by Daniel Viles
ASPLEY v SOUTHPORT
Saturday 27 April 2024, 2pm at Zupps Aspley Oval, Carseldine
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 5 – Southport won 3; Aspley won 1; abandoned 1
Head-to-Head at Zupps Aspley Oval: Played 2 – Southport won 1; abandoned 1
Last time they met: 19 Aug 2023 (Preliminary Final) – Aspley 6.4 (40) d Southport 4.8 (32) at Fankhauser Reserve.
Aspley and Southport will test each other’s premiership credentials when they meet at Zupps Aspley Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Victory to the Hornets would make them the only team to begin 2024 with three victories while a Sharks triumph would create a logjam of five teams on eight points.
While this is the first match between these sides since Aspley’s shock win in last year’s Preliminary Final, less than half of the players from that match will play at Graham Road on Saturday, which suggests that both coaches will be far more focussed on ensuring their own sides are running smoothly rather than fuel any talk of revenge or repeat raids.
Round 3 is the first round of this year’s Bond University QAFLW to be affected by the Brisbane and Gold Coast Academy programs. Southport has yielded six players to the Suns Under-18 side; Aspley loses Izzy McDonough and Lilu Hung to the Lions.
Significantly, both inside midfields remain unaffected. Aspley’s engine room of Jessica Davy, Jasmine Kawa, Alanna Perry and Lucia Liessi has turned a deficit of 45 hit-outs in 2024 into a profit of 26 clearances. Kierra Zerafa has looked very comfortable alongside Maddy Watt and Steph O’Brien in Southport’s stoppage factory while captain Rianna Schipp has proven most adept at winning the ball when rotating off the wing.
The decisive factor could be which of the half-forwards who rotate through midfield, Louise Tyson for the Hornets and Maighan Fogas for the Sharks, has the greater influence. Tyson’s speed away from the contest and unpredictability have caught several opponents napping in the last two years. Fogas has the physicality to rattle her opponents and the skill to pass accurately under pressure. The challenge for coaches Glacken and Doherty may be to ensure the rhythm of the game suits their joker in the pack.
Southport will debut two former South Australians who recently played in the Northern Territory: Maddy Rasmussen lines up against her former Southern Districts teammate Liessi; and Jo-Anna Baltais, if named at halfback, would be a rare example of a nurse replacing a Nurse. Ruck Liz Hills will play her first top grade game since moving from Coorparoo.
The most notable inclusion for the Sharks, however, is Kaylee Kimber. Kimber’s outstanding surge of form as a rebounding halfback in the second half of 2022 saw her recruited by the Gold Coast SUNS as a forward. A stress fracture in her foot saw Kimber unavailable and then delisted in 2023, but none who have seen her at top form believe her career has peaked.
Aspley has added its own Territorian influence with Silvana Goldbach-Eggert returning to the side for the first time since Round 6 last year, and dual-sport athlete Kiyanah Toy preferring Aussie Rules to rugby league this winter. Hanna Brennan plays her first top grade game of 2023 as does Emma Pittman, now as the club captain.
Most clubs acknowledge appearance records in terms of overall senior games regardless of grade, but the competition as a whole should surely congratulate Selina Priest for reaching 100 Bond University QAFLW matches this Saturday. The former Brisbane Lion and 2022 Emma Zielke Medallist joined Coolangatta from North Cairns in 2016 and immediately won a premiership, going on to play 70 state league matches for the Bluebirds before joining Southport in 2022. Priest’s skill and strength, her ability to play every key position plus ruck and wing, and read a game like few others, has made her an undisputed legend of Queensland women’s Australian football.
In Saturday’s other match, University of Queensland will seek its eighth consecutive win over Wilston Grange. The ongoing unavailability of Base Architecture Meadows has forced the Red Lionesses to shift its home game 800 metres away to Leyshon Park, Yeronga.
Two matches in Round 3 were completed on Anzac Day. Maroochydore overcame a shaky first-quarter to defeat Yeronga by 46 points at Domino’s Park, while Coorparoo upset premiers Bond University by 6 points in a low-scoring encounter at The Canal. Full replays of both matches are available on the Official AFLQ YouTube channel.
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND v WILSTON GRANGE
Saturday 27 April 2024, 3:45pm at Leyshon Park, Yeronga
Live stream on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 23 – UQ won 16; Wilston Grange won 7
Head-to-Head at Leyshon Park: no previous matches (Wilston Grange has won both matches against UQ played on Leyshon Park No. 2)
Last time they met: 24 Jun 2023 (Round 11) – UQ 8.4 (52) d Wilston Grange 1.4 (10) at Base Architecture Meadows.
You can watch all matches in the Bond University QAFLW by visiting the Official AFLQ YouTube channel.
