2019 OG League Rd 12 Results

With week 12 we start the first round of 'lasts match-ups', From this week we play each manager once more before both the Super Rugby and OG Draft League finals, so bragging rights are now well and truly on the line.

Round 12 Final scores:

(3) Marximum Louw Groomed Maddogs 536 defeats 433 The Great White Hope (2)
(1) Call Me Big Papali'i 446 defeats 431 Clan McKenzie (8)
(4) Coles-Royce 472 defeats 417 Burnin' Bridges (5)
(6) Otere is the new Black 551 defeats 387 White Linen Hides the Sinning (7)

Marximum Louw Groomed Maddogs 536 defeats 433 The Great White Hope
Wylie finally broke his run of 3 losses with the a bonus point win over 2nd placed Blake, closing the gap on the table to only 1 competition point. Toni Pulu (-3) may have been a complete dud this week, but Wylie more than made up for it through the worlds best player Beauden Barrett (65 points). Brad Weber (53), Sam Carter (41), Lizo Gqoboka (48), Ben Smith (47), Ned Hanigan (45) AND Ngani Laumape (44) all scoring solidly. It only takes one loss and you're back with the pack. This week Blake scored a respectable 433 but took home no competition points, the loss leaving him only 8 points from 6th place! Samu Kerevi (74 points) was the shining light for The Great White Hope, while RG Snyman (61) and Rob Thompson (50) also went large. Toss in Asafo Aumua (46) and Luke Whitelock (40) and you have a performance that would have expected at least a bonus point. Wylie's win makes it 1-1 in the head to heads between Blake and Wylie.

Call Me Big Papali'i 446 defeats 431 Clan McKenzie
This will be the one that got away for Larry (Loser Harry) as he turned an 18 point prelim lead to go down by only 15. The favourite for the sexy calendar (last place punishment) thought he'd been blessed when Harry inexcusably started Bongi Mbonambi (10) over hat-trick hero Folau Fainga'a (95). But it wasn't to be with too many of his charges given him the middle finger. There was some positive news though, with Curtis Rona's (74 points) return to form he has found a quality outside back, while Isi Naisarani (49), Scott Barrett and Nathan Harris (each 40) continued to show their worth. Harry thought his time at the top could be over this week as Call Me Big Papali'i didn't seem interested. Bongi took his starting position for granted, while Joe Moody (7) continues to be by far the worst head in his lineup. The tight 5 were all sorts of average this week but the competition leader snuck home thanks to his back line with Kurtley Beale and Wes Goosen (47), Melani Nanai (46) and Damian Willemse (45) all scoring well. The dynamic duo of Pablo Matera (57 points even with a yellow card) and Ardie Savea (41) continue to be the cornerstone of his side. In the battle to be called by their name (Harry) in 2020, Harry has a 32 competition point lead with only 7 rounds remaining. Larry is still a mathematical chance, but from here he would need a miracle. Looks like Loser Harry will continue for at least the foreseeable future. The direct match-up for these two will finish at Harry 2, Larry 0 in this years OG Draft.

Coles-Royce 472 defeats 417 Burnin' Bridges
This no rivalry in the OG Draft with the same level of utter hatred for one another's fantasy teams as there is with Cargie and Nabung. In round 5 Nabung belted the 2018 champ by 190 points, this time round Cargie was willing to sell his left nut (also known as Ben Lam) to make sure he got the win. To make matters even more interesting, Cargie and Nabung were ranked 4th and 5th respectively, so a result would almost certainly have finals ramifications. Cargie's tactics were on show at trade night as he orchestrated a three step trade with Larry to bring "his boy" (note he has many "boys", none of which would never actually identify as his) Will Jordan (21) home. It was all looking like genius with Jordan beating 4 defenders and making a clean break before suffering would could be a serious foot injury in the 31st minute. Luckily for Cargie, the rest of his team did just enough. Led by the irrepressible Josh Ioane (65 points), with solid backing from props "The Tongan Thor" Taniela Tupou (54) and Allan Alaalatoa (59). He also had Tyler Ardron (57), Aaron Smith (48) and Kieran Read (41) to thank for going large. One big question mark though is the form of Cargie's "Ride or Die" Akira Ioane (16) who has a 3rd average of only 21.7 points. His season may well hinge on his ability to get the most out of his big number one pick. When one man celebrates, another must mourn. Nabung had the opportunity to leapfrog the manager he detests so much into the top 4, but this week wasn't meant for him. The 55 points defeat means he takes no competition points from the match-up and slides back to 6th on the season table. Burnin' Bridges chose to play this one a man down with Kolisi being rested, add to that all star Frizell (10) off the bench, and things could have been so different. Jackson Hemopo (74 points) has been a revelation since getting a start; he now has a 70.7 point 3rd average. Nick Phipps (49) had his best week to date and Chris Feauai-Sautio (44) continues to put up solid points. The bitter rivalry sits at 1-1 thanks to a Cargie win, but on count back Nabung edges Cargie by +135 points overall.

Otere is the new Black 551 defeats 387 White Linen Hides the Sinning
The hot run of form continues for Nelson as his Otere is the new Black posted the biggest score of the week against the limp showing from Nsync's White Linen Hides the Sinning. Nelson drafted in Luke Jacobson (87 points) from Harry this week, giving up McCaffrey and Guido Petti to make it happen. It looks to be a stroke of genius, as the former NZ U20's captain single-handedly tore the Highlanders team apart. Anton Lienert-Brown (61) is another freakishly talented man on the roster, as is the fantasy form of Tate McDermott (57) who seems to be getting more minutes each week as he cements himself as the first choice Reds scrum half. Solid outings for James Lentjies (52) and Liam Coltman (49) rounded the week off as Nelson makes a timely play at the top 4. Just as Nelson has traded wisely week in week out, Nsync has missed huge opportunities. This week his first round trade of Burger Odendaal, who was appropriately a free agent, backfired when he was ruled out late with an eye injury. Did we mention that Nsync was the desperate manager that picked up Semisi Masirewa (-23 points!!!) a few weeks ago? This is what we all feared could happen from the Sunwolves top try scorer, and he didn't disappoint. The question now is does Nsync persevere with such a lame duck in the hope of seeing the form that shocked the fantasy world for the first half of the season, or does he cut his losses? On the other hand picking Bryce Hegarty (79 points) over Handre Pollard (19) was a master stroke, if only he'd done the same in the outside backs and started Dillyn Leyds (43) instead of the aforementioned battler. Scores from Vaea Fifita (54) and Matias Orlando (49) rounded this game out as Nelson (5th) took control of the head to head 2-0, and brought himself solidly back into finals contention, only 4 points behind second place.

Extra Facts:
Best Player: Luke Jacobson 87 points (Nelson)
Worst Player: Semisi Masirewa -23 points (Nsync)
The best Supersub: Nil
The best free agent: Jock Campbell 70 points
Worst Coaching Decision (player left on the bench): Folau Fainga'a 97 points left on the bench Bongi Mbonambi 10 points (Harry)

The Table

Matchups:

THIS WEEKS Trade Order:

1st – Larry
2nd – Nsync
3rd – Nabung
4th – Nelson
5th – Cargie
6th – Wylie
7th – Blake
8th – Harry

This Weeks Fixtures:

(3) Marximum Louw Groomed Maddogs V Clan Mckenzie (8)
(2) The Great White Hope V Coles-Royce (4)
(1) Call Me Big Papali'i V White Linen Hides the Sinning (7)
(6) Burnin' Bridges V Otere is the new Black (5)

Larry's pick for draft night Thursday this week so let us know where we're headed.

Written by Harrison Dale.