MATCH OF THE ROUND
MT GRAVATT vs. SURFERS PARADISE
Sunday May 3, 2:00pm – Dittmer Park
Live blog from 1.30pm Sunday
It’s a bit early to be drawing a line in the sand, but boy is this game important.
Both these teams need to win on Sunday to ensure they stay in touch with the rest of the competition.
The significance of this game is something Mt Gravatt coach Brad Pollock recognises.
“The boys are bitterly disappointed to drop two games by such close margins, so we realise the importance of the game this week,” Pollock said.
“It’s a must win game for the club, otherwise you start falling behind the pace.”
He is optimistic that the conditions will improve before 2:00pm on Sunday, but has to be prepared for both.
“We are hoping it will be dry at our ground by Sunday, but if it hangs around the game does change. Our boys play pretty well in the wet so I don’t think it will affect us too much if it is,” he said.
The Vultures will try and turn Dittmer Park into a pressure cooker.
“They are a young team, young teams can play some really good footy at times, but at the same time if we put the pressure on them, they can play some ordinary footy,” he said.
“I’ve seen that with our group, so the focus is going to be on really applying the defensive pressure to them.”
They will have to do it without Chris Murphy and Alex Jokovic, but welcome back Andrew Scott and Todd Jamison, who will play his first senior game in two years following hip surgery.
Surfers Paradise may be 0-3 in 2015, but coach Peter Young is of the firm belief that they are on the right track.
“The boys have been good this week, we had 50 on the track and trained very well, and they are crystal clear on what we are about and where we are going,” Young said.
“We want to get on the board, but there is definitely a bigger picture here.”
If the rain hangs around, the Demons game plan will be pretty simple, get it moving.
“You don’t want to use the footy as much, you want to be more direct,” he said.
“We have been training all week like that, but in saying that we are not a side that ever wants to overuse the footy.
“We have got some really good in an under young players that like getting the hard footy.”
He expects the two teams to slog it out for the four points.
“It’s going to be a tough contest but we have just got to control the footy, get in first, and control it,” Young said.
“They are a young side similar to ourselves and they are very skillful. They have probably got two years on us in terms of playing together and their development.”
Both teams like the get their outside running game going, but if the conditions don’t allow it, it’ll be very interesting as to adjusts the better.
FOOTY RECORD: QAFL RECORD – RD 4 – MT GRAVATT VS SURFERS PARADISE
PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN vs. UQ
Saturday May 2, 2:00pm – Salk Oval
Beware a team on the rebound.
That’s what Palm Beach coach Chad Owens has been drilling into his players this week.
They take on a UQ side looking to make amends of last weeks big loss.
“We are expecting them to come out and try to prove a point early so we have to be prepared to match that and then see how we go from there,” Owens said.
It’s going to be wet and contested, and the Lions are wrapped.
“We trained for this, did all stoppage work last night, so I think that’s how the game is going to go,” he said.
“We are happy with this weather, our boys were really excited about it last night.”
UQ could have dropped their heads after last week’s tough loss, instead they came out on the track with a point to prove.
“We had our best training session of the year on Tuesday. They were really upbeat and were cracking into each other pretty hard so it was good,” Coach Darren Pfeiffer said.
Pfeiffer is confident the contested element of the Red Lions game will stack up against the Lions.
“If it’s raining it is going to come down to the competitive footy, the two things that we are going to pride ourselves on this weekend is contested footy and tackles,” he said.
“Throughout the whole year our contested ball numbers have been really good, so I think the wet weather should suit us pretty well.
“We have got a pretty good mix of players across the ground.”
Palm Beach will start deserving favorites, but wet weather is the best evener in football.
FOOTY RECORD: QAFL RECORD – RD 4 – PBC VS UQ
WILSTON GRANGE vs. WESTERN MAGPIES
Saturday May 2, 2:00pm PBI Oval
Two teams coming of their best results of the year, who pride themselves on their attack at the ball, in the wet, means this one will be a cracker.
Wilston Grange go into tomorrow’s game full of confidence after comfortably taking care of Sandgate, while the Magpies got the ball rolling in season 2015 last week with their win over Broadbeach.
The Gorillas have been at their best this year when their bigger bodies go onto the ball.
This week they will take it to another level.
“Back to basics tomorrow, its all about momentum. We have gone in with a bit of a stronger-bodied lineup for the week,” coach Matt Trewhella said.
The way they moved the ball last week has instilled some serious belief within the group that this brand of footy is the way forward.
“The belief in the game plan and style of footy is there, so that was definitely one of the positives,” he said.
“Our ability to move the ball and score heavily is one of the more pleasing things but it’s probably not going to be the case tomorrow.”
As for the game ahead, Trewhella knows it will be ferocious.
“We are expecting a very physical game and a very even contest,” Trewhella said.
“They have had a couple of good results, so it’s always a really fierce contest when we play the Magpies.
Magpies’ coach Glenn Humphrey said last weeks win reaffirmed the boys’ confidence that they can match it with the best.
“The boys have been really good on the track after a confidence boost last week,” Humphrey said.
“It reconfirms what we did in the first round, we are there abouts and everyone will have to be on their medal to come out and beat us.”
Their stoppage work has been good for the majority of the year, which should hold them in good stead in slippery conditions.
“We need to make sure that we are concentrating on numbers at the stoppages and keep the ball moving in our direction,” he said.
“I expect them to be tough at the contest and to use the ball reasonably well. Our job will be to ensure they don’t have time and space to use the ball as well as what they did last week.
With the big bodies of the Gorillas up against a Magpies’ on ball unit who will crack in all day, this one shapes up to be a ruthless contest
FOOTY RECORD: QAFL RECORD – RD 4 – WILSTON GRANGE VS WESTERN MAGPIES
By Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles
