BURLEIGH (wearing their PInk Jumpers)have hauled themselves off the foot of the Pineapple Hotel Cup ladder after beating Coolangatta by 22.20 (152) to 10.6 (66) at Bill Godfrey Oval.
By Terry Wilson
Gold Coast Bulletin
BURLEIGH have hauled themselves off the foot of the Pineapple Hotel Cup ladder after beating Coolangatta by 22.20 (152) to 10.6 (66) at Bill Godfrey Oval.
Burleigh leapfrogged Coolangatta at the bottom of the table, level with the Blues but now almost 20 percentage points ahead of their south Gold Coast rivals.
Coolangatta led at quarter-time, they were a couple of goals up in the second with the wind at the backs.
“That was when we were challenged,” successful coach Zane Doubleday said.
“But credit to the guys, they managed to get a couple of late goals against the wind and they took the momentum into the third quarter.”
Doubleday said centre half-forward Nick O’Reilly three goals) was great for the Bombers, Nathan Sullivan booted five goals in his role as small forward and regular back pocket Chris Burrell stood up when given another run on the ball.
Matt Boughton, Stanis Susave and Kapun Morris were best for the Blues.
The victory capped a big day for the Burleigh club, who staged a pink jumper day to benefit breast cancer research.
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LOSING Coach Mitch Ferguson likened Mayne’s inability to put arch rivals Wilston-Grange to the sword to what the big-name players do at Wimbledon.
Asked why Mayne again managed to lose after leading the Gorillas at three-quarter time, Ferguson said: “that is a good question.
“I liken it to Wimbledon. The great players win the big moments in the game to get over the line.”
That “moment” came late in the game for Wilston-Grange, who took the points by 15.7 (97) to 13.8 (86) at Everton Park after leading by a goal at three-quarter time.
Early in the season Mayne led the Grange by a point at the final break but ended up losing.
Ferguson said the Brittain cousins Steve and Dan, who had been a handful for the Tigers all match, came good at the right time and broke the game open.
But Grange football manager Leigh Stevenson said the comeback went much further than the Brittains, who were part of an overall lift in the engine room.
“It was a combination of the boys lifting their work rate in the middle and they started winning the clearances. That was probably the difference,” Stevenson said.
“Steve Brittain, Danny Campbell, David Tough, all the boys started getting the ball forward.”
The Grange, who have lost classy midfielder Matt Shir (he has returned home to Wodonga for work), had an advantage in size, according to Stevenson.
But never did the Gorilla expect to have things easy when they learned Mayne were without half a dozen players, including prime movers Luke Faulkner, Luke Ferguson, Corbin Sellin and Adam Stevenson.
“Any Grange-Mayne game is always going to be a toss of the coin because of the rivalry,’ said Leigh Stevenson.
“We’re really happy to get the points because we never take them for granted.”
Ruckman Anthony `Mac’ Penny, Steve Brittain up forward and the middle and onballer Danny Campbell were the shining lights for the Grange.
For Mayne super veteran Andrew Housego starred at centre half-back Andrew Housego, while ruckman Scott Maxwell and Jack Collings in a variety of roles worked hard.
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The Western Magpies had too much overall strength for Sandgate running out comfortable winners by 89 points. However the victory came at a cost with 3 of the Magpies top players, Reid Dobson, Val Pope and Will Fozard off the ground by half time with injuries that threaten to keep them out of action for a number of weeks.
Magpies Coach Peter McClennan was full of praise for his team, “We expected to win but with literally no bench to work with after half time I was proud of the way the younger players lifted to fill the gaps. Conrad Hudghton gave as plenty of drive from the backline, Anthony Corrie set up plenty of opportunities up forward and Kale Reed was at his best.”
Sandgate President Graeme (Bomber) Adams was at a loss to explain the Hawks poor form, “we just had a very bad day at the office, the Magpies were far too good for us on the day,” he said.
Michael Richardson, Ben Beaven, Will Bradley and Ben Long were best for the Hawks.
The Magpies continue to play like the Flag favorites while the Hawks will have to find something extra over the next five rounds to gain a place in the finals.
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The Maroochydore Roos flew out of the blocks on the weekend taking full advantage of a strong breeze to lead by 32 points at quarter time but the Noosa Tigers responded to the challenge and by half time the game was all even.
The second half belonged to the Tigers kicking 8 goals to 3 after the main break to win 16.11 (107) to 11.10 (76).
Tigers Coach Wayne Fletcher was impressed with the improvement that the Roos have made recently, “they gave us a run for our money early, but we were able to come together after the first break and work our way into a winning position. The experienced players like Brooks Durdin, Caleb Isles, Danny Brewster and Tom McKittrick were our best,” he said.
Roos Coach Roger Delaney was philosophical about the game, “ we played very well, after an even first half the bigger bodies of the Noosa guy started to take their toll, we have a very young side, nearly half of them 21 or under, but what they lack in experience they more than make up for in enthusiasm,” he said.
Best players for the Roos were Kane Tyson, James Page, Jed Turner and Jarrod Raun.
The Tigers now have 3 games away in a row but look well placed to secure the double chance in their quest for their 3rd consecutive Grand Final.
PBC won their 12th straight match against Surfers, taking the Coast derby by 17.17 (119) to 8.16 (64),
“We welcome good, hard, tough footy and that’s why I admire Noosa and Western Magpies for the way they play their footy,” Cresswell said.
“But the way Surfers played today, they’re not going to go any further.
“They were jumping out of the boat when it was hard early. They did not want a bar of it and that’s why they started dishing out cheap shots behind the footy.”
Asked if he may have been over-reacting to what went on, Cresswell said: “I just think it’s undisciplined .
“Courage is putting your head over the ball, not punching and kneeing people behind the play.”
When told of Cresswell’s outburst, Surfers coach Beau Zorko was initially gob smacked.
“Oh, wow, that is unbelievable, absolutely laughable,” Zorko responded.
“We play our footy as tough and as hard and as fairly as anyone else, but his accusations are totally false.
“I think Mr. Cresswell should take the points and march on.
“I’m surprised he is harping on about things considering it was a local derby and they’re played with lots of passion. There will be spot fires break out, but they’re sorted out on the field and that’s it.
“Palm Beach played well and they beat us, it’s as simple as that.”
During the early exchanges, PBC had Jackson Emblem red-carded and soon after Jesse Derrick (PBC) and Mark Thompson (Surfers) were yellow-carded for what the rival coaches agreed looked merely like a bumping contest.
But it was early on that the Demons lost three players, most likely for the remainder of the season.
Trent McIntyre (suspected broken leg), Sam Folan (hamstring ripped from the bone) and Rhys O’Brien (medial ligament) all broke down.
On the football side of things, PBC had half-backs Angus Munro and Blake Schneider as the launching pad for many goals, while Jesse Derrick was great in the centre.
Best for Surfers were Tayler Rolfe, Simon Fenton and ruckman Troy Armstrong.
