Broadbeach Cats coach Craig O’Brien opens up about the 2011 grand final that ended with a four-year ban

Broadbeach QAFL coach Craig O’Brien copped a four-year ban following a controversial grand final in 2011. Now he is back and has opened up about what exactly went on in the heated final.

BROADBEACH coach Craig O’Brien says he will be a calm voice in the box when he takes control of a Gold Coast team on game day for the first time since the 2011 grand final that led to a four-year ban.

O’Brien is at the helm of the Cats QAFL team that will play Mt Gravatt at Dittmer Park in Round 2 of the season on Saturday. Broadbeach had a bye in Round 1.

O’Brien was slapped with a four-year ban from coaching in the wake of a controversial grand final loss to Noosa in the 2011 AFLQ Premier League decider while coaching Palm Beach Currumbin.

The mentor was left livid when two Lions players gun midfielders - Brad Hewat and Brad Hards - were given red cards in the opening 15 minutes of the game and the team never recovered, going on to lose 16.6 (102) to 5.6 (36).

Broadbeach QAFL coach Craig O'Brien. Picture: Supplied.

They lost the free-kick count 41-14.

O’Brien said he wouldn’t be losing his temper again and opened up about the 2011 grand final ahead of his return.

“I’m pretty calm now. I have been coaching for a long time now,” O’Brien said.

“I have a good bunch of guys around me. I just got frustrated and I thought the clubs I coached at were poorly treated and there was evidence of that in that grand final when we just got blatantly robbed.

“Two of our best payers were sent off in the first 15 minutes from a fight and none of their players were sent off.

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“It cost us a grand final win. Noosa were the best team that year and it was always going to be hard but when we were blatantly cheated out of having a chance, half the crowd left.

“Noosa had a dirty player who whacked a couple of our blokes behind play.

“Our guys retaliated. The emergency umpire ran on the ground to tell the umpire to send the Noosa bloke off and next minute the Noosa runner told him something and he came back off.

“As that happened a melee broke out and the umpire picked two of our best and sent them off for the day.

“They ruined the day. That is why I thought Queensland footy, at that stage, wasn’t run by the right people and I had enough.”

O’Brien was given the chance to appeal his ban but wasn’t interested.

Meanwhile, former VFL players Max Spencer and Matt Gahan will feature in the backline for Palm Beach Currumbin in their QAFL clash with Sherwood on Saturday at Salk Oval.