The people have spoken. Courtesy of leaguelineup.com's online polls over the past two months, South Australia's A Grade Men and B Grade Men teams for the 2010 Jultopia Geelong Supercats Pivotonian Bells Beach Corio Bay Sleepy Hollow Reg Hickey Charles Brownlow Ablett Family 119-Point Domination Army Recruitment Podsiadly Memorial Carnival have now been chosen. We're not sure if the SA coaching staff will be happy but sorry folks, the people have spoken. Think of it as Survivor. "The tribe has spoken." So with no further adieu, we present to you the South Australian A Grade Men and B Grade Men teams.

A GRADE MEN
James Smith (player/coach)
Bradley Smith (captain)
Terry Sleep (vice-captain)
Ed Howie
Nick Kyriazis
Cal McKinnon
Josip Vucetic

B GRADE MEN
Peter Carger (non-playing coach)
Kerwin Penn (captain)
Brad Anderson (vice-captain)
Matt Atkins
Chris Bosh
David Collinson
Ben Galway
Josh Gondolf
Joel Horskins

We must say it's an interesting way of picking a team. We just hope and pray that all these guys are actually available for the carnival or it could get very complicated, very fast. Chris Bosh's selection alone could send ripples through the NBA Free Agency frenzy but will be good to see him in a #4 red singlet (with apologies to Josh Gondolf, who will have to wear the #5 singlet this year). Our bothan spies tell us several players are livid at missing out, whilst some of the aforementioned players are shocked and surprised at their selection, and are feverishly trying to arrange leave from their day jobs. "We're shocked and surprised at our selection, and are feverishly trying to arrange leave from our day jobs," some of the aforementioned players may or may not have said. Interesting times, interesting times.

Before we go, from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, happy eofys to everyone. Only three more sleeps to go.

As the NBA silly season begins today in earnest (and in the USA too), we reflect on some very questionable stories from a very unreliable source in our bothan spies, who say LeBron James and Chris Bosh have already signed with the Bulls. The bothans stumbled across this team poster and that alone is proof enough for us. Exciting times in Chicago. Back soon with more NBA free agent news. Trust us folks - this is going to get crazy.

The final game before Jultopia is always a good one. Historically, the Thunder have done fairly well in the pre-Jultopia contest with a 5-2 record this decade and with Tom Halman becoming just the 10th Thunder player to play 50 SACBA games, we're tipping this one to be a beauty. That said, the Thunder go into the game massively underhanded with just four regular players suiting up. We all know what happened last year in similar circumstances, when a fired up Beaumont D nearly knocked off Brad Smith and the relief Thunder quartet. What will happen today? We have no idea. That's what makes it all so exciting. Ladies and gentlemen, with only one day remaining until the 2010 Jultopia Geelong Supercats Pivotonian Bells Beach Corio Bay Sleepy Hollow Reg Hickey Charles Brownlow Ablett Family 119-Point Domination Army Recruitment Podsiadly Memorial Carnival, we present to you Somerton v Clovercrest.

LAST FIVE GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD
5/9/2009: Somerton 64 (J.Smith 30, Penn 12, Halman 7) d Clovercrest 51
29/8/2009: Somerton 78 (Galway 26, J.Smith 26, Kyriazis 12) d Clovercrest 60
4/7/2009: Somerton 55 (Halman 15, Gondolf 14, Hill 9) d Clovercrest 48
7/8/2004: Somerton 67 (Wickstein 21, B.Smith 13, Gondolf 12) d Clovercrest 49
26/6/2004: Somerton 64 (Hallsworth 27, J.Smith 14, Mitchell 12) d Clovercrest 49

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played 11: Somerton 10, Clovercrest 1

ALL-TIME SOMERTON SACBA STATS LEADERS (active players only)
Games: J.Smith 288, Halman 49, Penn 41, Galway 22
Triples: Penn 56, Halman 46, Galway 42, J.Smith 18
Free throws: J.Smith 593, Halman 75, Penn 16, Galway 11
Free throw %: Galway 73%, J.Smith 70%, Halman 68%, Penn 47%
Fouls: J.Smith 637, Halman 106, Galway 46, Penn 43
Points: J.Smith 4347, Halman 450, Penn 278, Galway 173

MILESTONES
Tom Halman plays his 50th game today
Tom Halman needs 4 triples to reach 50 career triples
James Smith needs 7 free throws to reach 600 career free throws
Ben Galway needs 8 triples to reach 50 career triples
Kerwin Penn needs 22 points to reach 300 career points

OUR PREDICTION
50 games? Strewth, that was quick. With two Barry Smith trophies, a SACBA premiership in the grade underneath the top grade and a Jultopia premiership tucked safely away in the cupboard, it's been a meteoric rise for the Halmanator, who burst onto the SACBA scene naked amidst a fireball of lightning bolts, seemingly from another time. Once he donned a uniform though, the real show began and the Thunder will be hoping for another 150 or so games from him as the years go by. Before we preview today's game, from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we congratulate Tom Halman on his 50-game milestone. For the record, the honour roll of most games played for the Thunder in the SACBA is as follows (including today's game):

James Smith 290
Bradley Smith 236
Nick Kyriazis 189
Josh Gondolf 171
Andrew Brook 115
Ian Collins 80
Stephen Rudd 67
Barry Smith 63
Simon Hallsworth 52
Tom Halman 50

Putting aside the emotion of the big 50-game milestone, today's match should see the Thunder continue on their merry way. With an impressive 7-1-1 record so far this season, they've come a long way from last year's 2-7 record at the same time of the year, and look to be a totally different team despite very similar personnel. And on that note ..... who exactly will be playing for them today? Despite what our bothan spies tell us, we don't think it will be them though the one they call Jonty is adamant that after "winning second" in the SABASA Under-14 grand final, he's more than ready. Whilst we kind of agree with him, we just can't see it happening before his 5th birthday. Rumours abound that "the rockets from the Grove" will be playing their debut game in the black and gold. We have no idea what that means but it sounds exciting. Look for Galway and Smith to continue their Jultopia preparations and if the rockets are any good, the Thunder should come home with the gold. Rumours also abound that James Smith, Kerwin Penn, Ben Galway and Tom Halman (ie the four players playing today) aren't making the trip to Geelong next week, hence their playing today. Strewth, these rumours are getting as crazy as the NBA Free Agent frenzy. Back to facts and three weeks ago, Clovercrest defeated Prince Alfred B by 4 points. The week after, they lost to Prince Alfred A by 64 points. Somerton drew with Prince Alfred B and then defeated them by 10 points, while they lost to Prince Alfred A by 26 points. Putting all this into the flux capacitor, we conclude that the Thunder will win by 13 points. Enjoy the game, folks.

Kind of a shame Trey Parker and Matt Stone weren't at Mars Stadium today as they probably would've livened up proceedings a bit. From where we sat (or was it slept?), it was a kind of boring game that really didn't ascend to any great heights. The Thunder unveiled their first set of twins - Ben and Tim Groves - and with the rockets from Grove (hey, nice cryptic clue from the bothan spies) leading the break with 50-gamer Tom Halman, this one was over pretty early with a 39-12 half-time lead to the Thunder. The second half didn't get a whole lot better, the final score 69-26, with Kerwin Penn leading all scorers with a lazy 18 points. The win moves the Thunder to 7-1-1 on the season and with a 2-game lead in second place now, all but ending their hopes of a B Grade repeat championship. The SACBA now goes into holiday mode, with no game next weekend due to the traditional Jultopia bye.

In an unrelated story, several players are either in Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong or Mount Gambier tonight and it's almost a who's who of Jultopia. Chris Bosh's whereabouts remain a mystery while as rumoured, Ben Galway, Tom Halman, Kerwin Penn and James Smith are still in Adelaide. Makes for some interesting times today, with the Jultopia show set to begin from 5.30pm, Geelong time. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish the Jultopia teams all the best and may everyone get through the week safely, and may the South Australians win. Back soon, folks.

Limited updates this week folks, as we travel to Geelong with South Australia's Jultopia contingent for the 2010 Jultopia Geelong Supercats Pivotonian Bells Beach Corio Bay Sleepy Hollow Reg Hickey Charles Brownlow Ablett Family 119-Point Domination Army Recruitment Podsiadly Memorial Carnival. We'll try to bring you updates throughout the week but we're in Geelong after all and they have limited technology down there. Heck, they recruited a 28-year old full forward this year and how did that turn out? Stay tuned and logon regularly, and we'll try to get the game scores on here somehow. Back soon, folks.

Strong start to the 2010 Jultopia Geelong Supercats Pivotonian Bells Beach Corio Bay Sleepy Hollow Reg Hickey Charles Brownlow Ablett Family 119-Point Domination Army Recruitment Podsiadly Memorial Carnival today with the South Australian mens' carnival contingent posting a 3-0 and 2-1 respectively after a tough first day's action. The A Grade Men settled into a groove early on, shaking off the rust for a solid 8-point win against Bateman's Bay. Next up was familiar foe Western Australia and SA managed to keep their pants on - actually they didn't, but at least they got them back on after only two plays - and literally pinched their way to a 4-point win. Finally, they backed up against Nathan Ablett and the Geelong VFL team which is kind of ironic because the carnival is named after the Ablett family but we digress. A tough game of up and back turned into a classic, with SA holding on for a 3-point win after Josip Vucetic and Chad Cornes lit it up in the second half. SA remain in first place with a 3-0 record, closely followed by New South Wales on 2-1, Western Australia 1-1, Western Victoria VFL on 1-2, and Bateman's Bay unlucky on 0-3.

Meanwhile in B Grade Men world, the South Aussies struggled to get going early, falling 17 points short against Western Victoria. The second game was an entirely different story, as SA found their groove and defeated Eastern Victoria by somewhere between 60 and 119 points (and if Ablett junior reminds us of that again, there's going to be trouble). In the final game, SA bolted out of the blocks to a 20-point margin and then went home. Seriously, they went home, as ghosts continued to play in their singlets and the margin whittled away to just 3 points. They held their nerve though for a 6-point win and a promising 2-1 start to the day.

Back tomorrow - or more likely Wednesday - with more carnival news. If you're wanting to twitter the carnival, logon to @carnietown2010 and keep up-to-date with all the tweeting. Good times, good times. We're hoping to drag along the players to the EJ Whitten legends' match tomorrow night so keep an eye on the crowd and watch out for the bothan spies. Good times, good times. Back soon.

Long day yesterday with both the A and B Grade Mens' teams playing another 3 games, going into the halfway mark of the week with six games under the belt. Interesting expression that in regards to fitting games under your belt. Where would they go? Isn't the idea of a belt that it keeps your clothes trim and the right size? If that was the case, how do you squeeze six games under there? You'd have to loosen your belt then and whammo, therein lies the problem. What if you don't have any spare notches on your belt and you're already at the maximum size? Interesting quandary that but we digress and yesterday saw the A Grade Men defeat New South Wales by 40 or so in a surprisingly one-sided contest early on. Second up saw SA kick into second gear against Bateman's Bay with a 30-odd point victory, and finally we had the SA v WA rematch. SA got out to a 10-point lead around in the first half but WA ground it back and took a late lead when a little argy bargy broke out. We asked our bothan spies for their take on proceedings and they said, "Dude A kicked Dude B, Dude B reacted, Dude C rushed on court, Dude B and C got ejected, Dude A didn't. End of story." WA took home the bacon and onion chips 49-47 in a game that suggested we could be set for another grand final blockbuster between these two familar foes. SA finished the day at 5-1 in equal top spot with Western Australia.

The B Grade Men played Queensland early on and again, it was argy bargy time. There's nothing like a carnival to bring out state passion and the Redbacks didn't take a backward step from the Cane Toads, holding on for a tough victory by 10 points that saw them stay in the semi-final race. Next up was the double-header against Tasmania, with the green and gold looking good for the gold - and the green too. Led by a dude that looks like a mate of Michael Reu - Mike, can you look him up for us? - they held out a fast-finishing SA to win by 4 points and put SA back in the pack. Last game of the evening was SA v the highly-fancied middle-of-the-road hot favourite underdog New South Wales 7 (we're losing count of their teams), who took advantage of SA's lack of execution and with the death penalty banned in SA, that's sort of understandable. NSW7 got out to an early lead and SA couldn't peg it back, falling 5 points short and slipping to a 3-3 record that should see them hold on for a semi-final spot.

Meanwhile in NBA land, Amare Stat signed with the New York Knicks. Good for them. An extremely unreliable source here in Geelong tells us Chicago is getting LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, World B.Free and Eddie Palubinskas. Good times ahead for Bulls fans.

PS. What's with the picture of Brad Smith in the retro uniform? The late game v WA was played in honour of the heroes of the hardwood of yesteryear, with both teams suiting up in their 1980s uniforms. Good times, good times. And to think, you believe everything we write here. Then again, half of it is true.

PPS. Good times at the Stuntfooty commemorative EJ Whitten Legends' game last night. Had a ball and was a great night. Go Allstars!

Big day yesterday at the 2010 Jultopia Geelong Supercats Pivotonian Bells Beach Corio Bay Sleepy Hollow Reg Hickey Charles Brownlow Ablett Family 119-Point Domination Army Recruitment Podsiadly Memorial Habadashery and Homewares Carnival as the South Australian contingent had arguably the biggest rest day of their careers. In just one day, they went wallet shopping at Torquay, surfing at Bells Beach (see above) and across to Jan Juc, caught the Sorrento ferry across the Port Phillip Bay heads, visited Fort Queenscliff, CD shopped at Westfield Geelong, caused a blackout at a nearby shopping mall, went trackie dack shopping at Smith Street Collingwood, went shopping for habadashery and homewares at Bridge Street Richmond, visited Ben Cousins at Punt Road, filmed a new episode of iFish ..... and discussed a long-term contractual arrangement with the folks at Stunt Footy.

But this all paled into insignificance when day became night, dawn became dusk, and light became dark ..... and the Uno marathon began. You can keep up-to-date with all the Uno happenings at http://www.twitter.com/carnietown2010 and believe us when we say, there were happenings. And as night became morning, the final scores were as follows:

Josh Gondolf 176
Brad Anderson 370
Brad Smith 407
Nick Kyriazis 471
James Smith 474
Terry Sleep 544
Craig Turner 577

We promise to be back with more Uno scores and all the highlights ..... and maybe something from the basketball court too. Today? Day Four, a slightly reduced day of action with the A and B Grade Men teams only playing two games each, followed by an afternoon at this place (see below). Should be interesting times. Back tomorrow, folks.

Short day yesterday with the A and B Grade Men only playing two games a piece, courtesy of six games each in the first two days. This year's marathon consists of only ten games, followed by a semi-final Friday and grand final Saturday for the two best teams in each grade. Back to today's action and the A Grade Men began the day against the Barrabool Hills Baptist Church Geelong VFL GC17 Allstars and it was on for young and old from early on. With royalty in the audience - and we hope to have a picture of the team with the Hon. John Howard before the end of the week - the South Aussies hit the front early on and stretched it out to a 10-point lead or so and maintained that most of the way, inflating it out to 15 points as the final siren sounded. The Barraboolians put up a great fight but couldn't overcome everyone's favourite turntable mixers, MC Kinnon and the Vucetics. The second game saw MC Kinnon turn the wick up against New South Wales and after a slow early start, Crazy Carl turned the game into his own personal one-man show with breaks, jumpshots and some Crazy Carl drives to the basket. After NSW made an early run in the second half, SA held on for a 18-point win to move into the final day with a 7-1 record and an equal hold on first place.



The B Grade Men - whose captain and coach both attended the EJ Whitten game on Tuesday night (see picture above) - played Bateman's Bay first up and ground out a solid 17-point win over Ben Johnson's group of black-uniformed basketballers (and if you haven't seen their uniforms, you should - they are decked out splendidly). The second game was the end of round one and was against last year's premiers, New South Wales 2, and despite a pretty darn fair showing, SA fell 3 points short to fall to 4-4, putting their carnietown2010 campaign into dangerous territory with just 2 games remaining.

Today's action should be interesting. The A Grade Men will be looking to avoid the semi-final and make an automatic entrance through to the Grand Final, whilst the B Grade Men will be looking to scrape into the semi finals and cause an upset to reach the final. Exciting times. For us, after a late spa and team BBQ last night, we're hoping it's a successful day as we look forward to tonight's Port v Collingwood game and news of LeBron signing with the Chicago Bulls. Good times. Back soon, folks.

PS. The bloke in the initial picture above was at the A Grade Men game today and asked to be photographed with SA coach James Smith and captain Brad Smith. We weren't sure who he was either but apparently he plays football for the Geelong Cats and has won two Brownlow medals - so we snapped the photo for the site. Who is this Gary Ablett they speak of, anyway?

PPS. If Gary or any member of the Ablett family manage to stumble across this site, thanks for being so accommodating to everyone who asked for an autograph and/or picture. Absolute gentleman and class act.

Just a brief update today as it's been a long day at the Life Be In It Centre at Geelong with the morning's action delayed by half an hour due to the stadium not being open on time (yes, we said not being open on time), followed by a 20-minute blackout that delayed the start of the blockbuster SA v Bateman's Bay clash. Ultimately when it was all said and done, the A Grade Men defeated Bateman's Bay by 8 points, then lost to Western Australia by 30-odd points in a Friday morning massacre to finish second with an 8-2 record.

Meanwhile, South Australia's B Grade Men lost to Western Victoria by 15 points, then defeated Eastern Victoria by 22 points, to finish fifth with a 5-5 record. They missed the semi-finals by one game.

On to the semi-finals and as day became evening, it was SA v Western Victoria for the right to play Western Australia for the Inglis Memorial Shield. It was game-on from the opening tip (see above) but just as SA centre J.Smith pipped Western Vic centre N.Ablett by the narrowest of margins, South Australia held their nerve down the stretch to hold on for a hard-fought 49-43 victory that gives them some hope for tomorrow's grand final but they'll have to be on their game. For us, it's football night tonight and with the announcement that Chocco has been given the bullet by the PAFC, it should be an interesting night. More on that news later. Back soon, folks and from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, all the best to the South Aussies tomorrow for their grand final against Western Australia.

Only a quick post today as we've got a long night ahead of us to celebrate this one. In a word - wow! In a 30+ point turnaround from yesterday's blowout loss, South Australia defeated Western Australia 44-41 to defend the Inglis Memorial Shield and claim the 2010 Jultopia Geelong title. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we congratulate SA on a sensational victory.

From left to right: (back) Ed Howie, James Smith (coach), Gordon Hood (scorer), Terry Sleep, Brad Smith (captain); (front) Cal McKinnon, Nick Kyriazis, Josip Vucetic.

Ric Ocasek was on to something when he penned those famous lyrics for "The Cars" with the chorus to "Good Times Roll", released in 1979.

Let the good times roll
Let the good times roll
Let the good times roll

Rock and roll hasn't seen such poetic beauty since - OK, other than a few Vanilla Ice and Peter Andre tracks - but it's apt that we open with the words "Let the good times roll". We hope to have a formal review of the SA v WA grand final in the coming days but at the rate we're going - let alone the team themselves who have allegedly been awake now for more than 36 hours straight - it could be a while before we descend from cloud nine. For now, we thank the Jultopia Geelong 2010 carnival organisers for providing us with a copy of the scoresheet and with no further adieu, here's the game by the numbers. We'll be back with a full statistical review in the coming weeks.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
5 Cal McKinnon 1 point (1x1), 4 fouls
6 Brad Smith 0 points, 3 fouls
7 Nick Kyriazis 2 points (1x2), 1 foul
9 Josip Vucetic 17 points (3x3, 1x2, 6x1), 2 fouls
10 James Smith 22 points (1x3, 6x2, 7x1), 2 fouls
11 Terry Sleep 2 points (1x2), 4 fouls
12 Ed Howie 0 points, 0 fouls

FIRST HALF 28 points (4x3, 5x2, 6x1), 10 fouls
SECOND HALF 16 points (0x3, 4x2, 8x1), 6 fouls
TEAM TOTAL 44 points (4x3, 9x2, 14x1), 16 fouls

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
5 Nathan Freind 6 points (2x2, 2x1), 2 fouls
6 Derek Herron 3 points (1x2, 1x1), 2 fouls
7 Lucas Offereins 8 points (4x2), 3 fouls
8 Perry Wait 2 points (2x1), 3 fouls
9 Kirk Wait 13 points (1x3, 5x2), 3 fouls
10 Craig Anderson 7 points (3x2, 1x1), 3 fouls
13 Craig Bergin 2 points (1x2), 2 fouls

FIRST HALF 28 points (1x3, 11x2, 3x1), 7 fouls
SECOND HALF 13 points (0x3, 5x2, 3x1), 11 fouls
TEAM TOTAL 41 points (1x3, 16x2, 6x1), 18 fouls

There's an old saying that a team is only ever as strong as its 5-9 combo guard and in the case of South Australia's victorious Jultopia Geelong 2010 winning A Grade Men team, nothing could be closer to the truth. Josip Vucetic, the veteran 5-9 (in shoes) combo guard was at his scintillating best this past week and whilst we were tempted to leave this news as a footnote, we decided better of it and agreed to give it its own post. You see, he took home his second Jultopia Best & Fairest crown at Jultopia Geelong 2010 and together with his B&F from Jultopia Gold Coast 2008, sees him join guard Scott Ninnis and centre James Smith as just the third SA player with multiple Jultopia B&Fs in the past 27 years. He then topped it off with another appearance in the All-Australian team, his 7th selection in just 8 carnivals. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we congratulate Josip on an outstanding week and look forward to many more Jultopias in the future.

Meanwhile, we're still trying to contact any player from the Jultopia-winning South Australian team but they're apparently all still partying out on the town, now having gone 60 hours without sleep. Someone please, tell these guys to slow down! Good times, good times. Back soon.

A reader asked us yesterday, "So how did the other SA teams go at the 2010 Jultopia Geelong Supercats Pivotonian Bells Beach Corio Bay Sleepy Hollow Reg Hickey Charles Brownlow Ablett Family 119-Point Domination Army Recruitment Podsiadly Memorial Habadashery and Homewares Carnival?" Great question and we're glad to answer it though we have to admit we didn't see all the games (it was a long week) ..... but we're thankful that Greg Jury from Victorian Beach Volleyball did on his big screen in his cafe, and he may or may not have given us these reports at the end of the week. Thanks again Greg for your hospitality throughout the week.

UNDER-14 JUNIORS
Champs, baby. They finished off a good week with a tremendous grand final victory. Some good players who were very well coached. These youngsters did a super job though rumours are they had a Queenslander in the mix. Tsk tsk. Next you'll hear of South Australia having freeways.

UNDER-18 BOYS
Looked gone for all money halfway through the week and came home strong to make the grand final but fell just short. A sensational week with some outstanding performances from players we're not allowed to talk about because they're under the age of 18.

UNDER-18 GIRLS
Similar story to the boys. Look to have a solid future, being the first time SA has had a junior girls' basketball team, or so I'm told.

WOMEN
Missed the grand final but only just, after leading Bateman's Bay in the semi-final until the dying minutes. Played their guts out but proved to be half a step away from the top teams, WA and Bateman's Bay. Have the makings of a very good team but need more size.

B GRADE MEN
Lost guard Nick Kyriazis and forward Ed Howie to the A Grade Men at the last minute and sorely missed them during the week. Would've been a different story with these guys and/or one more big man. Finished in fifth place and have the makings of a good side in years to come. Someone though, needs to have a word with Adam Hegarty about his mouth guard. It kept throwing out the white balance on my screen. Dude, paint it black next time!

PS. The above photo isn't from this year, but from the 2005 Jultopia AIS carnival. We just love the pic though sadly, many people pictured have moved on. That said, good memories, good memories.

Taking a pause from Jultopia proceedings and with just days to the 2010 Post Carnival Massacre, we reflect on the comings of Matthew Primus and goings of Mark Williams at the Port Adelaide Football Club. If you've been asleep or totally consumed by Jultopia Geelong, you may have missed that Port Adelaide and Coach Mark Williams agreed to part ways last Friday, with ex-Captain and current Assistant Coach Matthew Primus installed as interim Coach for the remainder of the season. Good call, bad call? Good call in that Mark was clearly tired and whilst a champion coach and person, was fast approaching his use-by date at the club. Bad call by the club for not making this decision in the off-season but hindsight's always 20-20 and in the past - that's why they call it hindsight. The club goes on and at least our spouses are happy that Primus is coaching. A quick survey of the leaguelineup.com editorial staff's spouses found that 100% of them were behind the move, saying anything that shows more Matthew Primus has to be a good thing. Strewth, and they say we're sexist? Reverse sexism, that's what it is! Will be interesting to see how this plays out but here's hoping the club again proves bigger than the individual and while we'll miss Chocco, life goes on. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we congratulate Chocco on an amazing career and wish him all the best for the future. As for Matthew Primus - a happy wife is a happy life.

With league MVP LeBron James turning his back on hometown Cleveland and signing with Miami last week, we've been asked too many times for our opinion on the matter. Well, finally we've given in to our viewers' demands so here it is. We don't like it. It's exciting for Miami and we're as jealous as heck that they got the player we (Chicago) were after but that said, we don't like what it means for LeBron. Everyone knows Chris Bosh is a good player but that's it - there's never been any argument that he's one of the greatest ever players. LeBron is a different story but he's now joined Dwyane Wade's team, a team that won a title only a few years ago. We all used to beat up on Kobe Bryant that he only ever won a title with Shaq. Then he won one (make that two) on his own. LeBron has joined Wade. Joined, at the age of 25. Sorry LeBron, you're fun and all, but you just signed away any chance that you'll be remembered as one of the greats. One of the goods yes, but not one of the greats. The greats want to do it on their own and the opportunity to do it with their hometown who's already given them so much, would've been enough for them to stay. We wish Miami well, we wish Cleveland weller. As for Chicago - Boozer, Korver, Asik, Reddick - good times, good times. Who needs LeBron?

PS. Note we said "who needs LeBron"? Heck, we want him but need? Nah, we're over that. Bring on season 2010/11.

You know it and we know it. There's no disguising what today is and no matter how much we try to dress it up, there's no doubting exactly what it is, so we'll spell it out for you. Post-carnival massacre. Just 2 wins in 17 years immediately after the carnival. 2/17 isn't a record - it's Michael Jordan's birthday in the way those silly Americans write dates and we don't know why the Thunder even bother showing up to these games any more. But that said, the Thunder have played well of late and are a long way in front of Modbury Uniting on the premiership table. Who will win? Nah, that's not important. Who do we predict will win? Now, that's important. Ladies and gents, we present to you Somerton v Modbury, aka the Post Carnival Massacre.

LAST FOUR GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD
15/5/2010: Somerton 20 d Modbury 0
25/7/2009: Modbury 63 d Somerton 45 (J.Smith 15, Penn 11, Gondolf 9)
16/5/2009: Modbury 68 d Somerton 48 (J.Smith 18, Penn 12, Hegarty 11)
18/8/2007: Somerton 73 (J.Smith 18, Halman 17, Gondolf 16) d Modbury 39

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played 4: Somerton 2, Modbury 2

CURRENT 2010 SACBA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
A1: PAOC A 8-1, 25 pts, 60.1%
A2: Somerton 7-1-1, 24pts, 60.9%
A3: Clovercrest 6-3, 21pts, 48.7%
A4: Knightsbridge 5-1-3, 20pts, 49.3%

B1: St Peters A 5-4, 19pts, 53.3%
B2: Modbury 2-1-6, 14pts, 47.8%
B3: PAOC B 2-1-6, 14pts, 46.2%
B4: St Peters B 2-7, 13 pts, 43.1%

ALL-TIME SOMERTON SACBA STATS LEADERS (active players only)
Games: J.Smith 290, Kyriazis 189, Gondolf 171, Halman 50, Penn 42
Triples: Gondolf 150, Kyriazis 79, Penn 58, Halman 47, Galway 44
Free throws: J.Smith 593, Kyriazis 116, Gondolf 79, Halman 78, Penn 16
Free throw %: Galway 73%, J.Smith 70%, Halman 68%, Gondolf 59%, Kyriazis 54%
Fouls: J.Smith 637, Kyriazis 486, Gondolf 199, Halman 108, Galway 46
Points: J.Smith 4355, Kyriazis 904, Gondolf 903, Halman 462, Penn 296

MILESTONES
Josh Gondolf needs 1 foul to reach 200 career fouls
Tom Halman needs 3 triples to reach 50 career triples
Ben Galway needs 4 fouls to reach 50 career fouls
Kerwin Penn needs 4 points to reach 300 career points
Ben Galway needs 6 triples to reach 50 career triples
James Smith needs 7 free throws to reach 600 career free throws
Somerton need 61 fouls to reach 4000 all-time fouls

OUR PREDICTION
This year, Somerton are 7-1-1 @ 61%, while Modbury are 2-1-6 @ 48%. Their all-time head to head is 2-2, Somerton 186 v Modbury 170 points. Last time they met, Somerton's defence blanketed Modbury to the point they didn't score a single basket. Somerton are set to be without two key big men today which will leave a sizable dent in their frontcourt, which is just another thing to consider and we also have to factor in the impact of the all-important Post Carnival Massacre. Allowing for all this, we can't see the Thunder winning. We'd like them to, but it can't happen - it's the Post Carnival Massacre. The Thunder's last PCM win was in 2002 when they defeated St Peters 53-44 behind the strong play of Messrs Reu, B.Smith and Wickstein. Sadly, none of these guys are playing today and accordingly, because PCM days are usually opposite days, we're applying simple maths and saying 170 and 186/4 = 43 and 47 respectively, so here's our tip: Modbury 47 d Somerton 43. And if we're right, you owe us an honorary degree in calculus.

Someone wake Wilbur the cat. It's over and the Thunder won. Don't worry - we can't believe it either - and with Prince Alfred A losing to St Peters A 41-35, the unbelievable has happened: Somerton is on top of A Grade, albeit in the all-important totally significant and meaningful minor round, after defeating the Post Carnival Massacre hoodoo.

Yesterday's game saw Somerton race out of the blocks to an early lead and with two Thunder banked triples mid-way through the half, you knew this was going to be a long day for Modbury. The half ended with Somerton up 34-17, with every player hitting a triple - except for centre James Smith. Shots were dropping, the d was tight and surprisingly, the ridiculously athletic Modbury side couldn't find their way around or over the Somerton defence.

On to the second half and like the time when Happy learned how to putt, Modbury remembered how to play, going on an incredible mid-game surge for 8 minutes to take the lead 42-38. Yes folks, that's a 25-4 run but if you've seen the Modbury team play before, you'll understand how they did it - this clowder of cats can play. True to form, Somerton didn't call a timeout but instead, made a few subtle substitutions and tweaks to their game and before you knew it, we had an arm wrestle on our hands. The lead changed hands more often than a Jultopia Uno game and with a minute to go, the Thunder held the lead by 2 points when bang, the final Thunder player hit a triple, centre James Smith calmly stroking the long bomb from the land of plenty to blow the lead out and make it nigh on impossible for Modbury to come back. Leading scorers were the Halmanator with 19, Smith 18 and Galway 8, whilst no-one reached a milestone which makes next week's game against St Peters B a potential milestone-fest. The final margin of 57-52 moves the Thunder to an 8-1-1 record, half a game in front of Prince Alfred A at 8-2, followed by Knightsbridge 6-1-3, and St Peters and Clovercrest on 6-4 a piece.

It's worth noting that the Post Carnival Massacre hoodoo may not be officially broken but certainly took a hit to the solar plexus yesterday. This was just the 3rd win in 18 years and first since 2002 but as they say, you're only as good as your last Post Carnival Game and for the Thunder, that's a win and a return to top spot in A Grade for the first time since their halcyon premiership days of 2004. Good times, good times.

PS. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Thunder matriach Pauline Smith Jr a Happy Birthday for 18 July. There James, we said it. Happy now?

Rumours are rife that the Somerton Thunder won't play in the Monday night SABASA competition in 2010 Season Two. We should note that at this stage this is just a rumour and nothing has been confirmed, but we have our bothan spies on the job, chasing additional details. One player though, was willing to go on the record, saying "We're sworn to secrecy on this one but you're right, there is a story. What that story is though, remains a secret. All will be revealed tomorrow. Stay patient." For us, it seems to be a safe bet that the black, gold and white won't be seen on Monday nights any more. Back tomorrow with the details. In one word - wow!

Still no word out of the Thunder camp but our bothan spies did get their hands on the above logo, telling us that they've heard the Gateway Thunder will be officially launched tomorrow. Gateway Thunder? Hey, don't look at us. Apparently we're only the team's official website so what would we know? We're totally in the dark on this one but official word is that a formal announcement is only a day away. One thing's clear - the Somerton Thunder look headed for the history books. Exciting times in Somerton Thunder land. Back tomorrow with the story, or so we're told!

OK, enough rumours. Enough already. What is going on down at Thunderland? Still no official word but our bothan spies were leaked the above logo which while similar to yesterday's version, is different enough and strikingly green, black and white along the lines of the Thunder's pre-Somerton uniforms. We're still looking for a player quote or something official from the club but no matter where we turn, we get radio silence. All we need is radio gaga, radio googoo, radio gaga but all we get is radio silence. We give up. Someone please, spill the beans!

We received a message from the supposed "Gateway Thunder" today, saying there will be a formal announcement next Monday but until then, there will be no word from them or the Somerton Thunder about the apparent change. Disappointed, we move on because there's no point crying over spilt milk. That said, we'd love some leaked news if any of the players are prepared to spill the beans. Email us at thunder2009@optusnet.com.au if you want to drop us a line.

Meanwhile, what we can talk about is that the Adelaide 36ers have signed a new import guard, Craig Winder, who hit the above buzzer beater to win the NBA Development League Championship for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (aka the Houston Rockets' feeder team). Winder, aged 26 and a 188cm (6-2) point guard, played his college basketball with the Texas Longhorns, his teammates including NBA superstar Kevin Durant and Charlotte Bobcat D J Augustin. Certainly sounds like some solid pedigree. The signing leaves the 36ers' roster with just one vacancy, an NBL import three man who has previously played in the league. Who is it? Plenty of people have guessed and with names such as Leroy Loggins thrown into the mix, clearly no-one really has any idea. Today though is Winder (rhymes with blinder) day and from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Craig and the 36ers all the best and here's hoping rookie coach Marty Clarke has found the next Butch Hays. If not, we'd be happy to settle for Butch and Leroy. Good times, good times.

Despite our bothan spies being unable to deliver anything meaningful about the launch of the Gateway Thunder - though admittedly they did break the story so we have to give them kudos for that - they appear to be on the money today with news that the Somerton Thunder have commenced talks with the Port Pirie Panthers about a return bout for Movember 2010. Thunder Coach James Smith refused to return our calls today but we're led to believe the Thunder are looking at a rematch between the Thunder and the Panthers (pictured above at the 2009 Movember-themed exhibition match in Port Pirie) and perhaps expanding the agenda further to include a second match between a second team or a juniors' side as an entree prior to the main course and who knows, dessert could even be on the menu. Exciting times. Back soon with more details and hopefully confirmation that the exhibition game is happening again.

Why the Jim Carrey video? That's not Jim Carrey. It's Chip Douglas, the Cable Guy! We watched the Cable Guy last night. Good times. Did you know that during filming of this scene, they discovered Carrey Chip could barely dribble a basketball, much less make a basket. Director Ben Stiller had Chip mime the action without a ball and visual effects technicians added the basketball in postproduction. Interesting and funny stuff and worth a flashback from the past from years ago back a while when we remember things that have already happened. Back to today and the Thunder's table-topping start to the season continues today with only their second ever match against St Peters B with only one game played against them before, being their debut game together, making this matchup number two between them. For interest's sake, we've included previous results below for all St Peters games, meaning most are for St Peters A. Given St Peters A should theoretically be better than St Peters B, the Thunder should do OK today but as noted earlier this year, we all remember the lessons of the 1995 Athol Park Jultopia carnival, where the B1 team was knocked off handsomely by the B3 team in a totally shocking result. "Never trust the form guide and don't bet on sport - bet on furniture!" they say down at LOBOSEF and we're with them on this one. New game, new opponent ..... with no further adieu, we present to you, Somerton v St Peters B.

LAST FIVE GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD (have included all St Peters games)
5/6/2010: Somerton 52 (Halman 19, J.Smith 11, Penn 10) d St Peters A 36
22/5/2010: Somerton 63 (J.Smith 22, Penn 18, Halman 12) d St Peters B 32
1/8/2009: St Peters 39 d Somerton 34 (Halman 12, J.Smith 8, Galway 6)
30/5/2009: St Peters 56 d Somerton 36 (B.Smith 14, McKinnon 12, Rudd 5)
30/8/2008: Somerton 48 (Rudd 12, J.Smith 12, Hill 8) d St Peters 42

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD (again, have included all St Peters games)
Played 21: Somerton 15, Draw 1, St Peters 5

CURRENT 2010 SACBA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
A1: Somerton 8-1-1, 27pts
A2: PAOC A 8-2, 26 pts
A3: Knightsbridge 6-1-3, 23pts
A4: St Peters A 6-4, 22pts

B1: Clovercrest 6-4, 22pts
B2: PAOC B 3-1-6, 17pts
B3: Modbury 2-1-7, 15pts
B4: St Peters B 2-8, 14 pts

ALL-TIME SOMERTON SACBA STATS LEADERS (active players only)
Games: J.Smith 291, Kyriazis 190, Gondolf 172, Halman 51, Penn 43
Triples: Gondolf 151, Kyriazis 80, Penn 59, Halman 49, J.Smith 19
Free throws: J.Smith 594, Kyriazis 116, Halman 83, Gondolf 79, Penn 16
Free throw %: J.Smith 70%, Halman 69%, Gondolf 59%, Kyriazis 54%, Penn 47%
Fouls: J.Smith 640, Kyriazis 489, Gondolf 199, Halman 109, Penn 46
Points: J.Smith 4373, Kyriazis 907, Gondolf 906, Halman 481, Penn 299

MILESTONES
Josh Gondolf needs 1 foul to reach 200 career fouls
Tom Halman needs 1 triple to reach 50 career triples
Kerwin Penn needs 1 point to reach 300 career points
James Smith needs 6 free throws to reach 600 career free throws
Tom Halman needs 19 points to reach 500 career points
James Smith needs 27 points to reach 4400 career points
Somerton need 49 fouls to reach 4000 all-time fouls

OUR PREDICTION
With Somerton on top and St Peters B at the other end of the table, this should be a comfortable Thunder win but stranger things have happened. The Thunder remain plagued in doubt and uncertainty about their club's future and pending "Gateway Thunder" launch, whilst our bothan spies tell us the Thunder will be without three players today - namely Ben Galway, Terry Sleep and Brad Smith - though Ed Howie returns for his milestone 5th career game today which should add some much-needed muscle to the frontline. Add to the list of potential problems though that there's a bucketload of milestones to be set early on in the first half, and it's building towards a perfect storm of vacancies and distractions. We're returning to mathematics for our tip - it's the only surefire way to get this stuff right - and our most recent triumvirate of games is Somerton d PAOC B 40-30 a month ago, and PAOC B d St Peters B 37-29 last week. Put those two together and you get a Somerton win today, 77-59. Maybe a bit high scoring and in hindsight, perhaps we did that wrong, but you should always go with your gut feel on these things. Somerton to defeat St Peters B 77-59.

In a game that more closely resembled a netball match than a basketball one, the Thunder defeated St Peters B 44-26 yesterday to retain their hold on top spot. Why netball? Because it was played in thirds and we didn't want to bring up ice hockey as that's probably too obscure a reference for our Australian viewers. The Thunder burst out of the blocks 8-0 and you'd be forgiven for thinking this one would be over early. St Peters B fired back but with just a whimper, the Thunder closing out the first third with a 15-4 stranglehold on the game but in the middle third, where GS and GK can't go, St Peters B took over. A 22-10 run saw them take a 26-25 lead with all the product of mass and velocity on their side as the St Peters B cubbyhouse faithful found their voice. Then the Thunder woke up. OK, maybe that's not true but something happened. Boom went the dynamite as the Thunder, buoyed by a few harsh words at the second third timeout interval, went 18-0 to close out the game. Thirds. Maybe we should change basketball from two 20-minute halves to three 13.3-minute thirds. Works for us and would probably work for St Peters B too. They were tough and showed plenty for the future but they fell victim to the thirds principle and when you have the top team playing the bottom team, the top team gets the extra third. We don't write the rules - we just live by them. The win moves the Thunder to an extraordinary 9-1-1 record ahead of next week's blockbuster 1v2 matchup v Prince Alfred A. Before we go though, congratulations to Tom Halman (50 triples) and Kerwin Penn (300 points) on their career milestones set yesterday. Back soon, finally, with the launch of the Gateway Thunder.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the launch of the Gateway Thunder. We bring you today's press conference in digital high-definition simulcast joint AM-FM radio and 3DTV, fast-tracked directly to you from the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the ABC studios in Adelaide via high-speed fibre-to-the-node cable satellite broadband technology. My name's Donny Baker, I swear it is, and I'll be conducting today's press conference with Thunder coaches Josh Gondolf (in Melbourne) and James Smith (in Adelaide). With no further adieu, let's get started.



DB: Welcome Josh and James.

Unison: Donny.

DB: Exciting times. I'll hand this one over to you.

JS: Firstly, we'd like to acknowledge Somerton Baptist Church. Now called Holdfast Baptist, they've been a wonderful group of people to be involved with over many many years and to David Haydon, Adrian Darby, Peter Steggall, Mark LeCornu, Tiffany Simpson, Alan Branford, Mark Foley and so many others that there's no way we can list them all, we send our sincere thanks for many great years and just as many great memories.

JG: But life goes on and with us all having moved on to different churches, it behoved us to be affiliated with a new church, being the Gateway Baptist Church on Old Port Road, Queenstown. To the people of Gateway, we say thanks for the opportunity to represent your church and we look forward to a relationship that, if it's as half as good as Somerton, will be plenty good enough for us all. I know James gave his thanks to Somerton but I'd personally like to say thank you too. Good people, good times and will remain friends for life.

JS: Not just a summer or a spring. Amigos para sempre.

DB: Aaaaah, Castillian Spanish. My favourite language. Actually, not really. So we're moving churches. Is there anything else to it? We here in the press corps have heard rumours. Lots of rumours. To tell the truth, we started most of them but that doesn't change the fact we heard them. One we heard is that this is linked to the pending retirement of 3/4 of the Jultopia-winning A Grade Men team that won't be going to Perth next year. Care to comment?

JG: I think I'll leave this one to Jim.

JS: Donny, we just won a premiership by 3 points after losing the previous game by 30 points. Allow us just a moment to enjoy it. Next year? That's next year and we'll answer that next year. Today's announcement has nothing to do with Jultopia.

DB: Why then announce it now, and not weeks ago - or at least, earlier last week when the bothan spies leaked the announcement anyway?

JG: If we reacted to everything the bothans say, we'd never stop talking. Seriously, the sooner they get back in the cubbyhouse, the better. As for timing, this is timed perfectly with the beginning of the new SABASA season. These things take time and there's a process to follow, both out of respect for our great friends at Somerton, but also to ensure we're ready to represent Gateway. We're happy with the announcement and couldn't be happier with how things have turned out.

DB: What does it mean for the Saturday season?

JS: Not a lot. We are the Somerton Thunder, we will continue to be the Somerton Thunder until the end of the season, and we will represent Holdfast Baptist accordingly. As for the timing question - and thanks Josh, for letting me speak ..... not - it's kind of ironic that it's timed with us being on top of the SACBA A Grade premiership ladder. Do we think we're the best team in A Grade on Saturdays? Not really, but the facts don't lie. Number one on the ladder and number one in your hearts.

JG: I'm leaving that one alone. We have to play Prince Alfred A this weekend and the less said about Saturdays the better.

JS: Good point. Retract everything I said about Saturdays.

DB: Ummmm, no. That's not how it works. How about uniforms? We've seen your logo displayed here today. Looks awfully old school Seacombe Thunder-ish.

JG: We'll stay in the black, gold and white uniforms on Saturdays, representing Somerton. On Mondays, we'll be in the doorback green, black and white Thunder strip until we're ready to launch the new Gateway Thunder logo, colours and uniform. Like I said earlier, these things take time and we're in negotiations with numerous sponsors and apparel manufacturers. We want to get this right, not rushed.

JS: On a separate note, did anyone see the football yesterday? Seriously, there's only one thing to say about that win. We're in their heads!

JG: Or if you're a Crows' supporter ..... they're in our heads? Good times, good times. Could be a big bonus for Matthew Primus too, which can only be popular with the women voters.

DB: No, we're not going all political. Nice try. The roster. Expect any changes this season?

JS: No, we're not discussing the roster. You don't want to go political, and we don't want to discuss the roster. Today's launch is about the club, not the players and we want to keep the attention on the club. The players will take care of themselves in time. We'll open the batting tonight with the same team that won the 2010a First Season premiership and we'll take it from there. Will you see some new faces this season? I suspect so, but we'll leave it at that for now.

DB: So essentially, it's goodbye Somerton, hello Gateway?

JG: Yeah, nah, pretty much. Life's good, things are good, the team is meeting all its KPIs and ticking all the right boxes and whilst I'll stand corrected, from where I sit everything is good. Why change it?

JS: I'll echo Josh's comments. This is about us being proud of the past and giving a big three cheers for Somerton, but moving on towards the future with a big welcome to Gateway. The future is full of possibilities and we're looking forward to them all.

DB: OK, we'll leave it there. One last question for Josh though. Why are you at the Melbourne Cricket Ground? Seems kind of odd for a church basketball team from Adelaide?

JG: (Mumbles under breath) We were expecting a bigger crowd than the 3 people here today. We weren't sure we could squeeze them all in to a venue in Adelaide - mind you, if we had a new indoor stadium, it'd be a possibility but I digress - so we thought the only logical solution was the MCG. Sadly, most people either forgot, didn't get the email or decided they didn't care, but I'd like to say thanks to the security guard, janitor and to you Donny.

DB: And one last one for you, James. ABC studios?

JS: 24-hour news channel, Donny. They have to fill the 24 hours with something.

DB: Good point and on that note, thank you linesmen, thank you ball boys and from everyone at leaguelineup.com, Associated Press and the Gateway Thunder, thank you and good afternoon. And if anyone wants to buy a boat, call me.

A slight detour from Thunder news today as we were out late with the team last night so no time to report on the game. Meanwhile, enjoy this video, though we're not sure if enjoy is the appropriate verb on this occasion. Quoting from the Big V competition's own website (equivalent to South Australia's ABL):

"02.07.10 - Keysborough star fronts tribunal. Former AIS scholarship holder Jadranko Jusufagic has become the 5th Big V player to front the Basketball Victoria tribunal this season when he appeared on a series of charges resulting from Keysborough’s Division One clash with Latrobe University last Sunday afternoon. Jusufagic who has averaged 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in under 30 minutes per game this season, faced a number of charges levied by officials Craig McEvey and Kieran Boyce after being ejected in the second period of the bottom of the table Division One clash. Pleading guilty to charges of bringing basketball into disrepute, causing injury, kicking, gross breach of code, striking, assault and unsportsmanlike behaviour, Jusufagic has been suspended from competition until the conclusion of the 2013 Big V season including a ban from entering stadiums nationally."

Kids, if you're reading this, no matter how bad it gets, no matter what the opposition does, no matter how much they get in your head, don't do that. Ever. Don't even think about it. Bad times, bad times.

We are unashamedly Port Adelaide. We love the club, always have, always will. So despite the big news of the Thunder's inaugural game to open the SABASA season and the Adelaide 36ers' final player signing for 2010/11, they all take a back seat today to yesterday's announcement that Port Adelaide's Warren Tredrea has retired from football.

255 AFL games, 549 AFL goals , 4 John Cahill Medals for the Best & Fairest PAFC player (2001, 2004, 2005 & 2009), 3 times Runner-up for the John Cahill Medal, 4 All-Australian selections (2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004), 2 times International Rules representative (2001 & 2002), 8-time leading goalkicker for the PAFC (1998, 1999, 2000 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2009), 1 AFL Premiership (2004), 1 Pre-season AFL Premiership (2002), 2-time AFL Grand Finalist (2004 & 2007), 3 years as Captain (2006-2008 inclusive), 96 games as captain.

"I grew up very much a Port Adelaide person with my father Gary playing in the SANFL with the Magpies. All I ever dreamt about as a kid was to play one game for Port Adelaide. To now have my name on the locker and to have captained this club is truly a great honour. I was lucky enough to play in our final SANFL premiership in 1996 and our first AFL premiership in 2004, so I had the best of both worlds. The biggest highlight early was to play alongside some of my boy-hood idols in the SANFL such as Hodges, Smith, Fiacchi and Delaney to name a few. And then of course to hold up the premiership cup on the national stage in 2004 is a moment I will cherish forever."

And we will cherish it forever with you. No doubt in our minds, he is the greatest AFL player in the club's brief AFL history. As for all-time, he ranks up there with the great players the club has ever produced, perhaps only shaded by 4-time Magarey Medallist Russell Ebert. A class act on the field and off the field. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we pause from our usual basketball nonsense to honour the career of a champion and to wish Tredders all the best in whatever comes next. Congratulations and well done.

Strong showing Monday night as the SABASA season kicked off with the match between the Marion Magnetics and Gateway Thunder. In their debut match, the Thunder looked a bit rusty and were dominated by Marion in stretches, but managed to eek out a 44-32 win as they pulled away in the final few minutes. Marion look good and if they'd had a bench of any description, could've won the game but alas and good for us, they didn't. Looking resplendid in their traditional white Seacombe Thunder uniforms, the Thunder move to 1-0 on the season and an equal share of first place with six other teams. The competition is clearly tight this year, with six teams sharing last place too. Next week? 9.15pm v Arndale Allstars.

Huge news out of the southern suburbs where Thunder Academy graduate and bothan spy Hope Smith is set to make her debut tomorrow for the Southern Tigers at Morphett Vale Stadium. Hope, a premiership player with the Marion White Knights in the Monday night SABASA competition, has been called up into action with just five games to play in the current season, the team looking to add an injection of fervour and zest and just a touch of hope. Her debut sees the Tigers (3-10) up against South Adelaide (10-1-2), a tough introduction to the competition but an appropriate one given "Puppa" used to play with the Panthers. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Hope and the Tigers all the best for her debut match and for the remainder of the season.

PS. Match update. Southern Tigers 26 d South Adelaide Panthers 22. Wahoo! Good times, good times.

Here it is folks, the game you've been waiting for. The top of the table clash, the chance to make a statement to your opposition prior to the finals. On top in first position, Somerton have lost just the one game this year with a 9-1-1 record, whilst Prince Alfred A sit in second place with a 8-2 record. Looking at who they've lost to, Somerton dropped the earlier game to Prince Alfred A by a narrow 26 points, whilst Prince Alfred A lost 38-27 to Knightsbridge and 41-35 to St Peters A. It all shapes up for one crackerjackmajetski of a contest today as 1v2 square off at Mars Stadium. Ladies, gentlemen and cubbyhouse faithful, we present to you Somerton v Prince Alfred A.

LAST FIVE GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD
29/5/2010: Prince Alfred A 69 d Somerton 43 (Halman 11, Gondolf 9, Sleep 9)
8/8/2009: Prince Alfred A 53 d Somerton 40 (Galway 10, Halman 10, McKinnon 8)
13/6/2009: Prince Alfred A 70 d Somerton 40 (Galway 17, Penn 11, Gondolf 6)
2/5/2009: Prince Alfred A 47 d Somerton 35 (Penn 9, Galway 8, Hill 7)
23/8/2008: Somerton 51 (J.Smith 19, Rudd 10, Hill 8) d Prince Alfred A 48

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played 14: Somerton 5, Prince Alfred A 9

CURRENT 2010 SACBA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
A1: Somerton 9-1-1, 30pts @ 60.1%
A2: PAOC A 9-2, 29 pts @ 58.8%
A3: St Peters A 7-4, 25pts @ 53.6%
A4: Knightsbridge 6-1-4, 24pts @ 50.2%

B1: Clovercrest 6-5, 23pts @ 46.1%
B2: Modbury 3-1-7, 18pts @ 48.9%
B3: PAOC B 3-1-7, 18pts @ 46.6%
B4: St Peters B 2-9, 15 pts @ 42.6%

ALL-TIME SOMERTON SACBA STATS LEADERS (active players only)
Games: J.Smith 292, Penn 43, Galway 24, McKinnon 14, Howie 4
Triples: Penn 59, Galway 46, McKinnon 19, J.Smith 19, Howie 2
Free throws: J.Smith 594, Penn 16, Galway 11, McKinnon 9, Howie 5
Free throw %: Galway 73%, J.Smith 70%, McKinnon 56%, Penn 50%, Howie 42%
Fouls: J.Smith 640, Galway 48, Penn 47, McKinnon 23, Howie 8
Points: J.Smith 4387, Penn 313, Galway 189, McKinnon 146, Howie 15

MILESTONES
Ben Galway needs 11 points to reach 200 career points
James Smith needs 6 free throws to reach 600 career free throws
James Smith needs 13 points to reach 4400 career points
Somerton need 43 fouls to reach 4000 all-time fouls

OUR PREDICTION
Rumours abound that we could see ourselves robbed of the opportunity to see these two teams go at each other full tilt tonight, with Thunder coach James Smith ordering at least half the team to take the day off, keeping something in the bank for the finals. If true, it's an interesting strategy and not necessarily one we endorse but who are we to argue with a 6-time SACBA premiership coach? Assuming it is true - and our bothan spies are rarely wrong - it makes tipping the game difficult. Expect the Thunder to recall a past veteran or two to make up numbers, making it even more difficult to predict. LOBOSEF have caught on to the rumours, suspending all betting on the contest, adding more weight to the conspiracy. For what it's worth, we don't like it and if there's too many players missing, we're thinking we could be in for the infamous DPCM - Delayed Post Carnival Massacre - and with the Thunder avoiding the dreaded PCM this year, they could be set to pay for it today. For no reason other than the fact that we have no idea who's playing today (and we remain convinced that this could impact on the result), we're tipping Prince Alfred A by 26 again. We hope we're wrong but we have a strange feeling about this one. Then again, that strange feeling could just be gastro. Perhaps that's why so many players are missing? Back tomorrow with the result.