Western Magpies 16.11.107 defeated Wilston Grange 8.13.61

FULL RECAP HERE: https://aflq.com.au/live-145pm-western-magpies-vs-wilston-grange/

That’s a better rebound than LeBron James on the boards for Cleveland.

They had an off day last week, but the Western Magpies more than made up for it today with an impressive win over Wilston Grange.

Two teams, two a-grade midfields, everyone expected it to be a tight tussle early.

What we got was a shootout, end to end footy, that was tiring just watching it.

In tricky conditions early, Frazer Eaton opened the scoring for the Gorillas two minutes in.

From there, it was bloody hard to keep up.

Pope goaled on the run, before Richie kicked the Gorillas second.

That’s when the Magpies flexed their muscles. They kicked the next five of the game, including two to Workman, to open it right up.

At quarter time, the Magpies lead was 25-points.

Wilston Grange came to play in the second. All of a sudden it was the game we expected. It was tight, it was tough, and blokes were crashing in left right and center.

They went goal for goal for the most part, but a late Dickfos goal meant the Magpies extended their lead to 36-points at the main break.

Wilston Grange came out breathing fire in the third for the first part.

They kicked the first two of the quarter thanks to Perkins and Moir in quick succession, and had the ball locked in the forward half for over 5 minutes.

The Magpies weathered that storm, and then launched an attack of their own.

They got back on top in the middle, they were spreading better, and their foot skills were a class above the Gorillas. That was the difference.

At the final change, it was a 32-point ball game, and it was all but iced.

The last quarter was a bit of a procession, the sting was out of the game, and both teams had an eye on next week.

The Magpies won the quarter four goals to one, to run out 46-point winners.

Carseldine was excellent through the middle today, and Workman grabbed his opportunity up forward with both hands, aided by solid performances by Dockfos and Thompson

The Gorillas were missing some key players such as Williams, Brittain, and Waters, but struggled a bit regardless.

The best bit about this game, was we get to see it all over again in a few weeks.

Advantage Magpies.

Coach’s thoughts
Glenn Humphrey – Western Magpies

“In all honestly, I don’t get the game today. It was completely different to how I thought it was going to be, but we were happy we were able to get the ball on the outside and I thought we used the ball a bit better than them.

“When we did get it on the outside, we linked up a bit better, but it was hard work, and the boys worked their way through it.

“Watching the way they switch the ball, and get over to the open side, we made a conscious effort to stop them being able to do that and move the ball through our numbers.”

Matt Trewhella – Wilston Grange

“We played into their hands. They were smashing us on ball and spreading really well. Their backmen were just lining up and our forwards didn’t roll up so they were dictating the game.

“We were losing the contest with all our better on ballers on the ball, so I thought maybe if we can get them outside the contest and let them run onto us nullifying the contest with some guys behind it, but it worked for about five minutes and that was about it.

“Our skills were really bad and they played some really good footy. Their skill level was high, they isolated the defenders really well, they just ran a lot harder than us.

“Losing three keys hurts, but the guys who came in didn’t lose that.
             
“The good thing is that Glenn has seen us at our worst, they played well, we didn’t, I just can’t wait to get another crack at them in two weeks.”

Broadbeach 12.10.82 defeated Labrador 7.15.57

It’s happened. After 11 wins on the trot, Broadbeach has done what no other team has been able to this year; beat Labrador.

They had it all to play for yesterday. Their season was in the balance, but like a trusty postman, they came out and delivered.

They made their intentions clear from the opening bounce.

Goals to Searl, Royes, Upton and Mcconnochie immediately put the Tigers on the back foot.

Perry-Bolt kicked a settler for Labrador, but Upton immediately responded.

The Cats were up and about early. At quarter time, they held a 19-point lead.

Broadbeach were winning the contested footy, their defense wasn’t giving up any cheap ones, and their forwards were making the most of every forward 50 entry.

Labrador on the other hand once again struggled to find their radar.

At half time, they had kicked 3.11 to the Cats 6.1. That was the difference.

Despite the Tigers playing their worst footy of the year, and Broadbeach playing their best, somehow, Labrador hit the front in the third.

Broadbeach could have dropped their heads, they could have rolled over thinking, okay, we had a crack, it was commendable and now they will kick away, but they didn’t.

They put their heads over the footy, they ran for each other, they got the ball out wide, and their kids did the rest.

At three quarter time, the margin was six-points in favour of the Cats, but it was still there for the taking for the Tigers.

Just when you thought Broadbeach had thrown everything at them, they found another gear.

They looked fresher, they ran harder, and they had more to play for.

They kicked four last quarter goals to one, to run out 25-point winners, and beat the streak.

Well done, Cats.

Coach’s thoughts
Brett Andrews – Broadbeach

“I’m just happy for the group because we are back in the finals race.

“Obviously Labrador were a bit light, but we played well today, really well.

“The backline was outstanding today, they just never turned it up.

“Out stoppages are good, and we didn’t let them get it on the outside, the juniors that we played were great all day.

“We needed a scalp, we set ourselves for this game, to be honest I think the group was still dirty about that Palm Beach loss, their mindset has been a lot different since then. Today they were disciplined and relentless.”

Steve Daniel – Labrador

“Two teams rocked up, and only one wanted to win the game. We were beaten in all aspects of football yesterday.

“We were just very ordinary, Broadbeach made their intentions clear right from the word go, they hunted the footy, and most importantly, they wanted to win a lot more than what we did.

“Credit to them, they were terrific right from the outset. We are really disappointed with our performance yesterday. Nearly all of the 22 put their hands up and said their performance yesterday was unacceptable.”

Morningisde 30.22.202 defeated Sandgate 6.12.48

Morningside are back.

They were a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket over the last month or so, but yesterday was a line in the sand moment for their season.

David Lake spoke in the Friday Forecast (LINK) about getting their phase two run back this week. The boys didn’t let him down.

From the opening bounce they ran in waves, linked up from the backline, and put it on the scoreboard.

They kicked the first six goals of the game before Gribble opened Sandgate’s account for the afternoon.

It was the usual suspects who were driving the revival. Kinch, Nash, Spackman, Brown, Mazoletti, but it needed to be them. These are the guys who need to play well if Morningside want to go back to back.

An injury ravaged Sandgate were just no match for Morningside yesterday. The Panthers extended their lead at every break.

At quarter time it was 39-points, by half time it was 87, at the last change it was 127, and when the final siren rang, Morningside were up by 154-points.

The barometer for Morningside this year is their spread of goal kickers, so it was no surprise to see 15 of them yesterday.

Dalton playing in the middle also made a huge difference. I think he has found a home in there.

This is the begging of the rest of the year for Morningside, they have their mojo back.

Coach’s thoughts:
David Lake – Morningside

“They had fun today, and they played.

“There was second phase, third phase and forth phase, and we defended as hard as we attacked.

“We were more able to create scoring shots all day, which was the difference.

“We shuffled things a bit to be honest, we started to analyse what we needed where.

“That is the first time we have ticked all four boxes this year.”

Grahame Adams – Sandgate

“We were smashed off the paddock today by Morningside, they were just too good.

“We had lots of injuries, I know it’s no excuse, but they played outstanding footy today.

“It was a really good learning process for our young side, to see how a really good side operates, and it’s probably one of the only times all year we have been blown off the paddock.

“The sooner we forget about this and move on to next week the better I think.”

Surfers Paradise 10.9.69 defeated by Mt Gravatt 15.13.103

Big ground, young legs, and pace, it was the winning recipe for Mt Gravatt yesterday.

The Vultures outside game was too strong in the end for Surfers, who had a crack all day, but just couldn’t make any ground.

Harris Newton, who played out of his skin in the forward line all day kicked the opener of the game, but a couple of quick ones to Nash and then one to Estall gave the Vultures a 15-point quarter time lead.

The game opened right up in the second. There were 12 goals kicked in total, but it was Surfers who were on top.

O’Hare kicked on early, but Mt Gravatt found the instant reply through the skipper Neate.

In seven minutes of football, Surfers were able to even up the contest with four unanswered goals. That was the difference in the quarter.

At half time, Mt Gravatt’s lead was cut to three-points.

Last week, Mt Gravatt played a half of really good footy, but fell away a bit after the break. This week, they needed to bring that first half intensity straight out of the sheds.

That they did.

Goals to Crawley, Green and Nash in the first half of the third quarter gave them a nice little buffer, one that would remain for the rest of the game.

At the final change, the margin was 23-points, but they certainly weren’t home just yet.

That was until Johnson and Neate goaled early in the forth. It was now iced.

Todd Carbone was outstanding all day for the Vultures, as was Cam Ross in his return game.

Mitch Hart had the job on dangers Demon’s forward Trent McIntyre, and won that battle.

Mt Gravatt ran out eventual 34-point winners, a nice reward for effort over the last month.

Coach’s thoughts:
Peter Young – Surfers Paradise

“They were good, full credit to them.

“Their run was really good from behind, and they set up well behind the football.

“Our ball use let us down. We turned it over and made poor decisions, which we have been doing all year, it’s nothing new.

“They just keep having a crack, but with the amount of numbers we have out at the moment it’s tough. You just keep relying on the same blokes to do the same workload all the time. I can’t fault their effort, we just need some polish.

“It just shows you that, you think you are a chance but really you are a long way off.”

Brad Pollock – Mt Gravatt

“We had four quarters of good solid footy today and that was the difference. They kept coming at us, which was good, but we had that little edge all day.

“On that ground, our run and spread was just ahead of them. We ran it really well from our back half was good, and we linked up with the midfield well, the transition was good.

“We are realistic, we know we aren’t going to make finals, but we have six weeks to go, we are playing some good footy, and the kids are up and about. It’s a nice role home, and they will get to challenge themselves in the back half of the year.”

UQ 7.9.51 defeated by Palm Beach Currumbin 19.20.134

For the first time this year, Palm Beach put the foot to the throat and blew a game open.

Their win over UQ not only puts them in control of their own destiny with that fifth spot on the ladder, but gave them an all important percentage boost.

They started the game with a clear directive. Play on at all costs.

For the first 15 minutes, the game was frantic. The Lions were on their bikes, and UQ were struggling to contain them.

In that period, Palm Beach kicked five unanswered goals, including three to Stubbs, which set the tone for the day.

Crameri kicked the Red Lions first at the 23-minute mark, but Stubbs responded straight back with another two. Five in a quarter to the youngster!

The second quarter was a much more even contest. UQ started to get their run from half back going, and really looked dangerous going forward.

Harry Milford, who has had an outstanding season to date for a 17-year-old, was giving effort after effort after effort. The kid wears his heart on his sleeve.

Both teams kicked three for the quarter, and it was a 39-point ball game at the long break.

Palm Beach, under the guide of assistant coach Tim Deacon, has implemented a new forward line structure in recent weeks. The second half is when it all clicked.

The third was all Lions. Stubbs kicked his sixth to get the ball rolling, and they never looked back.

Todd Bryant could have written his name on the footy and the end of the day and claimed it as his own, he had that much of it.

Brookes, on debut, kicked three for the quarter, to blow the margin out to 81-points at the last break, and it was job done.

UQ didn’t throw in the white towel, fighting it out until the end, but they were outclassed yesterday.

Palm Beach ended up 83-point winners, and continued to tick the boxes towards a finals berth.

Coach’s thoughts:
Darren Pfeiffer – UQ

“I think our players know what the football looks like, because we were caught ball watching all day, and I’m not sure we know what our opposition look like.

“We just did all the fundamentals wrong today, which was disappointing.

“We struggled to hold it inside our forward 50 again, so when they do play on, if we are not up in their face manning the mark properly and we are not switched on getting to a man, they are going to cut through us.

“We have got a minimum of ten first grade players at the moment, and we have had ten changes in the last couple of weeks, none through dropping blokes, which isn’t allowing us to take the next step at the moment unfortunately.”

Chad Owens – Palm Beach Currumbin

“We wanted to put the pressure on them straight away and we were able to do that.

“We let them in for one goal, but we spoke about the fact that we have had sides down before this year, and we haven’t gone in for the kill, and we did today.

“We just had most blokes put their hand up and play their roles today.

“After the game we had a chat, and said we can control what our club can control, we don’t go making predictions about what other clubs can do.

“We crunched a few numbers of our own, and we are just trying to work out what one game we are expected to win for the rest of the year, so we are still trying to work out which the one is.”

By Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles