This one could be the closest final of the four. I would have loved to have played either of them this week as they both have three Lions/Crows keeper but Gawn in the wings gives Q Man something of an edge. However, looking at the Q outfit I can see a stinky player who I know is stinky because he plays for the REBCats in Cottrell. Cottrell is so poor he makes Hondo's Williamson look like a good option so for every Hondo option that is questionable, Q appears to have someone who is just a few points behind. So Gawn or not, I'm leaning towards a Hondo victory in what should be a classic final. My tip - Hondo SCC.
Congratulations to all finalists and good luck this week.
regards,
REB