OG LEAGUE 2020 – ROUND 4

The second installment of this mini-seasons OG League is here! With no changes to the Sunday night scores with later updates yet, we have decided to back that these scores will be final. Last week Nabung, Newbung, Wylie and Nelson all bagged wins. A special shout out to Nelson who knocked off his brother Harry by 21 points to end a 12 game losing run!

Trade Night Rd 3

One thing we have seen with the reduced subs is that no big names are safe. Rock solid fantasy players like Dane Coles, Pari Pari Parkinson, Tom Cusack, Sio Tomkinson, Angus Bell and Ash Dixon, just to name a few, were swept aside like yesterdays news.

Round 4 Fixtures:

Chrissy's No Name XV (251) vs (404) Peri Peri Chicken
Newbung(5) vs Wylie (6)
Going in to this week Newbung was looking to land himself in the top 4, while Wylie was looking to stay in the race. Times have been tough for Wylie, who literally traded away his namesake to pickup Crusaders lock Mitch Dunshea (24). Lucky for him, Sevu Reece (84 points) went on an absolute tear, while Fergus Lee-Warner (51) had a huge workrate despite his teams inability to compete. With solid support from Finlay Christie (46) and Irae Simone (46) Wylie was able to put together a competitive total.
No one expected to see the undefeated preseason favourite to back the wrong horse so heavily. The decision to hold onto his Reds Salakaia-Loto, McReight, Campbell & CFS meant he could only field a 13 man side. When Solomon Alaimalo (42 points) is your only player to show up, it makes sense that you'd post the second lowest score of the competition. The quicker Newbung moves on for this one the better.

Sotutu Train (393) vs (492) 2 out of 3 ain't Barrett
Nelson (4) vs AJ(7)
Coming in to this one Nelson was flying high having broken his losing streak last round, while AJ was reeling from consecutive loses including the lowest score of all time, just 170 points. Both managers made 4 changes to field solid sides, but Nelson went in a man down, unwilling to let go of either Tate McDermott or Mitch Hunt. Sotutu Train played without their injured namesake but were led impressively by left winger Tom Wright (79 points), Tom Horton (41) was the only other noteable player from his side, with his other Waratahs contingent dissapointing (Ramm 2pts, Swinton 6pts).
AJ's fortunes seemingly hinge on the position Beauden Barrett (50) plays. At 10, his team looks unstoppable, scoring the heighest points of the round, while at 15, his form wouldn't guarantee him a win over the Force. While AJ's new men largely dissapointed scoring 41, 15, 20 and -2 respectively. His veterans came into some real form, with Marika Koroibete (56 points) and Pete Samu (55) scoring solidly. The added support of Fainga'a (44), Louwrens (47) and Jordie Barrett (41) rounded out a very solid week for one of the leagues new managers.

Ride My Pone (408) vs (435) Cargie's No Name XV
Nsync (8) vs Cargie(1)
Last week Nsync phoned it in, making 0 trades, to field a 10 man team totalling 286 points, and gifting Nabung a victory. Wouldn't you believe Cargie was filthy then, when this week he made a double player to player trade before trade night, as well as a full 5 free agent trades to completly reshape his team. The inspired free agent signings of Matt Toomua (66 points), Wes Goosen (62) and manager trade Peter Umaga-Jensen (47), along with the solid status quo from Weber (47) and Whitelock (43) meant we were in for a real battle.
Enter Richie Mo'unga (109 points). With an average of 80 points, 46 points higher than his nearest positional competition (Mitch Hunt), he is the heart and sole of Cargie's top of the table run. How he hasn't even done him the service of naming the side after this absolute freak of nature is beyond me. His form is so outrageous, that his accomplishments dwarfes that of his team mates Will Jordan (57), Will Miller (50), Tevita Kuridrani (42), warrior Sam Cane (42) and Codie Taylor (41). As the manager facing Cargie next week, I for one am certain Richie Mo' needs a rest week to recharge.

Rieking BLAM Havoc 2.0 (Grubs Edition) (291) vs (440) Damian McKenzie XV
Nabung (2) vs Harry(3)
A clash between two managers in the top 4 in a short season seems even bigger, with the opportunity to score what is essentially double points over a direct finalist rival. Evidently, no one told that to Nabung. Flying high on his two consecutive wins, he chose to play with 13 men, carrying Aaron Smith and Josh Ioane through their bye. Tom Banks warming the bench instead of what should have been his reserve playmaker. The decision came back to haunt him as Mr consistency Michael Hooper (-18 points) had the equivalent brain fart in his own game, compounding multiple errors and penalties until he was eventually told to sit down for 10 minutes. Patrick Tuipolotu (43 points) deserves a shoutout for his huge game, but that's all the positives from this misguided performance.
Rattled after a loss to his usually incompetent brother Nelson, Harry made 7 changes to his side including trading in the overall 5th pick, but injured, Brayden Ennor. Kurk Eklund (50 points) continues to be a pleasant surprise in leading the Damian McKenzie XV, ahead of solid performances from Alex Hodgman (47), Joe Powell (46) and the man, the myth, the legend D. Mac (43) himself. The only dissapointment for Harry this week was the late withdrawal of Tyrell Lomax costing his team the chance to cover the 10 points needed for an attacking bonus point. A solid win over Nabung meaning he is likely only one win away from a finals berth.

Extra Facts:

Best Player: Richie Mo'unga 109 points (Cargie)
Worst Player: Michael Hooper -18 points (Nabung)
Best Supersub: Nil
Best Free Agent: Matt Duffie 49 points
Biggest Coaching Mistake (player left on the bench): Played Tom Christie 28pts over team mate Tom Sanders 30 pts (Wylie).

Team Scores Round 4:

The Table:

Round 5 Fixtures:

Written by your local rugby nerd Harrison Dale.