Gritty Scorpions sting Bullants in close fight

From The Sunday Age
Reported by Michael Sharkie

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IF THE first two games of the VFL finals series are anything to go by, VFL fans are in for a nail-biting month, with Casey and Frankston surviving elimination finals with narrow victories yesterday.

At Casey Fields, the Scorpions were met by a fired-up eighth-placed Bullants, who were determined to extend their finals push and avenge an embarrassing 118-point defeat in round six.

Playing coach David Teague and captain Josh Vansittart led their side by example, Teague with three goals and some inspirational acts, and Vansittart composed as usual in defence. But Casey captain Kyle Matthews and onballer David Armitage, who proved equally as damaging, matched the Bullants duo for both tenacity and touch.

Although Casey controlled much of the play, it struggled to make use of its superior possession, with poor delivery to key forwards Jarryd Allen and Michael Rix proving costly at times. Ruckman Michael Gardiner was impressive at the stoppages and also around the ground, finding space and providing a competitive marking target.

Greig makes his Marc on VFL

From the Ballarat Courier
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MARC Greig could hardly have picked a better stage on which to bring up his 150th appearance for North Ballarat in the Victorian Football League.

Greig becomes only the second Rooster to achieve the feat in North Ballarat's first home final in eight years - a qualifying final against Williamstown at AUSTAR Arena in Ballarat tomorrow.Only reigning captain and Greig's

fellow defender Shaune Moloney has played more senior and reserves matches for North Ballarat since it entered the VFL in 1996.

While the milestone is satisfying, Greig has his sights set on bigger things.

Slow start will hurt us, warns North Ballarat veteran

From The Herald-Sun
Reported by Chris Mitchell

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NORTH Ballarat stalwart Marc Greig has warned his teammates they will pay the price for a tardy start in tomorrow's second qualifying final against Williamstown.

The 28-year-old, 179cm defender, who will play his 150th club game, said the Roosters had lost form in the past month, despite finishing second and securing the double chance and a home final.

Williamstown and North Ballarat have split their games this season, but the Roosters won their most recent clash - a 47-point thrashing at Ballarat in Round 12.

The Roosters led by 32 points at quarter-time and 53 at halftime , but Greig said the result could easily be reversed with a slow start tomorrow.

"We know if we play our best footy we can beat anyone. We've just got to make sure we don't wait until halftime to get going, otherwise we could be nine goals down ourselves," Greig said.

Bullants ready for big sting

From The Age
Reported by Michael Sharkie

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THE Casey Scorpions go into today's first round of the VFL finals against Northern Bullants facing elimination, a prospect that seemed unlikely for most of the season with the Scorpions entrenched in the top four.

But a one-point loss to Coburg in the second-last round and an upset victory by Werribee over Williamstown in the final round elevated Werribee to fourth and stripped Casey of the double chance.

"It was disappointing, but look, we probably knew it was going to happen when we lost to Coburg," said senior coach Greg Hutchison.

Although Casey had the Bullants' measure at their only meeting this season in round six, when Casey trounced today's opponents by a whopping 118 points, Hutchison believes the Bullants have the advantage this time around.

ABC Match of the round preview

From the ABC Grandstand website
Reported by Chris Thompson

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Port Melbourne host the Bullants in the final round of the home-and-away season this Saturday and ABC Grandstand will be there to bring you all the action live from 1pm.

Both teams are already assured of a finals berth, but there’s still plenty to play for in terms of ladder position.

A Port win could see them finish atop the VFL ladder, a spectacular achievement for a stand-alone side and the ideal position from which to launch a premiership bid.

State league in; Devils out

From the Examiner
Reported by Phil Edwards

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THE Tassie Devils will cease to exist next season if AFL Tasmania's proposed Statewide league becomes a reality in 2009.

That was the message AFL Tasmania general manager Scott Wade conveyed to the Devils' players at training last night ending recent uncertainty and speculation over the club's future.

"I advised them that if AFL Tasmania establishes a Statewide league we won't be fielding a team in the VFL," Wade said yesterday.

"At this particular point in time we don't have a State league because we still have clubs that are required to commit.

"But I also advised the players that it is highly likely that we will have a State league - and we won't be doing both," he said.

Reports that a financial lifeline could be extended to keep the Devils alive in 2009 drew an ultimatum to AFL Tasmania from three Northern clubs yesterday.

Round 20 Teams

Geelong vs. Frankston - Saturday 30th August Skilled Stadium at 10:40 AM
Geelong
B Laidler Kangars Bedford
HB D. Johnson McKenna Wojcinski
C Davenport Byrne Hogan
HF DjerrkuraWest Moles
F Donohue Hawkins Mumford
R D. Simpson Tenace Byrnes
Int Larcombe Wilson Carey
  Cuthill FirmanTom
  Dewey Cheep
Frankston
B Barry Pollard Winterton
HB Raso Shinners Collins
C Collie Kennedy Proctor
HF Dickson Lourey Berry
F Clark Limbach Morris
R Gabriel Marigliani Magner
Int Corp Murray Dore
  Dunne Lombardozzi Conroy
  Oliver Krakouer

VFL Tipping update

Name
George
Bobby Borough
Con Milonas
Kain (Casey)
Keith Lumley
Paul- Saints
Vaughan
Darren Tudor
Stephen Allender
Ian Crocker
Jason Borough
Parry
Total
99
95
95
95
95
95
95
94
94
92
92
92

Just one round to go!

With one round to go there is still plenty of tipsters with a chance to get into the prize money. 
thanks to all tipsters for being part of the vfl tipping comp for 2008 and good luck for the final round of the season.

Aggregate score winners for round 19

Adam 'frankie spencer' moffat collects $40 adam picked the exact score of 177 points for the casey v coburg match.

Seven winners shared

Bananaman and jeff smith share $30 each as they were nearest the aggregate score for tipsters with 7 winners

A big thanks to George 'VFA' Paras for once again running the tipping comp. Good luck to all of you still in with a winning chance.

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