QAFL Round 7 Preview

Posted on Friday, 2nd June, 2017

Match of the Round

Mt Gravatt vs. Wilston Grange. Live blog: https://aflq.com.au/mt-gravatt-vs-wilston-grange/

The sky lounge

Agile Palm Beach midfielder Tyler Cornish is flying at the moment and caused some headaches against the Gorillas. Expect Cornish to be a key component of the Palm Beach midfield engine again this week, when the Lions go up against Surfers Paradise.

Surfers are coming off a gallant loss to the Magpies in Toowoomba, in which the Demons looked like a completely different team in the second half. Now playing the second on the table Lions, they’ll want to pick up where they left off.

The danger zone

Morningside should be fresh this week after having the bye and some time to get their house in order. They meet the bottom placed Hawks, who are a chance despite their challenging start to the season.

It’s been said again and again, that any team is capable on a good day this season, so the Panthers wouldn’t want to enter this came with a blasé attitude and think it’s all just going to happen.

The Panthers defense conceded the most points in a QAFL game so far this season when they played Broadbeach in round five, so this week against Sandgate is a good opportunity to get their structures right.

The Hawks have had a rough start and been impacted by injury, but they’ve shown they can compete at the QAFL level in patches. Despite a big loss to the reigning premiers last week, the Hawks managed to keep them goalless for the first 25 minutes of the game. Still, Sandgate will need to be at their absolute best to cause an upset on Saturday against Morningside.

Under the microscope

For last week’s clash with Mt Gravatt, Broadbeach introduced Harrison Kerr back into the lineup for the first time since round two and boy did he deliver. Kerr kicked five goals for the game and provided a target in the absence of Baxter and Brewer.

The question becomes whether or not the forward can continue his form, into this week’s game against the Western Magpies.

The Cats are the talk of the competition at the moment and are on a blistering run, while the Magpies remain a bit of an enigma.

The Magpies first half against Surfers Paradise was just about as dominant as you’re going to see in the QAFL, they hit target after target, their run was amazing and their pressure was first rate.

They’re second half was the polar opposite unfortunately and they’ll need better to beat Broadbeach.

Collision course

Mt Gravatt has been building nicely and they’re now presented with the perfect challenge at home against Wilston Grange. The Vultures were highly competitive against the Cats and could quite easily have walked away with a win last week.

While Wilston Grange got on top of the Demons in round five, they found the going tough against Palm Beach last week. The Gorillas now sit with a 3-3 ledger, which is an accurate reading of their season so far.

The Vultures need to stop the Gorillas at the source if they’re going to get away with a win. Mt Gravatt midfielders Zac Stone, Jesse Green and Frazer Neate will need to closely guard the likes of Gorillas ball winners Brent Moloney and Mark Desousa.

Way back when

Last time the Lions took on the Demons, it was Surfers Paradise that came out on top. The D’s won the game 110 to 82 in round 13.

Morningside will remember their last game against the Hawks, who threw a spanner in the works of their finals plans in round 18. The Hawks ended up on top 95 to 72.

The Western Magpies were victors in their last game against the Cats, 117 to 68 in round 15 last year.

The Vultures and Gorillas know how to put on a thriller. The two teams played out a draw in round 18 that had fans on the edge of their seats; the end score was 76 to 76.