- SA go back-to-back at 2025 Survivor Jultopia Wollongong; Jonty Smith with second league B&F
- Thunder win 2025a by 21 points v CFC Stars; Jonty Smith with second league B&F
- Thunder forward Daniel Smith joins Jultopia teammate Jordan Peel at Central Wyoming for 2025-26
- Thunder win 2024b by 4 points v Futures Hornets; Jonty Smith with first league B&F
- SA win first title for 10 years at 2024 Survivor Jultopia Geelong; Jonty Smith with first league B&F
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Massey Ratings lift Central Wyoming to 190th nationally
Welcome back to Massey Ratings Thursday and if you've come here for rankings, opinions and proving people wrong, you've come to the right place. The good folk at Massey Ratings published their preseason rankings and listed Central Wyoming at 155th overall, then lifted them to 131st, returned them back to 155th, dropped them to 227th, dropped them further to 263rd, lifted them to 212th and now lifted them to 190th. A split last weekend that was almost a clean sweep sees them climb to a record of 3-7 with hopefully the cream and cherry about to be added to the Rustlers cake. Hurry up, Daniel. Central Wyoming's rankings are now as follows, by category:
CENTRAL WYOMING RANKINGS (from now to last season)
Overall: 190th-212th-263rd-227th-227th-155th-131st-155th-175th
Power: 173rd-187th-209th-188th-182nd-n/a-134th-159th-182nd
Offence: 303rd-321st-326th-308th-308th-n/a-169th-285th-358th
Defence: 75th-75th-96th-93rd-88th-n/a-75th-81st-45th
SoS: 63rd-49th-59th-50th-190th
SSF: 82nd-86th-87th-91st-89th-n/a-83rd-89th-64th
Like we said, we have no idea what most of these things mean but you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be tracking their progress at https://masseyratings.com/cb/njcaa/ratings - come back each Thursday because Thursday is Massey Ratings day. Go Rustlers. Good times, good times.
WCB semi-final results
Recapping Monday's semi-finals in A Grade Men and the grand between A Grade Men and B Grade Men.
Gateway Thunder 87 d Supernova Sigmas 42
CFC Stars 80 d Air Journey 51
Gateway Tsunami 82 d Futures Pioneers 42
North Western Mustangs 79 d CFC Warriors 52
Semi-final review: Gateway d Supernova Sigmas
With veteran centre James Smith back in the lineup, the Thunder looked unsettled early as Supernova took a 10-0 lead and seemingly had Gateway on the ropes. Wrong. In the words of Rudy Tomjanovich, you should never underestimate the heart of a champion or the sticktoitiveness of 5 old blokes and 3 young people who kept going after the Sigmas and retook the lead as the second half approached. The latter stanza continued in the same direction and as the blues adjusted to the new Wilson ball and began knocking them down from outside. The final score Gateway 87 (Jon.Smith 35, Brook 13, Penn 5, Vucetic 9, McKinnon 7, T.Sleep 6, J.Smih 4, B.Sleep 3) d Supernova Sigmas 42 but that didn't do justice to the efforts of the Sigmas who gave it one almighty crack and are no doubt a team to be reckoned with for the coming years but not on this night. The Thunder move on to the grand final and with any luck, the title but that can wait for next week. Exciting times, exciting times.
Semi-final preview: Gateway v Supernova Sigmas
And so we arrive to the finals and the #1 ranked Thunder find themselves rewarded with a match against a team they've never beaten. Doesn't sound like a fair deal but that's the way the Delta Creams crumble and with no second chance, it's win or go home. The Thunder recovered from a two-game losing streak a few weeks back whilst the Sigmas arrive at their first ever A Grade finals campaign with plenty of confidence and ready to go. Two teams enter, one team leave. With no further adieu, we present to you Gateway v Supernova Sigmas.
LAST FIVE GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD
20/10/2025: Supernova Sigmas 46 d Gateway 38 (Vucetic 18, Brook 8, T.Sleep 6)
LADDER
1 (1). Gateway Thunder 15-2, 47pts, +324
4 (4). Supernova Sigmas 7-1-6, 29pts, -73
OUR PREDICTION
Our botha spies tell us the Thunder will be without four players - an even one veteran and three youngsters - which doesn't tell us much other than to say they'll be short-handed again though we're told the return of a favourite son Dad should see them better balanced for the all-important semi-fnal. Mark our words when we say this game will totally be worth the price of free admission. Supernova just will not back down and don't know how, whilst we should expect Gateway to lift as they have for each of the past 34 years. Will the Sigmas kick on to their first ever grand final in their first ever finals series, or will Gateway return to the big dance to defend the title? Our tip? Gateway by 6 points. Lets hope so. Nervous times, nervous times.
Game review: Trinidad State (97th) d CWC (216th)
Trinidad State d CWC. Stats and game review coming soon.
Game review: CWC (216th) d Otero (228th)
CWC d Otero. Stats and game review coming soon.
FCA's Friday Fellowship: not taking sides
Ready: “When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied. ‘I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.’” - Joshua 5:13-14
Set: Most of us can empathize with the nerves felt when you are standing in a row waiting to see which team picks you to play for them. As you stand there, you wonder which team you will get to share your talents with. As you stand in the row, you see both teams as friends, but the other becomes the enemy when you get picked for one team. When Joshua approaches this man in our Scripture above, we discover He is an angel of the Lord. Joshua asks this man if he is here to fight with Joshua or against him. If we read ahead, we know that the angel is there to help bring victory to Jericho. However, the angel responds to Joshua not with the assurance that He is on their side but that he is on neither side. He is the commander of God’s army. The distinction here is that God did not come down to join in on the plan Joshua made nor make Joshua victorious. God came down so that the victory at Jericho could be in His name and honor. God used Joshua as an earthly vessel to accomplish His plan. How often do we ask God if He is on our side and expect Him to join us in our plan for our life? God isn’t here to make our plan work; we are here to play a role in the plan that God is already working on. God is not taking sides; this plan over his or her plan. Instead, we are here to be on His side, humbling ourselves, submitting to His plan and praying that He uses us to serve Him.
Go: Do you make your plans based on asking God to join you, or do you desire to join Him? What would it look like to wake up each day and seek to join God’s plan? Even if your plan is good, why is it wrong to invite God to join you instead of joining Him?
Workout:
Overtime:
Lord God, we come before You now asking for Your forgiveness for trying to squeeze You into the plans we have already made for the life that You gave us. Teach us how to submit our plans to You and seek not our agenda but seek solely You. Amen.
Massey Ratings lift Central Wyoming to 212th nationally
Welcome back to Massey Ratings Thursday and if you've come here for rankings, opinions and proving people wrong, you've come to the right place. The good folk at Massey Ratings published their preseason rankings and listed Central Wyoming at 155th overall, then lifted them to 131st, returned them back to 155th, dropped them to 227th, dropped them further to 263rd, and now lifted them to 212th. A split last weekend saw them climb to a record of 2-6 and whilst much is still to do, they still have a Ferrari in the garage in Thunder forward Daniel Smith who remains sidelined. Surely he isn't far away now. Get well soon, Thunder 10. Buckle up, folks. Central Wyoming's rankings are now as follows, by category:
CENTRAL WYOMING RANKINGS (from now to last season)
Overall: 212th-263rd-227th-227th-155th-131st-155th-175th
Power: 187th-209th-188th-182nd-n/a-134th-159th-182nd
Offence: 321st-326th-308th-308th-n/a-169th-285th-358th
Defence: 75th-96th-93rd-88th-n/a-75th-81st-45th
SoS: 49th-59th-50th-190th
SSF: 86th-87th-91st-89th-n/a-83rd-89th-64th
Like we said, we have no idea what most of these things mean but you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be tracking their progress at https://masseyratings.com/cb/njcaa/ratings - come back each Thursday because Thursday is Massey Ratings day. Go Rustlers. Good times, good times.
WCB Round 18 ladder
Each Wednesday we'll publish the WCB A Grade Men premiership ladder here because well ..... just because. OK, it's because we're getting older by the minute and can't work out the app but fortunately we do know how websites work. Next stop is to give away our Puma Lufts and tape cassettes and start wearing Nike Air Force Ones and using CDs but we're not sure either will take off. We shall see. With no further adieu, here's the full A Grade Men premiership ladder. Enjoy.
Finals time next week ... and away we go. Exciting times, exciting times.
1 (1). Gateway Thunder 15-2, 47pts, +324
2 (2). CFC Stars 14-2, 44pts, +251
3 (3). Air Journey 11-1-4, 39pts, +80
4 (4). Supernova Sigmas 7-1-6, 29pts, -73
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 (5). North Western Mustangs 7-1-9, 32pts, -22
6 (6). Futures Pioneers 7-10, 29pts, -30
7 (8). Gateway Tsunami 6-11, 29pts, -138
8 (9). CFC Warriors 3-12, 21pts, -178
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 (10). CFC Sasquatches 2-12, 18pts, -147
10 (7). Futures Warriors 5-1-9, 0pts, -67
Game review: Gateway d Futures Pioneers
Damn. We hate forfeits and in an unfitting end to the season, Gateway 20 d Futures Pioneers 0 after the Pioneers forfeited the match. Disappointing but we don't know the reasons why so we have to let this go through to the 'keeper. On to the finals we go with a matchup looming against the Supernova Sigmas but more on that later. Disappointing times, disappointing times.
Game preview: Gateway v Futures Pioneers
With the Thunder set to be without at least 5 players and maybe 6, it's not an ideal buildup to the last minor round game of the season. Yes folks, next week is finals time and we're not sure how it all works but the Thunder are in a battle for first and the Pioneers for fourth. A win wraps things up whilst a loss doesn't. It's that simple as both teams desperately seek Susan. Two teams enter, one team leave. With no further adieu, we present to you Gateway v Futures Pioneers.
LAST FIVE GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD
15/9/2025: Gateway 20 d Futures Pioneers 0
4/8/2025: Gateway 114 (Jon.Smith 40, Penn 22, Brook 17) d Futures Pioneers 77
12/5/2025: Gateway 78 (Jon.Smith 33, D.Smith 15, Sleep 10) d Futures Pioneers 59
7/4/2025: Gateway 69 (Jon.Smith 27, Penn 16, J.Smith 13) d Futures Pioneers 48
3/3/2025: Gateway 71 (Jon.Smith 21, D.Smith 15, Penn 14) d Futures Pioneers 48
LADDER
1 (1). Gateway Thunder 14-2, 44pts, +324
6 (5). Futures Pioneers 7-9, 29pts, -30
OUR PREDICTION
With just a week to finals, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Thunder were cherry ripe, ready to defend the crown. Not at all. With their coach still AWOL and not seen since September, their revolving door of not enough players should be a cause for alarm but that can wait. Tonight they're up against regular grand final combatant Futures Pioneers and whilst it hasn't been their season, the Pioneers refuse to give up because they just don't know how. Get there early folks because this will be a ripsnorter well worth the price of free admission. Our tip? Gateway by 2 points because they need this. Let's hope so, and let's hope they get some players back soon or it might be too late. Anxious times, anxious times.
Game review: Utah State Eastern (46th) d Central Wyoming (263rd)
When they last met 3 weeks ago, it was the Eagles by 10, giving the Rustlers some hope that they might have a crack today. Wrong. Again, we didn't see the game but our bothan spies did and they tell us the Rustlers had more to give bad sadly didn't - close, but no cigar. Final score Utah State Eastern 67 (Bowen Davies 17, Ike Palmer 17, Ethen Stoddard 8) d Central Wyoming 52 (Jordan Peel 13, Luke Danielson 10, Isaac Patik 10) to move the Rustlers to 2-6 on the season with still no official word on Thunder forward Daniel Smith's injured wrist.
Game review: Central Wyoming (263rd) d Colorado Northwestern (228th)
We didn't see the game so there isn't much to say. 228th up against 263rd and on paper, Colorado Northwestern should've won except they didn't. Our bothan spies (yes, they saw it) tell us the Rusters played a good first half, average second half. Final score Central Wyoming 80 (Jordan Peel 26, Julian Ormond 17, Luke Danielson 12) d Colorado Northwestern 64 (Carter Killian 31, Trey Johnson 10, Gibson Walton 7) to lift the Rustlers to 2-5 on the season.
FCA's Friday Fellowship: 100% sure
Ready: “But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.” -Job 19:25-27
SET: What are you sure of? If you are good at shooting, you might be sure to make the basket. Or maybe you know each play in the book and are sure you will easily execute whatever play the coach calls. Perhaps you have coached for so long that you are sure you have the formula down on how to develop a player. Having confidence in these skills is not a bad thing, but we all must admit that there is a chance we miss the basket, mess up a play, or are stumped by a player’s problem. There isn’t much in life we can be 100% sure about. There is one, though. We can be sure about God. Job suffered many hardships in his life. Yet, he was still 100% sure that His God was real and alive. He was sure God would someday redeem humanity by sending a savior to earth. Job was sure, even through the hardship of God’s goodness. Job was hurt and confused as to why he was suffering. He was emotional and angry; he might have doubted his ability to endure the suffering. But he never doubted God. He knew God was with him, leading him through the hardship. Are you as sure as Job? Can you say without a doubt that your God is alive and real? That God is for us and will redeem us from this world. There are many things we can choose to put our faith and hope in; the only thing that is entirely certain is our hope and faith in God!
GO: Do you have doubts about God? If so, what questions do you have? Do hardships make you question God?
WORKOUT:
OVERTIME:
Our most perfect Father, we delight in who You are. Help us to be able to walk through our days with 100% certainty of who You are. Your promise to redeem us gives us strength to walk through hardship, knowing You are still good. Amen.
Central Wyoming Rustlers fundraiser
With Jultopia teammates Daniel Smith and Jordan Peel suiting up for Central Wyoming this season, we're excited to share news of their 2025-26 season fundraiser. All funds go directly to the team, funding player gear and travel costs. All donations - big, small or otherwise - are greatly appreciated. Note that donations are in US dollars so for our Australian viewers, be aware that's probably 1.5 the Aussie dollar at the minute.
Follow the links at https://ets.rocks/3KR8dqj to donate. Thanks folks and go you Rustlers!
