Sunshine state boys on show
There was an abundance of home grown talent in Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS NAB Challenge match at Burpengary on Sunday, but the most exciting part was the debuts of Eric Hipwood, Ben Keays, Matt Hammelmann and Reuben William for the Lions. Keays was a standout in the middle, winning his own fair share of the ball, Hammelman and Hipwood both finished with a goal next to their name after competing well up forward, and William ran the lines well in his return from injury. They all looked at home, and are only going to get better.
It wasn’t just in Queensland where our boys were strutting their stuff. Mabior Chol capped off his fantastic debut for Richmond with a last quarter goal, and for the Kangaroos, Corey Wagner had a heap of it, and Braydon Preuss more than held his own in the ruck.
What time is it?
There are a few pre-season camps happening at the moment as teams finalise their 2016 season preparations, but I think Palm Beach takes the cake in terms of putting a team through their paces. The Lions arrived at Salk oval for 6pm start on Friday night, and didn’t hit the hay until 2:30am following a few running blocks and amazing race style challenge. They were given the luxury of a sleep in on Saturday morning either; the boys up before 6am for a cross-country run. Brutal.
First player, first captain=
In 1989, Emma Glenwright became the first junior female to play at the Pine Rivers Swans. In 2016, she will become captain the Pine Rivers QWAFA team. In terms of trailblazing at a footy club, stories don’t get any better than this.
Flash Footy roadshow
With the inaugural AFL Queensland Flash Footy Tournament this Saturday at Bond University, teams have been getting familiar with the tournament rules before they play. Fiona Jones, the AFL Queensland Community Club Development Manager of the QFA and Female competitions, headed out to Moreton Bay last week to run them through modified rules and structures. Check out all the info you need around Flash Footy HERE.
Cardinal Joel
Queensland footy now has a direct link to the NFL. Ex Gold Coast SUN, Joel Wilkinson, was last week signed to the Arizona Cardinals as a corner back, which is a defensive position designated to stop the opposition wide receiver. Wilkinson, who was at the SUNS from 2011-2013, also captained the Queensland Under 18 State Academy, and played for Broadbeach before being drafted.
By Andrew Wiles
Follow @andrewjwiles
