Mark: C
Thoughts:
After a finals berth in 2015, Broadbeach were quietly confident heading into 2016. A 3-2 start after the first five games left them bullish about another finals birth, but unfortunately for them the injury bus hit and their season started to slide. They finished the year on seven wins 11 losses, which was four wins outside of the top five. They were never really in the hunt from the middle of the season. It wasn’t the year they were anticipating, they were left disappointed by missing the finals, but there were still some positives to take from it.
The highlights:
Their come from behind win over the Western Magpies in round 4 was no doubt the highlight. They came from 24-points down 10-minutes into the fourth quarter, before hitting the lead with two-minutes remaining. They had no right to win that game but they just kept coming and coming and coming. The other feather in their cap was their round 16 win over Palm Beach, who was at the time two games clear on top.
The lowlights:
193 points. That was the margin in their round 17 loss to Labrador. It’s a day that will leave scars for a long time.
What they will take from 2016:
2017 was a case of one step back before taking two steps forward. They were forced into blooding a lot of kids which caused some short-term pain, but the club will be all the better for it next year and beyond. When they played four quarters of footy it usually resulted in a win; it was the patches were they slipped out of games that was the problem.
The stars:
Best and Fairest winner Josh Searl carried a huge midfield load this year. He was the mature head in there and the bloke who never gave in. Brayde Palmer had a great year in the ruck, Nathan Quick was good down back, and James Royes had some outstanding moments.
Who emerged?
When Harrison Kerr arrived at Broadbeach, most of the brain trust there saw him slotting into the backline. They were (happily) wrong. Kerr quickly became the main man of that forward line. If he hangs around next year, look for him to kick 50-60 goals.
What they need for 2017:
They need a few big bodied senior heads. They have got kids coming through in every position, but most are still a couple of years away for their best footy. In the mean time, a big forward, and a couple of classy mids over 25 would do a world of good.
By Andrew Wiles
Follow @andrewjwiles
