Hogg Premier League 2016

[Q.]

I ****** up by forgetting to trade my Essendon defenders last week... Forgot about the Thursday game

Wish I had three trades this week

[Rik E Boy]

One more win and I stay up I reckon. Survived the Ablett, Libba, Bartel spudathon thanks to Banker's donuts.

regards,

REB

[valleys07]

Got the win against Hondo with a fair amount of luck.

Inexplicably selected Hannebery as VC instead of Danger, who was my intended selection, leaving the C on Gaz.

[Rik E Boy]

Round 14

Has Been 2280
Richo Richo Man 2078

Les's Men 2219
Pool Swimmers 2184

Underdogs 2374
Cork in the Ocean 2113

Ben Rolfsburgers 2277
Longwood Lions 2252

REBCats 2221
Honey Badgers 2159

Delicious 2291
Hondo SCC 2248

Captain Who? 2197
Eckys Fevolas 2139

Q Before You 2120
SHARKS 2028

Poon Army 2239
Squeakeroos 2117

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 11 3 0 30165 29003 104.01 44
2 Captain Who? 11 3 0 29693 28642 103.67 44
3 Underdogs 10 4 0 29811 29084 102.50 40
4 Delicious 10 4 0 29336 29051 100.98 40
5 Poon Army 8 6 0 29682 29225 101.56 32
6 Ecky's Fevolas 8 6 0 29416 29016 101.38 32
7 Longwood Lions 8 6 0 28876 29136 99.11 32
8 Ben Rolfsburgers 7 6 1 30056 29571 101.64 30

9 Has Been 7 7 0 29105 28859 100.85 28
10 Q Before You 7 7 0 28705 28615 100.31 28
11 Richo Richo Man 7 7 0 28772 29015 99.16 28
12 Honey Badgers 6 8 0 28411 28873 98.40 24
13 REBCats 5 8 1 29527 29530 99.99 22
14 Les's Men 5 9 0 29249 29641 98.68 20
15 Pool Swimmers 5 9 0 29206 29814 97.96 20
16 SHARKS 4 10 0 28018 28818 97.22 16
17 Squeakeroos 3 11 0 28764 29196 98.52 12
18 Cork in the Ocean 3 11 0 27607 29260 94.35 12

Despite the improved form of Poon Army in recent weeks, the top four looks set with three weeks to go until the finals in the Premier League this season. One question must be asked is, has Hondo burned up all of this lottery tickets for the season? Hondo has had plenty of tight wins over the course of the season but in the match against Delicious he came up short despite valleys pulling a few clunkers this weekend as noted above. If the finals are held tomorrow then the same teams face off again. The Underdogs have had their best season in the Premier League and it's a season that Sharksta has threatened to deliver in the past as she often scored well but didn't get the wins. Keep doing that shit and eventually the wins will come. Captain Who just keeps on being the Captain and apart from the occasional lapse they've been pretty solid this season.

The Poon Army, as mentioned is up and about but sorry Hammo you don't lose to the REBCats and make the top four, just doesn't happen. The Fevs and the Lions have looked good to very good at times this season but all of a sudden both appear vulnerable, particularly the Fevs who have lost that winning feeling. Benny Rolfs has awoken from their mid season slumber and we can't tell if it's relief or if Benny is an evil supercoach genius but anyway the team we all know and fear appears to be back and looks on course for a finals spot.

As for the teams outside of the top eight, reigning premier Has Been looks to be the only side that has the consistency to perhaps make something of their season. In recent weeks the Beeners have slowly regained their form and will be a handful for any opponent should they make the finals and have a crack at defending their premiership. Meanwhile Q Before You, Les' Men and the REBCats have all had frustrating seasons with all of these teams struggling to get a string of wins together. On their day these teams can score and score well but are just as likely to bomb out the next week. Q Man is in a better spot than the Bians and the Cats with the latter two one loss away from missing the eight, but in reality, neither side are likely to make a dramatic eleventh hour entrance. Meanwhile, Richo Richo are finally out of the eight after not looking like a finalist for many weeks. Honey Badgers are rolling out donuts which is never a good look in the Premier League and Pool Swimmers have struggled in the top flight this season despite one monster score.

This year's relegation squabble appears to be between three teams with the relegated sides to fall well short of the 6 win mark that wasn't enough for wycbloods or Buddy Franklin last season. The SHARKS have been plugging holes in the deck nearly all season long and they only appeared to be competitive during the bye weeks. On paper that side isn't a Premier League strength combination. Squeakeroos have threatened to drag themselves out of the cellar and Squeaky is still trading hard as he attempts to dodge the drop. Cork in the Ocean has made up the gap in scoring that he had earlier in the season but he might have left himself too much work to do and Corky and the SHARKS are my tip to go down three weeks out.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

The Run Home - Round 15

Three weeks to go so who makes the finals? Now you can find out three weeks early in my patented never been wrong Run Home. Likely wins in bold.

1. Hondo SCC 44 (SHARKS, Squeakeroos, Captain Who?)
Hondo has a couple he should win easily before a play off for the minor premiership in the last round in which he would start a very slight favourite. I'll select him as my Minor Premier but this year it's really tight at the top.

2. Captain Who? 44 (Poon Army, Q Before You, Hondo SCC)
Two out of three for the Captain and not without a chance of winning all three. Now that I've tipped Hondo he could be the new favourite for the Minor Premiership. Double chance at least for the Captaino.

3. Underdogs 40 (REBCats, Eckys Fevolas, Poon Army)
I can see the Dogs winning all three and finishing second or third this season. A solid season by Sharksta.

4. Delicious 40 (Ben Rolfsburgers, Pool Swimmers, Les's Men)
I reckon the Rolfs are back and Valleys might drop that one but even if I've got the mix wrong I reckon he gets two more wins and should be top four.

5. Poon Army 32 (Captain Who?, Honey Badgers, Underdogs)
Two games back from fourth with a pretty tough run home. I reckon he starts favourite against the Badgers only. Nine wins probably won't cut it.

6. Eckys Fevolas 32 (Honey Badgers, Underdogs, Richo Richo Man)
The Fevs aren't in good form but they play two teams who are struggling even more. Can't see the Fevs getting over the Underdogs but should finish on ten wins.

7. Longwood Lions 32 (Pool Swimmers, Les's Men,Has Been)
Two more wins for the Lions. This should see them do enough to make the finals for the firs time.

8. Ben Rolfsburgers 30 (Delicious, SHARKS, Squeakeroos)
If the Rolfs beat Delicious, they will finish on 10 and a half wins and finish in 5th spot. These blokes are up and about again after a dry spell mid season.

9. Has Been 28 (Les Men, Cork in the Ocean, Longwood Lions)
I reckon if Has Been defeats the Lions in the last round that they could steal Poon Army's top eight spot. The Beeners have a much more favourable run home than the Poonies.

10. Q Before You 28 (Squeakeroos, Captain Who, Honey Badgers)
The Q Man will put the icing on a shitty season by falling to relegation strugglers Squeaky this week before rebounding with a consolation win in the last round to finish on eight wins.

11. Richo Richo Man 28 (Cork in the Ocean, REBCats, Eckys Fevolas)
These blokes are cooked, so cooked that the REBCats will beat them but they should account for Corky...maybe. No chance against Ecky so that means eight wins for Richo and no finals.

REB Sez

1. Hondo SCC 56
2. Captain Who 52
3. Underdogs 52
4. Delicious 48
5. Ben Rolfsburgers 42
6. Eckys Fevolas 40
7. Longwood Lions 40
8. Has Been 40

Relegation tips - SHARKS, Cork in the Ocean.

regards,

REB

[valleys07]

Held Libba hoping Menadue would at least put up a 60.

Prick spuds it up and I go down by 6.

FMSC.

[Hondo]

Got the win against Hondo with a fair amount of luck.

Inexplicably selected Hannebery as VC instead of Danger, who was my intended selection, leaving the C on Gaz.

I had Rich and Greene go missing but it all came down to Merrett v Montagna and Merrett killed it! (R16 that is but then he repeated in R17)

[Rik E Boy]

Safe from relegation! Thank you Richo and Q!

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 15

Les's Men 2404
Has Been 2290

Richo Richo Man 2294
Cork in the Ocean 2178

Longwood Lions 2362
Pool Swimmers 2351

Underdogs 2420
REBCats 2280

Ben Rolfsburgers 2222
Delicious 2216

Eckys Fevolas 2264
Honey Badgers 2242

Hondo SCC 2383
SHARKS 2245

Captain Who? 2359
Poon Army 2230

Q Before You 2348
Squeakeroos 2248

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 12 3 0 32548 31248 104.16 48
2 Captain Who? 12 3 0 32052 30872 103.82 48
3 Underdogs 11 4 0 32231 31364 102.76 44
4 Delicious 10 5 0 31552 31273 100.89 40
5 Ecky's Fevolas 9 6 0 31680 31258 101.35 36
6 Longwood Lions 9 6 0 31238 31487 99.21 36
7 Ben Rolfsburgers 8 6 1 32278 31787 101.54 34
8 Poon Army 8 7 0 31912 31584 101.04 32

9 Q Before You 8 7 0 31053 30863 100.62 32
10 Richo Richo Man 8 7 0 31066 31193 99.59 32
11 Has Been 7 8 0 31395 31263 100.42 28
12 Les's Men 6 9 0 31653 31981 98.97 24
13 Honey Badgers 6 9 0 30653 31137 98.45 24
14 REBCats 5 9 1 31807 31950 99.55 22
15 Pool Swimmers 5 10 0 31557 32176 98.08 20
16 SHARKS 4 11 0 30263 31201 96.99 16
17 Squeakeroos 3 12 0 31012 31544 98.31 12
18 Cork in the Ocean 3 12 0 29785 31554 94.39 12

No real massive scoring in the Premier League this week (naturally my opponent topped the league and not for the first time DOH) but there was some pretty consistent scoring throughout the 15th round. The pacesetters are the same three teams that haven't done much wrong all season. Hondo remains top of the heap as they were untroubled by the struggling SHARKS. Captain Who had a tougher opponent in Poon Army who needs to find their way past Underdogs in the last round to make the finals. Speaking of which I've played the Underdogs in the past two weeks in two different leagues and I'm really going to miss getting flogged by them next weekend. NOT. I reckon they'll be very hard to stop for the title. Not many weaknesses in their current lineup and I feel she has more in reserve. Will Gibbo be the first female player to win the Hogg Premier League title? Sorry Hammo you can no longer be the girlish cadet ha ha.

The door opened ever so slightly for Eckys and the Longwood Lions as far as the double chance goes but I'd back fellow Premier League finals debutant Delicious to hang on to that spot despite their narrow loss. There are a few fresh faces in the finals so it will be interesting to see how they go. Has Been dropped what looked like a winnable game against Les's Men to put their season on life support but no one is a walk up start against a team that is good enough to have won a Hogg Elite title.

Q Before You and Richo Richo Man kept their season alive after both were looking pretty wonky with Richo claiming their first win in many weeks over Cork in the Ocean who appear to be cooked enough to appear on Masterchef. Speaking of cooked, Squeakeroos and SHARKS will also be sweating it out over the last two matches. Squeaky are in real danger as they still have a date with the top side before the minor round ends. This league is so evil that this time last year Squeaky was top.

As usual, everything to play for.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

The Run Home - Round 16

Two weeks to go now. Has Been was the big loser last week as they suffered an upset loss to Les's Men, although Les would probably not call it an upset. Q Before You and Richo Richo Man are suddenly right back in the mix for a finals spot. It would be a big result for Q if he could make the eight after his slow start to the year. Likely wins in bold.

1. Hondo SCC 48(Squeakeroos, Captain Who?)
Hondo got the job done in the end against the SHARKS last week and should also put Squeaky to the sword. Looking forward to a finals preview in the last round as Hondo plays off against the Captain for top spot. Hondo has been huge this season so I'll tip him next week.

2. Captain Who? 48 (Q Before You, Hondo SCC)
The Captain was in command of the Army and should put the Q man to the end of one this weekend. Then comes the big clash against Hondo. Seeing as I will probably tip Hondo that means Captain Who finish top.

3. Underdogs 44 (Eckys Fevolas, Poon Army)
I'm a big fan of the Dogs and I think they'll go a long way this season. They are in line to win the Piglet/Premier Double, something that has never been achieved. Double chance assured for Sharksta.

4. Delicious 40 (Pool Swimmers, Les's Men)
A narrow loss as predicted by this pundit (good to get one right) but I reckon Valleys should win the last two as long as he doesn't piss off to Melbourne for anymore footy trips.

5. Eckys Fevolas 36 (Underdogs, Richo Richo Man)
A regulation win over Banker's Honey Badgers means that the Fevs will play finals this season. It's been a good year by the Eckyman abut they'll need to win both of these games to finish 5th but I'm liking the Dogs this week.

6. Longwood Lions 36 (Les's Men,Has Been)
The Lions scored well to defeat Pool Swimmers last week who can score big and they did so last week so a good win there for Alaska. Trying to tip the Lions has been tough all year so I'll wuss out and go 50/50 but I reckon it might be Les who salutes against them, if you asked me a week ago I probably would have said Has Been. If they win both they'll stay ahead of Rolfs and dodge them in a knockout final.

7. Ben Rolfsburgers 34 (SHARKS, Squeakeroos)
The Rolfs finish their year with two of the bottom three sides and will win both. With the REBCats out of action percentage doesn't mean anything but two wins here can get the Rolfs 5th spot and a crack at the worst team in the eight in three weeks. Benny could be one to watch next month.

8. Poon Army 32 (Honey Badgers, Underdogs)
Hammo has it all to play for this week against the Honey Badgers so he should go all in. No way does he beat Underdogs (despite a good record against them) so if the Army doesn't get up this week then they won't be playing finals. The best Hammo can hope for is to win both and sneak past maybe Longwood Lions and dodge Benny Rolfs but he's no cert for finals action just yet, although Has Been's failure last week helps.

9. Q Before You 32 (Captain Who, Honey Badgers)
The Honey Badgers have had an ordinary season but they have the opportunity to at least shape the eight, if they win both maybe Q and Poon will miss. At this stage I'm tipping Q Before You to salute against the Badgers but I don't like their chances of beating the Captain who have looked the superior combination for the majority of the season. Hammo will be cheering on the Captain this week.

10. Richo Richo Man 32 (REBCats, Eckys Fevolas)
Richo looks to be the threat to the Poon Army as they now would have to start favourites against a weakened REBCats combination. A week ago I was confident of cleaning up coverking but not so now. If Hammo could lend me a forward that would be great but they don't have a mid year draft in fantasy football....yet. Richo might need to beat Ecky to get in but the Fevs are a cut above Cork in the Ocean and the REBCats but Richo is not without some hope.

11. Has Been 28 (Cork in the Ocean, Longwood Lions)
It was looking good for Has Been a week ago but Les's Men have proven to be a banana skin to the Beener's premiership defence. They'll clean up last placed Cork in the Ocean but I reckon Longwood Lions might prove too good and it's the end of an era for Has Been.

12. Les's Men 24 (Longwood Lions, Delicious) and 13. Honey Badgers 24 (Poon Army, Q Before You)

Both of these teams are mathematically still in the hunt to play in the finals. Les has a horrible couple of fixtures coming up and despite their ability to score large they won't win both. Honey Badgers have stunk up the place at times this year but if they win both of their last games they could sneak in seeing as they are two teams that need to be kept to 32 points in order for the Badgers to make the eight. The Badgers are as unlikely as Les but if they beat Poon Army it's game on although they need the REBCats to beat Richo this week.

2016 RELEGATION BATTLE

After Round 15 REBCats are the only team who can't make the finals and can't be relegated either. Pool Swimmers are most unlikely to be relegated no matter how badly they go against Delicious this weekend but it is mathematically possible that they get relegated.

15. Pool Swimmers 20 (Delicious, SHARKS)
Pool Swimmers have got the ability to score heavily and because they have this ability they should avoid relegation. I can't see Pooly beating Delicious this week but they should start strong favourites against the SHARKS and avoid the drop.

16. SHARKS 16 (Ben Rolfsburgers, Pool Swimmers)
I don't see Spiro winning either of these matches so the SHARKS are very vulnerable to the drop. If Cork in the Ocean get on top of the REBCats then Spiro will face an anxious week watching the percentage on the live ladder. Scoring as much as they can over the next two weeks will help.

17. Squeakeroos 12 (Hondo SCC, Ben Roflsburgers)
The bottom two teams are in trouble. Squeaky hasn't been going all that badly for the last five or six weeks but are now paying the price for a very poor start to the season. The Roos face a very tough challenge to stay up as they have the toughest run home of any teams in the Premier League. They've got the two of the top three scoring teams in the league. One win might be enough but where are the points going to come from? Going down.

18. Cork in the Ocean 12 (Has Been, REBCats)
Corky has been the worst team in the league and their chance at Premier League survival hinges on the last round against the REBCats who are the only team who doesn't have anything to play for. Corky has been short of points all season and despite a slight rally it looks like it's back to Divvy I for them. Going down.


REB Sez

1. Hondo SCC 56
2. Captain Who 52
3. Underdogs 52
4. Delicious 48
5. Ben Rolfsburgers 42
6. Eckys Fevolas 40
7. Longwood Lions 40
8. Poon Army 36

Relegation tips - Squeakeroos , Cork in the Ocean.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 16

Has Been 2477
Cork in the Ocean 2054

Longwood Lions 2360
Les's Men 2330

Richo Richo Man 2220
REBCats 2158

Delicious 2474
Pool Swimmers 2345

Underdogs 2367
Eckys Fevolas 2169

Ben Rolfsburgers 2264
SHARKS 2219

Poon Army 2472
Honey Badgers 2130

Hondo SCC 2423
Squeakeroos 2176

Q Before You 2309
Captain Who? 2160

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 13 3 0 34971 33424 104.63 52
2 Underdogs 13 3 0 34598 33533 103.18 52
3 Captain Who? 12 4 0 34212 33181 103.11 48
4 Delicious 11 5 0 34026 33618 101.21 44
5 Longwood Lions 10 6 0 33598 33817 99.35 40
6 Ben Rolfsburgers 9 6 1 34542 34006 101.58 38
7 Poon Army 9 7 0 34384 33714 101.99 36
8 Q Before You 9 7 0 33362 33023 101.03 36

9 Ecky's Fevolas 9 7 0 33849 33625 100.67 36
10 Richo Richo Man 9 7 0 33286 33351 99.81 36
11 Has Been 8 8 0 33872 33317 101.67 32
12 Les's Men 6 10 0 33983 34341 98.96 24
13 Honey Badgers 6 10 0 32783 33609 97.54 24
14 REBCats 5 10 1 33965 34170 99.40 22
15 Pool Swimmers 5 11 0 33902 34650 97.84 20
16 SHARKS 4 12 0 32482 33465 97.06 16
17 Squeakeroos 3 13 0 33188 33967 97.71 12
18 Cork in the Ocean 3 13 0 31839 34031 93.56 12

Q Before You has all but secured his spot in this Premier League finals series after a stunning upset win over Captain Who. While the Captain has already secured his double chance spot the win by Q Man certainly puts the wind up a few other contenders in Poon Army, Richo Richo Man and Has Been who have all had big wins just to remain in the hunt. Poon in particular could feel aggrieved as they have to play Underdogs in the last round but if he can score anything like he did in the last round he could be the second team to roll second spot in a row.

Les's Men and Honey Badgers can officially start planning for the 2017 Premier League season after they were beaten on the weekend. While Les went out in some style, the Badgers' season is petering out in a rather REBCat-like manner. Pool Swimmers scored well again but despite the loss they can celebrate as they have avoided relegation.

Of the contenders Benny Rolfs had an off week as the SHARKS came within a whisker of what would have been a massive boilover for the Golden Greek. A win by the SHARKS there would have saved their bacon but they have a nervous last week to encounter next weekend. Longwood Lions booked their finals place with a brilliant 30 point win over Les's Men in a high quality contest and Hondo, Delicious and Underdogs marched on for another week in ominous fashion.

So with one week to play it's eleven teams fighting it out for the eight with the double chance set. There are six teams duking it out for the last three spot in the finals but Has Been would need a hell of a lot to go right next week to sneak into the eight and defend his title. A massive clash next week is Richo Richo Man vs Ecky's Fevolas with a spot in the eight going to the winner with the loser to kick the Cat.....9th spot to Richo would be most amusing.

In the relegation battle Cork in the Ocean is GAWN. Even though they play my horrible mob next week they can't win by enough to lift themselves over the SHARKS so it's back to Division I for Interceptor. The SHARKS have that precious four point buffer but they have a tough match up against the Pool Swimmers who are scoring well despite their less than flattering win-loss record. What has to worry Spiro though is the drop in scoring of the Rolfsburgers as Squeakeroos will be desperate for that one and they could put the SHARKS out at the final hurdle.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

The Run Home - Round 17

With just one week to go eleven teams are still in the hunt although Has Been would be at long odds to scramble into the top eight. Hondo SCC has secured the Minor premiership as they are a game and 1.4% clear of second placed Underdogs. While the results could go Underdogs' way that percentage won't be made up in a week. Well done Hondo for the temporary bragging rights. Well I wrecked the gate and you don't hear me bragging.

The other end is probably settled for the same reason. Corky could knock me off this week but a year of stinky performances means he's first out the door and with a wooden spoon to boot. The rest is up for grabs...

IN THE FINALS

1. Hondo SCC 52 (Captain Who?)
Another regulation win last week and Hondo deserves to go in this week as favourite to clean up the Captain. According to my calcs this means a Qualifying Final against valleys next week.

2. Underdogs 48 (Poon Army)
The Dogs' scoring dipped a bit last week while the Army really racked them up. However I believe has scored his big score a week early and that Underdogs will finish in second spot and they should play the Captain.

3. Captain Who? 48 (Hondo SCC)
The wheels fell off for Groover last weekend but he has the credits in the bank to suggest he's not out of this premiership yet. It will be interesting to see how he goes this week. A smart approach could be to keep the powder dry for more important battles later on. With that being the case if the Captain wins this week he will be a real force next month.

4. Delicious 44 (Les's Men)
A brilliant debut season in the Premier League from Delicious who should go on and clinch the double chance against the Bians this week. The real test begins next week as they take on the mighty Hondo for the right to a week off.

5. Longwood Lions 40 (Has Been)
The Lions are rolling at the moment and their match against Has Been could go either way. They've been better all season than Has Been but with finals in the air I believe that Has Been are quite dangerous and this could lead to a nailbiting loss for Alaska this week. Having said that though, it's been a rippper season for the Lions and they've got a lot to look forward to next month.

6. Ben Rolfsburgers 38 (Squeakeroos)
I've been talking up the Rolfs for the past couple of weeks but last week they were very unconvincing against the SHARKS who nearly pulled off the boilover. I expect the Rolfs to win this week and send Squeaky down but the Roos won't go down without a fight and it could be a match worth keeping an eye on this weekend. A half decent performance by the Rolfs sees them finish 5th and a match up with Ecky or Richo.

YET TO QUALIFY FOR FINALS

7. Poon Army 36 (Underdogs)
Poony has a very tough opponent to finish the season but in this league they are all pretty tough. Except Underdogs are tougher...as I said above I reckon Hammo dropped the big one against the wrong side and they might be spectators with the rest of us duds come August.

8. Q Before You 36 (Honey Badgers)
The Q Man booked his finals spot last week with a sensational result against his old rivals Captain Who. The Honey Badgers are running on fumes at the moment so Q Man should blow straight by them and avoid the Rolfs in the first week of the finals. I see a match-up against the Lions in their future.

9. Eckys Fevolas 36 (Richo Richo Man)
Last week I had the Fevs all but booked in but I didn't reckon with the Q's upset. They've got one more match to win to make the eight and for the Fevs the finals start a week early. I reckon Ecky wins this match up and displaces Poon Army in the top eight.

10. Richo Richo Man 36 (Eckys Fevolas)
Richo Richo Man got the job done against REBCats last week but they were far from convincing winners against a side that had Hall and Deledio missing in action. An improvement is needed to topple Ecky and I don't see it happening.

11. Has Been 32 (Longwood Lions)
Has Been are hanging around but they'll miss the eight this season. For them to make the eight they not only do they have to beat the Lions but they have to rely on Ecky beating Richo, Q Losing to Honey Badgers and Poon Army losing to Underdogs. If any of that goes wrong they will miss. It's just too many things that need to go right for the Beeners. I can't see Q losing so it's all academic for Has Been.


2016 RELEGATION BATTLE

Pool Swimmers were never a genuine relegation chance and they have avoided the drop despite losing last week. As mentioned above Corky is gone so it's out of two teams to possibly join him.

16. SHARKS 16 (Pool Swimmers)
The SHARKS have more to play for as they are playing to avoid relegation as well as trying to make the eight in the Piglet Shield. If Pooly says 'job done I'm still up' then the SHARKS could get the points. The SHARKS did well last week but haven't been consistent so Pool Swimmers should win.

17. Squeakeroos 12 (Ben Roflsburgers)
Squeakeroos long proud history of Premier League involvement will come to an end unless they can beat the highly fancied Ben Rolfsburgers this weekend. The SHARKS fired a shot across the bows of the SS Rolf last week but I reckon this week it will be Squeakeroos who are sunk.

18. Cork in the Ocean 12 (REBCats)
Corky will be playing for pride or maybe not even playing at all as his Premier League career comes to a close. Even if Corky wins it's a big percentage gap to make up over the SHARKS who will probably prevent being relegated by outscoring Corky, even if REBCats can't.


REB Sez

1. Hondo SCC 56
2. Underdogs 52
3. Captain Who 48
4. Delicious 48
5. Ben Rolfsburgers 42
6. Longwood Lions 40
7. Q Before You 40
8. Ecky's Fevolas 40

Relegation tips - Squeakeroos , Cork in the Ocean.

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

Holding trades here to keep focussed on next week onwards

[One Club Player]

Yes my premiership defence is over Reb. Had my worst Supercoach year ever. I've may up 40,000 ranking spots in the last 8 weeks but the first half of my season was terrible.

Picking KK and Stef in my starting squad were massive fails. Hanging on to Brad Crouch until rnd 9 was a massive fail. Forgetting to trade 3 times during the early rounds because I was on holidays or the piss was a massive fail and put me way behind the better teams in terms of upgrading.

Somehow I'll make the finals in all my other leagues but with only 2 trades left and Delidio to deal with I can't see myself going to far.

Much soul searching to be done at the Has Beens over the off season

[One Club Player]

Well that didn't go as expected.......fell into the 8 by 0.1%.........must be some very unlucky teams today.

[Q.]

**** me dead...let down big time by Rocky and Steven on Sunday, but absolutely screwed by Jacobs' 26

Aaaaaand I'm out FFS

[Hondo]

**** me dead...let down big time by Rocky and Steven on Sunday, but absolutely screwed by Jacobs' 26

Aaaaaand I'm out FFS

Another guy I know traded Jacobs in for Stef Martin

That's straight bad luck

You 0 SuperCoach gods 1

[Rik E Boy]

Well that didn't go as expected.......fell into the 8 by 0.1%.........must be some very unlucky teams today.

How in the hell did you manage that? I had one trade left then copped Hall, Bartel, Laird. Liberatore twice, Deledio and Ablett. If I didn't have bad luck I'd have none at all. Still managed to avoid the drop but got my best side on the park maybe once all season.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Round 17

Has Been 2328
Longwood Lions 2275

Cork in the Ocean 2417
REBCats 2262

Les's Men 2488
Delicious 2392

Richo Richo Man 2492
Eckys Fevolas 2385

Pool Swimmers 2392
SHARKS 2140

Underdogs 2450
Poon Army 2372

Ben Rolfsburgers 2569
Squeakeroos 2310

Honey Badgers 2360
Q Before You 2233

Hondo SCC 2520
Captain Who? 2263

Ladder

1 Hondo SCC 14 3 0 37491 35687 105.06 56
2 Underdogs 14 3 0 37048 35905 103.18 56
3 Captain Who? 12 5 0 36475 35701 102.17 48
4 Delicious 11 6 0 36418 36106 100.86 44
5 Ben Rolfsburgers 10 6 1 37111 36316 102.19 42
6 Richo Richo Man 10 7 0 35778 35736 100.12 40
7 Longwood Lions 10 7 0 35873 36145 99.25 40
8 Has Been 9 8 0 36200 35592 101.71 36

9 Poon Army 9 8 0 36756 36164 101.64 36
10 Q Before You 9 8 0 35595 35383 100.60 36
11 Ecky's Fevolas 8 8 0 36234 36117 100.32 32
12 Les's Men 7 10 0 36471 36733 99.29 28
13 Honey Badgers 7 10 0 35143 35842 98.05 28
14 Pool Swimmers 6 11 0 36294 36790 98.65 24
15 REBCats 5 11 1 36227 36587 99.02 22
16 SHARKS 4 13 0 34622 35857 96.56 16
17 Cork in the Ocean 4 13 0 34256 36293 94.39 16
18 Squeakeroos 3 14 0 35498 36536 97.16 12

After the last round Hondo can feel pretty satisfied with his season to date as his team finished ahead of the mighty Underdogs on percentage to take the Minor Premiership. Underdogs will be well placed to win their first Hogg Premier Title to go along with their Three Piglet Sheilds. The Captain has looked the least convincing of the top four so Sharksta will be heavily favoured to get the week off. Newly promoted Delicious fared much better than their fellow Divvy I stablemate Pool Swimmers and valleys has earnt the right to have a crack at Hondo in the Qualifying Final next week. These four sides have looked a class above for several weeks and three of them are still in pretty good form while the jury is still out on the Captain.

The four teams in the cut-throat finals contain two teams which have looked likely to qualify for some time and two teams who have come from nowhere to appear in the finals action. The Rolfs have come back from a mid season hiatus which saw them slump on the table but they bounced back at the right time with a string of results which saw them claim 5th spot on the ladder. Alaska's Longwood Lions have had a career best season at this level and are deserved finalists who have done well to avoid the Rolfs and Hondo/Delicious should they get a win. Nice work that. Then there is Richo Richo who was absolutely stinking up the place at one stage. I looked at his team and I was expecting to see Taxis it was so rank but the Tigers have come back strongly to finish the season in 6th place in a remarkable performance.

Has Been is the reigning premier and has featured in the last two Grand Finals but for most of this season they've been living up to their name. I'm still not sure how they managed to lose in Round 15 and still make the finals. Everything fell into place for the Beeners in the last round with Hammo missing out by a mere 0.1%! Man that's gotta hurt. Especially when he had Stef Martin who was rested for the match against Port. Hammo's excellent season comes to nought as does Q Man who were upset by Honey Badgers who somehow pulled out a massive score in the last round to sink Q Man whose woes are documented above.

Eckys Fevolas must be wondering how it all went wrong as they looked well placed to make a finals debut this season. The Fevs got off to a much better start than last season using his normal strategy but this time they couldn't bring home the bacon at the back end of the season. Les's Men were competitive this season but were a fair way off the pace they've set in previous seasons while the Honey Badgers, Pool Swimmers and REBCats never really got going but did enough to avoid the drop.

The SHARKS are very lucky indeed to avoid the drop. I think back to the week where my season fell apart when I had so many premiums fail to fire a shot against a bottom team when I had 21 players available in that first bye week. The SHARKS got the chocolates and it was one of the few times Spiro outscored me. The SHARKS and the REBCats look to be favourites to go down next season if they produce similar fodder to this season.

It's the end of the road for Squeakeroos and Cork in the Ocean. Of course Corky pulls out a 2417 to roll me in the last round but Squeaky finished the year on three wins which was never enough to ensure ongoing Premier League participation. Both teams were former Division I sides that are going back to where they came from but as wycbloods and Buddy Franklin have shown this season, it's not impossible to come back..even though no one has actually done this yet!

Unlike many other Hogg Leagues this one is too tough to call even though Hondo has been the best team all season long. That's why it's such a tough league...no so such thing as an easy game so the finalists that have survived the first 17 have all done well enough to now go on and win it.

regards,

REB

[One Club Player]

Well that didn't go as expected.......fell into the 8 by 0.1%.........must be some very unlucky teams today.

How in the hell did you manage that? I had one trade left then copped Hall, Bartel, Laird. Liberatore twice, Deledio and Ablett. If I didn't have bad luck I'd have none at all. Still managed to avoid the drop but got my best side on the park maybe once all season.

regards,

REB

Buggered if I know. Didn't bother covering the donut Stef gave me as I thought I was no show. There is a fair bit of luck involved in head to head if you compare the ladder to total points for the season.