By Beth Newman
BROADBEACH v PALM BEACH
They’re sitting second on the ladder, with only one loss for the year, but Broadbeach Cats coach, Wayne Petterd, was quick to shift the spotlight on to opponents, Palm Beach, ahead of their Rd 8 clash.
Broadbeach have been the surprise packet of the competition, losing only to Morningside so far, but Petterd said the Lions would prove another challenge.
“I’d say they’re probably the higher-ranked side, really,” he said.
“We’ve been competitive against the sides we should play well against,” he said.
“This will be a good test for us.”
Winning momentum is hard to replicate, but Petterd said his side would be focused on increasing its consistency against the Lions.
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve had a lot of ebbs and flows in, so we’re looking to iron that out and get a bit of consistency,” he said.
“Winning creates confidence and it’s something we’ve been building.”
The Cats have made three changes from last weekend, with Andrew Siekai (shoulder), Caleb Hay (SUNS reserves) and Michael Forsdyke out of the side, with Eddie Burton, James Christie and Nathan Manczal coming into the team.
Palm Beach’s Tim Fielding has been named to return from injury in the clash, with Southport-listed Zac Callinan also back in the team.
The Lions will be prepared for a tough contest, after grinding out a win over Sandgate last weekend, and a win would be crucial for them heading into the bye.
LABRADOR v WESTERN MAGPIES
It’s time for the Magpies to take destiny into their own hands, coach, Glenn Humphrey, says.
After some inconsistent performances in recent weeks, Humphrey said this weekend would be a crucial chance to entrench themselves as a finals contender.
“They’ve had some opportunities to consolidate their position in the pecking order and missed out on a couple,” he said.
“We want to go out and win ourselves a game of footy on the weekend and rectify that situation.
Humphrey said his side would be ready for a physical contest at Cooke-Murphy oval tomorrow.
“Our guys go really well with that,” he said.
“We get into a scrap and I’d back our side to be able to scrap with any side in the competition.”
The Magpies bring in Tom Michael, Matt Sondergeld and Ben Hooper to replace Chris Judson (work) and Matt Uebergang (state U18) for the clash.
It’s not going to be an easy task for the Magpies, against a regenerated Labrador side, who welcome a swag of key players into their side.
Captain Ryan Davey has been named in the side after suffering a hamstring injury against UQ, while Adam Baird, Adam Clarke, Kurt Niklaus, Michael I’Anson and Michael Gugliotto all return to the side.
Tigers coach, Steve Daniel, said the inclusions would give his side no guarantee of success.
“I don’t like to think they’re going to come out and be super,” he said.
“Fingers crossed that they are.”
MT GRAVATT v SANDGATE
A Mt Gravatt side riding on a wave of confidence will come up against a gritty Sandgate, in what shapes as an intriguing QAFL matchup.
Vultures coach, Brad Pollock, knows how important winning momentum is and said this is another must-win for his charges.
“It’s very important for us to maintain that momentum and play to the level we did last week,” he said.
“It’s so competitive and a team like Sandgate could knock off anyone, so it’s important to make sure we win these types of games.”
Will Hamill returns to the Vultures’ line-up this weekend, as well as defender Tim Douge, while Jesse Green (unavailable) and Cam Ross (hamstring) will miss.
After two agonising losses, the Hawks could be forgiven for thinking it’s their turn this weekend, but Sandgate coach, Rob Dickfos, said the emphasis would be on effort not results.
“The boys are really hungry and yep, we would love to win,” he said.
“That doesn’t come without the little things in between, though.”
Sandgate’s Ben Conway will play his first senior match in more than 12 months, after returning from an ACL injury via the reserves, while Aspley-listed players Brendan Forbes and Brendan Colch are both back in the team, with state U18 pair, Nick Jackson and Liam Moseley called up for representative duties.
Dickfos said all those would be handy additions for the Hawks.
“They all have potential and are capable of making us even better,” he said.
SURFERS PARADISE v WILSTON GRANGE
An agonising elimination final loss will be fresh in the mind of Wilston Grange as they seek redemption against Surfers Paradise.
That memory still lingers in the mind of Grange’s playing coach, Matt Trewhella, and he said it would be a driving factor tomorrow.
“It’s something I personally want to make amends for,” he said.
Coming off a string of losses, Trewehella said the match was the side’s most vital of the season.
“It’s probably our most important game so far this year,” he said.
“There is a lot of pressure on us to perform and get back in the winners’ circle.”
Mackenzie Wise comes into the side for the Gorillas, as well as h Josh Stiller, Cam Pickering and Lachie Niland-Rowe.
Surfers Paradise coach, Beau Zorko, said his team would be wary of the Gorillas, after their recent poor form.
“They’ll come out with some sting,” he said.
“We’ve made a key focus on producing the effort we did last week but looking to improve that with some better skill execution.”
“We’ve come a long way this year and it will be good to finish this block of games on a good note.”
Demons captain, Ryan Dienjes, will miss the match, while a number of young Demons have been called up to SUNS reserves.
Surfers Paradise will welcome Chris Mitchell, Dylan Armstrong and James Farley-Smith into the side for their match against Grange.
UQ v MORNINGSIDE
UQ faces the benchmark of the QAFL competition at Oval 7 on Sunday, and coach Matt Stewart hoped they embrace the challenge.
Stewart said the game would show his side exactly what it takes to play in the QAFL.
“We want ot see what we need to do to be the best,” he said.
“There’s no better way than coming up against the best.”
With nine changes ahead of the game, including in-form midfielder, Michael Stewart, and Aspley forward, Cain Tickner, the Red Lions will lose some talent, but they also welcome back captain,Adam Culvenor, after five weeks out.
Against the more experienced Panthers, Stewart said accountability would be the primary focus.
“If we’re not accountable , they ‘ll run rampant,” he said.
“It’s really important we are disciplined, we are accountable and put some pressure on them.”
Morningside coach, David Lake, said his side needed to maintain intensity throughout the match, after conceding multiple goals in time-on last weekend.
“Of 14 goals kicked against us, eight were after the 20-minute mark of quarters, so we need to work on the end of quarters,” he said.
“We need to get better at what we’re doing and that’s something we’ve identified that we don’t want to accept.”
Hayden Wilson will play his first senior game of the year, after coming out of retirement, while youngster Lochie Dignan is also back in the team.
Morningside has some injury worries of its own, with Josh Brown facing a lengthy absence with a groin injury.
QAFL Tips
Michael Conlan – AFLQ CEO (14)
Broadbeach
Labrador
Mt Gravatt
Surfers Paradise
Morningside
Lisa McKoy – AFLQ Media Manager (21)
Broadbeach
Magpies
Mt Gravatt
Surfers Paradise
Morningside
Simon Devine – AFLQ Competition Manager (22)
Broadbeach
Labrador
Mt Gravatt
Surfers Paradise
Morningside
Breeanna Brock – AFLQ Female Programs Manager (20)
Palm Beach
Labrador
Mt Gravatt
Wilston Grange
Morningside
Jack Barry – AFLQ State Coaching, Volunteer & Affiliates Manager (23)
Palm Beach
Labrador
Mt Gravatt
Wilston Grange
Morningside
Craig Millar – AFLQ Football Operations Manager (24)
Palm Beach
Labrador
Sandgate
Surfers Paradise
Morningside
Beth Newman – AFLQ Community Football Writer (25)
Palm Beach
Labrador
Sandgate
Surfers Paradise
Morningside
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