Palm Beach Currumbin 13.12.90 defeated UQ 1.9.51
It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty, but Palm Beach grinded out a win against a gallant UQ yesterday.
The Red Lions came out with a point to prove early, kicking the first two of the game to be on top early.
Palm Beach composed themselves mid way through the first and started to get the game on their terms, kicking the last three of the quarter to go into the first change four-points up.
The second quarter was when they stamped their authority on the game.
They controlled the footy, won it out of the middle, and booted four goals to nothing to be five goals up at the main break.
Palm Beach were two rotations down at the change, meaning legs could be an issue late in the game.
Two goals to Nathan Carr and one to Kyle Emery by the 20-minute mark of the third meant Palm Beach had ten on the trot.
To UQ’s credit, they didn’t throw in the towel.
Goals to Milford and Dolphin late in the third kept them within 38 at the last change.
As was the case all game, UQ came out from the break the better, they brought themselves back within 26 early in the last, and looked to have to momentum.
Palm Beach were without a bench in the last, but fought it out resiliently, kicking the last two of the game to win by 39-points.
Tom Thynne was the pick of the Palm Beach players in a best on ground performance.
Coach’s thoughts
Chad Owens – Palm Beach
“It was an escape really, we were happy with that.
“We didn’t actually hurt them on the scoreboard in the second quarter, we hurt them everywhere else around the ground, but didn’t take our chances.
“Going into half time I thought we would have had a bigger lead, with how the second quarter played out but we didn’t get enough score.
“It wasn’t one for the ages, but they boys played well.”
Darren Pfeiffer – UQ
“I thought we obviously responded from last weekend but the second quarter let us down.
“Really happy with the way we came out and got on top of the opposition early, but we just didn’t maintain.
“I felt like we were a real big chance to win that game today, unfortunately we couldn’t maintain it.
Mt Gravatt 12.17.89 defeated by Surfers Paradise 17.14.116
When young players get a roll on they are hard to stop, and once Surfers Paradise got going today, it was full steam ahead.
Mt Gravatt have been slow out of the blocks the last two weeks. Not today.
Their pressure through the middle of the ground meant that the Demons were under the pump every single possession.
It was blokes like Andrew Scott and Frazer Neate who kick started it.
They were dangerous when they went forward as well, kicking four goals to nil in the opening quarter to lead at the first change by 25.
Surfers had to respond in the second quarter, and they did.
They started to win the ball through the middle. The Mt Gravatt pressure that bothered them so much in first wasn’t there in the second.
McIntyre started to put his stamp on the game up forward, kicking two for the quarter, as did Noa Corbett.
The Demons held Mt Gravatt goalless in the second to go into the sheds seven points up.
The third quarter was an absolute shootout. The game opened wide up and both teams started to get the ball zipping around.
It was the Demons’ who moved it better though. Cassidy Haberfield was immense in the middle, and McIntyre was unstoppable up forward kicking another three.
The Demons headed into the final break with a 25-point advantage.
If the Vultures were going to come back in the game, they had to kick a few early.
Alteyeb Mohammed kicked the first for Mt Gravatt, and Rhys Estall nearly single handedly kept them in it, but the Demons were too good.
They did what they had to do in the last, running out 27-point winners, and getting on the board in 2015.
Coach’s thoughts
Brad Pollock – Mt Gravatt
“The first quarter was terrific because that’s something we have been struggling for a while, but the last three weren’t great for us.
“To be honest we just aren’t gelling at the minute as a group, and when things don’t go right we are making a lot of mistakes.
“We have got eight guys under 20 playing today, it’s a young group and it isn’t the group that played finals last year.
“We have just got to really strip it back and go back to basics and move forward.”
Peter Young – Surfers Paradise
“We just thought that we were playing pretty poorly (in the first quarter) but we were still in the game.
“We weren’t playing the way we wanted to play. We threw a couple of things around and it clicked.
“It was quick ball movement, getting it in the forward line quickly.
“We had no real rotations so that made it tougher but the boys showed real character.
“Now they believe that if they play that style of footy they will be alright no matter who they play.”
By Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles
