The OG League 2020 - Round 3

In response to a pretty dismal showing last week, the managers from The Draft metaphorically said “hold me beer”, each seemingly competing for the lowest score of the round. Only 1 of our 8 managers managed to bag himself an attacking bonus point (>450 points) and he was the one who needed it the most! While one manager managed to nab a losing bonus point (<25 points) in a very tight match up.

Round 3 Fixtures:

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

shAKIRA ShAKIRA 282 vs 454 Goosen We Have A Problem
Cargie (4) vs Nelson (8)

After loads of talk Cargie and his men took on Nelson’s side in the first podcast head to head. Problems were aplenty for Nelson as 3 of his starters in Darcy Swain, Thomas “The Tank Engine” du Toit and Rob Thompson were all pulled pregame. As it turns out, a handful more of Nelson’s players could have sat out, as none of Cargie’s men lifted a finger.

The standout for Goosen We Have A Problem was none other than Folau Fainga’a (86pts) who bagged a hat trick of tries off the back of the work from a solid Brumbies forward pack. Quinn Tupaea (79pts) who ironically jumped ship from Cargie’s team, citing managerial issues for the move, turned it on for his new manager saying “it’s really just refreshing to have a manger who believes in me”. 

For ShAKIRA ShAKIRA Pieter-Steph du Toit (40pts) and Sanitago Carreras (47pts) tried to ignite the boys with some solid performances but it just wasn’t to be. Probably the most painful things for their manager, other than losing horrendously, were the facts that his main man Tyler Ardron brought in a total of -6 points and namesake Akira Ioane was nowhere to be seen as Hoskins Sotutu’s star continues to rise.

Not Straussed About This 424 vs 364 Rieking Havoc
Nsync (7) vs Nabung (3)

For the first time of the season Nsync will definitely Not be Straussed About This one, taking out a 60 point win over strong starters Rieking Havoc. Both teams had a mix of performances as Nabung looked to a new man to fill the void left by Rieko Ioane’s.

Instead of wreaking any havoc, Vince made an Aso of his manager, not repaying the faith by scoring only 2 points. The Ox (Nche) was the better of Nabung’s two props with 4 points, while Karl Tu’inukuafe (-1pt) and Lachlan McCaffrey (-2pts) would have been better left at home. It wasn’t all wet pillows and pus for Nabung;s men as Ben Lam (80pts) demonstrated he still has what it takes, while Chris Feauai-Sautia (71pts) took his opportunity to stamp his name on the starting side in his first match of the season. Garth April (49pts) also had another solid performance from the bench, outscoring Damian Willense (28pts)

For Nsync, Solomone Kata & Tyrel Lomax (8pts) were notable underperformers, whilst Andrew Kellaway (49pts) starred from the bench. I don’t like his head but Andries Coetzee (60pts) showed he didn’t leave his heart in Tokyo, putting in a solid performance for the boys, but it was Hoskins Sotutu (63pts) who was the best on field for the Petaia-less Not Straussed About It. 

That’s Wright, you’re Petti Schatz 426 vs 264 Stuck In The Middle With Samu
Newbung (2) vs AJ (6)

Thing’s are continuing to rise for Newbung, including the calls for him to take ownership of the hotly contest “Nabung” title, potentially relegating older noobier Nabung the title of Noobung, however I digress. 

Newbung started his weaker hooker in Alex Mafi (56pts) this week, rather than hat tick hero Julian Montoya (64pts) who slid into the Jaguares starting lineup in place of the injured Agustin Creevy. It didn’t come back to bite him though, as a majority of his team turned on the heat again this week, look over some of these performances: Guido Petti (44pts), Matt Philip (43pts), Harry Wilson (43pts), James O’Conner (54pts) and Solomon Alaimalo (42pts). His only real flops were Tom Wright (3pts), Jack Maddocks (5pts)and Dylan Smith (-4pts).

AJ should consider changing his team name to Stuck On The Bottom With Samu after their performance this week. Ofa Tu’ungufasi (-2pts), which he managed to spell as Taangafusi on our spreadsheet, Tom Banks (-1pt), Isaac Lucas (2pts) and Makazole Mapimpi (2pts) managed to combine for a total of 1 point. Decent showings from Brad Weber (58pts) & Alex Nankivell (43pts) surely wont be enough to help him sleep at night. The question is: how long will he hold onto the like of Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea, heck throw Matt Duffie into that category too, because they are definitely holding back a half decent team.

D.Mac & Cheese 440 vs 431 Sack Good View
Harry (1) vs Wylie (5)

Wylie surely may think that Sack [is a] Good View, but he wont be liking the look of this score board, narrowly missing out on notching up a win against top dog Harry by only 8 points. To make matters worse he should have learnt from Nelson’s mistakes last week and not started his Kiwis, with any of Elton Jantjies (74pts), Tomas Cubelli (53pts) & Lukhanyo Am (28pts) all potential match winners if they started. He will be the first to admit, he has let a holiday get in the way of Sack Good View, playing Will Jordan (-3pts) off the bench. The performance of recently draft Madosh Tambwe (54pts) will be a refreshing site, as will be the performances of Jordie Barrett (56pts), Jack Goodhue (50pts) & Lachlan Boshier (53pts).

D.Mac & Cheese were led by the front with namesake Damian McKenzie taking home his manager 63 points, only bettered by Isi Naisarani (67pts). Good performances from Tate McDermott (57pts), David Havili (43pts) and young gun Juarno Augustus (49pts) will overshadow the arc in Noah Lolesio’s (-9) form, who with as little as 1 point could have bagged Harry an attacking bonus point. With small minutes this round Tom Robertson (2pt) & Samisoni Taukei’aho (9pts) were also in the disappointing column this week.

Extra Facts:
Best Player: Folau Fainga’a (86pts – Nelson)
Worst Player: Noah Lolesio (-9pts – Harry)
Best Supersub: Dillon Hunt (2pts -Wylie)
Best Free Agent: Hunter Paisami (Reds – 69 “dinner for two” points)
Biggest Coaching Mistake (player left on the bench): Wylie leaving Elton Jantjies (74pts) on the bench and starting Richie Mo’unga (39pts)

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

Team Scores:

The Table:

Written by Nelson Dale