SURFERS Paradise remain in the chase for a finals berth after bringing off an upset of sorts against Wilston-Grange at Sir Bruce Small Park on Saturday.
By Terry Wilson
The relentless Demons choked the Gorillas out of the game with constant pressure, which carried them to victory by 13.9 (86) to 7.19 (61).
That scoreboard, with the Grange kicking so many behinds, tells the story of the game and losing coach David Martin was quick to acknowledge the Demons as worthy winners.
Was it a case of gross inaccuracy that cost the Gorillas? No, said both Martin and Surfers coach Beau Zorko.
“They didn’t have many set shots because most of them were under pressure – and we spoiled other chances right on the line,” said Zorko.
“It was a combination of pressure on the ball carrier. That pressure was the best I’ve seen in my time at the club.”
Martin agreed.
“They got blokes back and made it hard for clean entries. Most of our forward thrusts were under pressure,” he said.
“They were good. They were up and about early and we probably played panic football most of the day.”
Surfers started well, holding a 3.0 to 0.6 lead at quarter-time.
By half-time the Grange had 3.13 on the board, a term that cost them any chance they had before Surfers warmed to the task.
The Demons benefitted from the returns of key trio Jake Ryan, Dan Green and Jake Tooma who gave the side so many extra on-ball rotations and strength.
Zorko said the first quarter score did not do the players justice. He felt the Demons should have had six or seven goals on the board, such was their dominance.
“We didn’t take our opportunities and kept them in the game,” said Zorko. “Then they played a food second quarter, but the first 20 minutes of the third quarter was terrific.
“After that we let them back in with a couple of cheapies, but then we finished the game right off.”
So the Dees are still in the finals hunt, but they simply have to keep winning.
The pre-match target was to win all five remaining matches.
“We’ve ticked one box, now we’ve got to win four out of four,” said Zorko.
A surprise packet for Surfers was the effort from Clint Cassidy at centre half-forward, an unusual role for a player not exactly built like a typical key-position attacker.
Tooma on the ball, Ryan Dienjes at half-back and Clark in the midfield were other standouts for the winners, who host Burleigh in another vital Gold Coast derby next Saturday.
For the Grange, their best-player list was headed by defenders, who had to work overtime to keep their side in touch.
The backs to stand out were Lee Smith, Scott Wood and Brendan McGrath, while former player-coach Michael Rogers was prominent throughout.
