QAFL Round 11: Broadbeach-Maroochydore grand final rematch headlines blockbuster round

Broadbeach is 8-0 for the third-straight season and coach Craig O’Brien says this is the best iteration of the Cats yet. Can Maroochydore be the team to knock them off the perch? ROUND 11 PREVIEW.

Broadbeach coach Craig O’Brien has sounded an ominous warning to QAFL rivals, declaring this version of the Cats is the most complete during his time at the club.

The reigning premiers moved to 8-0 for the third-straight season with a 28-point win on the road to finals aspirants Aspley last weekend. Now the Cats are set to welcome back the likes of Jarrod Harbrow and Connor Nutting for Saturday’s grand final rematch with Maroochydore at Subaru Oval.

Broadbeach senior coach Craig O'Brien (middle) says the Cats’ depth is the best it’s been in his time at the club. Picture Glenn Hampson

It was at this point last season that the Cats stumbled, losing back-to-back games as the injury toll began to climb.

The premiers have endured injury woes again this season but this time, the quality of depth has been there to cover.

“We thought we had depth last year, but this year we’re making 6-8 changes every week and the guys coming in are playing really well,” O’Brien said.

“Our Academy kids are a year older now. The form of a (Ryan) Pickering, who has just turned 20, and (Riley) Winter, 20, and Brayden Taylor who is 18, they have all gotten better.

“We’re a better side than last year because our kids have gotten better.”

That luxury has borne out in O’Brien telling spearhead Jordan Moncrieff to sit out the next two months of football to rehab knee tendinitis that had been troubling the reigning JA Grogan Medallist.

“If we were forward poor and we really needed him he would probably be out there, but as it stands we have the depth to cover him. We have the firepower,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien has been able to throw Alex Maloney forward when needed and last week welcomed back Brad Lowe to the forward 50.

This week it’s Nutting who re-enters the forward line.

Lowe played a lights out finals series last season after coming off a 12-week injury lay-off. Having missed a further six weeks through injury this year, it was impossible for O’Brien to keep his man off the field any longer.

“He’s been ready to go and he’s been annoying about it,” laughed O’Brien. “He’s been training but hasn’t been able to play.

“His big body is so important for us. He’s got pace, great hands and is aggressive. He's nearly impossible to match up on and he’s the heartbeat of that forward line.”

The Cats will wear a one-off Ladies Day jumper on Saturday in support of local charity The Sanctuary, which helps victims of domestic violence.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach Currumbin will welcome Morningside to Veracity Oval on Saturday, as Surfers Paradise aims for two wins on the trot when Sherwood arrives at Sir Bruce Small Oval. Labrador hits the road to play Noosa at Noosa.

Lions lose star defender ahead of QAFL derby with Cats

PALM Beach Currumbin star Liam Jones will miss the Lions’ massive Gold Coast QAFL derby with Broadbeach on Saturday due to a hamstring injury.

Lions coach Russell Maloney confirmed his star defender suffered the injury in the third quarter of last weekend’s loss to Redland-Victoria Point and would miss at least the pivotal Cats clash as a result.

QAFL Team of the Week: Round 7

QAFL Stats: Every club’s best ball magnets

“He did his hammy in the third quarter but kept playing, just kicking on his left (foot),” Maloney said of the ex-Carlton AFL player.

“He was restricted. He couldn’t jump, couldn’t sprint. He hasn’t been able to get up this week but we’re hopeful of getting him back for next week or the week after.”

Jones’ omission could not come at a worse time for the Lions, who host unbeaten reigning premiers Broadbeach at Veracity Oval on Saturday.

Reigning Grogan Medallist and leading goalkicker Jordan Moncrieff has been in fine form for the Cats despite a disrupted start to his 2022 season.

He kicked four goals as the Cats beat-up on Mt Gravatt last round, belying the wet conditions.

Moncrieff and Jones’ battle would have been an early season highlight but now Maloney will have to rely on his back six getting the job done without arguably the competition’s best defender in the mix.

The Lions are part of a four-team logjam on 16 points and the Cats’ test comes at the end of a challenging month of fixtures that included premiership contenders Labrador and Redland-Victoria Point.

Though Palm Beach lost against both the Tigers and Sharks, Maloney’s side was far from outclassed.

“Now we’re finishing the month off with the biggest (test) of the three,” Maloney said.

“Labrador and Redlands could have both gone either way. This one is a little harder but after this we’ll know where we are. (Broadbeach) is due to lose one and hopefully that is this Saturday.”

After missing the finals last season Palm Beach has been one of the surprise packets of 2022 and looks a likely finals contender if early season form holds true.

The inclusion of former premiership-winning midfielders Thomas Thynne and Tyler Cornish to the mix has made the Lions’ engine room hum this season but Maloney lamented a lack of options up forward as a key area of concern.

“It’s the same issue – we can’t score,” the coach said.

“We get it inside (50) as much as anyone else but we just can’t convert.

“We lack (last season’s star forward) Jack Anthony. He would mark it 60m out and kick them. Now we get it inside 50 ten times more than the opposition and can’t score.

“You have to score to win and we can’t at the moment. That’s what we have to work on.”

Palm Beach’s attacking potency will be put to the ultimate test by the competition’s most miserly defence in Broadbeach.

Round 8 features a number of massive matches outside the Lions-Cats blockbuster.

It starts at Cooke-Murphy Oval where Labrador hosts Maroochydore in a repeat of the 2021 semi-final.

The Tigers travelled to Maroochydore in round one this season and left 75-point victors.

Both teams’ matches were postponed last weekend due to wet weather and the two finals hopefuls need a win this weekend to stay entrenched in top four calculations.

Surfers Paradise hosts Wilston Grange at Sir Bruce Small Oval and will fancy its chances of a first win of the season after coming so close last weekend against Noosa.

Away from the Coast, Redlands and Aspley will clash in a massive top four-shaping clash, while Mt Gravatt hosts Noosa and Sherwood and Morningside go head-to-head.

Tiger talisman relishing new role in Labrador’s flag push

Bryce Retzlaff may have flirted with QAFL retirement two seasons ago but nobody can question his commitment to Labrador’s premiership push since coach Nick Malceski arrived at Tigerland.

The 30-year-old says he has found a new lease on football life since moving to a wing role this season – a la late-career Matthew Richardson at Richmond.

QAFL Team of the Week: Round 6

QAFL Stats: Every club’s best ball magnets

Retzlaff dropped 9kg in the off-season to prepare for his move up the ground and had arguably his best game of 2022 at the weekend, racking up 27 disposals, 14 marks and a goal in the narrow loss to Aspley.

“I’ve never played on a wing before, it’s definitely a new role for me,” Retzlaff revealed.

“I’ve lost about eight or nine kilograms (since last season) because this was the plan through pre-season, to spend more time up the ground.”

Retzlaff, who played 11 games for the Brisbane Lions in 2011, has lined up almost exclusively at centre half-forward since returning to Labrador in 2016, until this season.

“I think as you get older – I’ve played centre half-forward for 13 years now – it’s a nice mental refresher and new challenge,” he said.

“It’s been nice to have something different and a new challenge. It also helps us be not as predictable when we go forward.

“There will be times I’ll spend full games forward or on the wing. What this does is give Mal some flexibility.”

With key forward Jake Goldsmith set to return in the next few weeks, the Tigers’ forward line will be retooled with a tall target helping to further free up Retzlaff.

“He’ll be back in the next week or two which will make a big difference,” Retzlaff said of Goldsmith.

“At this time of year we’re still trying to figure out everyone’s best position and the best balance of the team.

“Goldy is a premiership player, 30 years of age, 100kg, strong as an ox … an integral part to our structure, so it will be great to have him back.”

Labrador hits the road to face 0-5 Morningside on Saturday. Retzlaff cautioned against taking the Panthers lightly.

“They always find a way to get up for us it feels like. We've had such a rich history against each other in the past decade or so.”

Sharks coach: We’ll be ready for Liam Jones

Redland-Victoria Point coach Phil Carse says the Sharks will have a plan for Liam Jones regardless of where the Palm Beach Currumbin star lines up in Saturday’s clash at Salk Oval.

Ex-Carlton AFL defender Jones has expectedly been one of the QAFL’s best players so far this season and helped to completely transform Palm Beach Currumbin’s back six.

QAFL Team of the Week: Round 6

QAFL Stats: Every club’s best ball magnets

But the Lions have yet to face a forward line of the Sharks’ calibre – spearheaded by former Brisbane Lion and current QAFL leading goalkicker, Matt Hammelmann.

The obvious assumption is that Jones, one of the competition’s best defenders, will go to Hammelmann, its standout key forward.

But Carse is not so sure.

“They’re two really quality players so it will be a great match-up if it does happen,” Carse told The Bulletin.

“But watching Jones the past few weeks he’s been playing a bit higher up the ground and trying to go forward – whether that happens again, or he sits a bit deeper will be interesting.

“Our major focus is always what we do but when you have a player of Liam Jones’ quality, who could still be playing fantastic footy at AFL level, you have to plan for him.

“Either way, we’ll be ready with a few plans of our own.”

While there will be plenty of interest inside the Sharks’ forward 50, Carse believes the game will be won and lost in midfield.

The Sharks’ on-ball brigade has been arguably the most dominant in the QAFL this season, and boasts three of the top-five disposal getters in the competition.

But the Lions’ ball-winners are equally as potent, led by premiership-winning duo Thomas Thynne and Tyler Cornish.

“I think it will be a pretty wet game and heavy ground, so the midfield will have a big say in this one,” Carse said.

“Whichever team can get on top in the contested footy and around the stoppages will have the upper hand.

“We’ve got some guys in there that are in really good form at the moment, and Palm Beach has some quality players as well.

Both Redland-Victoria Point and Palm Beach Currumbin enter the match at 4-1.

Saturday’s clash begins a month-long run of difficult fixtures against fellow top-four hopefuls for both the Lions and Sharks, making this a pivotal game to win.

Touching moment Cats young gun earns his stripes from Suns great

While his father was working for the Gold Coast Suns, a young Mitch Bell was moving through offices and changerooms mingling with some of the club’s AFL stars.

From early on, one of the players Bell looked up to the most was 200-game AFL veteran Jarrod Harbrow.

The two quickly formed a strong footy bond; Harbrow regularly taking the young Bell for a kick and even doing film review of his games later in life when he was rising through the Suns Academy.

Bell’s footy journey came full circle on Saturday when Harbrow presented him with his jersey ahead of his senior QAFL debut for Broadbeach.

QAFL Team of the Week: Round 5

QAFL Stats: Every player, every club ranked

“I’ve known Harbs since I was nine, he’s been a pretty influential person in my life so to be able to go out there and play a game with him was unreal,” Bell said.

“I definitely won’t forget (Saturday). It was one of the best days of my life. I love this club.”

Bell, whose father Corey played eight games for the Brisbane Bears in 1991, ran through the middle and across halfback for the reigning premiers, in a 50-point win over 2020 grand final conquerors Morningside to stay top of the QAFL ladder.

No one was more excited to learn Harbrow was joining the Cats this season in a mentoring role than Bell, who could not speak highly enough of the ex-AFL star.

“Everyone looks up to him but he just acts like a normal player,” Bell said of Harbrow.

“He was doing the meat tray after our team selection the other night. He’s really bought-in to the culture at the club … he told me he was nervous for his first QAFL game even though he’s played 200-plus AFL games.

“To bring his knowledge has been massive for the club.”

Broadbeach did as expected in easing past Morningside, but fellow premiership hopefuls Labrador had less luck at home.

Aspley produced a statement performance at Cooke-Murphy Oval to run out four-point victors on Saturday.

The Tigers have now lost their past two games at home by less than a goal.

Meanwhile at Sherwood, Palm Beach Currumbin piled on seven final quarter goals to run out 27-point winners over the Magpies and return to the winners’ circle after the previous week’s loss to Labrador.

Resurgent Lions’ toughest test yet is Tigers

PALM Beach Currumbin’s QAFL resurgence will face its toughest test yet when the Lions go up against Labrador in one of two Gold Coast derbies this weekend.

The Lions will travel to Cooke Murphy Oval to play the Tigers on Saturday while undefeated Broadbeach will play the winless Surfers Paradise Demons on Sunday at Subaru Oval.

QAFL Stats: Every player, every club ranked

QAFL team of the week: Round 4

Palm Beach are yet to be defeated from their opening three games but will play a Tigers outfit welcoming Southport Sharks VFL-listed players Jay Foon, Tom Miller, Tom Reeves and Joel Crocker while Andrew Boston is being rested.

“We are expecting Palm Beach to be strong,” Labrador coach Nick Malceski said.

“Liam Jones is obviously a very good player while they have some good inside midfielders in Tom Thynne and Tyler Cornish.”

Broadbeach will welcome back prolific goal kicker Jordan Moncrieff, Ryan Gilmore and Academy players Cody Harrington and Jake Rogers while Jack O’Shea is among the outs and could miss up to 12 weeks after dislocating his shoulder last weekend.

He is due to have surgery next week.

Harrison Rowles will also miss the game for Broadbeach due to conscussion while Oscar McKinley and Callaway Parker have beenomitted from the team.

“Jack has had no luck but he is in pretty good spirits,” Cats coach Craig O’Brien said.

“It doesn’t matter how Surfers are travelling they are always tough to beat.

“They are well coached (by Brad Moore) and always find another leg against us.”

Key match-ups:

Broadbeach v Surfers Paradise

Max Lower v Jack Yelland: Two big bodied midfield bulls who have had some incredible duels in the past. Whoever wins thiscontest will go a long way to giving their team the advantage from the source.

Blake Erickson v Corey Joyce: As tantalising a match-up as they come. Erickson has been in amazing form playing on the outsidewhile Joyce has been one of the most damaging outside runners in the league this season. If they cross paths it will be must-watchviewing.

Labrador v Palm Beach Currumbin

Cam Ellis-Yolmen v Tyler Cornish: A former AFL player, Ellis-Yolmen is one of the strongest players in the league and comingoff a game where he record 40 disposals while Cornish has been a premier midfielder of the QAFL for years, averaging 25 touchesa game and eight clearances this season.

Lachie Henderson v Liam Jones: The match-up Gold Coast Aussie rules fans are screaming for. Henderson has dabbled in the forwardline and if either of these two swaps ends throughout the game it will lay the foundation for a one-on-one battle not seenin the league in years.

QAFL Round 4: Five things we learned

CAMERON O’Leary bagged five goals and Liam Jones snuck forward for two as Palm Beach Currumbin moved top of the QAFL table with a 118-point thumping of Mt Gravatt on Saturday.

Lions newcomer O’Leary was nigh-unstoppable inside 50 and could have had more goals to his name, as the hosts piled on 39 scoring shots to the Vultures’ 11 in a clinical display of free-flowing football.

Read on below for the five takeaways from QAFL Round 4

O’Leary stole the show with his five across half-forward but it was a complete team performance from the Lions, who had 10 individual goalkickers including six players with multiple majors.

After surviving midgame momentum shifts in the opening two matches of the season, Palm Beach kept the foot on the throat throughout in a pleasing sign of team cohesion.

“It was a good example of our game plan working and everyone sticking to it,” said Palm Beach vice-captain Tyler Cornish, who also got forward to kick three goals.

“After the first couple (of games) where we played a good first half but couldn’t go on with it, this time we put a team away. We played four quarters of good footy which is pleasing.”

Following narrow wins over Surfers Paradise and Morningside, the Lions got off the leash against the Vultures and now Cornish wants to see more of the same in coming weeks as the fixture tightens up.

Palm Beach plays Labrador, Broadbeach and Redlands over the next month in what looms as a perfect test of where the Lions sit in the QAFL pecking order.

“It will be good for us to see where we’re at. We’re confident going into all of those games,” Cornish said.

Five things we learned: QAFL Round 4

BROADBEACH STILL THE BENCHMARK

Reigning premiers Broadbeach sent a statement to the rest of the competition that they’re still the team to beat by stifling the high-powered Redland-Victoria Point attack.

Entering Saturday’s clash at Totally Workwear Park the Sharks had booted scores of 141 and 154 points in their opening two games, spearheaded by 17 goals from Matt Hammelmann.

But the 2021 VFL leading goalkicker was held to just two by the Cats, who kept the Sharks to six goals in a complete performance that reminded the QAFL world who the top dog (or Cat) still is.

The Cats’ forward line purred even without the presence of J.A. Grogan Medallist Jordan Moncrieff and his grand final partner in crime Brad Lowe, proving the depth of Broadbeach’s list.

PALM BEACH’S BEST CAN BEAT THE REST

The Lions finally put together four quarters of top-notch footy to absolutely pummel Mt Gravatt by 118 points in Round 4. Following two wins with asterisks after massive momentum swings, it was pleasing that Palm Beach did as expected and put the foot down against the Vultures.

When the Lions are up and about their ball movement is some of the best in the competition. With Liam Jones leading a miserly backline and co-captains Tom Thynne and Tyler Cornish leading the way through the middle, Palm Beach has consistency at every line and the team makeup to challenge for the top four.

Just where the Lions are in the QAFL grand scheme will become more readily apparent next weekend, when they travel to face Labrador.

ELLIS-YOLMEN AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED - AND LABRADOR’S MIDFIELD IS SCARY

Labrador snared a bargain when ex-Brisbane Lion Cam Ellis-Yolmen left the AFL in the off-season. The midfield bull had a ridiculous 40 disposals and 12 clearances in the Tigers’ Gold Coast derby win over Surfers Paradise at the weekend.

He and fellow recruit Andrew Boston (31 disposals, six clearances and two goals) led the way in the Labrador engine room - and that’s without mentioning the Tigers’ 2021 club champion, Tom Simpson. It’s one of the most stacked lines in the QAFL and will be an important piece in the Tigers’ push for a premiership this season.

MATTHEW PAYNE IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS

Will this man ever slow down? Three-time Grogan Medallist Matt Payne starred once again for Wilston Grange, with 31 disposals and two goals in the Gorillas’18-point win over Morningside.

Payne is averaging just under 33 disposals per game this season, his first with the Gorillas, and proving - to anyone who may have thought otherwise - that he’s still one of the best in the business.

STACKELBERG THE MAN TO TEST HAMMELMANN

Six goals to Aspley tall target Connor Stackelberg in a big win over Sherwood showcased the centre half-forward’s goalkicking prowess when the Hornets are delivering quality service.

He’s the main man at Graham Road after Matt Hammelmann defected to Redland-Victoria Point - and looks to be one of the few that could test the Sharks’ spearhead for the leading goalkicker honours.

Stackelberg moved to nine goals on the season after his day out against Sherwood, while Hammelmann was kept to two by Broadbeach. The Sharks’ big man still boasts a healthy lead with 19 goals in three games, but if teams can replicate Broadbeach’s approach to shutting him down, that gap could tighten in coming weeks.

Don’t rule out 2020 leading goalkicker and Grogan Medallist Jordan Moncrieff just yet, either, though the Cats are more than happy to spread the goalkicking load which could limit the star forward’s week to week output.

‘Downhill skiing’: Cats coach promises Sharks a sterner test

EX-GOLD Coast Suns star Jarrod Harbrow will make his Broadbeach Cats debut when the reigning premiers travel up the M1 to face a rampaging Redland-Victoria Point on Saturday.

The Cats have made six changes to the side that outlasted Labrador in the wet a fortnight ago, with 2021 J.A. Grogan Medallist Jordan Moncrieff the big exclusion from coach Craig O’Brien’s squad.

RANKED: Gold Coast QAFL Top 50 Players

Best-22 regulars Brad Lowe (injured) and Ryan Gilmore (VFL) also move out of the team for the early season blockbuster, though Harbrow headlines a number of key additions which also include skipper Josh Searle and key talls Riley Winter and Riley Bowman.

Harbrow, who according to O’Brien has not lost any pace since his AFL retirement last season, joins an impressive Broadbeach backline that will be tested by the competition’s most potent attacking team through the first two weeks.

Redlands key forward Matt Hammelmann has booted a ridiculous 17 goals in two games, continuing the form he showed with Aspley in the VFL last season when he won the competition’s leading goalkicker award.

Spearheaded by Hammelmann, the Sharks have kicked 141 and 154 points in lopsided win over Morningside and Sherwood respectively.

Broadbeach coach O’Brien knows not to underestimate the Sharks, who last year knocked the Cats off at home, but believes no team has tested them like his side will.

“We’re a high-pressure side. We bring really good pressure to games and … with no disrespect to (Morningside) or Sherwood, watching the tape I don’t think they brought enough pressure on Redlands,” O’Brien said.

“For them it’s been a bit of downhill skiing.”

Just how effective the Cats can be at quelling Hammelmann’s influence will be the big question many take into Saturday’s contest.

Key defender James Gledhill will be given the tall task of tackling the high-flying Hammelmann, and O’Brien backed his man in to do the job.

“We know they’ll go to him (Hammelmann) a lot. You don’t have to be Einstein to work that out,” O’Brien said.

“But he hasn’t played on a really quality defender yet.”

Broadbeach-Redlands headlines a blockbuster Round 4 of the QAFL which also includes a Labrador-Surfers Paradise Gold Coast derby and all-Sunshine Coast clash between Noosa and Maroochydore.

Round 4 Key Match-Ups

Matt Hammelmann (RED) v James Gledhill (BRO)

Everyone knew just how good Matt Hammelmann was prior to the start of the season – now after 17 goals in two games, it’s fair to say the hype was justified. Redlands’ key man is a match-up nightmare, however his big games have come against two sides – Sherwood and Morningside – who aren’t expected to feature in September.

How will he fair against the reigning premiers, and one of the QAFL’s best key position defenders, James Gledhill? Cats coach Craig O’Brien has backed his man in to do the job on the competition’s most dangerous key forward.

Bryce Retzlaff (LAB) v Nick Hay (SUR)

Tigers talisman Bryce Retzlaff remains the main piece of Labrador’s forward puzzle – limit his influence, and you’re in with a chance.

Nick Hay had a ridiculous 37 disposals last week in the Dees’ big loss to Maroochydore and was a big reason why the margin didn’t blow out even further. This is an enticing match-up between two stars of their respective teams.

Tyler Cornish (PBC) v Luke O’Sullivan (MTG)

Two teams sitting 1-1 and needing a win to move ahead of the ledger will be relying on their midfield bulls to get the game going their way. For Palm Beach that’s Tyler Cornish, who in the Round 2 win over Morningside had 28 touches and 10 clearances.

Luke O’Sullivan leads the Vultures for disposals, tackles and clearances this season.