Chris ‘Yeendy’ Yeend
Aspley and Redland Victoria Point have said to the rest of the QAFL Senior Men’s competition ‘Catch us if you can’ after both recorded very impressive wins over quality opposition in Round 10 action over the weekend.
Redland Victoria Point ended a two-game losing streak at home with a master-class performance against Labrador with an 80-point victory.
Aspley were ruthless from the opening bounce to record a 63-point win over Palm Beach Currumbin at home.
In other games; Mt Gravatt took down the in-form Noosa outfit by 63-points at home; Wilston Grange extracted revenge from the after-the-siren defeat to Morningside back in the season opener with a strong 21-point win; Broadbeach held on against a spirited Maroochydore to win by nine-points; and Sherwood almost made it through for its maiden win of the season against Surfers Paradise before falling short by 10-points.
ASPLEY 14.16.100 defeated PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN 5.7.37
The Hornets continued their undefeated start to its premiership title defense with an impressive 63-point win over the Lions at home.
Aspley stormed out of the blocks in the first term with some sharp running through the midfield and brilliant work defensively to hold its opponents to one point; while adding 4.3 of its own to lead by 26-points at the first change.
Palm Beach Currumbin regained some composure in the second term; registering two majors to build some level of confidence heading into the half-time break. Despite the greater impact on the scoreboard, Aspley were wasteful with 2.7 for the term with the margin creeping out to 30-points at the main break.
The third term belonged to the home team with a greater level of accuracy in front of goal; kicking 6.2 to 1.2 and opening up a 60-point lead heading into the final term. Both teams registered two majors each as Aspley saluted with reaching 100 points for the sixth time in seven matches.
Connor Stackleberg kicked five goals for the winners while Jono Freeman contributed three. AJ Dawson kicked two goals for the Lions.
Aspley was efficient with its disposal; hitting the target at 77-percent compared to the Lions at 68-percent; both doing really well in that area.
The Lions led the tackle count 56 to 30 and spoils 20 to 13; but the inside 50s were a major difference with the home team registered 66 to 30; and taking 21 marks inside 50 to 5 at a rate of almost 1 in every three attempts; something in itself that is extraordinary.
Aspley led the clearance count 40 to 23 on the back of its dominance in the ruck with 68 hit outs to 10; Will Wolbers enjoyed 50 on his own.
Aspley’s Liam Dawson took an extraordinary 13 marks to go with his tally of 18, eight of which were contested. Jed Harrison led the tackle count for the Lions with 10 while Marcus White impressed with 32 touches.
REDLAND VICTORIA POINT 23.8.146 defeated LABRADOR 9.12.66
The Southern Tigers didn’t survive the trip to The Tank on Saturday; with the Sharks proving to be the superior beast in the 80-point win.
Both teams went toe-to-toe in the opening term with the Sharks leading the scoring shot count 6 to 5; however, in a forecast of what was to come later in the day, it was deadly accurate in front of goal with six straight to lead by 21-points at the first break.
Labrador held firm in the second term with some great passages of play and kept right in the contest; kicking 3 goals to four for the term as the margin edged out to 27-points at the main break.
Sharks supporters rejoiced in the second half with some of the best football played at home in recent seasons with some of the most dominant passages of play any team could serve up. RVP slammed home six goals in the third term and seven in the final term; while holding its opposition to four second half goals.
RVP was in the sort of form that any opposition team would struggle against and it was just unfortunate that Labrador, despite its recent positive form, fronted a team so determined to make a statement to the competition.
The Sharks strengthened its forward attack with the addition of Josh Brown at half forward at the selection table last week. We proved to be an immediate force with 6.1 from 13 kicks; an effort that included six marks inside 50. Matt Hammelmann proved challenging to stop with 7.3 from 14 kicks and eight marks inside 50.
Tom Simpson was at his usual best with 33 possessions for Labrador; an effort that included seven clearances, five tackles six inside 50s, and a goal. Teammate Harry Law returned from injury with 3.1 from seven kicks.
RVP played a high possession game with 429 to 291; and achieved a remarkable 81-percent disposal efficiency compared to 71-percent; both again, of a high standard.
The tackle count was won by the Sharks; 58-53, and despite the final margin; the inside 50s were relatively close with the Sharks winning the count 59 to 45. Taking 19 marks inside 50 to seven was a massive difference.
MT GRAVATT 17.11.113 defeated NOOSA 7.8.50
The Vultures returned to the winners’ list with an impressive 63-point win over the Northern Tigers at home.
Noosa went into the game with a lot of form and confidence after two wins and a bold showing against the Sharks in the previous three weeks; but it was simply out-gunned by a team that is driven to return to the top six and cause some chaos.
Joel Leahy continued his impressive season; arguably his best; with a phenomenal all-round effort of 32 touches; three goals; eight clearances (game-high) and 11 inside 50s (game-high). As if he couldn’t get any better.
Vultures’ captain Jonah Licht impressed with three marks inside 50 and was one of four players to kick three goals.
For Noosa; Callum Crisp was outstanding in the ruck with 43 hit-outs; 20 touches with 10 of them contested. Jai Fitzpatrick worked hard for three goals from nine kicks. Lachy Flagg was vital in the backline with 11 spoils which was made more impressive given the entire Mt Gravatt team had just eight.
Mt Gravatt led the inside 50 count 53 to 48 but were more efficient; scoring on 53-percent of entries compared to Noosa’s 31-percent.
WILSTON GRANGE 12.13.85 defeated MORNINGSIDE 9.10.64
In another one of the major headline acts of the weekend, Wilston Grange extracted revenge from its round one after-the-siren loss to the Panthers with a strong 21-point win against an ultra-strong opposition.
The Gorillas bounced out of the blocks with the only three goals of the opening term to lead by 19-points. Morningside cut the margin back to 12-points at half-time with a 3.2 to 2.1 second term. The Gorillas responded in the third term with the best effort from any team across the game with 5.3 to lead by 31-points heading into the final term.
Morningside was no strangers to big come-backs; having extracted the impossible come-back against Wilston Grange in the season opener; but despite its best efforts, couldn’t kick down the door against a strong backline and midfield.
Hugh Fidler followed up his Round 8 effort of seven goals against the Roos with an impressive four goal outing from 21 touches and five tackles. Will Martyn was near-flawless with a staggering 31 touches in the midfield that included 10 marks, four clearances, five inside 50s and a goal.
Fans were on Wylie Buzza watch for Morningside after kicking seven goals in his only other outing this year during a Brisbane VFL bye. He was held to just one point; five marks and 11 touches. His partner-in-crime Keegan Downie kicked one goal. Brisbane Lions VFL pair Wilson Barry and Jackson Hille impressed with 30 and 23 touches respectively.
Wilston Grange won the inside 50 battle, just – 53 to 49 but its forwards found too much space inside 50 with 17 marks to eight. Morningside dominated the tackle count 77 to 35 but were just outmuscled in the air, making 8 spoils to 16.
SURFERS PARADISE 11.22.88 defeated SHERWOOD 12.6.78
The Pies have proven that they are no easy beats as they challenged the rampaging Demons for the four full-quarters, going down agonisingly short of its maiden win by 10-points.
Surfers Paradise is one team that will surprise the heavy-hitters in the competition and it was a great opportunity for it to be challenged, hard but still come away with the full points.
The Dees led at each change; by three, six, and 10 points respectively before holding on to win by 10.
Surfers Paradise had 33 shots on goal from 53 entries which is 62-percent efficiency; or 6 in 10 entries resulting in scores which is simply outstanding. One in four kicks resulted in an inside 50 which is impressive.
Surfers Paradise star Ben Woodburn led the game in tackles with eight; and he also recorded five inside 50s and had nine contested possessions along with a goal in a solid individual outing. Cam Topping was outstanding in the ruck with 23 touches; 42 hit-outs and a team-high 14 contested possessions.
Sherwood impressed with Will Fletcher gathered 12 clearances. Pat McCarthy enjoyed one of his best games of the season with 5.2 from 10 kicks and finished the game with four marks inside 50. Sixteen-year-old players Julian Cruice and Zack Bidgood both kicked their first goals in Senior football which provided some extra excitement for the team.
BROADBEACH 13.11.89 defeated MAROOCHYDORE 12.8.80
There are wins during the season that can help define a team; this victory for Broadbeach in Round 10 was that win for this club.
On the back of an horrendous run with injuries and missing talent to representative football; this team dug deep to win in gutsy style against a fierce opposition. Broadbeach had just six players from its starting 22 in the Grand Final take the field on the weekend which highlights the player turn-over and injuries since then.
Maroochydore had everything to play for and nothing to lose. It burst out of the blocks with a four goal to one opening term to lead by nine points before the visiting team slammed homed 5.5 to 1.0 in the second term to lead by 20-points in a 29-point turn-around.
The second half was all about playing catch-up for the home team with the visitors kicking crucial goals to keep in front.
Maroochydore challenged but Broadbeach hit back when it mattered. The second half was quite balanced with the home team kicking seven goals to six but not enough to win the four points and it now makes it a tough road to play finals.
Broadbeach led the inside 50 count 60 to 53 and the tackle count 59 to 41. For the most part, the other key stats were quite even with 40 hit-outs each and the Roos leading the clearance count 43 to 42.
Broadbeach young gun Jonah Semlar impressed with 20 touches; Townsend and Jasper kicked three goals and took two marks inside 50 each; Riley Bowman had 32 hit-outs out of a team total of 40 along with 11 clearances and eight inside 50s; while Lucas Jellyman-Turner impressed with 33 touches including 9 inside 50s.
For Maroochydore, captain Josh Goban led the team for disposals (31) and tackles (7) while Sam McLaughlan had a game-high 19 contested touches. Kerr, Robinson and Thomas all kicked three goals each.
LADDER
1 – ASPLEY (34 – 219.81%)
2 – RVP (28 – 146.71%)
3 – WILSTON GRANGE (24 – 121.47%)
4 – BROADBEACH (22 – 107.831%)
5 – SURFERS PARADISE (20 – 110.75%)
6 – MORNINGSIDE (20 – 99.21%)
7 – Palm Beach Currumbin (20 – 82.60%)
8 – Mt Gravatt (16 – 90.49%)
9 – Labrador (16 – 90.08%)
10 – Maroochydore (8 – 83.21%)
11 – Noosa (8 – 72.73%)
12 – Sherwood (0 – 57.70%)
