AN eight goals to two second quarter proved the decider when Noosa overcame spirited Mayne in a tough contest at Everton Park on Saturday.
By Terry Wilson
Gold Coast Bulletin
Noosa took the battle of the Tigers, winning by 19.6 (120) to 14.9 (93).
It was their 8.1 to 2.2 second term that burst the game open, given their final winning margin was 27 points.
The Sunshine Coast species of the Tiger had an angel in full flight in that period when big Brett “Angel” Duke kicked three goals and youngster Stu Allen added bite from a half-forward flank and Steve Simpson took control of the ruck.
“Angel had a ripper quarter up forward,” noted coach Wayne Fletcher after Noosa took full advantage of a southerly wind at their backs.
“It was a good game of footy, very physical, and Mayne came ready to play.
“They certainly have improved from last year and I’m very happy the way my players stood up to the challenge.”
For Mayne coach Mitch Ferguson it was another repeat of a repeat of a repeat.
Just like one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, so it is with Mayne, who have made a fine art of losing games because of one poor period.
“It was the same as last week,” Ferguson said. “last week against Palm Beach we had a six-nothing last quarter. This time it was one quarter again.
“They got a roll on and we just have to find ways to stop opposition when that happens.
“But overall they were just that little bit too good on the day.”
Noosa had forward Danny O’Brien (five goals), Duke, Simpson and first gamer Dominic Waterman as their best. Waterman was last year’s under-18 captain.
For Mayne, Sam Paterson, a former Noosa player, was the pick in roles as a half-back then in the middle.
Luke Ferguson up forward and on-baller/forward Luke Faulkner were also prominent.
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A GRAND old north Brisbane derby stoush has opened up the battle for places in the Pineapple Hotel Cup top five.
Sandgate, the side sailing along under the radar, joined their arch rivals Wilston-Grange on five wins for the season when they downed the Gorillas by 13.9 (87) to 9.8 (62) at Lemke Road.
“There are now seven teams trying to make the five,” noted Sandgate team manager Dennis Payne.
Sandgate led by 14 points at quarter-time, but trailed by three at half-time after the Grange put on 4.2 to 1.3 with the assistance of a southerly wind.
But the Hawks then grabbed control and their third term of 6.1 to 1.1 killed o[ff any hopes the Gorillas may have been holding.
Whereas the Hawks are going along nicely, the same cannot be said for the Grange, whose well-documented battle with a mounting injury toll shows no signs of abating.
“Not a lot, that’s the problem because we have so many players out,” said president Brett Gillett when asked what the club can do to reserve fortunes.
“On Saturday Sandgate played well and we weren’t up to it.”
Centre half-forward Liam Routledge, on-baller Ben Beaven and wingman Trent Fuller were the pick of the winning Sandgate unit while the Grange’s best Hugh Campbell, Lee Fazackerley and Stuart Galloway all occupied spots on a half-back line or on the wing.
THE Springwood Pumas thought they were going to hit Palm Beach-Currumbin with a haymaker by fielding former Brisbane AFL midfielder Albert Proud against them on Saturday.
But Proud’s signing leaked out pre-match and, instead, it was the Lions who landed the surprise blow when former Sydney Swan Daryn Cresswell, now coach of PBC, ran out against the Pumas at Lowe Oval in Brisbane on Saturday.
Having his first game since early in 2010, Cresswell made a shock appearance as a player and proved the difference between the Lions winning and losing.
Now 41, Cresswell kicked seven goals as the Lions edged the Pumas by 16.15 (111) to 14.7 (91).
New Springwood coach Tony King admitted Cresswell’s name on the PBC team list came as a shock, but he later declared the ex-Swan as the match-turner.
“I was not aware he was going to play, but at the end of the day he was the difference,” King said of Cresswell’s roles in the midfield early, then across half-forward.
“He was very strong up forward and it is good to see guys like him out there every so often.
“Hopefully our young blokes learnt something from playing against him.”
Cresswell’s most recent game was for Western Suburbs in the Sydney competition early in 2010.
“It was a last-minute thing,” he said of his late inclusion.
“Matty Boyd pulled out on Saturday morning and seeing we already had seven players out (five with rep duties), we had too much inexperience in the side, so I decided to play,” Cresswell said.
“It may not be a one-off but I can tell you the body knows all about it this morning.”
King acknowledged PBC’s weakened line-up was nowhere near full strength, but he was happy with an overall improvement in confidence and application that surfaced following the addition of Proud and centre half-forward Ethan Reading from Mt Gravatt.
The Pumas led by three points at quarter-time and stayed in the fight throughout.
Cresswell rated Springwood, with their new signings, are now “well ahead” of Gold Coast clubs Burleigh and Coolangatta
“Springwood are all right,” he said. “I think they’re on the right track with their brand and their approach to the footy.
“And their confidence has been lifted by having a player like Albert Proud out there.”
For Palm Beach, tall utility Jackson Emblem, a former NT Thunder player, was the best, well supported by midfieder Jesse Derrick and young Tyson Dyer.
In rugby league State of Origin week, it was appropriate that Springwood’s best was centre half-back Nick Tronc, the son of former Queensland player Scott Tronc, along with Darcy Munyard and Jake McGill.
Ladder leaders Western Magpies had little trouble with Burleigh in their clash at Chelmer oval in Brisbane.
The high-flying Magpies scored by a convincing 29.15 (189) to 10.6 (66), completely dominating except for the third term when the home side coach Peter McClennan decided to experiment with some positional switches that really did not work.
“The main thrust for us was try to execute some things,” McClennan said.
“In the second half we decided to use players in different positions to see how they went.
“We did have five out and we used the situation to test some players out.
That exercise started in the third term, but when Burleigh scored 5.2 to 6.3, the Magpie plan was quickly aborted.
“We reverted back to what we were doing in the first quarter,” McClennan said.
Clearly the Magpies had way too much firepower for the struggling and still winless Burleigh.
They had Val Pope (7), Alex Dickfos (6) and Anthony Corrie (6) in blistering goalkicking form, but surprisingly boasted only eight individual scorers in a team total of 29 majors.
Best for the winners were forward and on-baller Brenton Saunders, wingman Billy Moorhead and young Chris McClennan, who won a club award for his tackling pressure.
Burleigh’s best were Sam Brown, Nick O’Reilly (four goals) and Aaron Axelby.
Sunday’s scheduled match between Coolangatta and Maroochydore was called off because of the weather.
