OG LEAGUE 2020 – ROUND 4

'Newbung' AKA younger Nabung or Christian Nabung has answered the SOS and stepped up to complete the OG League writeup for round 4 with the usual lads being a little swamped early on this week. Some have suggested newbung's eagerness for such generosity may have sprung from his current success and the opportunity to rub it into his fellow draft mates. Either way we much appreciate it and the man certainly can do no wrong in his rookie Draft Rugby and OG League season.

The following is written by Newbung.

Round 4 Fixtures:

Nabung (3) v Cargie (6)
AJ (7) v Nelson (5)
Wylie (4) v Nsync (8)
Harry (1) v Newbung (2) – top of the table clash

Rieking Havoc (398) vs (351) shAKIRA shAKIRA
Nabung (3) vs Cargie (6)

Kicking us off is the age old rivalry between Carige and Nabung that spans back to their school years. They seem to take pleasure in each other’s demise so there’s plenty of pride on the line in these hotly contested head to heads.

With Cargie and Nabung missing their namesakes, they had to rely on the rest of their team to pull them through. For Cargie, world player of the year Pieter-Steph Du Toit (43pts),Sevu Reece (51pts) and Andre Esterhuizen (61pts) led the way.

For Nabung there the men leading the charger were Billy Meakes (45pts), Codie Taylor (49pts) and Chris Feauai-Sautia (56pts). With only 47 points separating the two rivals, it was Nabung’s draft week pickup of Henry Speight which turned to gold for him, earning him 61 points. The result saw another tough defeat for Cargie who now finds himself at the bottom of the table - perhaps it may be time to give up on Akira Ioane…

Goosen We Have A Problem (409) vs (434) Stuck In The Middle With Samu
Nelson (5) vs AJ (7)

With AJ sitting in 7th place and Nelson finally getting a win and roll on in his draft campaign, both players were desperate to notch up a win. Nelson’s George Bridge (79pts) got him off to a flying start, top scoring the league from the first game of the Super round. Nelson also had solid contributions from Thomas Du Toit (55pts), Jock Campbell (58pts) and Rob Thompson (35pts) but unfortunately, it seems that with the exception of one or two others, the rest of his team forgot to show up!

AJ notched up a well deserved win with strong performances from a number of his team who passed the 50 point mark. Brumbies replacement hooker Connal McInerney (55pts), Tom Christie (56pts), Pete Samu (55pts), Makazole Mapimpi (50pts) and Tom banks (61pts) gave AJ a much needed win, inching him closer to a top 4 spot within the OG league.

Special shoutout to Ben Te’o (-6pts) who was absolute trash for AJ and the sunwolves, picking up a yellow card and falling off tackles left right and centre. He was the round’s worst player for fantasy managers.

Sack Good View (241) vs (424) Not Straussed About This
Wylie (4) vs NSYNC (8)

Playing two players down, this was always going to be a tough prospect for Wylie who has spent the last few weeks overseas in Canada, proposing to his missus (Congratulations!), skiing the slopes and then kicking back in Byron upon his return to Australia.

Meanwhile NSYNC has been gradually piecing together a lineup that has become quite formidable, including 2020 breakout players such as Hoskins Sotutu, Mark Telea and Hunter Paisami. With these factors combined, NSYNC won this round comfortably, notching up his second win for the season.

Wylie’s boys barely showed up with Jack Goodhue (49pts) and Pita Gus Sowakula (38pts) being the only bright sparks for an otherwise weak performance.

NSYNC shouldn’t be Straussed About This as his team had good contributions across the board led by the new Red’s poster boy Hunter Paisami (71pts). Lukhan Salakai-Loto (52pts), Sikumbuzo Notshe (50pts), Juandre Kruger (47pts) and Mark Telea (40pts) all chipped in for a decisive win for NSYNC. Now two from four wins, his band of smokies are coming good and surely he is the dark horse for the remainder of the super competition.

D.Mac & Cheese (491) vs (552) That’s Wright, you’re Petti Schatz
Harry (1) vs Newbung (2)

The fight for the top of the table concludes our head to heads for round 4 and what a finish it was! With both players undefeated for the season, defending champion Harry was tasked with beating the newcomer Newbung who had not put a foot wrong for the first 3 rounds of the season.

Harry showed exactly why he is the reigning champ with an enormous score of 491 points led by Tom Robinson (63pts), Isi Naisarani (51pts), David Havili (68pts) and top scorer Tate Mcdermott (71pts). Tevita Kuridrani (41pts) and Jona Nareki (42pts) also laid the foundation for Harry’s impressive round, leaving him just shy of 500, but importantly, picked him up the attacking bonus point.

The only problem that Harry faced was that Newbung pulled the unthinkable and came away with a silly 552 points for round 4, meaning that both drafters finished 1st and 2nd for the round on points scored. Herschel Jantjies (72pts) and James O’Connor (71pts) led the way for Newbung and he also had solid impact from his mid-week draft Sebastien Cancillere (53pts). Contributions from Marika Korobiete (44pts), ever reliable Harry Wilson (43pts), veteran Aaron Cruden (44pts) and Anton Lienert-Brown (46pts) means that Newbung takes first place, affirming his status as the surprise pack leader of the OG 2020 draft.

Extra Facts:

Best Player: George Bridge (79pts – Nelson)
Worst Player: Ben Te’o (-6pts – AJ)
Best Supersub: n/a
Best Free Agent: Cullen Grace (78 pts)
Biggest Coaching Mistake (player left on the bench): Nysnc with Solomone Kata (54 pts) left on the bench for Juan Cruz Mailia (5 pts)
Hon. Mentions to - Newbung leavingAlex Mafi (49pts) on the bench and starting Julian Montoya (27pts)
& Harry with Noah Lolesio (54 pts) left on the bench for Stephen Perofranchise (24 pts)

Team Scores Round 4:

The Table:

Round 5 Fixtures:

Cargie (8) v AJ (4)
Nabung (3) v Wylie (7)
Nelson (6) v Harry (2)
Nsync (5) v Newbung (1)