by Daniel Viles.
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND v YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE
Saturday 18 May 2024, 3:45pm at Base Architecture Meadows, St Lucia
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 26 – Yeronga won 17; UQ won 8; drawn 1
Head-to-Head at Base Architecture Meadows: Played 7 – Yeronga won 4; UQ won 3
Last time they met: 8 Jul 2023 (Round 13) – University of Queensland 10.10 (70) d Yeronga 4.1 (25) at Base Architecture Meadows.
University of Queensland and Yeronga South Brisbane will strive to keep in touch with the top four when they meet in this Saturday’s Bond University QAFLW Match of the Round at Base Architecture Meadows.
The two clubs with three of the last four state league premierships have a solitary win between them in 2024 although both have pushed their opponents hard, most notably second-placed Coorparoo. In Round 4, Yeronga were level with the Kings at half-time. In Round 5, UQ posted the equal largest losing score in the Bond University QAFLW for the last two seasons.
The Red Lionesses have made three changes from that side. Erin Gilbert will resume her wide running role after being a late withdrawal last week. Claudia Dargie and Charlotte Russell return to top grade in a week when their junior club, Wests, announced a formal Memorandum of Understanding with UQ to ensure a smooth pathway from junior to senior Australian Football.
The Devils’ joy at having four players named in the Queensland state squad has been offset somewhat by having three of them unavailable this week: Lucy Bellinger; Madi Goodwin; and Courtney McDonnell. Their places are taken by Charlie Hellier, Kathleen Mallyon and former Darebin Falcon Rachel Harris. Elyse Glynn makes way for regular first-choice ruck and ex-Falcon, Peppa Poultney.
Yeronga’s fourth state squad member, Chelsea Winn, has been their most statistically influential player this year. Her 28 clearances in five matches are just one behind the leaders in that category. Additionally, Winn is sixth in the league for contested possessions, fifth for inside-50s and fourth for disposals.
Winn’s direct opponent on Saturday is likely to be Jane Childes who leads the competition in both contested possessions and tackles. In fact, Childes is averaging two tackles per match more than any other player.
Both Winn and Childes began their Bond University QAFLW careers as wingers where their pace and tackling ability were on show every week. Since moving onto the ball, over two years ago in Winn’s case, their ability to win and effectively distribute the ball raises the question of whether they had been originally miscast.
If the contest between those two is drawn, the point of difference will need to come from the support midfielders. Harriet Knijff played primarily as a forward in 2023 but is a clever ball user and finds ways to give UQ forward momentum from midfield. Yeronga’s Sophie Dunne has travelled in the opposite direction, coming forward from key defensive positions, but is constantly improving when given the role of imposing midfielder.
The evidence so far in 2024 suggests that converting opportunities may be the decisive factor. The number of inside-50 entries for each side is almost identical (96-94 in favour of UQ), but the Red Lionesses have kicked 23 goals to the Devils’ 11. The good news for UQ is that they know they can score against anyone. The good news for Yeronga is that if they can finish off their good lead-up work, the rewards could be big.
In Saturday’s other fixtures, all at 2pm, Aspley travels to northside rivals Wilston Grange, Bond University makes the longest trip in the state league to take on Maroochydore, and Coorparoo faces a stern test of its table position when it hosts Southport at ‘The Castle’ in the second live stream match.
COORPAROO v SOUTHPORT
Saturday 18 May 2024, 2pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
Live stream on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 4 – Southport won 4
Head-to-Head at Giffin Park: Played 1 – Southport won 1
Last time they met: 22 Jul 2023 (Round 15) – Southport 14.5 (89) d Coorparoo 0.0 (0) at Fankhauser Reserve.
WILSTON GRANGE v ASPLEY
Saturday 18 May 2024, 2pm at iiNergy Oval, Stafford
Head-to-Head: Played 9 – Aspley won 7; Wilston Grange won 2
Head-to-Head at iiNergy Oval: Played 4 – Aspley won 3; Wilston Grange won 1
Last time they met: 29 Jul 2023 (Round 16) – Aspley 9.3 (57) d Wilston Grange 3.5 (23) at Zupps Aspley Oval.
MAROOCHYDORE v BOND UNIVERSITY
Saturday 18 May 2024, 2pm at Domino’s Park, Maroochydore
Head-to-Head: Played 12 – Bond University won 11; drawn 1
Head-to-Head at Domino’s Park: Played 5 – Bond University won 4; drawn 1
Last time they met: 3 Jun 2023 (Round 8) – Bond University 5.8 (38) d Maroochydore 3.1 (19) at Domino’s Park.
You can watch all matches in the Bond University QAFLW by visiting the Official AFLQ YouTube channel.
