MATCH OF THE ROUND
YERONGA 5.4.34 DEFEATED BY COORPAROO 10.6.66
Coorparoo have taken advantage of a slow start from Yeronga on Saturday to run out 32-point winners and extend their winning streak to eight games.
It only takes a momentary lapse for the game to slip away against a side like Coorparoo, and unfortunately for the Devils, a flat first quarter came back to bite them.
The usual suspects Zielke, Young and Crack were the backbone of Coorparoo’s early dominance, clearing the ball easily out of the middle to create plenty of chances up forward.
Dani Sammut made the most of the Navy Roos early forward pressure in her return, booting the first two majors of the game.
The Devils simply couldn’t get their hands to the football first in the opening term, and three more goals from Cantrell and Arnold gave Coorparoo a commanding 32-point quarter time lead.
Yeronga aren’t third on the QWAFL ladder for no reason however, and in the second quarter it was a totally different Devils outfit that ran out onto Leyshon Park.
From the opening centre bounce of the quarter, it was clear that the intensity had lifted, and Yeronga made of the most of it with two quick goals to Bruton and Welsh.
Emily Bates was again at her scintillating best for the Devils, weaving in and out of traffic, palming off would-be tacklers and kicking lace out to Yeronga’s talls time and time again.
Hard tackling, quick ball movement and pressure were the key ingredients for Yeronga in the second term and when Nat Thomas kicked a gem from the boundary, it was game on.
Mackenzie Arnold steadied the ship with a late goal to keep the Coorparoo girls up by 22-points at the main break, but the momentum was going all Yeronga’s way.
As great champions do when facing a tough situation, Coorparoo gritted their teeth and took the fight to Yeronga in the third term, swinging the momentum back in their favour.
A huge third term from Megan Hunt helped the Navy Roos get back on top, and goals from Sexton, Arnold and Sammut saw the lead spill back out to 34-points at the final change.
To Yeronga’s credit, they never stopped trying and some class work from Jordan Zanchetta and Hayley Newberry saw the Devils win the last quarter by 2-points.
In the end, it was the Devils slow start that cost them, but for three quarters they were dead even with the reigning premiers, and that is something to watch out for.
Coach’s thoughts
Scott Stephens – Yeronga
“They (Coorparoo) are a really good side and they always come out of the blocks fast and I just don’t think our girls were ready for that.
“I think that there are probably a few things that I need to look at as coach to get the girls ready to go in those one on one battles.
“And that’s what it is, those little one on one contests around the ground that we weren’t winning, we bounced back but you can’t give a team like that a 32-point head start.
“I’m a bit of a tough coach at times, but in terms of that game and the way it unfolded I was really happy with the last three quarters.”
Bernie Cantrell – Coorparoo
“Absolutely that first quarter got us over the line, the second quarter was a lack of discipline – our run stopped, our man on man footy stopped and we let them back into the game.
“I was pretty happy with the second half, I think we came out after that really poor second and lifted again and matched Yeronga in every way.
“I’m pretty pleased overall and I’m happy to take the points, but there is some room for improvement there.”
GRIFFITH MOOROOKA 3.5.23 DEFEATED BY WILSTON GRANGE 11.9.75
It wasn’t a win, but Griffith Moorooka did something on Saturday that they haven’t been been able to do all season; create a contest.
It was a scrappy, hard fought and congested opening term, but the Reds were able to play their brand of football in the first quarter.
Tahlia Randall and Sam Virgo were sensational for the Reds, finding what limited space there was to keep the ball in their half.
Goals and a lead haven’t been common for Moorooka this season, so when when McInnes split the middle to give the Reds a 4-point buffer, excitement was in the air at Alexander Park.
Griffith Moorooka continued to play a rejuvenated brand of football in the second quarter, and when Helena Thong found some space and kicked a goal, Wilston Grange were in serious trouble.
The Gorillas finally found some run late in the second term, going on to kick three goals to take a slender 6-point lead into the half.
After the main break, the Gorillas shook off their early cobwebs and took complete control of the game through some hard midfield running.
It was a big third quarter for Wilston Grange, with Clarkson, Kelly, Fabian and Campbell all contributing on the scoreboard.
Tiffany Archie was a big contributor for the Gorillas, dominating the contested ball in the second half and kicking one goal late in the third to extend Wilston Grange’s lead.
The Reds intensity lifted in the final quarter, but the damage was already done as Wilston Grange ran out 52-point winners to hold onto fourth spot on the ladder.
Despite the loss, Griffith Moorooka showed plenty of ticker on the weekend and proved they can be competitive.
Coach’s thoughts
Glenn Hogetts – Griffith Moorooka
“The first half was pretty good, it might be a loss but it’s an improvement from where we were and that’s what we were after.
“Just in the third quarter couldn’t get into it, Wilston Grange applies a lot of pressure but we dropped off a lot as well.
“The last quarter we got back to that first half level which was good to see – we are heading in the right direction.”
Ron Kemp – Wilston Grange
“In the second half we played much better football, we picked up our pressure and our scores from that point on was a reflection.
“In the first half they came out all guns blazing and certainly gave us a fright, but after that we woke up, but all credit to Moorooka.
“I would have liked the girls to start better, but very pleased with how we ran out the second half and the way we responded.”
ZILLMERE 3.2.20 DEFEATED BY COOLANGATTA 5.11.41
This could be the turning point in Zillmere’s season.
It wasn’t a win, but the Eagles kept the ladder leaders to their equal lowest score for the year and showed huge improvement in their overall commitment.
The defensive effort from Zillmere was sublime in the first quarter as they weathered the storm early to continually deny Coolangatta inside fifty.
The Bluebirds eventually made their mark on the scoresheet with a silky goal from Izzy Briggs, but Coolangatta couldn’t add to their goal tally for the remainder of the quarter, kicking 1.5 for the term.
A spirited effort in the guts from Kaslar and Simpson in the second quarter helped Coolangatta edge ahead, but it was clear the pace of the contest was being controlled by the Eagles.
Despite their resilience in defence, Zillmere couldn’t find the same energy at the other end of the park, kicking just one behind in the first half.
A pair of goals from Lowe and Murray towards the end of the term helped the Bluebirds surge ahead and take a 27-point lead into the main break.
With a few more classy players at their disposal, Coolangatta had the lions share of the footy in the third term, but again Zillmere showed great determination, fighting tooth and nail in defence.
Tayla Harris showed her versatility as a key defender in the second half, taking mark after mark in the Eagles defensive fifty to limit the Bluebirds scoring chances.
A goal from Jess Webster finally got the Eagles on the scoreboard in the third term and from there Zillmere seized control, kicking another two in the final quarter to win the second half 19-13.
It was an ugly 21-point win for Coolangatta, but the four points sees the Bluebirds stand alone at the top of the QWAFL ladder with eight weeks left in the regular season.
Coach’s thoughts
Jacob Simmons-Bliss – Yeronga
“The game really felt 50/50 and to go against the ladder leaders and put in that sort of performance is great.
“We kicked a few goals and we rushed a lot of their points, so we absolutely thought we were in it and we were close to taking the game away from them.
“They just kicked one or two goals that were easy which cost us, but it’s good to see us putting in good performances against the best in the comp.
“This will be our benchmark going forward, we have proved now we can play to this standard, so as a group we expect what we did today.”
Aaron Russell – Coolangatta
“There are some really pleasing things to take from the game, the backline played really well, they rebounded the footy plenty of times and held it together really nicely.
“Overall, we are obviously down on numbers and a few challenges were set up for us, but the girls battled away and we got there in the end.
“We were the ones with the ball in our hands inside fifty most of the time, we just couldn’t convert and took too many long shots, which hurt us a bit.
“Our link up by handball and contested possession was pretty nice, just our overall efficiency kicking wise wasn’t that great, but everything else was pretty pleasing.”
By Grant Hitzman – @granthitzman
