We have arrived – the pointy end….
After all the fuss and bother, we are left with six teams standing. The final round was a topsy-turvey affair, as predicted and the final ladder reflects that. A couple of teams appeared to throw in the towel, with the Ambivolent Aardvarks and The 3-Putts both under-represented. Kudos to those that toughed it out.
The golf was of a high standard with some great scores posted. The top of the table clash went the way of the underdog, with Drawshank Redemptions toppling the Hosel Rockets 3.0, 120-119. Super efforts from Sladey (43), Stef (39) & Hoppe (38) held sway against Huggy (40), Emmo (37) and Marty (34). Rinse and repeat for next week, fellas, as 1 plays 2 in the first week of the finals.
The men from Horace’s Heroes ended the season for the crew from That’s a Dollar, with Mick Peters firing (41) and great support from Killa (38) and Bicko (37). Scam (38), Quinny (35), Bannam (32), & Mango (32) were not disgraced, but will have to wait for next season to exact revenge.
The wooden spooners, Huntingdale Heroes, logged their second win for the year against the aforementioned undermanned Angry Aardvarks. The Huntingdale lads posted a modest score, but were good enough on the day to oust the Anteaters. Great spirit from the Huntingdale fellas, who will be stronger in the next season, having learned from their Rookie year.
A lone (broken) hand from Shane Franz (well done mate) was not enough for the 3 Putts, going down to the plucky bunch from Norfolk & Chance. As predicted, these guys managed to find a way into the finals and will be a dark horse to watch. Great rounds from Ernie Salsbury (41), Russell Elliott (40) and Gary Davies (37) are all worthy of note.
Speaking of pluck, the Cockatoos have been de-feathered for the year, going down to Spray N Wipes (aka Akers Hackers) 110-113. Plunky battled hard with 40, with support from Pete Wilcox (35) and Joey K (35), but it wasn’t enough with Jay (39), Brendo (38) and Creeky (36) getting the chocolates. The cleaning crew go into the finals with some handicap to play with and will be a challenge to all they face.
The last match saw a resurgence from the Outcasts, with Robbo leading the charge with 42. A great effort with all that’s happened in recent weeks. Great support from Col (40) and Bernie (34) saw them slow the Jug A Naut in their run to the finals. Tom Wilmore posted 41, with Jade (37) and Wow-Man Beesley (35) rounding out the numbers. The Jugs will have to rebound next week to stay alive, while the Outcasts have the off-season to re-group.
The finals series (see attached) kicks off this week with some great matches.
Drawshank Redemptions (1) vs. Hosel Rockets 3.0 (2)
Spray N Wipes (3) v Horace’s Heroes (4)
Jug A Naut (5) v Norfolk & Chance (6)
While first and second place joy the luxury of a double chance in the 6 team finals series, it is still wide open. All of these matches can go either way and I expect it to be a series of closely fought battles.
The Drawshanks will need to keep the juices flowing to topple the Hosel Rockets, with both sides less than 100% this coming week. The Spray N Wipes will have to hold off some very experienced campaigners from Horace’s Heroes with the old heads being pretty good under the gun. The guys with No Chance have found a way to create one and will throw everything at the Jug A Naut, who I think are the sleepers of the finals series. It will be an intriguing week.
Bring on the banter, lads. Let’s enjoy the battle, and share a beer afterwards. May the best team (*cough* Drawshanks *cough*) win! J
Cheers
Mike Lane