Results
Morningside 11.18.84 def Wilston Grange 8.8.56
Surfers Paradise 12.11.83 def Broadbeach 9.16.70
Labrador 15.13.103 def Palm Beach Currumbin 8.7.55
Western Magpies 20.20.140 def Sandgate 10.8.68
The tide rises . . .
It was a momentous victory for the Demons on Saturday, against a heavily favorited Broadbeach outfit. The older, experienced bodies of Broadbeach maintained a physical advantage and hold third place on the ladder for a reason . . . their form has been superb. But Surfers, despite being undersized, had something in spades that troubled the Cats, namely an abundance of speed.
The signs were there against Sandgate the week before, the Demons moving the footy out of their back half with kamikaze pace and slick ball movement. It’s a real credit to Surfers, that they managed to translate their effort against Sandgate into the game against a much tougher opposition in Broadbeach.
While Brody Haberfield held the fort down back, the Demons showed they were happy to have Danny Green back, feeding him with every opportunity when they went forward. The Demons spearhead responded, kicking six valuable goals. Kain Ford was impressive when he had the footy and kicked an amazing clutch goal right at the end of the game, helping the Demons run out 13 point winners.
For Broadbeach, Luke Dempsey-Ceh was dominant in the ruck, but also contributed around the ground, taking some important marks and linking up through the middle.
Tiger train still rollin
The stage was set for a top of the table clash and both the Tigers and Lions delivered in the first half, playing tough, fast and physical footy. There was no love lost between these two sides, and Lions were right in the contest at half time, getting onlookers thinking this might be the occasion that someone would challenge the Tigers.
Midway through the third quarter, the familiar signs of the classic Tigers momentum shift started to show up. The main manifestation of this was Bryce Retzlaff, well held up until this point by Emblem and McNeven, who started to consistently clunk marks on the lead. It’s always a bad sign for the opposition, when Retzlaff is getting hands on the pill, because he has a radar-like set shot and puts it to good use. The Tigers tall target ended up with five snags for the day.
By the start of the last quarter, it was evident the Tiger train was going to keep on rolling, as they came out swinging, kicking two goals in the first couple of minutes. Dane Watmuff won best afield honours for his efforts down back, while experienced campaigner Wayde Mills did what he does best, intercepting and rebounding all day long. Labrador kept the pressure on till the final gong, winning the contest by 48 points.
Palm Beach’s Jason Burge had some fantastic moments and worked, but wasn’t as exceptional as he can be, in his place however, Tyler Cornish played some great footy and showed real polish at times. Josh Woolley played as a permanent forward and provided a leading target, but it appeared he was in the role more out of necessity, as he can be much more damaging further up the ground.
Standing tall
As the Panthers strung together their second win in a row against the Gorillas, it was a case of the Morningside leaders fitting comfortably in their roles and showing the way. Co-captains Matt Logan and 200 gamer Nathan Kinch, combined to cause some real headaches for the Gorillas’ runners and Kent Abbey, finding form after a long layoff, troubled the defenders with three goals.
“We’ve had consistent effort, but now we’re starting to combine well,” said Morningside coach Steve Wildschut, pleased with the efforts of his leaders.
It wasn’t just the ‘old heads’ getting the job done though, with some of the young guns following their example and taking the game on. Defenders Matthew Serrurier and Campbell Wearne delivered the ball well out of the back half and continue to show exciting signs this season. These two just keep getting better as season 2017 goes on.
Gorilla Matt Trewhella was a standout and made the most of his opportunities on the day, kicking five goals against the flow of play. The Panthers took out the contest though, winning 84 to 56.
Magpie army
Youngster Riley Easton ended up with three goals and fellow young gun Aaron Maricic kicked four, but it was the spread of goal kickers that was impressive as the Magpies ran rampant over the Hawks.
Eleven goal kickers and six of them with multiple goals, tells the tale of a footy side functioning well and sharing the load. Gareth Crawford displayed plenty of grit, getting plenty of contested footy and distributing it to the Magpies runners. The high jumping Val Pope and tall tower Liam Dwyer worked well in the absence of Jakob De Winter, providing the long option and hitting the scoreboard when required.
The Magpies were too strong all day and the scoreboard reflected it, the boys from the West walking off the field having put on a staggering 40 scoring shots.
Josh Patching and Ben McElligot battled away manfully against the dominant Magpies for the Hawks, but were often outgunned by their opposition and the Hawks ended up going down by 72 points.
By Sean Melrose
Follow @seanmelrose
