Hogg Premier League 2014

[Rik E Boy]

Hondo has me covered this week. I traded Pendulbury in so that meant I had to go early. Ditto with Tippett in for Gergiou. Hondo sat back and picked me off. Too good mate!

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

Yeah but SJ was an expensive fail and then Acres topped it off

Got out of jail i think REB!

[Rik E Boy]

Yeah but SJ was an expensive fail and then Acres topped it off

Got out of jail i think REB!

He might get rubbed out as well Hondo.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 7 Results

Buddy Franklin 2079
Squeakeroos DTC 1971

Hawkeye 1923
The Ginger Ninjas 1919

Has Been 2083
Q Before You 1957

Darksiders SCE 2211
Richo Richo Man 1980

MILLER MOSQUITOES 1873
Captain Who? 1834

Hondo SCC 2065
REBCats 2012

Spuds 1942
Longwood Lions 1922

Underdogs 2061
cyrilanddaleshow 2061

Poon Army 2091
Cork in the Ocean 1870

Ladder

1 Cork in the Ocean 6 1 0 14996 13809 108.60 24
2 Buddy Franklin 6 1 0 15016 14354 104.61 24
3 Darksiders SCE 6 1 0 15015 14444 103.95 24
4 Hondo SCC 5 2 0 15138 14297 105.88 20
5 Has Been 5 2 0 14514 13978 103.83 20
6 Spuds 5 2 0 14575 14052 103.72 20
7 REBCats 4 3 0 14410 14407 100.02 16
8 Squeakeroos DTC 4 3 0 14463 14570 99.27 16

9 Richo Richo Man 4 3 0 14455 14957 96.64 16
10 Underdogs 3 3 1 14632 14514 100.81 14
11 Q Before You 3 4 0 14374 14477 99.29 12
12 MILLER MOSQUITOES 3 4 0 14029 14331 97.89 12
13 Poon Army 2 5 0 14426 14617 98.69 8
14 Captain Who? 2 5 0 13800 14340 96.23 8
15 cyrilanddayleshow 1 5 1 14325 14963 95.74 6
16 Longwood Lions 1 6 0 13779 14044 98.11 4
17 The Ginger Ninjas 1 6 0 13801 14393 95.89 4
18 Hawkeye 1 6 0 13610 14811 91.89 4

The 7th round saw the season's first draw, plenty of close matches and the upset of the season as Poon Army sensationally downed the previously unbeaten Cork in the Ocean. Corky put in a piss poor one this week and he was duly punished by a grateful Poon who now sneak clear of what was looking like a very messy relegation dog fight.

In even worse news for Corky, all of the other top sides managed to win their matches with the Darksiders in particular putting on a clinic to dismantle a plucky Richo Richo Man who scored more than I thought he might considering his outs. The teams in the middle of the ladder didn't do so well so it was an opportunity lost for Underdogs who cost themselves a spot in the top eight by failing to get the four points against wycbloods' cyrilanddayle.

For cyrilanddayleshow, it was more like two points won rather than lost as they are now out of the relegation zone after The Ginger Ninjas lost by four points (yes a single kick) to the previously winless Hawkeye who appeared likely to break through for a number of weeks now. The Longwood Lions, Q Before You and the out of form Captain Who all missed out so an invaluable two points to cyrilanddayle.

regards,

REB

[Interceptor]

Spud Award for me for trading in StevieJ in a risky week, potential suspension to top it off.
No Rockliff and 3 subs made it a stinker where I slid from 261 overall to around 800 odd

[Rik E Boy]

Round 8 Preview

The Ginger Ninjas vs. Squeakeroos DTC

On 'paper' this one looks like a walk in the park for top eight Squeaky against the struggling Ninjas. However, the Ninjas look to be better placed than most teams for this particular bye week. For weeks everyone has been bemoaning the 'dreaded round eight bye' but I expect this week's bye to be just as harsh. The Ninjas are one of only three sides in the league that can fill their 18 spots without trading. Squeaky has sixteen available but the averages of those available drops away pretty sharply. The numbers point to a Ginger Ninjas victory. My tip - The Ginger Ninjas.

Buddy Franklin vs. Q Before You

Q's premiership defence has been sloppy to date and two weeks ago it appeared that the Q Man was back in town. However after defeat last week and now a tough fixture against a flying Buddy the wheels could be about to come off again. This match-up will be close so it will be trades that decide this one. Buddy has a slight edge in numbers so I'll stick with the strength. My tip - Buddy Franklin.

Hawkeye vs. Richo Richo Man

Richo's powerful midfield appears to be the decisive factor in this match. This is a game Richo must win against last placed Hawkeye. Woggy has fought back hard in recent weeks but Hawkeye are only fielding six players who average a hundred or more in this match. Only The Captain, MILLERS and Squeaky have fewer guns on the field this round. Richo's advantage in numbers and quality should get him the much needed four points. My tip - Richo Richo Man.

Has Been vs. Captain Who?

The Captain's ship is certainly sinking and he's in real bother again this week fielding a league low four guns. Both players can boast seventeen starters but the Captain appears to have made too many funky calls that haven't really paid off so far. My tip - Has Been.

Darksiders SCE vs. REBCats MATCH OF THE ROUND

This is the only match between two top eight sides this round as I once again curse my draw during the bye period. However, a quick look at the teams shows that I have a numerical advantage of five players. The scary thing about the Darksiders is that all 14 of his players average over 80 and he has two more guns on the field than I do. This means that during a normal week I wouldn't get within co-ooe but I've got to be some chance here surely. My tip - REBCats.

MILLER MOSQUITOES vs. Spuds

As each round goes by it looks more and more likely that the Spuds will qualify for the Hogg Premier League finals for the first time. For a Premier League it sure as shit doesn't sound like one with Spuds, Has Beens and Underdogs in our ranks. The Mozzies have been game this year but are struggling to keep up with the pack a bit this season and don't look to have the class of the Spuds. My tip - Spuds.

Hondo SCC vs. cyrilanddayleshow

Last week's draw with Underdogs might have just prevented the final curtain from falling on the cyrilanddayle show this year. While wycbloods hasn't exactly had that winning feeling here he is some chance of igniting his season with an upset win over the high flying Hondo. While Hondo is very rarely a pushover the bye goods have smiled on cyril. A two player head start with the same quality on field should lead to cyril trading his way to an important victory. My tip - cyrilanddayleshow.

Longwood Lions vs. Cork in the Ocean

Corky slipped up for the first time last week and like Hondo, brought in Steve Johnson whose report has put them in the firing line this week. In a difficult encounter to predict, the Lions have eighteen on the field while Corky only has 15 but six of the Lions' outfit average less than eighty points. This one could really go either way but Corky has been too good to put in two shit ones in a row this year so I'm tipping the ladder leaders. My tip - Cork in the Ocean.

Underdogs vs. Poon Army

The Army is on the march a bit in recent weeks and after claiming the big scalp of Corky last week he'll be looking for more points against an Underdogs outfit that is struggling to gain traction in the Premier League this season. Gibbo has been dropping the big one on my tips all season long and I've had enough. Troyboy, take it away! My tip - Poon Army.

This is the week from Hell with Freo, Sydney and Essendon all byeing it. Roughead and Johnson suspended and the Tigers have omitted Lloyd so many teams have had their entire forward line blown away. The draw has been most unkind to Squeakeroos who face what looks like the strongest Ginger Ninjas outfit of the season. I reckon if Ginge can't win this one he is as good as relegated regardless of how tight it is down the bottom.

The luckiest bloke is perhaps myself because surely even Darksiders can't win with five less players....hmm, the more I say it the less convinced I feel!

Good luck.

regards,

REB

[Q.]

Needed an upset and got it. Still stuck outside the eight though

[Rik E Boy]

Round 8 Results

Squeakeroos DTC 1891
The Ginger Ninjas 1750

Q Before You 1806
Buddy Franklin 1617

Richo Richo Man 1886
Hawkeye 1763

Has Been 1805
Captain Who? 1607

REBCats 2028
Darksiders SCE 1950

Spuds 1740
MILLER MOSQUITOES 1555

Hondo SCC 1845
cyrilanddaleshow 1729

Cork in the Ocean 1789
Longwood Lions 1750

Underdogs 1812
Poon Army 1704

Ladder

1 Cork in the Ocean 7 1 0 16785 15559 107.88 28
2 Hondo SCC 6 2 0 16983 16026 105.97 24
3 Has Been 6 2 0 16319 15585 104.71 24
4 Spuds 6 2 0 16315 15607 104.54 24
5 Darksiders SCE 6 2 0 16965 16472 102.99 24
6 Buddy Franklin 6 2 0 16633 16160 102.93 24
7 REBCats 5 3 0 16438 16357 100.50 20
8 Squeakeroos DTC 5 3 0 16354 16320 100.21 20

9 Richo Richo Man 5 3 0 16341 16720 97.73 20
10 Underdogs 4 3 1 16444 16218 101.39 18
11 Q Before You 4 4 0 16180 16094 100.53 16
12 MILLER MOSQUITOES 3 5 0 15584 16071 96.97 12
13 Poon Army 2 6 0 16130 16429 98.18 8
14 Captain Who? 2 6 0 15407 16145 95.43 8
15 cyrilanddayleshow 1 6 1 16054 16808 95.51 6
16 Longwood Lions 1 7 0 15529 15833 98.08 4
17 The Ginger Ninjas 1 7 0 15551 16284 95.50 4
18 Hawkeye 1 7 0 15373 16697 92.07 4

Cork in the Ocean have come from behind to beat the Longwood Lions and become the only top side to record a victory in the Hogg Premier League this week. Corky took advantage of rare slip ups by Buddy Franklin and Darksiders SCE to sneak a game clear of the pack after eight rounds. The table has a lop-sided appearance as the bottom sides just aren't winning any matches. This means that it might take as many as ten wins to make the finals of the Premier League this season.

REBCats put in a rare top of the class performance but despite this the Cats only beat the Darksiders by 78. How anyone is going to beat the Darkside now that the bye period is over is anyone's guess so a bit of luck for my boys this week. Squeakeroos were most impressive when they recorded a win against Ginger Ninjas which has probably ended their Premier League career. Poon Army couldn't take advantage of Gibbo's generosity (bringing in Tiger Jackson even Richo didn't pull that one) and the Captain is in more trouble than the early settlers recording another loss.

Richo Richo is scoring heavily but can't quite sneak into the top eight and Spuds is ticking along nicely and looks set for finals action. Q Man stayed in the hunt with his win but is paying the price for a tardy start. Has Been and Hondo both got right amongst the top four as other top teams struggled so some handy results for them.

Now that the bye period is over we will see which teams used the trades available in the past three weeks to build up their squad. For me, I reckon Darksiders will prove to be very tough to beat for the rest of the season and Hondo remains a solid chance as well.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 9 Preview

Squeakeroos DTC vs. Q Before You

The Q Man kept his season alive with an important win last week but are still on the outside looking in as far as the top eight goes. Squeaky has gone from strength to strength so far this season and he is having his best year in the Hogg since upsetting Darcy Traynor for the Division I title a few seasons ago. Q has the better midfield but Squeaky looks a lot better up forward, that is something that Q hasn't really gotten right all season. If Squeaky can continue with the same sort of shrewd coaching that got him through the bye rounds he can put the kibosh on Q. My tip - Squeakeroos DTC.

The Ginger Ninjas vs. Richo Richo Man

Richo Richo might not be in the in the top eight but they are knocking on the door in ninth in true Richmond fashion. The Ginger Ninjas though are in real strife and as Chopper once said they are so far behind they can't hear the band playing. Ginge looks shot at this level and even when the numbers appeared to be on his side last week he couldn't conjure a victory. Yep, put a fork in him, he's done! My tip - Richo Richo Man.

Buddy Franklin vs. Captain Who?

How the mighty have fallen. This time last year the Captain was mounting a very strong premiership defence with the Captain a feared opponent. This season the new power teams such as Buddy Franklin are pencilling in upcoming fixtures against Groover. Word had it that coach Groover was tanking until a Captain Who board member reminded Groover that there was a relegation system in place. Expect a fightback at some stage from the Captain, but it won't happen against Buddy. My tip - Buddy Franklin.

Hawkeye vs. REBCats

These two teams have slugged it out against each other since 2008 and for the first few years my Cats couldn't get near the Hawks. But in recent years the Cats have turned it around even though the Cats haven't done the job against the Hawks in a Final. Hmm, sound familiar?? However, the REBCats are travelling a lot better than Hawkeye this season so I expect to continue my recent good form against Hawkeye. My tip - REBCats.

Has Been vs. Spuds MATCH OF THE ROUND

This is a massive match up between two in form sides. Had a quick look at the Has Been lineup and man does it look scary. Already it is falling into place and they remind me of Q last year as he got guns in every spot before the rest. Q went on to win the flag and Has Been has a side that looks to be in advance of almost anyone else. Spuds have been winning matches but still appear to have a forward line weakness. Spuds are good but Has Been looks very good. My tip - Has Been.

Darksiders SCE vs. cyrilandayleshow

cyril finished very strongly last year and went deep into the finals on the back of fine season. This year the show hasn't received the same rave reviews and this week they face the sternest critic in show business the Darksiders. Last week I played these blokes with five more players and only won by 78 points. The Darksiders simply don't know how to post a poor score. I can't see a misfiring cyril putting up a big enough score to upset Reuben. My tip - Darksiders SCE.

MILLER MOSQUITOES vs. Cork In the Ocean

Corky's form has dropped off a bit during the bye period but this week they should be able to dust off the cobwebs over a MILLERS team that is starting to fall off the pace. In the early stages of the year MOSQUITOES were flying but once the head to head matches begun it was no longer MILLERtime. Corky has had a flyer that lasted longer than the Mozzies but they tripped up over the bye period. Expect Corky to resume normal service with a full side on deck. My tip - Cork in the Ocean.

Hondo SCC vs. Poon Army

Hondo has snuck into the top four while people were too busy watching Darksiders and Corky but I can say from experience that Hondo is a side that is capable of destructive scoring. Or they do when they play me at least so get on with it Hondo! The Poon have been all over the place but this league is so good that hasn't resulted in a 4-4 win loss record for Hammo. Poon will need to go hard or go home because if he ends up 2-7 he's going to find it hard to make the eight seeing as ten wins is increasingly looking like the passmark. Nah, no chance Troy! My tip - Hondo SCC.

Longwood Lions vs. Underdogs

The Lions went within a whisker of knocking off Corky last week but the Corks had to remain in the champers as the league leaders finished all over the top of them. Meanwhile, Underdogs were doing their best to lose to Poon Army but they weren't up to the task. Underdogs have been misfiring a bit this season but they remain a contender. I reckon Alaska can pinch a win here with Gibbo looking set to trade an injured Tiger. My tip - Longwood Lions.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

The live ladder so far has a team 6-3 and out of the top eight. The strategy of conserving trades and copping the odd loss and scraping into the top eight doesnt seem to apply with this league.

regards,

REB

[CoverKing]

That loss hurts with gingers unique players smashing me this round! And my unique players letting me down.
Season done n dusted. Will take something amazing to get into the 8 now

[Q.]

Thanks for losing this week REB

[Rik E Boy]

Thanks for losing this week REB

Barry Crocker mate.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 9 Results

Q Before You 2219
Squeakeroos DTC 2163

The Ginger Ninjas 2326
Richo Richo Man 2261

Buddy Franklin 2260
Captain Who? 2226

Hawkeye 2191
REBCats 2136

Has Been 2342
Spuds 2321

cyrilanddaleshow 2445
Darksiders SCE 2349

Cork in the Ocean 2347
MILLER MOSQUITOES 2191

Hondo SCC 2343
Poon Army 2282

Underdogs 2382
Longwood Lions 2311

Ladder

1 Cork in the Ocean 8 1 0 19132 17750 107.79 32
2 Hondo SCC 7 2 0 19326 18308 105.56 28
3 Has Been 7 2 0 18661 17906 104.22 28
4 Buddy Franklin 7 2 0 18893 18386 102.76 28
5 Spuds 6 3 0 18636 17949 103.83 24
6 Darksiders SCE 6 3 0 19314 18917 102.10 24
7 Underdogs 5 3 1 18826 18529 101.60 22
8 Q Before You 5 4 0 18399 18257 100.78 20

9 REBCats 5 4 0 18574 18548 100.14 20
10 Squeakeroos DTC 5 4 0 18517 18539 99.88 20
11 Richo Richo Man 5 4 0 18602 19046 97.67 20
12 MILLER MOSQUITOES 3 6 0 17775 18418 96.51 12
13 cyrilanddayleshow 2 6 1 18499 19157 96.57 10
14 Poon Army 2 7 0 18412 18772 98.08 8
15 The Ginger Ninjas 2 7 0 17877 18545 96.40 8
16 Captain Who? 2 7 0 17633 18405 95.81 8
17 Hawkeye 2 7 0 17564 18833 93.26 8
18 The Longwood Lions 1 8 0 17840 18215 97.94 4

Reigning premier Q Before You was the big winner in Round 9 after the bottom teams finally hit back. The lower ranked teams have stunk it up this year but Ginger Ninjas and Hawkeye both had wins over mid table opposition and like Eddie Betts, Q swooped and is now in the top eight. Cyrilanddayle also pulled off a major upset by defeating the mighty Darksiders so the show will go on for one more week at least.

Spuds had their winning streak ended in a top quality match up against Has Been who is absolutely purring at the moment as is Hondo and Corky. Underdogs are back in the eight after cleaning up the Longwood Lions who are now last after copping their eighth defeat of the year. Poon Army and Captain Who are other lowly ranked sides that failed to catch on with this week's theme and this round could be crucial to their prospects of avoiding relegation this season.

As for Richo saying he's gone, there is plenty of fantasy footy left in this season as we've just passed the halfway mark of the year. With a few of the bottom sides getting up perhaps ten wins and not eleven is the pass mark for this season. I hope so, as my team got a bad case of Wingarditis. There's a lot of it going around DOH.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 10 Preview

Richo Richo Man vs. Squeakeroos DTC

This is a super imporant match between two sides that are currently just outside the top eight. The loser of this one could be two games plus percentage outside the top eight which might take a bit of catching. Richo looks to have a few more pieces put into the jigsaw puzzle than Squeaky and I can see both coaches moving on Langdon this week. If Squeaky can upgrade the ready to milk Cow but Richo can't then Squeaky is a good chance but in this match I'm leaning towards a Richo win. My tip - Richo Richo Man.

Q Before You vs. Captain Who?

Both teams have plenty of work to complete their final lines ups but by the time Groover gets his done the season may be over. For the Captain the time to act is now. Despite the vast difference in form lines I reckon Groover has a chance to win this one. He got back on the wagon a bit last week and what better way to revive his season than enjoying a win over his Grand Final rival Q. On form Q wins but looking at the lineups I reckon the Captain can stop his run of outs and live to fight another day. My tip - Captain Who?

The Ginger Ninjas vs. REBCats

The Ninjas uncorked a ripper last week to get back on the winners list as his PODs unleashed a hail of point scoring. The REBCats however, stank up the joint with more Subs than Subway to card the lowest score in Hogg Premier. So Ginge wins this right? WRONG. Every time the Ninjas face up to the Cats they fall in a complete and utter heap so I'm hoping that the Ninjas Crow duds don't get a kick thanks to irrepressible...um..press of the Dockers. Time for the REBRoos to get back on the upswing. My tip - REBCats.

Buddy Franklin vs. Spuds

The Spuds are a good looking side at the moment and are in fifth spot to prove it. However, this week they play against an even better looking side in Buddy Franklin. The Buds have stacked that defence and have the better midfield too. The only clear advantage I can see for the Spuds is in the Ruck but there are only two of them and if McIntosh can get a half decent score then the Spuds will get peeled big time. Spuddy has to trade hard to beat Buddy. My tip - Buddy Franklin.

Hawkeye vs. cyrilandayleshow

Hawkeye resumed his ownership of the REBCats last week after a lay off of a couple of years but will find cyril a much tougher nut to crack in this week's clash. The only way Hawkeye wins this is if cyril has about the same level of luck as I did last week. This sums up Woggy's place in the Premier League this season. He doesn't have the big scoring team and he relies on the misfortune of others to be in the same ballpark. Either that or I just cracked the shits LOL. My tip - cyrilanddayleshow

Has Been vs. Cork in the Ocean - MATCH OF THE ROUND

Corky has returned to the sort of form that made him look a cut above the rest this season in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Has Been's debut season in Hogg Premier has been most impressive. Both sides are chock a block full of talent but I reckon Cork in the Ocean has the edge. Corky hasn't missed a trick with his downgrade targets and Langdon or McCrae remains the 'weak' link in the side. No other side is this advanced in their preparation. Has Been has had a huge year but looks to be a touch behind the Cork at this stage of the season. My tip - Cork in the Ocean.

Darksiders SCE vs. Poon Army

Poon Army's season is sinking fast and it looks set to sink even further as this week they take on the mighty Darksiders. The Darksiders are back on top of the Hogg and once again riding high in the top eight. As for the Poon Army this is the worst season they've had in the premier league. With players like Dalhaus, Lachlan Hansen and Taylor Walker the Poon seem to have tried to trade his way back into contention using 'flavour of the month' type players who you couldn't count on to be consistent. This approach will not pay dividends against a side that starts making finals plans in April. My tip - Darksiders SCE.

MILLER MOSQUITOES vs. Underdogs

MILLERS are losing touch with the top eight as his side has a few holes on every line. The Underdogs meanwhile, have recovered from a poor bye period and are now back in the top eight where they should probably stay from this point on in the season. It's hard to see how MILLERS can be competitive this season unless they have been conserving trades. It is a remarkable fall from grace for a side that is normally right on the ball. The more consistent Underdogs have more than enough class to get the points here. My tip - Underdogs.

Hondo SCC vs. Longwood Lions

Hondo is scoring well and winning games and this week he will welcome back Andrew Walker to bolster a defence that still looks a couple of pieces short. The Lions have been game (get it ha ha) and have a pretty good team but not good enough to knock off Hondo. The Lions will avoid the drop in my view but the comeback will be put on hold for another week. My tip - Hondo SCC.

regards,

REB

[Interceptor]

Sweating on Jacobs getting up* this week, went with Currie instead of Derickx for backup and that's gone pear shaped.
Defence is complete, would like to bring in another premium midfielder this week.
Getting tired of Wingard's roller coaster ride, doesn't help that Hinkley parks him the forward line most of the time.

[Q.]

Bloody Lobbe and Hodge ratf***ed me

[Rik E Boy]

Round 10 Results

Richo Richo Man 2268
Squeakeroos DTC 2029

Captain Who? 2291
Q Before You 2229

The Ginger Ninjas 2088
REBCats 2088

Buddy Franklin 2342
Spuds 2035

cyrilanddaleshow 2174
Hawkeye 2111

Cork in the Ocean 2315
Has Been 2207

Darksiders SCE 2343
Poon Army 2211

Underdogs 2328
MILLER MOSQUITOES 2295

Hondo SCC 2291
Longwood Lions 2223

Ladder

1 Cork in the Ocean 9 1 0 21447 19957 107.47 36
2 Hondo SCC 8 2 0 21617 20531 105.29 32
3 Buddy Franklin 8 2 0 21235 20421 103.99 32
4 Has Been 7 3 0 20868 20221 103.20 28
5 Darksiders SCE 7 3 0 21657 21128 102.50 28
6 Underdogs 6 3 1 21154 20824 101.58 26
7 Spuds 6 4 0 20671 20291 101.87 24
8 Richo Richo Man 6 4 0 20870 21075 99.03 24

9 REBCats 5 4 1 20662 20636 100.13 22
10 Q Before You 5 5 0 20628 20548 100.39 20
11 Squeakeroos DTC 5 5 0 20546 20807 98.75 20
12 cyrilanddayleshow 3 6 1 20673 21268 97.20 14
13 MILLER MOSQUITOES 3 7 0 20070 20746 96.74 12
14 Captain Who? 3 7 0 19924 20634 96.56 12
15 The Ginger Ninjas 2 7 1 19965 20633 96.76 10
16 Poon Army 2 8 0 20623 21115 97.67 8
17 Hawkeye 2 8 0 19675 21007 93.66 8
18 The Longwood Lions 1 9 0 20063 20506 97.84 4

Corky won the big match up of the round as he cleaned up Has Been by a comfortable 108 points. This means that Cork in the Ocean has seen off another contender and Interceptor will take some beating in the Premier League this season. Q Man had battled his way into the top eight but his winning run came to an end against his opponent of the past two grand finals and Q is now OUTTA HERE and out of the eight.

A couple of teams who looked good for the eight a few weeks ago have fallen on hard times. Squeakeroos, REBCats and even Spuds have lost that winning feeling and Richo Richo man has said thank you very much and he's pounced on eighth spot. Cyril had a solid win over relegation contender Hawkeye but despite his win they are still six points shy of 11th ranked Squeaky. Cyril would need to win the lot to take the title from here.

The relegation battle is hotting up with The Longwood Lions once again being unable to break through for a win and at 1-9 things are starting to look a little desperate for Alaska. Hawkeye's loss against fellow straggler Cyril could have consequences and poor old Poon Army has copped a very harsh draw in recent weeks and now faces matches against Hawkeye and the Ninjas and these matches will decide Hammo's fate this season.

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

Alaska has the type of team that makes your really nervous because it has a lot of POD premiums that on face value you think your standard premiums will cover off his PODs but if the PODs fire up then you're in trouble.

The only reason I got up was Roughy's 184. Alaska had big games from Gray, Zorko and Hanley.

His team is much better than his ladder position would suggest.

[Rik E Boy]

Round 11 Preview

Squeakeroos DTC vs. Captain Who?

A few weeks ago I would have pencilled Squeaky in for a comfortable win but during the last two matches there are signs that Captain Who might be ready to awaken. Squeaky hasn't moved all that quickly on the cash cows which suggests to me that he has been conserving trades so if he wants to rejoin the top eight the time to strike will be soon for sure. The Captain has Hawkers galore and you'd expect them to do well against the Blues but he has to move on Watson and he's still carrying Tom Mitchell who has copped a second injury. I reckon the Captain looks more willing to trade this season and for that reason I'm selecting him to get up. My tip - Captain Who?

Richo Richo Man vs. REBCats

In recent weeks I've gone from being happy with how my campaign is going to quite the opposite. After cleaning up the Underdogs and Darksiders I thought here we go, some easy games at last. However, I didn't manage to win either of them and now I am up against Richo Richo who has an excellent record against the REBCats. I'm tipping that CoverKing will once again clean me up with the Cats so far being unable to rack up 2300 this season. We'll come good at some stage, but when? Probably not this week. My tip - Richo Richo Man.

Q Before You vs. Spuds

The Q Man was stopped in his tracks last week but they would have flogged the Spuds had they played each other. However I believe that the Spuds can pinch this one. This game will be a very close call indeed with both teams sharing a very similar structure in terms of keepers. The one area where I believe Spuds has a slight advantage and that is in the Def 6 position. While the Spuds lived up to their name a bit last week, I believe as a team they have the higher ceiling and I'm tipping them to win by under 30! My tip - Spuds.

The Ginger Ninjas vs. cyrilanddayleshow

Just like the REBCats, The Ginger Ninjas have a few holes to fill and like many other teams Ginge has a Watson sized problem in the midfield. Ginge jumped on Tex Walker and his failure to fire really impacted his scoring potential. Seeing as Tex isn't playing Freo expect a bigger score from Tex and Ginge. Over the park cyril appears to have the better personnel. He has outscored the Ninjas most weeks and I expect him to do so again this week. My tip - cyrilanddayleshow.

Buddy Franklin vs. Cork in the Ocean MATCH OF THE ROUND

This is possibly the match of the season between two very strong sides. Buddy has lost one match in the last nine rounds and Corky has only lost one match for the entire season. Both of these lineups are chock a block full of talent, particularly in the Backline. Corky has the luxury of playing off in the match of the round without really needing to improve his squad but Buddy needs to make some repairs with Watson and McIntosh not suiting up this week. Buddy has some impressive PODS in Ward and Hannebury but Steve Johnson for Corky wil be returning to Cat Park and overdue for a score. It wouldn't be the worst move for Buddy to get Dog in but perhaps another brilliant POD selection will be on the way. If Buddy can get the job done with two holes in his team then he could be considered the premiership favourite but right now Corky looks more settled. My tip - Cork in the Ocean in an absolute cracker!

Hawkeye vs. Poon Army

The Poon has done it tough in recent weeks with the draw not doing him any favours but now Troy faces two vital matches against fellow stragglers Hawkeye this week and Ginger Ninjas the next. Of those two games this week is the most important one for Poon because if Woggy gets up here then Hammo will most likely fall into the relegation zone. Hawkeye has so many dud players I'm still shaking my head over dropping that game and I expect Poon to pounce where the Cats simply snoozed. My tip - Poon Army.

Has Been vs. Underdogs

There probably isn't room for both of these teams in the top four so whoever loses this one is likely to miss out on the double chance. Has Been are currently sitting in fourth and normally a match against a sixth ranked opponent would go close to match of the round status. Gibbo might be forced to play some players who aren't performing that well (Damm you Enright!!) and they could be forced to play Tom Dericxxxxx seeing as Watson needs to be replaced in the Underdogs midfield. At this stage of the season I'm leaning towards the more settled sides and at the moment that side is Has Been. My tip - Has Been.

Longwood Lions vs. Darksiders SCE

Hondo has written above that Longwood Lions are a dangerous side due to the potential of some of his PODs. While the PODs are indeed impressive the danger would come if Alaska wasn't a week or two behind the other HPL sides in terms of development. The Lions are starting to really get it together now but the fact remains that Backline just isn't good enough. Darksiders is a team that plays the percentages better than no other coach and has done so for years. You can count on flaky performances from many HPL sides but not the Darkside. The Lions will show some fighting spirit but come up short and rack up their tenth loss for the season. My tip - Darksiders SCE.

MILLER MOSQUITOES vs. Hondo SCC

Despite a recent upswing in scoring in recent rounds, MILLERS have lost that winning feeling. One of the most difficult teams to get that feeling back against has to be this week's opponent, second ranked Hondo SCC. Unlike most Hogg squads, MILLERS appears to be at least one player short on every line which means he is arranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic. Hondo is a bit better than your average HPL side and there is only really one player in the whole squad who looks like he should be moved on. Hondo also has Watson but you can rely on him to select a dependable replacement and stay at least one step ahead of the MOZZIES all weekend long. My tip - Hondo SCC.


regards,

REB