Tonight saw 10 teams battle it out for the final 5 places in the Grand Finals. Three of the matches saw runaway 13-8 victories to the Pumas, Pains and Chisholm, but the other two, at opposite ends in divisions 1 and 5, finished at 12 all and went to playoffs.

The Matildas fought out a great game with the Embalmers, but the Embalmers proved too strong in the playoff, winning 3-0 to create a second straight 1st division Grand Final against the Hammerheads.

The Rail Runners and the Gremlins toughed it out at 3-3, 6-6, 9-9 and 12-12 at the end of each round, but the Rail Runners won three straight frames after sitting one nil down in the playoff.

Congratulations to the Matildas, Runouts, Pirates (aargh), Dubber Ruckies and Gremlins on great seasons. With one of the two grand finalists moving up a division next season, a spot in the decider is yours for the taking.

Of course, congratulations to all 10 Grand Finalists, I wish you the best of luck next week. To borrow a quote from the great NFL coach Vince Lombardi, “If winning isn’t everything, then why do they keep score?”

As well as an all- Fyshwick Tavern match in division 1, division 3 sees both Wests teams battle it out. 2nd and 4th divisions both see the top two teams of the regular season square off. Division 5 will also prove to be a great one, with two of the old hands of ACTEBA, Blackie and Dice, aiming to embarrass the other.

Below are the results from tonight’s Preliminary Finals, followed by the draw and venues for the Grand Finals. If you’re like me and feeling lost on a Wednesday night now, come along to a match and support the teams and venues who donate their establishment each week for us.

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Once again we saw a few upsets this week, with only one minor premier (Shooters) qualifying first for the Grand Final. The Motley Cues, meanwhile, had faced an anxious wait after round 14 to see if other results would let them slip into 4th place. They did, and now two wins later they are in the Grand Final!

Big winners this week were the Runouts and the Dubber Ruckies, who both recorded 13-6 victories.

We say farewell this week to the Snipers, Katz, Demons, Kickers and Earls; all of whom finished the season in 4th place and should be looking to challenge for a Grand Final spot next season. Well done on a successful season.

Congratulations to the teams who qualified for the Grand Final in two weeks time: Hammerheads, DV8s, Cougars, Shooters and Motley Cues.

Next week’s preliminary finals will be played at neutral venues, which I will publish on Friday. (Note as these games are neutral, teams toss a coin for home or away on the scoresheet).

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Hi all

Week 1 of the finals was played tonight, with not all results going according to plan for the season leaders.

In div 5, the minor premiers Gremlins went down to 4th place Motley Cues 13-8, whilst the 2nd placed team in div 2 were comprehensively beaten, the DV8s winning 13-4 over the Runouts. 2nd in div 3 also met a similar fate, the Cougars defeating the Demons 13-5.

This leaves a few of the higher placed finishers fighting to stay in the finals, while a couple of teams who just made it are now looking at a second chance.

Next week also sees the higher placed finisher gaining home ground advantage, before we move to neutral venues for the preliminary finals and Grand Finals.

As always, good luck to all 20 teams next week, and to the 10 facing elimination – at least go down fighting! Click below for full results. Continue reading

An abridged results report this week, I’ll give you a rundown of what each team needs for the finals in a day or so. Continue reading