By Beth Newman
Sandgate v Labrador
Labrador finished strongly to take a comfortable win over Sandgate in their last pre-season hit-out. In gruelling conditions, the Hawks kept the margin to four goals in the first half in an effort much improved from their first practice match, before the Tigers blew the margin out. The Hawks had quality youngsters Corey Wagner and Jackson Dickfos, while Lee Bazzo had his first run in the seniors. The Tigers kicked straighter than in their first pre-season match against Surfers Paradise, with Chris Turner bagging four.
Who Impressed?
Sandgate: Corey Wagner,
Labrador: Kieran Daley, Kieran LeJeune, Dyson Budarick, Tom Daniel, Simon Seddon, Hugh Wadsworth
Coaches’ thoughts
Sandgate – Rob Dickfos:
“It was a hell of a lot better than the week before.
“We did some things to rectify our mistakes form the week before, but they were slick and got away from us in the second half.
“We’ll continue to work on out pressure, because we realise that at this level, players don’t make too many mistakes, you have to force that to happen.”
Labrador – Steve Daniel:
“By the fourth quarter, both teams were out on their feet.
“I’d probably like to get the ball movement flowing a little bit better than what it has been. Coming up against Morningside in round one, they’ll bevery fast and very slick, so we’ll have to be very mindful of our ball movement.”
“With so many new players, it might take a while to get going, but the important thing is to get this group as many games together as possible.”
Palm Beach v Mt Gravatt
Palm Beach continued their strong pre-season, with a comprehensive win over Mt Gravatt. The Lions dominated the practice hit-out, keeping the young Vultures to only one goal. Palm Beach’s bigger bodies stood up to the draining conditions better than their opposition, and reinforced their status as one of this season’s possible contenders. Mt Gravatt was missing some of its top line players, and will be looking to field a far stronger side in Round one.
Who impressed?
Palm Beach: Jackson Emblem, Kristen Higgs, Blake Schneider, Sam Kitchen?
Mt Gravatt: Corey McGuren, Wiley Buzza, Jayden Crawley
Coaches’ thoughts
Palm Beach – Daryn Cresswell:
‘It was a pretty solid effort defensively, to keep a side to one goal. There are encouraging signs for round one.”
“We need to make sure we bring the same intensity we brought on the weekend into round one.
“We can’t wait to get out there – we’ve waited long enough and what matters most is getting a win (in round one).”
Mt Gravatt – Brad Pollock:
“We have a lot of work to do.
“We’re a pretty young team and their bigger bodies were a bit too much. We made simple, basic errors and had a go but were totally outclassed.”
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