QWAFL Review Round 2
MATCH OF THE ROUND
ZILLMERE 2.1.13 DEFEATED BY YERONGA 17.5.107
It was clear from the opening bounce on Saturday that Yeronga were firing on all cylinders.
Full of energy and confidence, the Devils dominated in the first quarter, capitalising on quality entries inside the fifty to burst out to an early four-goal lead.
The Devils moved the ball beautifully around O’Callaghan Park for much of the first half, shutting down Zillmere’s run and carry game with extremely committed tackling pressure.
Hayley Newberry was dominant up forward for Yeronga, playing in front of her opponent all night to give the Devils a handy 37-point lead at the major break.
The third term started no better for Zillmere, with the Devils booting two goals in as many minutes to widen the gap and put all the pressure on the 2014 Grand Finalists.
The Devils continued their exceptional ball movement throughout the second half, with all 22-players pulling their weight in a very impressive team performance.
Yeronga couldn’t miss all night, booting home 17 majors on the way to a comprehensive 94-point win.
The rest of the competition has officially been put on notice, Yeronga are serious contenders in 2015.
Coach’s thoughts
Jacob Simmons-Bliss – Zillmere
“Total lack of effort – we did not do anything right for the majority of the match, we weren’t compliant to our game plan, which is something we’ve been working hard on for the last six months.
“We backed out of contests, we played un-Zillmere like which is very disappointing and obviously we’ve been taught a good lesson today and we will work on these things to improve for the next match.
“Emma Pericic was outstanding today in both a defensive and offensive role and Kylie Guarino got our best on ground medallion, but other than that there aren’t too many positives to take out of today.”
Scott Stephens – Yeronga
“It was a good four quarter effort, we had 22 contributors out there and not one passenger – I’m the happiest coach in the world right now.
“Not only second and third efforts but fourth, fifth and sixth, they just kept going, that’s about as good as it gets and that’s a solid base for us to build on now.
“That is the standard we have set ourself now and anything less than that going forward is not good enough.
“As a coach, first game up for the season, I’m really really happy, and today gave the girls the indication of how good of a team they can be.”
WILSTON GRANGE 4.2.26 DEFEATED BY COOLANGATTA 13.14.92
After knocking off the 2014 premiers in the season opener, Coolangatta had plenty to prove on the road this week to convince everyone that they are the real deal.
And the Bluebirds did just that this week at PBI Oval, using a clear advantage in speed and skill to outclass a gallant Gorillas outfit.
Coolangatta played their brand of footy on Saturday, spreading from the contest quickly and dominating possession with an elite run and carry game.
The Bluebirds utilised their speed through the corridor early in the contest, flooding the forward line to boot four majors in the opening term.
Kate McCarthy was powerful all around the ground for Coolangatta, while Lauren James and Morgan Lowe did the job up top for the Bluebirds, slotting home three each.
Brie Weatherstone was again impressive for Wilston Grange up forward, while Shannon Campbell played a pivotal sweeper role, but the pace and pressure of Coolangatta was too much in the end, as the Bluebirds ran out comfortable 66-point winners.
Coolangatta are sitting pretty up the top of the table with a 2-0 start and will be very tough to knock off this season.
Coach’s thoughts
Ron Kemp – Wilston Grange
“I was pretty happy with our endeavour, but what we didn’t do well was execute when we had the footy and they did, which is where the goals came from.
“I was fairly pleased with the tackling and the pressure we applied, what we probably let ourselves down with was moving the footy and getting into space.
“I think the game was a lot closer than what it showed, they certainly won a lot of the central ball and it was a hard, hard day, but there were patches where we played well and overall it wasn’t a bad effort.”
Aaron Russell – Coolangatta
“It was a good game, the girls all contributed again and that’s what we have been striving towards, making sure there are no passengers out there.
“A few of our second year players really turned it on and their run and carry of the footy and the link up handballs were really nice.
“No disrespect (to Wilston Grange) but I felt we were in control out there – we executed and pulled off some set plays in the game that we have been rehearsed in training, so to see them come off in the game is really pleasing.
“We are ahead of where I thought we would be in terms of performance, so that’s a credit to the girls.”
GRIFFITH MOOROOKA 1.1.7 DEFEATED BY UQ 13.17.95
Both teams were desperate to get back into the winners circle this week and the game was played exactly in that manner.
Every kick was chased, the tackling pressure was ferocious and the midfield battle was an arm wrestle.
Neither side could find a way to break the other down in the first quarter, with just two goals kicked in the opening 20 minutes.
UQ found their feet in the second term however, kicking five majors to take all the momentum into the sheds at half-time.
To Griffith Moorooka’s credit, they never stopped trying and it was clear that the physical battle was very even between the two clubs.
Helena Thong was a standout for the developing Roosters, playing beautifully off the back flank all afternoon.
UQ were simply too strong in the end, ten different goal kickers the big contributor in a team orientated 88-point win.
Coach’s thoughts
Michael Swann – UQ
“They (UQ) played fantastically, it was really good to see everything really gel together.
“From about quarter time onwards everything seemed to click and the girls surprised themselves with the style of footy they can play.
“I saw a massive improvement this week, we spent a lot of time in training clearing the ball out of the congestion, hand balling back and across and in the game we used our speed to catch them out a few times.
“I was really proud of the effort, I think it was a statement game for us, a bit of a coming of age victory where we proved to the competition what we can do and that we are very competitive.”
Glenn Hogetts – Griffith Moorooka
“The girls were pretty good on the whole, the game was pretty physical, they just got caught out again in leg speed and around the contested ball.
“We scored this week and the girls are getting more confident with each game, UQ probably got a few easy ones through our mistakes but other than that is was pretty close even though the scoreboard doesn’t show it.
“I was satisfied with how they went about their footy, they kept going the whole game and to see improvement is great.
By Grant Hitzman @granthitzman
