Round 3 Results:
Yeronga South Brisbane 14.16 (100) def. Coorparoo 5.5 (35)
Coolangatta Tweed 8.5 (53) def. University of Queensland 4.3 (27)
Wilston Grange 27.18 (180) def. Zillmere Eagles 0.0 (0)
What Mattered Most:
Round 3 was all about the return of the Lions women. On Saturday we saw 15 AFLW-listed players run out in the QWAFL, including two debutants in Western-Australian powerhouse Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Tasmanian small forward Jessica Wuetschner. While these two did damage on the scoreboard for Yeronga and Coorparoo respectively, the other returning players all had a big impact on their teams all over the ground.
Megan Hunt was a ball magnet for UQ in their arm wrestle against Coolangatta, while Leah Kaslar provided some much-needed stability for the Bluebirds at half-back. Not all the Lions players escaped unscathed however, with Yeronga’s Caitlin Collins suffering an injury in the third quarter which ended her night early. On the other side of town, Selina Goodman also suffered an injury, hyper-extending her ankle in a tackling contest, although Coolangatta coach David Thorpe remains hopeful she won’t miss many games.
Hear what Sabrina Frederick-Traub had to say post-match:
Gorilla Bags 10:
Wilston Grange full forward Maddie Peeters had a day out against Zillmere, kicking 10 goals and accounting for a third of her team’s total. It was the perfect welcome to Brisbane footy for Peeters, who has made the move down from Cairns to play in the QWAFL in 2017. Peeters is already coming off a fruitful 2016, where she saw a return of 21 goals for North Cairns.
Zillmere young gun Montana Stubbings was given the tough task of containing the dangerous Gorilla at full-back, but Peeters was too good on the day and simply outmuscled her young opponent. The Grange full-forward’s double digit haul now catapults her into first place on the QWAFL leading goal-scorers list, with Coolangatta trio Alex Hamlyn, Maddy Roberts and Rosie Adamson trailing on five goals.
Academy Series :
The 2017 Youth Girls Northern Academy Series between the SUNS and Lions academy sides was played in Coffs Harbour this weekend, and while most of the QWAFL fanfare focussed on the Lions players, a few teams were without some of their rising stars for round three. Coolangatta were hit hardest, missing four players, including Northern Rivers prospect Georgie Breward and pocket rocket Arianna Clarke who both are integral in giving the Bluebirds first use of the footy around stoppages. However, their omission paved the way for two new recruits to make their QWAFL debut in Carlee Raabe and Neesa Doyle who are both new to the game. There were 19 QWAFL girls in total who were missing for the Academy Series and are due to return in round four.
The Ladder Now:
Coolangatta’s determined win over UQ sees them vault clear at the top of the QWAFL table on 10 points after three rounds (with a hefty percentage boost of 440%). Wilston Grange’s first win of the season has resulted in them leapfrogging UQ, Coorparoo and Maroochydore to sit in second place with six points. Joining Grange also on six points are Yeronga, UQ and Coorparoo, however the Kings’ heavy defeat to the Devils sees them slide down to fifth on percentage. Maroochydore, who had a bye this week, sit in sixth while Zillmere are yet to open their account after going down to the Gorillas on Saturday.
By Josh Cheadle
Twitter: @JoshCheadle20
