By Chris ‘Yeendy’ Yeend.
Aspley continued its impressive defense of its premiership title; Redland Victoria Point fought hard against Sherwood; Broadbeach made it four wins on the trot; Wilston Grange tasted victory against Noosa; Surfers Paradise pipped a determined Labrador and Maroochydore made it two wins on the bounce; as the top five all tasted success and the Roos opened the door ajar – slightly as Round 13 of the QAFL reached its conclusion ahead of the bye.
SURFERS PARADISE 11.15.81 defeated LABRADOR 12.5.77
Surfers Paradise held on for a famous victory against the spirited Labrador line-up at Cooke-Murphy Oval to win by four-points on the road. It led by 26-points at three-quarter-time before the home side stormed home in the final to fall short in a thriller.
The Demons held on bravely against a red-hot Tiger challenge in the final few minutes in one of their most impressive wins of the season.
Labrador’s Nathan Wright had the chance to put his team in front with a shot on goal from inside 50 on a slight angle with just minutes remaining; but the kick sailed wide and did not register a score. This was the only blemish for Wright who had such a remarkable game with 21 touches; 13 marks (seven inside 50) and four goals in arguably his best game at Senior level.
The Tigers raced away to a 12-point lead at quarter-time before the Demons hit back hard in the second term with 3.5 to edge ahead by four-points at the break.
Surfers Paradise put the foot down in emphatic fashion in the third term with four goals in attack and its defense held firm to reduce Labrador to 1.1 as it took a lead of 26-points heading into the last change.
Clint Watts fired up his Tigers in the final term and they responded with deadly accuracy in front of goal with a staggering 7.1 to almost pinch victory.
After starting the season with the Centrals Trinity Beach in Cairns; Josh Hall made the migration south in recent weeks for Surfers Paradise. He was the key up forward with four goals in a remarkable effort and was hard to match up on up forward with four of his team’s 10 marks inside 50.
Alby Jones, Harrison Fraser, Ben Woodburn and Marlin Corbett all gathered 22 disposals for the Demons. They led the inside 50 count 59 to 41 in one of the few areas they led statistically; which matters little when they took home the four points.
Matt Lee was outstanding for Labrador with 38 touches, four centre bounce clearances and six inside 50s; while Tom Simpson had a remarkable 37 touches with 19 contested possessions and five tackles. The team led the clearances 39 to 33 and dominated the hit-outs 46 to 24; with Darcy McEldrew having 42 on his own.
WILSTON GRANGE 16.18.114 defeated NOOSA 11.10.76
Wilston Grange made it back-to-back wins after its poor encounter against reigning premiers Aspley in Round 11 with an impressive 38-point win over Noosa at home.
The Gorillas sprinted out of the blocks in the opening term with some woeful kicking in front of goal (2.9) but still held a 20-point lead with their opponents unable to register a goal.
The Tigers responded in the second term; going goal-for-goal with their opponents; four goals each; as the lead closed to within 19-points at the main break.
Brent Moloney fired up his troops at half-time and the players responded as Wilston Grange kicked a staggering 7.3 in the third term to set up a match-winning 45-point lead.
Noosa finished strongly in the final term to put some respectability on the scoreboard with four goals to close the margin to 38-points at the final siren.
The Northern Tigers led the disposal count 342 to 334; tackle count 48 to 37; clearances 32 to 29 and hit-outs 55 to 28; while Wilston Grange led the inside 50 count 57 to 48, scoring on 60-percent of entries.
With the Gorillas going into the game without captain Baker; it was up to Jack Campbell to lead by example with 17 touches and seven marks. Brisbane Lions Academy star Jake Fazldeen was outstanding up forward with five goals from nine kicks in just his second game of Senior football; while Hugh Fidler was a force yet again with four goals alongside 22 touches.
Jai Fitzpatrick was at his typical best for Noosa with 28 touches, 13 contested possessions, seven clearances and four goals. Jesse Touhey was mesmerising with 40 touches including 34 kicks and four inside 50s; while Cal Crisp impressed in the ruck with 38 hit-outs.
MAROOCHYDORE 18.12.120 defeated MT GRAVATT 9.12.66
Maroochydore made it back-to-back wins for the first time this season as it accounted for Mt Gravatt by 54-points at home.
The Roos sprinted to a red-hot start and put down eight first quarter goals to lead by 38-points at the first break. They put on a further five goals in the second term to lead by 55-points at the main break.
The Vultures were determined to compete in the second half and lifted well defensively in the third term; and up forward in the final term with four goals as they won the second half 5.7 to 5.6.
Maroochydore was clinical with its inside 50 count; 59 to 31; but outmuscled with marks inside 50, which Mt Gravatt led 15 to 11. Both teams combined for an impressive 131 tackles (Mt Gravatt 75-56) and 100 hit-outs (Maroochydore 63 to 37).
Sam McLachlan kicked his second consecutive haul of five goals after pressing forward in recent weeks. He finished with 17 touches and six marks. Lachlan Robinson finished with a game-high 28 touches; seven inside 50s and a goal.
Dylan Smith and Jonah Licht combined with six goals between them with Licht havoing a game-high seven marks inside 50 and 10 marks overall.Bailey Tome and Brandon Stewart recorded 10 tackles each.
Maroochydore secured its fourth win of the season while Mt Gravatt have lost its past three matches; both now on equal points and two games out of the top six.
ASPLEY 11.19.85 defeated MORNINGSIDE 6.2.38
Aspley continued its undefeated start to the 2023 season and continued its premiership defense to near-perfection with a 53-point win over Morningside on the road.
Morningside impressed in the first term with three goals to take a nine-point lead into the first change and looked set to really push the reigning champs.
As has so often been the case in many matches this year; Aspley may start slow in the first term but its efforts in the middle quarters become match-winning efforts.
The Hornets slammed home 10 goals to one across the second and third quarters to turn a nine-point deficit into a 53-point three-quarter-time lead with a 62-point turn-around. Morningside added some respectability on the scoreboard in the final term with three goals and holding Aspley goal-less.
Aspley was well serviced up forward by Connor Stackleberg with four goals in an effort that included eight of his team’s 21 marks inside 50. Reece Toye impressed with 20 touches and eight inside 50s while debutant Mason O’Sullivan showed potential with a handful of touches and an equal-team-high three spoils in the backline.
Flynn O’Toole had his best performance in front of goal since Round 20 last year where he kicked three goals which is his equal best effort with Morningside at Senior level. Brisbane Lions VFL listed player Jackson Hille impressed with 28 touches while Brad Hodge was clinical in the ruck with 40 hit-outs.
Aspley recorded one of its best inside 50 counts for the season with 70 while Morningside had 30. Morningside led the tackle count 51 to 34 and the hit-outs 47 to 33 but were edged out in the clearances 29 to 46.
After kicking 10 goals or more in seven of its first nine games; Morningside hasn’t reached double figures in its past four matches. However, former Rugby player and recent AFL convert Shaq McLeod did kick six goals in the Reserves four-goal win and looks a likely inclusion up forward after the break to add some fire-power to go with his five goals in his previous three Senior matches.
REDLAND VICTORIA POINT 17.10.112 defeated SHERWOOD 8.6.54
In a battle between second and 12th; it was always going to be a challenge to witness a close outing; especially with the second placed Sharks in some ruthless mid-season form and the win-less Pies absolutely hammered by serious injuries.
The opening term was close with the Pies, without key defender Toara Marango; holding the Sharks to three goals.
The Sharks responded well in the second term with 6.3 to nothing to turn a 15-point lead into a 54-point lead at the main break. However; from that point on, the game was relatively even as the Sharks kicked 8.3 to 7.5 in the second half to run out 58-point winners.
This was a great fight from the under-manned Sherwood outfit that played with a lot more determination and unity following the loss to Maroochydore the previous week and a change to 30-percent of its line-up from that game. They recorded 40 inside 50s to 57 and won the clearance count 34 to 32; and the centre bounce clearances 11 to seven which is a major positive considering Redland Victoria Point has one of the best midfields in the competition.
Speaking of midfields; Caleb Franks was at his best with 45 touches in the midfield including 19 contested possessions; six clearances and seven inside 50s. Jack Rolls returned to the team and gathered 31 touches while Will Johnson embraced more midfield minutes with 32 touches. Matt Hammelmann kicked 8.1 from 12 kicks while Jarrod Huddy kicked four goals and gathered 36 hit-outs.
For Sherwood; Luke Mitchell and Round 13 Rising Star Owen Collins had 25 touches each. Mitchell enjoyed eight clearances and seven inside 50s. Connor Bulley kicked three goals and Will Fletcher slotted through two.
BROADBEACH 17.7.109 defeated PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN 8.10.58
While there was a major battle between the Cats and the Lions at Subaru Oval; there was another major battle happening at Fankheuser Reserve in the VFL at the exact same time.
Former Lion Will Bella and current Cat Riley Bowman were both going toe-to-toe in the ruck for Coburg and Southport respectively in the VFL, while both wearing the number 31. Bowman won the hit-out battle 23 to four and kicked a goal for Southport in the 40-point victory.
Additionally; Broadbeach and PBC’s very own Jake Rogers and Will Graham made their VFL debut for the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday. The pair who play for the Allies in the Under 18 National Championships linked up with Rogers setting up Graham for a goal on debut.
In the QAFL contest on Saturday; it was the Cats that proved too strong in the final term en-route to a 51-point victory. Very little separated the pair at three-quarter-time before the Cats unleashed in the fina term with 8.2 to 1.2 and run out impressive winners.
The opening quarter was tight with Broadbeach leading by just two-points at the first change on the back of four-straight goals. The lead extended to eight-points in the second term and to nine at three-quarter time after both sides kicked two goals each. Broadbeach got off the chain in the final term to win by a margin that didn’t reflect the overall feel of the game for more than 80 minutes of play.
Third-gamer and Gold Coast Academy product Taine Dawson was absolutely outstanding in the ruck for the Cats. With Riley Bowman making the most of his chances in the VFL; Dawson was outstanding in the ruck with 29 hit-outs in a stellar performance from the young star. Four players kicked two goals each with Jye Lockett returning from the VFL with two goals; nine marks; five inside 50s and two goals.
Chimobim Anyanwu made an impact in just his second QAFL game for PBC with a remarkable 40 hit-outs and four clearances. The fact that fans were able to see two new ruckman take centre stage and combine for almost 70 hit-outs between them was impressive.
Tommy Thynne had 34 touches and AJ Dawson gathered 33 for the Lions while late addition Ti Cuffe bobbed up with a goal.
LADDER
1 – ASPLEY (46 – 230.29%)
2 – RVP (40 – 166.66%)
3 – BROADBEACH (34 – 134.63%)
4 – WILSTON GRANGE (32 – 112.49%)
5 – SURFERS PARADISE (28 – 108.09%)
6 – PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN (24 – 84.09)
7 – Labrador (20 – 84.33%)
8 – Morningside (20 – 77.84)
9 – Maroochydore (16 – 99.90%)
10 – Mt Gravatt (16 – 85.73%)
11 – Noosa (12 – 73.11%)
12 – Sherwood (0 – 51.32%)
12 – Sherwood (0 – 51.32%)
