by Daniel Viles
WILSTON GRANGE v SOUTHPORT
Saturday 15 July 2023, 10am at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 3 – Southport won 3
Last time they met: 22 April 2023 – Southport 10.6 (66) d Wilston Grange 0.2 (2) at Fankhauser Reserve
Southport can take one step closer to the Bond University QAFLW minor premiership against Wilston Grange in the first match of Eximm Sport Pride Round at Giffin Park on Saturday morning.
Wilston Grange, whose slim finals hopes depend on causing a major upset over the competition powerhouse, is a much improved side from the one that was almost literally blown off Fankhauser Reserve in Round 2 as winds approaching 40kph made it almost impossible to get outside their own 50.
The Sharks have named one of the most physically intimidating back fives in the history of the state league with only speedster Jess Maher not looking like she could bench press a block of flats, and even she won Tackle of the Week twice in 2022. Alessia Smythe has been pushed forward but could return to the halfback line if height and speed are needed.
For their part, the Gorillas are unlikely to cower with their own physically strong half-forward line complemented by the pace of Kylie Welsh, unironically known as “Rabbit”, and Mia Geere up front. If extra grunt is required, fullback Lauren Shackleton has been roaming further forward in Reserve Grade of late and is named in first grade for the first time in 2023, while defender Ash Moloney and midfielder Jayme Winter aren’t exactly afraid to get down in the trenches.
As always, the first task for any team playing Southport is to find a way of stopping Lilly Pearce from providing Breward, Watt and co. a constant diet of clean ball. While the ruck combination of Keehn, MacNeill and Ens lost the hit-outs to Coorparoo last week, their pressure at the contest made enough room for Grace O’Donnell, back from injury and enjoying life on the ball, and Kierra Zerafa to win the clearances. A similar effort will be needed this week to out-circle the Sharks.
WILSTON GRANGE
FB | 14 Annabel Pettigrew | 49 Shania Jones
HB | 25 Maegan Dick | 21 Jacinta Ens | 51 Gemma Donataccio
C | 18 Siobhan Senior | 7 Chloe Litherland (c) | 5 Keyshia Matenga
HF | 15 Daisy Carter | 30 Kierra Zerafa | 35 Charlize Anderson
FF | 17 Kylie Welsh | 9 Mia Geere
FOL | 13 Emily Keehn | 52 Grace O’Donnell | 1 Mackenzie Findlay (vc)
IC | 2 Abbey Brokken | 10 Ash Moloney | 12 Lauren Shackleton | 40 Jayme Winter | 48 Emma MacNeill
EMG | 11 Brooke Cordwell | 47 Gemma Moore
Coach: Brenton Meddings
IN: Ash Moloney; Lauren Shackleton
OUT: Megan Boscoe; Kalista-Jayne Shiner
SOUTHPORT
FB | 35 Jess Maher | 46 Maddy Baldwin
HB | 21 Selina Priest (vc) | 20 Kristi Harvey | 11 Leigh Alder
C | 3 Peyton Mackie | 2 Rianna Schipp (vc) | 42 Maddie Gault
HF | 38 Ruby Mitchell | 24 Alessia Smythe | 34 Caitlin Wendland
FF | 4 Hannah Davies | 36 Maggie O’Connell
FOL | 40 Lilly Pearce | 47 Georgia Breward | 14 Maddy Watt
IC | 5 Jess Malouf (c) | 7 Steph O’Brien | 8 Abbie Pluples | 18 Tamsin Perry | 32 Tayla Gregory
EMG | 16 Tori Winstanley | 17 Serina Balanda | 30 Matisse Hunter
Coach: Peter Doherty
IN: Maddy Baldwin
OUT: Georja Davies
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND v MAROOCHYDORE
Saturday 15 July 2023, 12pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 15 – University of Queensland won 9; Maroochydore won 6
Head-to-Head at neutral venues: Played 2 – University of Queensland won 1; Maroochydore won 1
Last time they met: 22 April 2023 – Maroochydore 2.1 (13) d University of Queensland 1.2 (8) at Domino’s Oval
University of Queensland and Maroochydore each have an opportunity to measure their progress in the Bond University QAFLW when they meet in the second match of Eximm Sport Pride Round at Coorparoo on Saturday.
Both sides have improved palpably throughout 2023 after enduring difficult pre-seasons, seriously challenging the top three sides without getting the upset victory. Both are also back to their substantive player list after a few rounds in which their best Under-18 players were available between Academy and National Championship commitments.
The Round 2 match was before either side’s new players had time to build combinations and was a bizarre affair in which 40kph winds all but destroyed attempts to dispose accurately. In the end, it was the defensive ferocity of O’Grady, Kelsee Sills, David and Epstein that repelled UQ’s inside-50 barrage (38 to 11) and sneaked the victory.
The Red Lionesses have decided that the best way to replace star 17-year-olds is to find more star 17-year-olds. Claudia Dargie and Charlotte Russell from Wests’ Under-17 side will join their team’s leading goalscorer, Edie McCabe, in this week’s white and rainbow jersey. Bridey Condren becomes the latest elite netballer to play for UQ with the Firebird, Fever and Lightning defender filling the pivoting shoes of Jacqui Russell, Steph O’Brien, Jess Stallard and her captain Lucy Hicks.
For the Roos, Mieke Thorbecke, who won a Victorian Amateur league B Grade premiership with St Mary’s Salesian in 2018 alongside Brisbane Lion and former Wilston Grange winger Ruby Svarc, will start in defence on her Queensland state league debut. Club stalwart and accidental face of QAFLW live streaming in 2022, Ash Johnson-Moody, makes her first top grade appearance in 2023 from the pine.
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND
FB | 21 Jessi Henning | 12 Charlotte Andrews
HB | 10 Jacinta Fisher | 19 Jasmine Dekker | 22 Julia Dawson
C | 6 Eva Sartor | 2 Jane Childes | 35 Kate McKenna
HF | 3 Elka Barnett | 4 Kadie Fletcher | 41 Harriet Knijff
FF | 20 Edie McCabe | 1 Gracie Champion
FOL | 18 Lucy Hicks (c) | 9 Lara Mason | 16 Ava Seton (vc)
IC | 5 Meagan Cook | 17 Bridey Condren^ | 36 Charlotte Russell^ | 37 Claudia Dargie^
EMG | nil
Coach: Ross Clayfield
IN: Bridey Condren; Claudia Dargie; Edie McCabe; Kate McKenna; Charlotte Russell
OUT: Lucy McCormick; Lauren Middleton; Ashleigh Moyle; Laura Roy; Brooke Sheridan
MAROOCHYDORE
FB | 32 Annemieke Thorbecke^ | 44 Madalyn Hennessy
HB | 39 Imagen David | 9 Naomi Fitzpatrick | 22 Lily Logan
C | 23 Ebony Otto | 37 Sara-Jane O’Grady (c) | 28 Zara Hurley
HF | 33 Kaiya Hides | 47 Hayley Edgar | 3 Brydie Eva
FF | 42 Chelsea Gillard | 1 Jessee Sills
FOL | 48 Renee Teys | 13 Jya Epstein | 38 Demi Norton
IC | 14 Ash Johnson-Moody | 21 Anneka Williams | 53 Tarah Muir | 55 Kiah Thompson
EMG | nil
Coaches: Dave Hume and Hetti Malone
IN: Naomi Fitzpatrick; Ash Johnson-Moody; Kiah Thompson; Annemieke Thorbecke
OUT: Lilly Baker; Dakota Hooper; Sophie Peters; Amber Swan; Indiana Williams
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE v ASPLEY
Saturday 15 July 2023, 2pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 8 – Yeronga South Brisbane won 5; Aspley won 3
Last time they met: 22 April 2023 – Aspley 14.9 (93) d Yeronga South Brisbane 1.4 (10) at Zupps Aspley Oval
Yeronga has selected its most experienced side of this year’s Bond University QAFLW to face Aspley in the third match of Eximm Sport Pride Round at Giffin Park this Saturday afternoon.
The Devils stunned Aspley in the first quarter of their Round 2 clash at Zupps Aspley Oval, dominating the play and keeping the Hornets scoreless until the 19th minute. The northsiders then flicked the switch to score the remaining 13 goals of the match including six in the third term.
Coach Lisa Milne has generally opted for an even mix of youth and experience in her sides this season, but it may be that tipping the balance towards her players with premiership experience and/or years of state league football allows the Devils to maintain dominance should they again get on top early.
Aspley’s apparent slow start last week can be attributed entirely to an onslaught from Bond University that would have overpowered most women’s teams in Australia, rather than to any malaise on the Hornets’ part. Results in Round 13 mean that they have now guaranteed their first ever finals place, a deserved reward for: a back five with almost elite positional sense; a forward five as mobile and magical as any in the league; and a midfield trio that may be only beginning to realise how well they can win contested ball against even the best opponents.
Regular readers of Bond University QAFLW Team Lists will notice a particular obsession with quality overhead marking contests. While the likely one-on-one battle between Lucy Bellinger and Jess Stallard will be salient, the more comprehensive show may be at the other end of the ground where any aerial ball sent towards Desrettes, Lingard and Pengelly or Farquharson, Goodwin and McDonnell can only ever be 50/50. The trick for Milne and Glacken will be to work out whether to back their team to win those contests or to find another way altogether.
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE
FB | 49 Laura Wagner | 5 Jess Matthews
HB | 55 Jamie Howell (vc) | 8 Lucy Bellinger (c) | 31 Holly Mills
C | 12 Abigail Lunson | 34 Chelsea Winn | 45 Tamika Smith
HF | 2 Georgia Hewett | 39 Zimmorlei Farquharson | 6 Courtney McDonnell
FF | 14 Madison Goodwin | 35 Sophie Wheeler
FOL | 30 Peppa Poultney | 7 Tiarnah Isua | 40 Farradai Hopkins
IC | 1 Stephanie Rosenthal | 3 Georgia Carmody | 4 Camilla Burnett | 21 Sophie Dunne
EMG | 10 Madi Twin | 16 Clancey Sutton | 37 Charlie Hellier
Coach: Lisa Milne
IN: Abigail Lunson; Holly Mills; Laura Wagner; Sophie Wheeler
OUT: Georgia Cuffe; Stephanie Field; Ebony Milne; Emily Rogers; Taylah Welch
ASPLEY
FB | 10 Morgan Lanigan | 13 Lucy Thompson
HB | 35 Ella Desrettes | 23 Ange Lingard (c) | 5 Lucy Pengelly
C | 15 Jaimie Bryant | 12 Lucia Liessi | 16 Anna van de Wiel
HF | 9 Louise Tyson | 25 Jess Stallard | 30 Mikayla Martin
FF | 19 Hanna Brennan | 54 Emma Lendrum
FOL | 28 Anais Kirvan | 4 Courtney Daniec (c) | 45 Hannah Giles
IC | 1 Ari Williams | 8 Maddy Kawa | 29 Elysse McNiven | 31 Jaida Tabb | 40 Rachael Vetter
EMG | 32 Bree McKenzie | 42 Izzy Kotatis
Coach: Luke Glacken
IN: Jaimie Bryant; Elysse McNiven; Ari Williams
OUT: Rania Crozier; Izzy Kotatis; Emma Pittman
COORPAROO v BOND UNIVERSITY
Saturday 15 July 2023, 4pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
Live stream with commentary on YouTube
Head-to-Head: Played 12 – Bond University won 9; Coorparoo won 3
Head-to-Head at Giffin Park: Played 5 – Bond University won 4; Coorparoo won 1
Last time they met: 25 April 2023 – Bond University 4.5 (29) d Coorparoo 2.5 (17) at Bond University Oval
For the second time in three years, Coorparoo will host Bond University in Eximm Sport Pride Round with the Bull Sharks chasing a Bond University QAFLW minor premiership and the Kings looking to secure a finals place.
In 2021, Bond University secured the minor premiership with AFLW Sun and future Lion Ellie Hampson firing long passes out of the midfield at will and setting up a four-goal haul for Kalinda Howarth. Coorparoo went down by 44 points despite goals to Gabby Fares, Chelsea Chesterfield and Emma McKenzie (now Sayle) but won their next four matches to make the finals.
This year, a Coorparoo victory will ensure that they join Southport, Bond and Aspley as guaranteed finalists. Laura Blue returns to the defence albeit in a linking role between the halfbacks and midfield. Lucy Schneider is back in her natural habitat on the wing, but it will be interesting to watch for any overlap between Schneider’s and Blue’s roles.
2019 premiership winner Kayla Geddes will play her first state league game for two years on the half-forward flank while Jacinta Baldwick’s absence sees Chloe Gaunt move to full forward with Grace Roberts-White sliding into the key centre half-forward position.
Bond Uni are so used to changing a third of their team each week that they possibly feel uncomfortable when it doesn’t happen. All of their eight inclusions have played top grade this year; some like Shannon Nolan and Georgia Johnson (moving from the bench to starting centre) are having their best seasons to date and seem to be unaffected by the weekly shift in roles.
The reason for Bond’s consistency is most likely that the stable core of Moodie and Lightfoot in defence, Taylor and Hutton on the wings, Davidson and Sexton as the ruck/rover combination, and Iverach and Tarlinton up front, gives the rotating cast of thousands a reliable structure on which they can build.
Coorparoo struggled to build a similar core earlier in the season, but the recoveries of Jo Miller and Chelsea Chesterfield (12 goals in 5 games, including eight in her last two) have made the Kings’ attack significantly sharper than earlier in the year. Given that they’ve lost the inside 50s only once since Round 2, a sharper Coorparoo forward line is that last thing that the confirmed finalists want to see.
COORPAROO
FB | 23 Charlotte Edmunds
HB | 30 Taya Oliver | 15 Ajla Fetahagic | 47 Laura Blue | 29 Kaitlyn Zelinski
C | 8 Lucy Schneider | 3 Sally Young (c) | 12 Jo Miller
HF | 2 Kayla Geddes | 42 Grace Roberts-White | 13 Gabby Fares
FF | 54 Chloe Gaunt | 26 Chelsea Chesterfield
FOL | 39 Coco Garton | 24 Hannah McLaughlin | 4 Jess Watts
IC | 27 Megan Evans | 31 Jasmine Fretwell | 34 Liz Hills | 36 Ayla Fraser | 44 Josii Hargreaves
EMG | 6 Ari Reilly | 28 Giuliana Simionato | 50 Sammy Nunn
Coach: Rebecca Randazzo
IN: Gabby Fares; Kayla Geddes; Josii Hargreaves
OUT: Jacinta Baldwick; Adair Henderson; JJ McLean
BOND UNIVERSITY
FB | 29 Jemma Blair | 24 Mackenzie Farmer | 10 Grace Moodie
HB | 20 Paris Lightfoot (c) | 41 Andria Heard
C | 34 Charlotte Taylor | 2 Georgia Johnson | 11 Georgia Hutton
HF | 3 Shannon Nolan | 9 Bella Iverach | 22 Jasmine Single
FF | 25 Tshinta Kendall | 53 Lily Tarlinton
FOL | 50 Jasmyn Davidson | 7 Courtney Sexton | 17 Christy Landwehr
IC | 6 Sally Evans | 8 Gabby Deller | 13 Sunny Hewett | 27 Piper Phelan | 44 Sophie Balcombe
EMG | 31 Tobi Chapman | 38 Aleira Usher
Coach: Andy Lovell
IN: Sophie Balcombe; Mackenzie Farmer; Andria Heard; Sunny Hewett; Tshinta Kendall; Shannon Nolan; Piper Phelan; Jasmine Single
OUT: Kiara Bischa; Ella Calleja; Tara Harrington; Havana Harris; Josie McCabe; Sienna McMullen; Nyalli Milne; Ava Usher
^ denotes QAFLW debut; † denotes QAFLW club debut
Note: several teams are wearing specially commissioned jerseys for Pride Round resulting in many players wearing jersey numbers different from their usual number.
You can watch all matches in the Bond University QAFLW by visiting the Official AFLQ YouTube channel.
