Wilston Grange 15.13.103 defeated Morningside 11.13.79
Before we could throw them into premiership calculations, Wilston Grange needed to knock off a team above them.
Now that they have, 2015 just became a four-way race.
David Lake summed up the game perfectly when he said “If it was transition footy we were on top, if it was stoppage work, they were on top.”
Whoever had the style of play on their terms was dominating the contest. Luckily for the Gorillas, they did it when it counted the most.
Lenny Christie, a 17-year-old kid making his senior debut for the Gorillas, kicked the first goal of the afternoon.
For the record, he finished with five goals. Some first game.
It was a tight contest early, and at quarter time Morningside were up by four-points.
The game opened up a bit in the second, but neither team could really be split.
Wilston Grange’s goals were manufactured from slower play, whereas Morningside were getting them on the run through their renowned link up work.
Faure kicked three for the quarter for the Panthers, but Morningside trailed by one-point at the long break.
Morningside’s third quarter was probably the best 30 minutes of footy they have strung together in a month.
They ran in numbers, the ball movement was swift, and they put it on the scoreboard.
At three quarter time, with an 18-point lead, the momentum was all red white and black, as they looked set to run away with it.
Enter the big three. Brittain, Proud, and Kuret.
They went into the middle with immediate effect. They Gorillas turned it on, and all of a sudden, they were four goals up.
You could have put the sprinklers on at the Panthers attacking end. It was one-way traffic.
The Gorillas blocked any outlet Morningside used in the third, and trapped the ball inside the pack.
Wilston Grange ran out 24-point winners, and have just made this year that little bit more intriguing.
Coach’s thoughts:
Matt Trewhella – Wilston Grange
“That was a terrific win, there’s heaps of people here, and it was just a really good day from the club.
“We just got caught out a few times around the stoppages and they were able to kick three goals from transition. We stopped them all day from having that phase two run and carry because of our structures.
“I thought it was a pretty good midfield contest, but we were able to cover their outlets. They weren’t able to spread and run and carry.
“We stopped them running away from us, and let them run towards us.
David Lake – Morningside
“We were 20 points up at three quarter time and played the best quarter of footy that we have in a long time.
“The momentum we had in the third quarter, they had in the last.
“Their transitions were okay, but it was their stoppage work that was dominant. They are the best midfield in the competition; we couldn’t stop them out of the middle.
“They are clearly the best stoppage team in the competition so we need to improve there if we want to beat them.”
Mt Gravatt 17.7.109 defeated by Broadbeach 19.12.126
The message to the Cats at half time was pretty clear. This is your season.
What happened next keeps the door ajar for a tilt at that fifth spot on the ladder come September.
Matt Dillon kicked the opener for the Cats, but it was all Vultures for the majority of the first quarter.
Broadbeach had a few costly turnovers early, and Mt Gravatt was really making them pay.
At quarter time, the Vultures were up by 11-points.
It was a similar story in the second. Mt Gravatt was up in the midfield, and putting it on the scoreboard, helped by Estall kicking three for the quarter.
Broadbeach were also struggling to capitalise on their forward 50 entries, with a couple of goals gone begging that would have evened up the contest.
Carbone was keeping the stats man busy with his influence on the contest, and at half time The Vultures held a 26-point advantage.
Rhys Estall’s fourth, and opening goal of the second half extended Mt Gravatt’s lead to 32-points, and it looked a long way back for the Cats.
To their credit, they didn’t throw in the white towel, they recognised the stakes, and they stepped up.
They kicked the last five goals of the third quarter to hit the lead for the fist time since early on in the first quarter.
The margin at the final change was just two-points, and it was anyone’s ball game.
Unfortunately for the Vultures, McConnochie was leaving nothing to chance. He kicked two of the Cats first three goals of the last, to put the game out of reach.
The Vultures hung around late, but in the end, were defeated by 17-points.
The Cats are still in the hunt.
Coach’s thoughts:
Brad Pollock – Mt Gravatt
“Credit to Broadbeach, their older and more experienced guys got them over the line in the end.
“There were a lot of positives to take from the game, and it was a big learning curve.
“When things aren’t going your way, it’s about learning to compose, settle down, and not let the opposition get the advantage out of it.
“We have just got to get better at that.”
Brett Andrews – Broadbeach
“We missed a lot of easy ones, we halved our mistakes but I still think we kicked five or six to the opposition.
“The on-ballers really stood up today. I said at half time your whole season is on the line right here right now, and to their credit they responded.
“For a quarter and a half they were really giving it to us, but our ability to score fast is quite pleasing, it’s just having to do it all the time is the bit that annoys me.”
Palm Beach Currumbin 16.17.112 defeated Sandgate 12.8.80
Good, hard, tough football. That’s what fans were treated to at Salk Oval yesterday, and it was Palm Beach who was better for longer.
It was pretty even in the first. The Lions were trying to get the ball out wide so they could get their skates on, and the Hawks were trying to play it much more direct from post to post.
They went practically goal for goal all quarter, with Jesse Derrick’s first of the afternoon for the Lions the only difference at the first break.
17-year-old Sam Stubbs booted the first of the second quarter, which was his third, to give the Lions the upper hand in the game.
Palm Beach’s outside game has become a real focus over the last month, and yesterday, all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.
Josh Wooley was immense for the Lions in the middle, as he has been for most of the year, and Ben Beaven showed again why he is the type of player clubs are built around.
At half time, the Lions were 15-points ahead, but Sandgate were refusing to go away.
Palm Beach came out firing in the third. They kicked the first three of the quarter for a game high 36-point advantage.
By far the battle to watch was Emblem on Aden Rutledge. They didn’t give each other an inch, it was tiring to watch, but it was good football.
At three quarter time, the Lions had skipped away to a 30-point lead, and it was nearly curtains.
Sandgate hung in there until the final siren, but the class of players like Bryant, Thynne and Derrick were just too much in the end.
Palm Beach was the eventual 33-point winner, and have moved one step closer to their September aspirations.
Coach’s thoughts:
Chad Owens – Palm Beach
“It was a good game of footy. We knew they were going to be physical, and they have some unreal young players, so they are definitely on the right path.
“We tried to get them on the outside, which I thought we did really well, and it’s something our assistant coach John Charles has been really big on in the last month.
“They are really starting to understand that now. We are starting to generate a lot more avenues to goals as well which is nice.”
“It always felt like we were going to break the game open, we just couldn’t quite convert.”
Graham Adams – Sandgate
“Yet again we were very competitive without winning, but the frustrating part now is that we are in games for a long time but we just can’t win them.
“We actually kicked more goals than we normally do which was a goal of ours, and we achieved that which is positive. It was probably just their forward line was a little bit more potent than ours and they outplayed our back line.
“Again, we competed all day, and when you play these teams on the Gold Coast it’s always going to be tough. But we hung in, but just couldn’t get over the line.”
UQ 9.16.70 defeated by Surfers Paradise 11.5.71
One things for certain, these two teams know how to put on a show when they play each other.
Two games this year, two one-point thrillers, one all on the ledger.
It wasn’t the most attractive game of football you will see, it was pretty low scoring as well, but the effort was there all day.
There were only the three goals kicked in the first quarter, but UQ were peppering.
They were getting numbers around the footy and controlling the tempo but just couldn’t get reward for effort on the scoreboard.
They kicked 1.4 to Surfers 2.0 to trail by two-points at the first change.
The second quarter was when Surfers really found their feet.
Brody Haberfield was clunking everything that came near him down back, and Daniel Green was becoming a factor up forward.
They extended their lead to 17-points at the main break.
UQ’s inaccuracy woes didn’t disappear in the second half, but Surfers weren’t able to put them away to the extent they would have liked.
The three quarter time margin was out to 27-points, but the scoreboard wasn’t a reflection of the contest.
When Tebbutt, Doherty and Crameri all goaled for UQ, out of nowhere it was a two-point game again, and just like round 2, we were set for a grandstand finish.
Harrison Fraser steadied for the Demons, making it nine points the difference, but when Harry Marshall goaled in the 24th minute, you could cut the tension with a knife.
The ball went from end to end for the next five minutes, with neither team being able to land the killer blow.
When the siren sounded, the Demons were one single point ahead. What a game.
Coach’s thoughts:
Darren Pfeiffer – UQ
“It’s hard when you feel like you were on top, and you lose when you think you were a real chance. It’s an unfortunate result but the effort was there.
“We just couldn’t put scoreboard pressure on early. That has sort of been our issue all year, not being able to get the goals on the board.
“We shut down their ball movement well, we covered their outlets, and we stuck our tackles this week.
“Surfers were good, and they took their opportunities when they had them.”
Peter Young – Surfers Paradise
“We turned it over a bit, and on the small, narrow ground that never helps.
“It was an ugly game, and you have got to win ugly, but it almost feels as if we lost today.
“Our defense was good today, they forced UQ into taking difficult shots.
“Instead of going long, we went short and turned the ball over.
“Today’s win is one game we have got back. We have lost some close games, so it was good to hold on and win.”
Labrador 20.13.133 defeated Western Magpies 6.7.43
Hear that? That’s Labrador reminding everyone that they are still number one.
Their comprehensive win over the Magpies today was as good as it gets for three of the four quarters.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Magpies chances during the week, and the first quarter showed why.
Young gun Sam Copland kicked the first of the game within four minutes, before Fraser had the instant reply with his first of 10. Yes, 10.
The Magpies were on top at the stoppages, and were spreading the better, which gave them a 17-point advantage at quarter time.
Labrador coach Steve Daniel poked the bear at quarter time, and the bear came out for blood.
Baxter and Fraser had two each for the Tigers in a five goal to one quarter, and in a blink, they were back to their best.
Clarke was running riot across half forward and in the middle, and the stoppage advantage was reversed.
At the main break, Labrador was 12-points up.
The second half was all one-way traffic. Labrador kicked 14-goals and held the Magpies to one.
They controlled the football, were up in the contested stats, and were able to get the pill on the outside and drive the ball in deep.
It was as comprehensive of a half as you could imagine.
Their lead at the final change was out to 38-points, and the game looked iced.
Labrador kept the foot on the throat in the last, eventually running out 90-point winners, and sending a warning to the rest of the competition.
Coach’s thoughts:
Steve Daniel – Labrador
“The boys are ticking along quite nicely at the moment.
“They were quite good early, and we had to challenge to respond to a team having a fair dinkum crack, and from there we didn’t look back.
“It was a mindset thing. A few boys got a few home truths at quarter time.
“We were very good at the contested footy, we like a hard and tough game, and that’s what the Magpies gave us, so we were happy to play that game. Structurally we were pretty good.
“At the end of the day when you are playing the third team and you win by 90-points and you’ve still got five of your best players out it’s pretty exciting.”
Glenn Humphrey – Western Magpies
“We lost control at the stoppages after quarter time, and once they get it on the outside and get running they are pretty hard to shut down.
“In the first quarter we just controlled the stoppages and controlled the football, if we have the control of the football they can’t use it and they can’t get out and run and spread. We did that well early but we went off the boil after that.
“We have just got to learn to sustain it for a lot longer periods, that’s all.”
By Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles
