“The most important thing about tonight was that it gave us a genuine reason to want to beat them.”

– Timothy Mayfield, La Trobe Sheds, 25 July 2014, sotto voce

“I fear all we [La Trobe] have done is to awaken a sleeping giant [NOBs] and fill him with a terrible resolve”

– Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Imperial Forces, WW2 December 1941

5 Best:

1. Knocking off Club XVIII Section 3 conference frontrunners La Trobe (the socks?) at the third attempt with a direct and physical brand of footy #nobsmomentumbuilds #peakattherighttime
2. The O’Halloran brothers continuing to assert their dominance up forward
3. Manisha K running a skills clinic on the wing and JD shutting down La Trobe’s barometer / hypothalamus (D. Sidebottom)
4. High calibre volunteer staff ring-ins:
   • Dustin McLeod – Heaps better goal umpire than Tom Riley
   • Mr. Mayfield – Unlucky to put his hand up to boundary umpire the week we play at Melbourne’s biggest ground
5. John Glossop administration^TM making the clubbies look like they know what they are doing since 2006-ish
6. McDreamy’s Clinch-like vital goals in the 2nd quarter #QLDfavourtiteson #chloebacheloroftheyearnominee
7. The hard nuts of the team, Dermie + Lawty, making sure NOBs is well represented in any dust up
8. Not since Paul Dear took the game apart from Mick Malthouse’s Eagles in 1991, have we seem a more dominant effort in the ruck and more importantly around the ground than spiritual leader T.Pick

5 Worst:

1. Not applicable
2. The mystery stomach bugs afflicting Todd ‘goal kicking class’ MacLeod and the Standover ‘lacertilia’ Gatto
3. La Trobe’s penchant for the raised-elbow-drawing claret from Fixie Pascoe and Generation Kill Mayfield #redcardprincess
4. Norm Nugent’s 87% tipping accuracy taking a hit as the doyen of the Club XVIII commentariat continues to underrate NOBS Clubbies in the Amateur Footballer:

   “The two top teams clash on Friday night when NOBS/St Pats visit La Trobe Uni. La Trobe’s unbeaten record includes two convincing wins over the combine. Their big ground and greater experience under lights, to say nothing of their skill depth, prompt me to forecast another La Trobe victory”.

5. The realisation that season 2014 is coming to an end. Savour the last few weeks.