Chris ‘Yeendy’ Yeend
Just three games this weekend with each one shaping the finals, either at the top or from the outside.
NOOSA v MT GRAVATT
Noosa
Key Ins – Matthew Field, Aaron Laskey, Sebastian Rogers, Mason Gilfillan
Key Outs – Jack Mills, Tom Monahan, Ryley Buntain, Daniel Ladner
The Northern Tigers have loaded up with some key returns including star power leaders Laskey and Rogers. Losing Buntain hurts as he is in some quality form.
Mt Gravatt
Key Ins – Zac Young, Jayden Milne
Key Outs – Braydon O’Dea, Matthew Hollier
Jayden Milne returns for his first game since Round 15 last season. Zac Young is a handy return to the backline. O’Dea and Hollier are big outs.
Preview
The maths is simple for the Vultures: win and the there is a pulse, lose and finals will be over. It has been a roller-coaster ride for this group of players this year, but we all know that its best is very good. This group beat Broadbeach a few weeks back, the same team that then went on to be the only team to beat Aspley and Redland Victoria Point in 2023, so, there is potential here and we need to see more of it.
Speaking of potential, Noosa has lots of it and while it did lose some star power in the off-season, it opened the door for more talent to make an impact at Senior level. At its best, this is still one of the most must-watched teams in the competition, but there is a big gap between its best and worst.
Noosa at home is always a tough proposition and while finals aspirations are about finished, if it can upset the apple cart and prevent Mt Gravatt from achieving that dream, it will be a big win for this group.
This is a battle between strength and speed. The midfield is filled with strength from both teams and there is some star power that will carry each of them to victory.
The return of Laskey and Rogers to the midfield for the Northern Tigers may just do enough to get this group over the line.
SHERWOOD v BROADBEACH
Sherwood
Key Ins – Harrison Bridge (debut), Michael Westerhuis (debut), Jett Clarke
Key Outs – Darcy Prest, Owen Collins (VFL – Emg), Will Fletcher (concussion)
Westerhuis makes his debut after playing this season in the Reserves. He has previously played at Jindalee as a junior and also stints at Surfers Paradise, Ipswich and University of Queensland. Bridge has played Under 15s and 17s at Sherwood this season and was part of the AFL National Development Under 16s Championships with the Brisbame Lions Academy. Prest comes out alongside Collins who is listed as an emergency with the Brisbane Lions VFL team. Losing Fletcher hurts.
Broadbeach
Key Ins – Jared Eckersley, Kasey Nicholas, Alan O’Neill, Adam Hull
Key Outs – Josh Searl (knee), James Gledhill (knee), Sam Jasper (hamstring), Max Lower (unavailable)
Preview
The Cats are on the march and looking an unstoppable force. After losing to Mt Gravatt a few weeks back, questions were asked about whether this group could live up to expectations. In the matter of two weeks, this group, metaphorically speaking, went from Pretenders to Contenders. Its efforts against Aspley and RVP has been nothing short of extraordinary. They held off the Sharks in the second half without the run of its leader Josh Sear,; and Riley Bowman was out of the team.
One thing we can all appreciate about Broadbeach is that while we have seen a change in personnel week in, week out, each player has a role, and they play that role to perfection, and this is no different in 2023 to what we saw in 2022 when it went through the home and away season undefeated. Same Broadbeach, different season.
Sherwood has improved a lot across the season and continues to unearth so much talent. It will field another debutant that has come through the Academy program, Harrison Bridge. He is just one of many that are aligned with the Lions either through the 16s and 18s Academy or the VFL program that have played Senior football at this club. We can even look to Jaspa Fletcher who won the Rising Star award this week in the AFL and played Senior football at the club as a junior in 2021 and 2022.
This is going to be a tough ask for the Pies at home against the most in-form team of the competition, Broadbeach. With a flat track and some attacking footballm don’t be surprised to see this outfit give their opponents a push especially as they play more of an attacking brand of football.
Broadbeach will need to kick 14 or 15 goals to really shake off Sherwood in what always shapes as an interesting fixture between the pair.
REDLAND VICTORIA POINT v WILSTON GRANGE
RVP
Key Ins – Peter Yagmoor, James Rayner,
Justin Currie, Marcus Khoo (Senior club debut), Daniel Annable (debut)
Key Outs – Jack Rolls, Liam Eadie, Matthew Thomson, Mitch Stallard, Bradley Murdock
The Sharks have made five changes. Daniel Annable makes his debut after playing with the Brisbane Lions in the Under 16 National Championships and Coates Talent Academy Boys programs this year. Marcus Khoo makes his Senior club debut after crossing from Mt Gravatt during the middle of the season and will provide some quality height and versatility around the ground. Yagmoor, Rayner and Currie are big ins while Stallard and Rolls headline the outs.
Wilston Grange
Key Ins – Hugo Thew, Bailey Gordon, Harry Wilson
Key Outs – Joel Budarick, Lachlan Zakaras, Jack Campbell
Three changes for the Gorillas with Thew, Gordon and Wilson to add class to the team. Losing Budarick hurts while Campbell and Zakaras are listed as emergencies.
Preview
Wilston Grange beware. The Sharks are coming.
After being held goal-less last week, RVP super forward Matt Hammelmann is going to be in mean form and will be looking to respond in fine fashion. The loss to the Cats hurt, and this group is well and truly ready to respond with full force and fury which it tends to do the following week after a loss.
Wilston Grange, like so many teams, has so much potential but needs to find that consistency. It will play finals this year, but it doesn’t want to make up the numbers. It could very well upset the Sharks after showcasing vulnerability last week. It needs to find a key backman to shut Hammelmann out of the game and a bigger bodied midfielder to tag Brock Aston for the full game, really taking away their strengths.
Since Round 10; Wilston Grange has gone – Win/Loss over consecutive weeks meaning this week it is due for a win and its victories have been impressive but its losses (-79 v Surfers Paradise), (-69 v Aspley) and (-43 v Maroochydore) have shown some major inconsistencies.
If Wilston Grange could cause an upset here, and it will be an upset (the Sharks at full flight are a remarkable team), it will shape the competition but in reality, it is facing an opposition that turn things around pretty quickly and with vengeance.
