Seriously? Did anybody tip our Reserves, early season cellar dwellers, to embark on an amazing mid year surge that carried them all the way into the top five?

Bloodlines can reveal that in the early part of the season one of the coaches even agreed to hold his son’s birthday in September because “we are no chance to make the finals”!

What a remarkable story, and yet our percentage is barely 75%!!

We checked the figures for the last decade, it’s very rare for any team to play finals with a percentage under 100 and on just one occasion did a club with a percentage similar to ours make it to September.

That club was Wandin and in a sense they won the booby prize because the four clubs above them were the Big Dogs from the south east who had ridiculous percentages of 300-400.

A good yardstick for measuring our improvement is to look at the last three rounds- we sank Healesville and Gembrook and were a tad unlucky to lose to second placed Officer. Earlier in the year all three clubs would have monstered us.

Bottom line- we are where we are because we deserve to be there.

Lets take a brief look at the Gembrook game- the Ressies were fortunate they could replace Cass Hine (concussion) with the “hard as nails” Boydy.

Fortunately our other suspected concussion victim, Captain Jack, was cleared to play. In an added bonus Bon Sullivan found himself in the Ressies and stood tall with a BOG performance. We are going to nickname this kid “Aldi” because he’s so efficient and always gives incredible value.

A couple of other thoughts- Brody Hyphen must have been close to our “best six players”- always hard at the contest , and usually wins the ball.

Goldy continues to be worth his weight in a certain heavy metal. What a massive difference he makes to the team.

Will Boote- best game in a few weeks. He’s been a revelation.

Finally what about the Schiano Shimmy- “you shimmy to the left, you shimmy to the right, you put the ball through the big sticks, and that’s alright!”. (ed. Clearly a case of finals fever kicking in here).

Nick has booted 11 goals in the last three games and LJ has contributed five. The coaches can also drop in a third proven goal kicker, Tommy Rogers, where and when required.

If our running players can chip in with more majors we’ll head into the finals with a potent attack. Massive congrats to coaches Steeny and Chrisso- it’s been a long hard journey but you totally earned the right to savour this moment.

Meantime can you believe the preliminary count for the Paul Wicks Medal?

Up until Round 12 youngsters Cass Hine and Will Boote are tied in the lead with Ollie Clarke two votes back.

As we know Cass had a very strong month before he was concussed in round 17 and hasn’t played again. Can he hold on or could Will or Ollie come home over the top of him? Don’t miss Presentation Night folks for the last chapter of this exciting story.

So there we have it- a resounding 112 point win over Gembrook has seen OFC Seniors finish the Home and Away season in second place, two wins clear of third placed Mt Evelyn.

Before we turn our attention to the finals perhaps we should just take a brief moment to consider why this achievement deserves a closer look.

It’s now 10 seasons since OFC began it’s impressive run of success (one season was lost to Covid).

In each year but one, 2023, OFC has been the leading local club in the competition. By “local” we mean all those which were originally members of the MDFL, the ones we clashed with for decades ( Upwey, Monbulk, Belgrave, Gembrook and Emerald). Each of these clubs has a proud history of success in community footy, and over the stretch each enjoyed big wins over OFC.

In all but a couple of those years we have played finals, and that includes the Lost Years when the south eastern mega clubs joined the comp.  So yep lets just take a minute to acknowledge the coaches (Brendan and Dylan) and all the players, administrators  and volunteers who’ve worked so hard to make the community proud over the last decade.

Season 2026 has so far been very similar to 2025, with one key exception. OFC has borrowed from the Wandin model of recruiting key players who it hopes will take us closer to premiership glory. As is the case at the Kennel not all these guys play every match.

We suspect that the OFC strategy has also been to bring experienced older players back to the club because of a dearth of guys in the 25-30 age group.

Anyway it’s not our role to overthink this so lets get back to the footy. Where do you start, or finish, analysing such a one sided game?

We will invariably overlook a lot of very good performances, but we sure can’t overlook Keegs. Nick finished with 7 goals, including his freakish five goal effort in the third quarter. It was elite work up forward and a maestro performance that will be remembered for a long time.

We also welcomed back Isaac Tonkin and Frank Seal.

Frankie finished with four goals but such was the output from a heap of other guys he couldn’t make it into our best six. Isaac did, he looked refreshed and happy to be back in business.(ed. Isaac has the same christian name as a certain Sydney Swans player, who he also has a resemblance to. For the last couple of years we’ve nicknamed Isaac after this guy but for well documented reasons thought it best to give it a break).

A quick mention for Sammy C who made it on to the Best Player list this week- we’ve had Sam on our list, or thereabouts, for the last month now.

OK- here comes Spring and the finals. You gotta love it. And can you believe our first final is at Woori Yallock , which has surely in recent years been one of our happy hunting grounds!!!

How about the Mick Scott Medal count ??? Phew, can Percy get over the line ? It’s a massive lead over Shep but we think Matt might have taken the chocolates last week and of course Perc was rested in Round 18. Six Rounds still to count. Could there be a twist ?

What a buzz to have our A Grade women seeing finals action for the first time in a few years. OFC was the dominant A Grade force for so long we almost took it for granted we’d be watching the girls in September.

This year we’ve had to fight tooth and nail to lock away a finals berth, but scores over the last two weeks show we are hitting some of our best form of the season.

Jake’s team has followed up their inspired win over ROC with a (nearly) 40 goal thumping of Gembrook. Ella and Marv scored over 65 goals between them but for the second week in a row it was Cheryl “Chezza” Chen who was best on court.

So now we’re off to Woori -on Sunday, not Saturday- to clash with the home club in an Elimination Final. We won against them this year, and also lost a close one. Bloodlines is predicting we’ll go through to the second week of the finals.

And how about this for a fast tracked career- Rachel Smart, who began in the lower grades with OFC before becoming an A Grade regular has represented Australia in an overseas tournament.

Rachel played for the Aussie Over 30 Mixed team in a tri series against NZ and South Africa- and came away with the gold medal in the seven a side comp.

Last week we urged people to get along and cheer our U/17 youngsters in the last netball match of the season- little did we know that three members of the Gembrook team were actually heroes from our U/14 girls premiership side!

The coach of that combined OFC/Brookers team, Darren Reid, was at the netball and sort of barracking for us, and sort of barracking for the girls he bonded with over the last six months. Either way Daz was going to come out a winner.

Suffice to say we stuck with them for the first half before Gembrook edged ahead to enjoy what became quite a strong win.

So we want to take this opportunity to recognise and thank the U/17 girls for their first season with us- and we look forward to cheering you on when you celebrate those wonderful wins that one day will come your way.

Shout out to Steph Brooks, Zoe Arthur, Natalie Day, Paie Harford, Raven Holmes, Zara Jenkin, Monet Makaay, Zara Nicholson Pippa Norton, Sophie Pringle and Eliza Watson. Also to Marv and all those who helped.

OFC fans who didn’t get to the ground until after midday missed the most exciting footy of the day. The U/18s speed, physicality and skills took a lot of us by surprise, what a match!!

With finals footy off the agenda Gembrook decided during the week to just let their guys enjoy the last match of the season- which meant four U/18s who played a lot of Senior footy during the year were dropped back to the Juniors.

So while the Brookers may have had just four wins for the whole season they certainly were up for this game in a big way.

At the same time OFC included some of our U/16 premiership heroes, Spencer Garrett, JD, Levi Buckley and Gibson Hoelstein (gees can this kid play!!).

Here’s a left field thought- under different circumstances this match would have been worthy of a finals clash- it was that good. Oh yeh and Rio got us over the line with about 60 seconds left on the clock.

For the last time this season lets hear more from Coach Scotty-

This has been a real development season for a majority of the boys and it was great to finish off the year with a win, even by the narrowest of margins. It was also fantastic to have some of the premiership winning under 16 boys have a run with us. Levi Buckley kicked his first goals at under 18 level while Spencer Garrat and Gibson Hoelstein showed that they are ready to step up to the level next season. Unfortunately, the season is now over for the boys but a big thank you to Glenn, James, Tara and Mel for their help throughout the season and to the boys it has been my pleasure coaching you all.

And from the whole club a big thank you to Scott- it’s been a privilege to watch him work with the young guys each week. What a foundation they have had for senior footy.

Also we mentioned in the last Bloodlines about how some of the 1958 junior premierhsip team ( they were U/16s in those days) still follow our results. We received this from one of the guys- Alex Sutherland- U 16 Premiers , Congratulations boys you will remember this game and the lads you played with for the rest of your lives and your personal efforts to win The Flag . We are still here in our 80s and never forget how it changed the club. (this group of boys went on to form the backbone of the Triple Treat team of the mid 60s. Alex also had a run at St Kilda.)

OK- and now to the B and F count and what a ripper finish we having coming up. “Morris” Tonkin is three votes up on last year’s winner Lenny Barry. When you check on the Best Players for the last three rounds Morris is named in the “top six three times and Lenny twice.

BUT the Best Player lists don’t always reflect the confidential voting system. Do not miss this one on Presenation Night!! 

B Grade- well we didn’t quite see this one coming. The Brookers skipper-who’s thrown 43 goals in A Grade this year, was unstoppable with a 45 goal match on Saturday.

Some positives- Matilda Brewster capped off her best season ever with 21 goals and now looks toally at home in B Grade. And we note Millie Grigg was Best On Court, which could have big ramifications for the MVP (see below)

So looking at the B Grade MVP count- the Griggster Girls are neck and neck up to Round 15, but in the last three rounds Ella steps up and plays A Grade (she actually played 12 in the top grade). She’s three points up on Millie- will it be enough?

C Grade’s match was - like the U/18 boys- probably the match of the day. And we lost !!! By one goal! OFC was seven goals down at the last break before Molly Howie and the girls went to work and nearly overhauled the Brookers in a desperately tight game.

Molly finished with 24 goals on Saturday and that MAY be enough to get over the line for MVP

D Grade finished the season with a flourish- the Divas trounced Gembrook by 14 goals. In a nod to the future two of the U/17 girls helped enjoy the win, and one of them, Sophie Pringle, was among our best players

MEANTIME it looks like a case of put down your glasses in the D Grade MVP count with Alivia Nelson holding a massive lead after 15 rounds.

OK if we check the leaderboard with five rounds to go it looks like Liv’s 10 vote lead over Lily should be enough to get her over the line for the B and F.

But Bloodlines isn’t too sure- we scrutinised the Best Player lists (yep, we know they are indicative and not a foolproof reflection of votes cast) and this could get very, very interesting.

Will it come down to the last round before we have a clear winner? (Bloodlines actually favours a tie between these two wonderful stars).

The final week of All-Star voting will do little to move the needle on Presentation Night, with the 3 teams sitting on the podium this week all in the bottom 10 of the standings at Round 12. It will trigger thoughts of “what if?” and “why couldn’t they have done that more?” 

Squad 15 “the Emmys” sit on top this week. We all know the story of how squad owner Jonty (ed. or Jony as he’s sometimes known) Scott came to purchase the squad, scratching his nose at an inopportune time during the auction. The Auctioneer that night demanded that Jonty honour his bid, but got hit with the Karma stick at the 1-300 raffle Saturday night when he did exactly the same thing himself and was forced to buy a ticket for $410.

Jonty was there and was seen to crack a vengeful smile

A big week for The Emmys and they salute with big vote getting games to Lachie Tonkin in the 18s, Sam Cuthbert in the Seniors, Jess Day in C Grade and Eliza Watson in the 17s.

Special mention to Lachie Meadows who owns squad 12 “The Blue Argoons” who sit 3^rd on the podium this week. Lach copped a whack from the All-Stars General Manager on Saturday night for his purchase of this squad. Keep reading below to find out why…..

TRUE ALL-STAR LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 12

There were a few surprises as the players got together at the rooms for the preliminary vote count on Thursday night but one thing did not surprise…. Squad 7 Molly’s Hatchets hold a very healthy lead in the All-Stars competition at round 12.

Far from being the favourites on auction night, nobody in the room thought the squad was capable of much.

Except 1 person.

Netballer and Women’s footballer Martha(“X”) Box sat on the Women’s table and she had the inside scoop on Molly(All-Star)Howie who at that stage was just Molly Howie. Boxy knew Molly would rack in C Grade. What she somehow also knew was that Molly would rack in B Grade on the same day, and this prediction turned out to be spot on. Martha also predicted young gun Natalie Daly would finish right up the top end of voting in the U17s. The General Manager of the All-Stars had asked those in the know who were the prospective stars in the 17s and wasn’t given Natalie’s name. Hat’s off to Nalalie and Boxy for proving them wrong!

Kyah Barry has been resurgent in the Women’s and is back to her Premiership year form.

Lachie Meadows has been a revelation in the Senior Men’s and has been very consistent.

Logan Fairweather has been a regular poler in D Grade 

Mads Peacock has been brilliant, especially early, and earned multiple BOG’s.

Nick Syme was a regular in the Vets best players.

This talented squad of players has proved to be a bargain for the Olinda Women’s, their price tag of $350 meaning each vote has cost them 59c, easily the best value in the competition. You may notice that the squad in 2^nd, The Nuclear Weapons, is also owned by the Women’s. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the Women’s know everything and are infallible. Their 3^rd squad, Chewbakkers, is sitting deep in the bottom half of the rankings, and is the 3rd least valuable squad in the competition at $3.20 per vote! 

Let’s talk Lachie Meadows and his embarrassing blunder on auction night.

Lach had the chance to buy Molly’s Hatchet’s, was encouraged by everyone around him to do so, because of course he was in the squad. Lach was heckled when he refused to bid, and instead bid on and won squad 12, The Blue Argoons. Where do The Argoons sit on the leaderboard?!.... Stone motherless last! Poor Lach has been made well aware that this decision is possibly going to cost him $5,000!!

So who has a chance of over-running The Hatchets on Presentation Night?

Well they might be gettable, because Molly Howie and Lachie Meadows spent most of Rounds 13-18 overseas and Kyah Barry finishes early in the Women’s.

You can probably put a line through The Nuclear Weapons and Hennessy&The Jets.

The Weapons stars Olivia Edwards and Dale Rohrmann in Women’s and Vets both finish the season early and will have limited opportunity to impact, and Bridget Ryan in A Grade gets injured. Hennessy&The Jets star skipper Sophie Hennessy sits out most of rounds 13-18 which hurts them, although Cheryl Chen has continued to grab BOGs

Reigning champions ET’s Aliens have had a remarkably strong last 6 weeks and will almost certainly climb up the rankings, as will The HazMatts with the return to top form of skipper Matt Scharenberg.

Rachel’s Streetsmarts will also certainly improve their ranking, but along with the fast improving Donner’s Kebabs, are probably too far back.

We’re praying for a close finish, join us on Presentation Night to see if we get it.

Thanks to All-Stars Operations Manager Simon Gilson for the votes compilation and the  value calculations.

AND FROM ALL OF US A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE MAN HIMSELF- THE MAN WHO MAKES IT HAPPEN- S.SULLIVAN

For the second week in a row we are lamenting the passing of a member of the OFC family.

This time it’s Adrian “Doggsy” Berkley who has passed away in Queensland, where he’s lived for the past few decades,at the age of 65.

Doggsy played under David Quinn in our strong EDFL Second Division teams in the early 1980s before breaking his neck at a pool party apnd headincg overseas for a few years. He resumed playing in the late 1980s.

He also coached the Under 16s in 1983-84.

Doggsy was universally liked by everyone at OFC, and also OCC where he played cricket for a number of years

David Quinn’s 1981 tean did play Second Div EDFL finals-with the aim of winnng it’s way into First Div. We’re not sure how the big boys, Vermont, East Burwood etc would have reacted to ttravelling up the mount.

Meantime-further to last week’s tribute to Billy Pallot- his funeral service will be at the Federation Chapel, Llydale Memorial Park 1.45 pm this Thurs

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