Post-siren drama, class sledging and dissecting premiers fall from grace. Best of QAFL and QFA Division 2 competitions
There was huge drama after the siren in a game that stamped the premiership credentials of one side, some first class sledging to a Tiger and reality T.V show participant in their first win and a former Sun has done his hamstring. Plus, what has happened to the reigning QAFL premiers? Don’t miss this week’s wrap up of the QAFL and QFA Division 2 South competitions.
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QAFL:
Post-siren miss seals win for Broadbeach
BROADBEACH have walked from the field believing they can win the QAFL premiership after surviving a late scare to beat powerhouse Palm Beach Currumbin on the road.
The Cats first win over the Lions at Salk Oval since 2016 came in the most dramatic of circumstances on Saturday.
Lion Liam O’Brien had the chance to win it for his side who were two points down in the Round 6 game when he took a mark inside 50m with seconds left.
The siren sounded on his run in and his missed to the right as Broadbeach held on for a 11.10 (76) to 10.15 (75) win.
“He is actually a really good kick for goal,” Lions coach Jess Sinclair said.
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“He kicks that nine times out of 10. Maybe the moment got to him, I don’t know.
“At least he put himself in a position to win it. We made a lot of errors prior to that and we didn’t deserve to win.
“If he had his time again he would have probably gone back (after the siren) and re-set himself). It’s not the reason we got beaten.”
Both sides were undefeated heading into the blockbuster and the Cats have now moved to the top of the ladder on percentage courtesy of the four points, stamping their claims as a true premiership contender.
Cats captain Matthew Fowler played his first game since breaking his ribs in Round 1 and said the significance of the victory wasn’t understated by the team that was losing by 23 points at three-quarter time.
“We were down by a few goals but we had the belief we could fight back. To go there and win on the road was special,” Fowler said.
“Throughout the whole year we have had enormous belief. There is a lot of good energy around. We haven’t had success in 24 years but we have a lot of good recruits and everting is buying in. We knew we had the calibre to win.”
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Fowler kicked a crucial goal from the pocket around 45m out in the last quarter before Michael Selsby managed to dart around two defenders to put Broadbeach in front late as one of his three majors.
“It was my first one back and it felt great,” Fowler said.
“The ribs were fine. I had a few of the Palmy boys texting me on Friday night asking me how my ribs were going and trying to get into my head but I didn’t let that get to me.”
Broadbeach had the better of proceedings in the first quarter but the Lions kicked eight goals to three either side of halftime before the Cats found way back into the game.
“We weren’t playing well and they should have had another couple of goals on us at halftime,” Cats coach Craig O’Brien said.
“We knew if we could hang in long enough it would swing our way. We had some handy players out and regardless of what the result was, I knew in the last quarter we had made ground because the Broadbeach of old would have thrown the towel in.”
O’Brien said the quality of the QAFL now, and particularly the standard PBC and Broadbeach are playing, had gone past the small size of Salk Oval now.
“With the way the two sides are going they justify playing on a big ground,” O’Brien said.
“The level of footy is past the size of Palm Beach’s ground.”
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Sinclair said Broadbeach were the best side the club had faced so far this season and would relish the chance to play them again in the finals.
“There is a lot to learn from it and both sides will fancy themselves a chance if we happen to meet in the finals,” Sinclair said.
“They took their opportunities and we made some horrible errors in the last quarter. We were picking options we wouldn’t normally.”
Sinclair praised the resilience of midfielder Tom Thynne who he revealed had been playing with torn ligaments in his elbow.
“He has been playing around 80 per cent but he has been putting his hand up every week,” Sinclair said.
“He hyper-extended his elbow a couple of weeks ago but he is still a quality player despite not having the same affect as last year.”
Lion Ben McInneny could be out for the season after suffering a finger injury during the game.
The club suspects he has ligament damage in his ring finger that could require surgery.
Finals hope remain for Tigers
Labrador’s first win of the season has kept their finals hopes alive as their midfield begins to click into gear.
The Tigers beat Wilston Grange 15.10 (100) to 13.9 (87) at Hickey Park on Saturday to move to seventh on the ladder on percentage, needing only to make the top six to make finals in 2020.
Former Gold Coast Suns player Andrew Boston, who has been playing for Wilston Grange, suffered a hamstring injury in the first term while former Labrador premiership player Josh Baxter was also playing for the Gorillas.
The relatively new Tigers midfield grouping of Alex McKay, Matt Lee, Leigh Osborne and James El Moussalli are starting to find synergy with dominant ruckman Fraser Thurlow.
it’s a relief to get a win, more than anything.
The lack of pressure around the ball in the first term led to a huge amount of uncontested possessions in what Tigers coach Liam Burke labelled “bizarre scenes”.
Labrador lead by seven points at the first break but trailed by 17 at halftime.
“I just said to them at halftime how much do we want to win it or will we let it fizzle away to nothing,” Burke said.
“Our midfield got us going and we sent Bryce Retzlaff deep to get him going and he hit the scoreboard a couple of times.
“Our biggest issue at the moment is keeping the ball inside 50m. It comes down to some structuring up behind the ball and understanding each other’s leading patters in the forward line.”
McKay recently featured on reality television show Bachelor In Paradise and Burke said he had been copping some cheeky banter from opposition teams.
“He has copped it at training, everyone stirs him up a bit,” Burke said.
“Opposition players get stuck in to him but it’s all light hearted. He had to swim into the island when they filmed it so everyone says ‘there is no beach here Alex and you can’t swim into this contest’.”
Premiers fading away
SURFERS Paradise coach Brad Moore says the club can no longer be thinking about winning a second straight premiership as they shift their attention to stopping a concerning form slump.
The Demons are the reigning QAFL premiers but are at the bottom of the ladder after six games with just one win.
A large turnover of players from last year’s grand final, long-term injuries to senior stars and form issues from those left on the field has compounded a challenging season for Surfers Paradise who lost to Mt Gravatt 16.7 (103) to 5.8 (38) at Dittmer Park on Saturday.
“We are struggling at the moment. We are really out of form,” Moore said.
“We have a lot of key players who aren’t out on the park. Another couple of 18-year-olds played their first senior game on Saturday and it’s a bit of a challenge.
“We have had a lot of change through the midfield and we couldn’t get the ball forward.
“We are having a big problem scoring, a lot of players our of form and others injured. We need to knuckle down and keep working at it.
“We just need to look at this week and turn around our performances.”
QFA DIVISION 2 SOUTH
Saints finding the right formula
A NEW brand of football and some key position changes has catapulted the Carrara Saints to their second win of the season.
The Saints added more pace to the midfield, sent forward Joseph Lopez down back and changed how they moved the ball in their 24.13 (157) to 3.1 (19) win over Robina on Saturday.
Saints coach Wayne Petterd said it was still a work in progress but felt the club nearly had the right formula.
“It was a good result,” Petterd said.
“We have tried to change our footy style up a bit.
“We have structured up a bit better and everyone is starting to get to know one another.
“We are trying to control the ball more. In the past we could use it well in passages but we couldn’t sustain it.
“We want to maintain possession and move it quicker.”
The only downfall for Carrara was the loss of Danyan Evans who suffered a knee injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season.
Things can only get better
A one point final quarter has sealed a crucial win for the Coolangatta Blues who have continued their ascension in the QFA Division 2 South competition.
Coolangatta beat Victoria Point 15.10 (100) to 13.13 (91) at Ormeau Sports Park on Saturday to take their season record to 4-1.
“It was a solid win and a good game,” Coolangatta coach Tim Deacon said.
“It was a similar performance to the week before. We weren’t as tidy but we managed to win against a quality opposition team.
“Our boys had some jobs to do and they did them.
“We have a reasonably young but good list and we are combining really well.
“We have some really good leadership at the club which is fantastic for those young players.”
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