1. Red Lions still have fire
Teams with nothing to lose can pose the biggest danger as finals near. UQ picked up its second win this season, over the Magpies, and it was because they showed more desire. They have been well out of the finals race for a while but that showed there’s still plenty of motivation down at Oval 7. It won’t be easy, though, with two top five sides (Labrador and Morningside) in their last three games.
2. Upset for shake up
No team in the jostle for fifth spot could clinch an upset on the weekend and it leaves us in the same positions as we have been for a while. Mt Gravatt sits fifth, Surfers on their heels and Grange an unlikely, but mathematically possible, prospect of sneaking in. One of these teams needs to take the spot by the scruff and win against a top side in the last three weeks. They’re going to have to do it if they make finals, so it makes sense to pull one off before it’s a knock out match. If they don’t, it’s a zero sum game
3. Rocks of Gibraltar at Cooke-Murphy Oval
Labrador has had some tough matches this season but their defence has been super. They are the second-stingiest back six in the league, having conceded only 34 points more than ladder-leading Morningside. Their defence continued that form against Surfers Paradise restricting their regular goal kickers and forcing them to look to different avenues for goal. In an injury-ravaged side ,their defence has been the least affected and as they continue to build, they will become only more formidable.
4. Haley is a handful
Taylor Haley took the lead in the season goal kicking tally, with his bag of six against Sandgate. The match brings his tally to 51, just one ahead of Morningside’s Kent Abey. Haley has been the Cats’ focal point in attack this year. Playing every game this season, Haley has not once been held goalless.
5. Panthers’ job part done
Morningside will be basically impossible to knock off the top spot on the QAFL ladder. Three games and 80 per cent clear of second spot, it’d be a foolish punter who would back anyone else for the minor premiership. Surely now their focus lifts a touch, to finals. It’s about ticking the boxes for them now, making sure they have their best team ready to go for the games that will truly matter.
