Photo by Brooke Sleep Media
By Daniel Viles
COORPAROO v WILSTON GRANGE
Saturday 8 June 2024, 4:45pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 24 – Coorparoo won 17; Wilston Grange won 7
Head-to-Head at Giffin Park: Played 9 – Coorparoo won 7; Wilston Grange won 2
Last time they met: 13 Apr 2024 (Round 2) – Wilston Grange 5.3 (33) d Coorparoo 4.6 (30) at Hickey Park.
Rarely has a mid-season match in the Bond University QAFLW been as important to the outcome of an entire season as this Saturday’s Match of the Round at Giffin Park between Coorparoo and Wilston Grange.
After one complete round-robin, the Kings and Gorillas are separated only by percentage for the fourth and last berth in this year’s finals.
Both sides have seen off UQ, Maroochydore and Yeronga, and while Wilston Grange held off a fast-finishing Coorparoo at home in Round 2, the Kings tough upset victory over Bond University on Anzac Day, plus their superior goalscoring record overall sees them with a sizeable percentage advantage (92.62% to 63.32%).
Grange will be without the reliable Charlize Anderson and the unpredictable Zimra Hussain at Giffin Park, but adds the reliable Kylie Welsh and the unpredictable Naomi Celebre to the team that defeated Maroochydore.
Coorparoo brings Emily Harding back into the side after a week’s absence, while former Wynnum junior Alana Mitchell and former Mount Gravatt junior and current Lions Academic Enah Desic win first-grade debuts.
The inclusion of two first-gamers brings the number of players to represent the Navy Blues in this year’s Bond University QAFLW to 40, four more than any other side. By contrast, the Tricolours have the second-most stable side with 31 players used (behind Aspley with 28). However, the Kings’ 41 goals in 2024 have been scored by 14 players compared with seven Gorillas scoring their 27, three players (Hayley Finning, Summer Hamilton and Lauren Shackleton) scoring 21 of those.
Indeed, this week’s attack may be the strongest that Coorparoo has fielded this season. The 2023 Kings were notable for leading the competition in most of the around-the-ground statistics, particularly early in the season, but struggling to turn dominance into points.
In 2024, Jenae Govan has returned from a long-term injury to snag 10 goals (currently on 93 career QAFLW goals); Chelsea Chesterfield, who will play her fiftieth senior game for Coorparoo, is averaging her usual goal a game; Grace Perry has returned to goalscoring form after missing some early matches; and Chloe Gaunt’s time at the Lions Academy has made her more imposing as a forward target. Throw in the likes of former Gorilla Georgina Ott and Australian futsal goalkeeper JJ McLean and you can see why Coorparoo is the top team in the Bond University QAFLW for scores per forward 50 entry (58%).
The advantage for Wilston Grange is that they rank ahead of the Kings for forward 50 entries, largely due to the ball-winning work of Haley Jones and the clever distribution of Keyshia Matenga. Their usual path to goal is to seek out the electric Summer Hamilton just outside the arc who then sets up Shackleton inside the arc. If that fails, it might be Mackenzie Findlay to Finning, or Annie Wallace and Mia Geere replicating their work for the Lions Academy.
None of this is to ignore the impressive records of both team’s defences in 2024. Grange is the top team in the league for intercept marks, led by Grace O’Donnell (enjoying an even newer lease of life than she had last year) with 16 to rank second individually, but Coorparoo has the top intercept marker in captain Ajla Fetahagic with 20, well-supported by an increasingly confident Jasmine Fretwell.
The finals are two months away, but if every other result goes as expected (admitted not likely), this could be the match that decides which team’s season extends by at least an extra week.
Elsewhere in Round 8: Southport hosts Bond University in the latest edition of Das Sharkenstoushen; Maroochydore and UQ will fight for the right to maintain pressure on both Coorparoo and Grange; and Aspley hosts a top-versus-bottom clash against Yeronga.
SOUTHPORT v BOND UNIVERSITY
Saturday 8 June 2024, 2pm at Fankhauser Reserve, Southport
Head-to-Head: Played 7 – Bond University won 4; Southport won 3
Head-to-Head at Fankhauser Reserve: Played 3 – Bond University won 3
Last time they met: 13 Apr 2024 (Round 2) – Bond University 6.8 (44) d Southport 3.6 (24) at Bond University Oval.
MAROOCHYDORE v UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND
Saturday 8 June 2024, 4:45pm at Domino’s Park, Maroochydore
Head-to-Head: Played 17 – UQ won 11; Maroochydore won 6
Head-to-Head at Domino’s Park: Played 8 – UQ won 5; Maroochydore won 3
Last time they met: 13 Apr 2024 (Round 2) – UQ 6.6 (42) d Maroochydore 2.2 (14) at Enoggera Memorial Park.
ASPLEY v YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE
Saturday 8 June 2024, 4:45pm at Zupps Aspley Oval, Carseldine
Live stream on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 10 – Aspley won 5; Yeronga won 5
Head-to-Head at Zupps Aspley Oval: Played 4 – Aspley won 2; Yeronga won 5
Last time they met: 13 Apr 2024 (Round 2) – Aspley 16.10 (106) d Yeronga 1.0 (6) at Leyshon Park.
You can watch all matches in the Bond University QAFLW by visiting the Official AFLQ YouTube channel.
