Running on empty and a heartbreaking loss – All the major news from the QAFL and QFA Division 2 South competitions
A former Australian boxing champion has made his Australian rules debut in a team already boasting an elite rower, a Demon took a mark of the year contender while another sat out waiting for a COVID-19 test results. Plus, which player channelled his inner Warwick Capper? READ ALL THE MAJOR FOOTY NEWS
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A FORMER Australian boxing champion has made his Australian rules debut in a team already boasting an elite rower, a Demon took a mark of the year contender while another sat out waiting for a COVID-19 test results.
Plus, which player channelled his inner Warwick Caper and what links does global thoroughbred racing and breeding operation Godolphin have to Gold Coast football?
It was another jam-packed weekend of QAFL and QFA Division 2 South action and you can read about all the biggest news from the leagues here.
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QAFL:
Broadbeach Cats 15.13 (103) def. Sherwood 10.6 (66) at McCarthy Homes Oval.
THE Cats depth is set to be tested further after losing another three players in a brave win over Sherwood that left them out on their feet without many rotations.
Broadbeach lost three players to injury, ruckman Jed Turner (ankle) went down just before halftime, back-up ruckman Luke Dempsey-Ceh (knee) minutes into the third quarter and forward Connor Nutting (ankle) around the same time on Saturday at McCarthy Homes Oval.
Turner and Nutting won’t be far from returning but Cats coach Craig O’Brien fears Dempsey-Ceh may have suffered an ACL injury and could be out for the rest of the season.
“We were running on empty after halftime, which seems to be the regular at the moment,” O’Brien said.
“We lost all our talls within around 10 minutes of each other and that is what made the win so much better.
“Sherwood are a dangerous side who have many good forwards. They tried to extend us down the ground.
“The attitude of the boys was great.”
Broadbeach have been smashed by injury in recent weeks and will lose multiple young guns in the coming week as the Gold Coast Suns begin playing Academy games again.
The ‘Mayor of Moncrieff’ was at it again on Saturday, with Jordan Moncrieff kicking seven goals for the Cats in the 37-point win.
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Palm Beach Currumbin 17.5 (107) def. Maroochydore 6.10 (46) at Maroochydore Multisports Compled.
The ladder leading Lions’ bid to reclaim the premiership trophy they gave up to Surfers Paradise remains on track following a 58-point win over Maroochydore.
Palm Beach Currumbin was jumped early but were more clinical in front of goal and it proved the difference.
“Maroochydore came to play,” Lions coach Jess Sinclair said.
“We took our opportunities inside 50m and then got on top in the second quarter. They threw everything at us all day and gave us a touch up around the stoppages.
“The scoreline flattered us a bit.”
The Lions came out of the game without injury but Sinclair said there were a lot of sore bodies that will enjoy having the bye in the coming week before a blockbuster clash against Broadbeach in a fortnight.
Morningside 8.9 (57) def. Surfers Paradise 8.7 (55) at Sir Bruce Small Park.
MAX Pescud had nabbed one of the marks of the year for Surfers Paradise who suffered a heartbreaking loss to Morningside at Sir Bruce Small Park.
The Demons conceded a free kick for high contact on Matthew Payne 30m out from goal and the Panther slotted it with 40 seconds left to give Morningside a 2-point win.
“It was an obvious free kick coming out from a stoppage,” Surfers Paradise coach Brad Moore said.
“The boys were deflated. We should have held on for the win but we let it slip when it was in our grasp.
“It was a good performance but we let ourselves down late in the game with some poor decision making. It was a cracking game of football.
Among the highlights for Surfers Paradise was a pack mark taken by Pescud towards the end of the third quarter.
Pescud came over the top of three other players, coming from behind and rising above the group before grasping the Sherrin on his chest.
Surfers Paradise hold fifth on the ladder with one win from three games and a bye. They are part of a log jam of teams with the fourth-placed Sherwood and eighth-placed Wilston Grange all on four points.
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The Demons had one of the toughest draws early in the season, playing Palm Beach Currumbin, Labrador and Morningside so far.
“With the top six going into the finals this year, if you can get three or four wins then you can play finals and it’s knockout from there,” Moore said.
“We know we are playing good footy so we just have to hang in there.”
Labrador (bye)
QAFL ladder:
Palm Beach Currumbin – 16
Morningside – 16
Broadbeach – 12
Sherwood – 4
Surfers Paradise – 4
Maroochydore – 4
Mt Gravatt – 4
Wilston Grange – 4
Labrador – 0
QFA DIVISION 2 SOUTH:
Bond University 17.9 (111) def. Ballina 9.8 (62)
ELITE athletes and sons of high profile sporting identities were among the Bond University footballers who played for the division 2 club on Saturday.
Multiple Australian boxing champion Michael Johnston played his first game of Australian rules football with the Bond University reserves team that beat Ballina 13.15 (93).
Playing alongside him was Harry Cox, the son of Vin Cox, the boss of Godolphin’s, a global racing and breeding operation, Australian arm.
Cox, who made his debut last weekend, is an Australian rowing champion who spent a year at the University of California and will return to the U.S. in January.
The Bond senior side led 65-17 at halftime and took the foot off the gas in the second.
“We started really well, which was a great response after last week’s loss (to Victoria Point),” Bond coach Sam Whish-Wilson said.
“After halftime we just went away from what we were doing well. We lacked the same concentration. We haven’t had the killer blow or thirst to finish off teams.”
Whish-Wilson praised debutant Sean Duffy, the son of former Austrailan snooker and pool champions Craig Duffy, for his work in the backline.
“He played as if he had 200 matches behind him,” Whish-Wilson said.
“It was a very mature performance.”
Coolangatta Tweed 20.13 (133) def. Tweed Coast 8.6 (54) at Eximm Oval.
MELBOURNE recruit Reid Brandt has 13 goals to his name after two games for Coolangatta Tweed who smashed Tweed Coast by 79 points.
The medium-sized goal kicker booted nine against Tweed Coast on Saturday at Eximm Oval as he continues to make a big impact since arrival from Victoria.
“He is a pretty handy player,” Coolangatta coach Tim Deacon said.
“He reads the ball well off the boot, protects the landing area very well and is quite elusive.”
His performances have helped lift Coolangatta, who have a 3-1 record after four games, to fourth on the ladder.
“It was tough for us in the first up but we battled through it and got on top,” Deacon said.
“We got some ascendancy in the ruck and our on-ballers started to get on top in the second half. Our structures improved as the game went on.
“There have been a lot of changes at the club in the player department.
“We were lacking in some senior players so we have bolstered it up a bit and the boys are really enjoying the challenge.”
Burleigh 9.9 (63) def. Victoria Point Sharks 7.15 (57) at Godfrey Sports Complex.
Happy players, happy season.
New senior men’s coach Peter Young has given the playing group at the Bombers a new lease on life in 2020.
Burleigh took down a strong Victoria Point outfit by six points on Saturday to lift themselves to third on the ladder with a 3-1 record.
“One thing with our side is it’s a complete team effort,” Young said.
“We aren’t reliant on one or two players.
“We got on top in the midfield and our pressure on them was telling in the end.”
Young said his ability to turn around the fortunes of a club that has struggled in recent years centred around pure enjoyment of football.
“The boys are enjoying their footy,” Young said.
“As long as you’re having fun and enjoying it then you turn up and train each week.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have been at three or four clubs that have previously struggled getting numbers to training and I always get them to training.
“You have to give them some enjoyment and make it a good place to be.
“They understand they are there to play footy but we have fun through eh training drills and banter.
“We had a player taking the mickey out of me on Saturday because I’m a 60-year-old bloke who wears Skins.
“He came out in really tight shorts that Warwick Caper would have worn.”
Carrara 16.19) 115) def. Lismore 7.8 (50) at Nielsens Road Oval.
A halftime sprayfrom coach Wayne Petterd has kept the Carrara Saints in touching distance with the top four.
The Saints beat Lismore 16.19 (115) to 7.8 (50) on Saturday, producing an 8.13 second half to smash Lismore.
“It was ugly early,” Petterd said.
“I gave them a bit of a spray at halftime and it jolted them into a big third quarter.
“I’m still not seeing the footy I’d like to see them play. We are building as a team but we are also getting a few injuries.”
Matthew Pearce (hamstring), Scott Ayers (tricep), Josh Seri (concussion) and Jye Melverton (hamstring) all went down with injury, leaving the Saints without any rotations after halftime.
Other results:
Kenmore 24.13 (157) def. Coomera 2.2 (14) at Coomera Sports Park.
Byron Magpies 21.10 (136) def. Robina 4.6 (31) at Byron Bay Sports Complex.
LADDER:
Byron Bay – 16
Victoria Point – 12
Burleigh – 12
Coolangatta Tweed – 12
Bond University – 12
Kenmore – 8
Carrara – 8
Ballina – 8
Tweed Coast – 4
Coomera – 4
Lismore – 0
Robina – 0
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