A Grade

CLEVE v COWELL…Cowell firmed even further for the 2008 EEFL A Grade premiership following their 80 point victory over second favourite Cleve at Cleve on Saturday, although CentreBet are currently refusing to take bets until it becomes clearer whether or not former Richmond midfielder Nick Daffy has signed with the Bombers.

It was a cold day but Steven Wildman was hot, was it nine or 10 goals? Who cares - it was a grand display of goalkicking.

Many of them were from kicks initiated from beyond the 50 metre mark and were characterised by a left-handed draw that Phil Mickleson, Buddy Franklin or Mr Squiggle would have been proud of.

It’s probably a bit rough to say Cowell didn’t play all that well – but, I have seen them play better – heaven knows what the scoreline would have been had they all had a day on – of course that rarely happens.

Chris Ramsey was also an effective forward with two goals and his ‘clean hands’ generated many opportunities for his fellow forwards.

Nude nut colleague, Nick ‘Reg’ Gale displayed “rising star” qualities in the last quarter with some well-judged marks and a couple of sausage rolls – it will be interesting to follow his development through the second half of the season.

Jack Burton is another Cowell youngster who continue to impress, and alongside seasoned campaigners like Nathan ‘Tuffers’ Johnson, Kieran ‘Buzz’ Fiegert, and Wayne Piggott they have too much depth for other sides who, on current form, will only ever be competitive at full strength.

The Bombers were not without their own good players, but as you would expect when the game is played in the back half of your oval they would be backmen.

Elliott “Burger” Claxton led the way and is growing in confidence and stature as the season progresses.

Jason Perkins hit the ball hard and clean coming off the back end of the square, and Paul Bammann, Jess Kenny, and Joel Nield racked up impressive numbers covering plenty of territory.