By Beth Newman
1. Promoted Panthers proving themselves
Morningside will have plenty of selection headaches this weekend. With Dustin Gordon, who came in for Jamie Hackett a fortnight ago, performing brilliantly, Panthers coach, David Lake has already signalled some position reshuffles. With Adam Spackman, Hackett, Bill Pendlebury and Nick Tomlinson all coming into the side, there will be three guys who will miss out this week. It’s a good problem to have, but it’s not an easy one to solve.
2. Rocky flight for Hawks
With a young side, coping with a number of changes every week, Sandgate must rely on grit and character to get it results. When they do it well, they push the best sides, as they showed against Morningside. When they don’t, they get a result like last weekend against Labrador. When it’s just about youth, it’s probably forgivable, but there’s indications it’s in their attitude and they need to turn up every week to gain respect and continue to improve.
3. Bags aplenty
There were some big scores kicked on the weekend, and a bag in almost every match. Bryce Perry-bolt had 11 and could have kicked 15, while Mt Gravatt’s Brenton Saunders (eight) and Morningside’s Dustin Gordon (four) also had their fair share. It wasn’t just winning teams either, with Surfers’ Trent McIntyre and the Western Magpies’ Jordan Bain bagging five.
4. Experienced heads keep their cool
The value of even one or two experienced players can make an insurmountable difference to a side. Just ask Mt Gravatt, who on Saturday had Will Hamill and Sean Yoshiura back. Those two alone were among the best in a big win, providing direction and poise to the Vultures’ play.
5. Spine gives Surfers belief
Surfers Paradise is finally starting to look a bit more like the side they could be. A win against UQ, and three quarters of quality football against Broadbeach, which coach Beau Zorko described as his side’s best passages in 12 months, over the last two weeks have breathed life into the side. They are very outside chances of finals, but if they continue their improvement, they could snag some upsets later in the year.
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