A mass exodus of 2015 players and a mounting injury list are preventing Binalong from having any chance of securing a top five position this year, and with it the hope of defending their premiership.

With Captain/Coach Benny Spencer unlikely to take the field in the near future, the team is now in dire straits in the senior grade.

With not many experienced players at hand, the Brahmans are hampered, not only by injuries but by the fact that a number of their playing roster simply do not have the capacity or experience to read opposition plays during games and are simply unable to defend against a concerted attack. That is not the fault of individual players but with so few to pick from, Binalong has no other choice. Woodbridge Cup is a very tough competition.

On the other hand, we have Trundle, Cargo and Canowindra clubs who occupy the top three positions on the ladder. Although statistics don’t play for you, they do show what a team is capable of over time and although Trundle does not have a great strike rate, they defend extremely well at just 12.5 points a game and in my opinion, they will be there on Grand Final day.

Defence is the key to winning on the final day and many ignore this fact.

At the end of round 9, Cargo is currently in second, which has the best attack in Woodbridge Cup this season with +354 or 40 points per game. Cargo’s big problem is that they leak over 22 points per match, so their defence needs addressing.

Canowindra are sitting at third, but they don’t defend as well as Trundle and their scoring rate is not as good either at +304. 

Manildra Rhinos are in fourth place and have a positive differential, but the Rhinos, in their first year back, defend well but don’t score a lot against an opposition.

Grenfell are fifth and score better than any team bar Cargo, however, their defence lets them down as they have allowed 264 points so far in 2016.

Nevertheless, the Goannas have already lost four games and that fact may exclude them from contention as grand finalists.

In the mix of the top six is Condobolin, with the greatest distance to travel each week, the Rams defend moderately well and their attack is as good as Manildra but they are really a very outside chance of a finals berth.

Woodbridge Cup is geographically a big competition, which throws up confusing results from time to time, for example in round 7, Condobolin played an away game at Canowindra and lost 28-22. Then on May 29, against the team in second position. That is a good reason why the Canowindra Tigers might not be there on Grand Final day.

The remainder in Peak Hill, Eugowra, Binalong and Burrangong can get themselves ready for 2017. Their respective performances thus far will be insufficient to recover their status in Woodbridge Cup for 2016.

For all the above reflections, I believe that the Grand Final will be fought out between Trundle and Cargo in September.

There is a crucial encounter on July 24 when Cargo Blue Heelers are at home to Trundle in round 14, which may have a substantial outcome for the competition.

Next weekend will be an interesting round as Manildra will be at home to Trundle on Saturday and on Sunday, Grenfell Goannas will host Canowindra. The results won’t upset the ladder too much but it is always interesting to see the top of the table teams up against one another.

The Saturday match will show how well Trundle can travel to play a quality side like Manildra.

In the League Tag competition, Grenfell Goannas are way out in front on 18 competition points and are yet to be defeated. Manildra are in second on 14 points and followed by premiers, Eugowra, which has lost two games and had their away draw with Binalong.

The Jersey Girls have worked their way up to fourth on 11 points to keep Condobolin in fifth place, albeit with the Ramettes with a game in hand.

It is hard to not feel sorry for the girls at Peak Hill in 2016, new to the competition they are yet to win a game, have had 384 points inflicted on them and have scored just 16 points in eight matches. The Goannas and Rhinos should fight out the grand final in this competition.

With only five clubs having Youth League sides in 2016, this competition is currently led by Binalong, which lost to Manildra on neutral ground on June 5 at Young.

Readers need to appreciate that with such a narrow band of young players to select from, most Woodbridge Cup sides lose entire batches of players from year to year, so the recently strong performers in Peak Hill and Eugowra have no Youth League teams in 2016.

The grand final should be a challenge between Binalong, who only have a playing roster of 14 members, and Manildra who do have a number of reserves.