By Beth Newman
Palm Beach Currumbin 9.3, 16.5, 19.7, 22.9 (141)
Surfers Paradise 1.0, 6.2, 7.6, 11.8 (74)
Palm Beach found some grit, and depth, with a big win over Surfers Paradise.
The Lions had a blistering start to the match, kicking nine goals to one in the first term, including four unanswered majors to start.
It wasn’t all good news for Palm Beach, with Matt Carroll going down after kicking three in the opening quarter.
Key midfielder Zane Murphy and Tim Fielding also failed to play out the game, and by the end of the match the Lions had no room left on the bench.
Nathan Brown stood up in the midfield for the home side, while Brent Pearson kept Demons spearhead, Trent McIntyre, quiet in the match.
Nathan Carr kicked seven, and Bryce Perry-Bolt slotted four in a sensational comeback.
Surfers were well undermanned in the loss, without superstar Ryan Dienjes and veteran Jason Torney.
Even with the extra motivation of captain Jacob Clark’s 100th game, the Demons struggled to claw back the margin after a dismal opening term.
Tayler Rolfe was one of the few shining lights for the Demons in the game, with Simon Fenton also predictably consistent.
A season-ending ankle injury to Regan Finlay was an extra blow for Surfers on a tough day at the office.
The result means that Surfers will host Grange in an elimination final next Sunday, with their season on the line.
Palm Beach will host the Magpies in a qualifying final, with the winner to play Springwood in the preliminary final.
What the coaches said:
Daryn Cresswell (Palm Beach):
“Aggression at the footy was where it needs to be for finals. That really set the tone of the game and when our players do that, it’s pretty hard to come back from.”
“I rate Surfers very highly, they’re a good running side but they had some key personnel not playing, so I always thought we could do well.”
“At he end of the day, I’m a great believer if we play our best footy, we’re the side to beat and if we can do that on a consistent basis, we’ll be around the mark.”
Beau Zorko (Surfers):
“In the crucial moments, when the game was there to be won, they were first to the ball and plainly and simply had more winners on the ground.”
“There was too much left to too few who toiled extremely valiantly.”
“We have the utmost respect for the two clubs we’ve played over last two weeks. They know what it takes and they know what to do at this time of year.”
“Once it was gone -the end result – we were three goals down for the rest of the match, what we need to do is rectify our start and we need to want to win the game more than the opposition.”
“At the moment it’s as if we’re waiting for someone to come and do it for us.”
Western Magpies 6.2, 9.4, 15.7, 22.10 (142)
Mayne 3.4, 5.6, 8.7, 14.13 (97)
The Magpies put the cherry on top of a sensational back half of the season, sealing third spot and a double chance, with a win over Mayne.
At Mott St, the visitors set the tone early with a six goal to three opening term.
The defending premiers showed their class, with superior ball use and
It was a testing day for the Magpies, who lost Val Pope, Gerard Moore and Jake Heard to injury through the game.
The result keeps the Magpies in third, setting up a qualifying final against Palm Beach next weekend.
Mayne will not feature in finals, finishing sixth, with eight wins for the season.
What the coaches said:
Mitch Ferguson (Mayne):
“We were up against a really good side who were near full strength and they did was good sides do and I thought we hung in there pretty well.”
“Their ball use was superior, when they went forward they didn’t miss and they seem to link up better than most sides in the competition, I would’ve thought.”
“We still rely on too many of our older players to play well, so now the responsibility is on young crop of players to take on more of those key roles.”
Craig St John (Magpies):
“We didn’t play very well, but we did enough to get by.”
“We did everything we’re supposed to do average, which was enough.”
“We didn’t fully play to game plan but we had intensity at the contest and that was enough to get us through.”
University of Queensland 2.1, 7.4, 10.7, 13.13 (91)
Maroochydore 6.3, 8.7, 13.10, 13.10 (88)
The long trip back from the Sunshine Coast became a little bit easier for UQ on Saturday, after finishing their year with a win at Fisherman’s Rd.
With neither side playing finals, the students were able to throw everything at the Roos in a desperate bid to finish their season with that winning feeling.
The students trailed for most of the day, but their fight kept them in it, until they managed to snatch the ascendency in the last.
Maroochydore small forward, Jarryd Hill, had another super performance, finishing with five goals.
Jarrod Prakelt kicked three for the visitors, while Thomas Warby starred in the win.
The result left Maroochydore in eighth place, with six wins, while UQ finished its first season in the Allied Pickfords Cup in 10th, with four wins.
What the coaches said:
Brett Maloney (Maroochydore):
“I think it was a great game for Uni and a terrible game for Maroochydore.”
“I’m bitterly disappointed and the players are as well.”
“We saw it was a good opportunity to finish with a win. They obviously saw this as their grand final and they played accordingly, we didn’t.”
“They had a plan, they were really man on man, really disciplined right to the end with what they wanted to do.”
“The season’s been a bit disappointing to be honest, we’re a couple of wins short of what we thought we might’ve been.”
“We just put today behind us and start to get things in order for next season.”
Coolangatta Tweed 3.2, 13.5, 19.6, 26.8 (164)
Burleigh 5.2, 8.5, 11.7, 14.10 (94)
A ten-goal second quarter set up a flying season-ender for Coolangatta, with a 70-point win over Burleigh.
The Blues trailed at the first break, but took advantage of a significant wind in the second to give themselves a five-goal advantage at half-time.
Matt Boughton and Beau Ridgeway kicked five majors for the Blues, as they ran out big winners.
Ricky Causer sliced through Burleigh in the middle, taking best on ground honours.
While Burleigh slumped to a winless season with the Rd 16 loss, the performance of Hugh Priest should give Bombers fans plenty to smile about.
The 24-year old kicked four goals in a dominant performance, to cap off a sensational year for the rising star.
With the win, Coolangatta finish their 2013 in ninth spot, with six wins.
What the coaches said:
Daniel Hawkins (Coolangatta):
“We were a bit worried about this game. We knew they were going to come out with everything.”
“They kicked with a substantial breeze in the first term and we absorbed their pressure and set up the day for us.”
“It was pleasing to see the boys really put in for the last game. We really stressed with the footy club, you don’t play with the same 22 year to year so this is probably the last game they’ll play together.”
“We’ve just got that winning feeling back, if we put in the hard yards we can win games.”
“In the past, we’ve been down the bottom and given up the goat in tight games, but this year we’ve really knuckled down.
“There were a few games that were disappointing and some tight games we should’ve won but lacked the polish, but that will come again next year.”
Springwood 4.2, 10.7, 12.10, 15.15 (105)
Sandgate 5.2, 6.3, 13.5, 14.5 (89)
Springwood sealed top spot and capped off an incredible 2013 turnaround, with a win over Sandgate at Lowe Oval.
The Pumas were under the pump for most of the day, but over came a sluggish start, to the get the better of the fighting Hawks.
Sandgate nabbed the opening two goals of the game, courtesy of Jacob Hipwood and Jono Giles, before the Pumas snatched one back, but it was all Hawks early.
Going in a goal down at the first break, the Pumas pounced in the second with a six-goal to one term, and it seemed the game was theirs to lose.
After Rhan Hooper kicked the opening goal of the second half, the Pumas were out to a 35-point lead, but the Hawks simply wouldn’t go away.
Seven of the next eight goals went Sandgate’s way, whittling the margin down to only a point as the teams went into the three-quarter time huddles.
A low-scoring final term saw the Pumas seal the game with three of the last four goals.
Corbin Dickfos finished with three for the Hawks, playing most of the game with suspected broken ribs.
Michael Richardson finished a stellar season with another good performance in the backline.
Tom Overington had an uncharacteristically quiet day, under a heavy tag.
Springwood’s Adrian Wallin slotted four in the win that handed the Pumas the minor premiership.
The result means Springwood now has a week off, before facing either Palm Beach or the Magpies in week two of the finals.
Sandgate missed out on finals, finishing in seventh, with seven wins for the year.
What the coaches said:
Tony King (Springwood):
“We knew playing Sandgate, what you see is what you get. 100 minutes of contested ball, momentum swings and it was basically the side that was still standing at the end.”
“It was a perfect workout for us ahead of finals and we couldn’t take our thoughts away from the game at all.”
“In the end, the guys showed some great belief and we were able to control the last quarter.”
“While you don’t want the nail biter, it’s the perfect scenario for us to have that contested game going into finals.”
Rob Dickfos (Sandgate):
“It was a tough, hard game and in the end I was just so happy with the boys.”
“I was so proud of them and their commitment.”
“I gave them a bit of a serve at half time and the boys responded.”
“After half time, we could have packed up and gone there’s no use busting our arse if there’s nothing to play for, but we’ve got a bit more integrity than that.”
Wilston Grange 11.6, 15.8, 24.13, 28.16 (184)
Noosa 1.4, 1.4, 3.5, 3.7 (25)
Grange picked up a massive confidence boost heading into finals, with a huge win over Noosa.
The Gorillas notched their second consecutive win, over the Tigers, with their talls having a field day at Sunlinc Oval.
With the return of Brenton Ogle to the line up against Noosa, the Gorillas were able to push Ben Haire into the forward line for much of the day.
An eleven-goal first term set the tone for the day, with the Tigers only able to manage one from the first half.
Grange’s Daniel Campbell had a super game, finishing with six goals for the match, while youngsters Jake Thomlinson and Jesse Fewkes were amongst the Gorillas’ best.
Tigers captain, Peter Trompf, was typically solid for Noosa.
The win gives Grange some much-needed momentum going into an elimination final against Surfers on Sunday.
It’s a bit of history repeating for the Gorillas, who faced an identical proposition last season, after finishing fifth.
Noosa finished the year with two wins, in 11th place.
What the coaches said:
Matt Trewhella (Grange):
“We weren’t taking them lightly and it was good for us to build on the Mayne game and get a lot of momentum into our first final against Surfers.”
“Last year, we limped into that final, and it was really hard to come up against that side. But over the last two weeks, we’ve been a lot more relaxed and aware of what we need to do.”
“We have a fair idea of how we’re going to go because their talls played well against us and it hurt our structure not having a big centre half- forward.
“Having Oges back gives us another dimension going forward.”
