Round 2 Final scores:

Marximum Louw Groomed Maddogs 372 defeats 370 Otere is the new Black 
Burnin’ Bridges 614 defeats 320 White Linen Hides the Sinning
Call Me Big Papali’i 457 defeats 442 Coles-Royce
The Great White Hope 481 defeats 413 Clan Mckenzie

Marximum Louw Groomed Maddogs 372 defeats 370 Otere is the new Black 
The Prelim’s had Nelson’s Otere is the new Blacks in the lead 250 points to 186 but as we found out in week 1, prelims don’t mean smack! Wylie turned it all around to knock him down a peg 372 – 370, and with it he took the overall lead after two weeks of draft rugby. Wylie should consider himself lucky tacking a win by only 2pts, and with the 3rd lowest score of the week. The few points he did get came largely from Nic Groom (50pts) of all people, ‘The Accountant’ Ben Smith (44) and Alex Newsome (42). Dishonourable mention to Schoeman (6) who started despite the return of Kwagga, but still didn’t score as many points as you’d expect had he come off the bench. It wasn’t all bad for Nelson, as last years wooden spooners bagged a bonus point to rise all the way up the ranks to 7th! No one bagged a 50 here, but Kurtley Beale and Kwagga Smith (48 points each) on their returns, did combine well with Akker van der Merwe (41) to put some points on the board. Reiko Ioane (8pts, and an average of 15pts after two rounds) is in the running to be the biggest disappointment of the year to date, but in the end Nelson only had himself to blame after trading out Jordan Taufua (59) for
Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco (30), a decision he still apparently stands by. It seems it’s a case of another week, another loss, and yet he has learnt nothing. This one could of gone either way, but the score as it stands is Wylie 1 – Nelson 0.

Burnin’ Bridges 614 defeats 320 White Linen Hides the Sinning
On paper Nabung’s Burnin’ Bridges looked HEAT, and they delivered over and above with a giant score of 614 points to demolish Nsync’s White Linen Hides the sinning by 294 points. I’d say Israel Folau (101 points) was close to favourite to crack triple figures first this year with the Sunwolves match up so early on, and he did not disappoint. Shannon Frizell (87) was close as well with his own epic performance, add Dempsey (67), Bridge (53) and Sorovi (52) and you start to understand just how massive this week was for the perennial battler. Many thought new man Nsync would have learnt a thing or two in his time off, apparently not. After one good week he backed the Bulls with 5 of his starting 15 players who combined for only 78 points. With that decision it seems fitting that he sit in 8th place on the table. He also made 4 trades during the week bringing in Specman (30), Fotuaika (28), Dickson (35) and Kirifi (33) to devastate his teams consistency and depth. I don’t know if it’s worse that he picked them, or that they were 4 of his top 6 players with Slipper (31) & SBW (30). Nabung 1 – Nsync 0.

Call Me Big Papali’i 457 defeats 442 Coles-Royce
Prelim’s had Cargie’s Coles-Royce a massive 88 points ahead of Harry’s Call me Big Papali’i’s, and with that we thought it was all over. But Harry’s chargers had other ideas after going down to Cargie in last years grand final, which ended his hopes of a Ryan Quaddy (four titles in a row). Tom Banks (61 points) led the way, with solid support from Folau Fainga’a (55), Melani Nanai (53), Harry Johnson-Holmes (44) and last minute pick up Tomas Cubelli (44). Only Vince Aso (-9) could be seen as a real disappointment after taking out the fantasy bum of the round. Cargie’s maturity has cost him the chance to make an arse of himself. After choosing not to gloat following the apparent game winning performances from BLAM (57 points) and Manasa Mataele (38 points). Both were hit hard by our scoring systems harsh no tolerance policy to errors. The Choo choo train may have got he’s engine going (Tevita Kurindrani 68pts) and late pick up Jordan Taufua (59 points) proved to be a master stroke. Sadly it was significantly outweighed by his decision to leave “Australia’s most exiting prospect” Jordan Petaia (51) on the bench instead of Etene Nanai-Seturo (10). The 41 points turn around would have handed him the win, and top spot in the competition. To add injury to insult Manasa Mataele looks to have sustained a serious knee injury, which could rule out one of his strike weapons for the season (see here). It certainly does seem to be raining shit down on Joe Cooper Cargie right now. Harry 1 – Cargie 0.

The Great White Hope 481 defeats 413 Clan Mckenzie
Another week and another come from behind victory for Blake’s Great White Hope. Down 53 points after prelims, he has overturned a bigger deficit than last week through a return to form for David Havili (68 points) and Richie Mo’unga (64 points) two push himself up to second on the overall table. The centre pairing of Kerevi (48) and Rob Thompson (43) also contributed handsomely despite an injury to the latter. Larry’s Clan McKenzie had a real crack this week, but it wasn’t enough. Karmichael Hunt (66 points) seems to be in a rich vein of form for the spluttering Waratah’s and Scott Barrett (59) had the game of his life. In the end he couldn’t cover for his props Lomax (0) and Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (13) absence, or Ardron’s (8) injury. The loss pushing him back into 6th position. This one was close, but it still reads Blake 1 – Larry 0.

Extra Facts:
Best Player: Israel Folau 101pts (Nabung)
Worst Player: Vince Aso -5pts (Harry)
The best Supersub: Nil
The worst Supersub: Thomas du Toit 13pts (Wylie)
Worst Coaching Decision (player left on the bench): Jordan Petaia 51 pts left on the bench instead of Etene Nanai-Seturo 10pts (Cargie, who lost by 15pts so it cost him the win!)

The Table

THIS WEEKS Trade Order:

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

This Weeks Fixtures:

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

Blake it’s your call which pub we head to for trade night this week.

2 down, 16 to go!

Written by Harrison Dale