MATCH OF THE ROUND
ZILLMERE 3.1.19 DEFEATED BY YERONGA 11.14.80
For the second time this season, Zillmere have been beaten by Yeronga on their own turf.
The Devils were favourites going into this one after knocking the Eagles off in round 2, and Yeronga got off to the perfect start through Hayley Newberry, who slotted a goal inside three minutes.
Another quick goal and plenty of forward pressure saw Yeronga totally dominate the first quarter, but the Devils were wasteful in front of the sticks, kicking four behinds to limit their quarter time lead to just 15-points.
The Devils picked up were they left of in the second quarter, moving the ball quickly out of the middle to set up their talls inside fifty.
Goals to Newberry, Ransfield and Zanchetta in quick succession handed the Devils a formidable 35-point lead halfway through the second and the Eagles nearly looked done.
Zillmere continued to fight however, finding a way to stop Yeronga’s run and apply some of their own forward pressure on the Devils.
A pair of late goals to Tayla Harris and Monica Allen helped relieve the pressure for the Eagles, but they still trailed at half-time by 24-points.
The third quarter couldn’t have started better for Zillmere when Alison Roy kicked a goal in the opening minute to reduce the Devils lead to just 18-points.
On the verge of a comeback, the Eagles tried gallantly to break down the Devils midfield, but five unanswered goals from Yeronga broke Zillmere’s spirit and it was curtains.
Eagles captain, Mikayla Anderson, Tayla Harris and Kylie Lawrence were three of the best for the Zillmere, but it wasn’t enough in the end as Yeronga ran out 61-point winners.
Hayley Newberry was a star for the Devils with four goals, while Jordan Zanchetta and Emily Bates were at their brilliant best.
The win for the Yeronga keeps them in third place on the QWAFL ladder, now one win clear of Wilston Grange in fourth.
Coach’s thoughts
Jacob Simmons-Bliss – Zillmere
“Performance was fantastic tonight in terms of our defensive pressure and our forward half pressure, which is something we’ve been working hard at.
“The difference was they could convert on their inside fifties to the scoreboard and we didn’t, so that’s very disappointing but we will work hard on that next week.
“We’ve been unlucky with injuries and it’s been hard for us to put forward a consistent forward line, but we were really pleased with the effort, the intensity and the physicality we played the game at.
“I think it’s really important from here that we focus on our decision making and footy smarts, we have to make sure that we are smarter and more aware around the ground.”
Scott Stephens – Yeronga
“We put a bit of distance on the scoreboard in the second half which was nice, but we thought in the first half we probably weren’t ahead as much as what we should have been.
“Zillmere were attacking the ball in the first half and we were just standing there a bit, but we turned it round and started getting our hands on the footy first which obviously helps.
“I was really happy with the second half, we were able to absorb their pressure and move the ball forward consistently and make the most of it which is what we need to do against the better teams.”
WILSTON GRANGE 0.1.1 DEFEATED BY COOLANGATTA 14.14.98
It was always going to be a tough challenge playing the ladder leaders with limited players available, and unfortunately for Wilston Grange, Coolangatta made the most of it.
After suffering their first loss of the season to Coorparoo last weekend, it was clear from the opening bounce that the Bluebirds were out to make a statement.
Coolangatta dictated the pace of the game from the get go and thrashed the Gorillas around the contested ball to set up an early flurry of goals.
Trailing by 26-points at quarter time, Wilston Grange were still in the contest, but the Gorillas couldn’t seem to mount any forward pressure, and it was costing them.
Two quick goals to Acacia Powell at the start of the second term extended the Bluebirds lead and the rest of the quarter belonged to Coolangatta.
The Bluebirds ball movement and decision-making was the difference in the first half, and the Gorillas were going to have to do some serious work to overcome a 52-point deficit.
The third quarter didn’t start any kinder for Wilston Grange, as Natalie Davies slotted one inside two minutes to put the game to bed.
The Gorillas tried hard in the second half to mount a comeback, and although Brie Weatherstone and Shannon Campbell looked dangerous at times, Wilston Grange weren’t able to do any serious damage on the scoreboard.
Nikki Wallace had a blinder for Coolangatta, playing a key role out of the middle to set up a good chunk of the Bluebirds scoring.
Rosalie Adamson was again instrumental in her return for Coolangatta, slotting three majors to make it six games in a row with multiple goals.
In the end, Coolangatta were far too strong all around the ground for the Gorillas, running out 97-point winners to remain top of the QWAFL.
Coach’s thoughts
Ron Kemp – Wilston Grange
“I’m very proud of the endeavour, they kept going and working hard, we just didn’t execute when we got the ball in our forward line.
“The girls went at it all game, the scoreboard didn’t reflect the effort, Coolangatta just had their little patches and used some of their more skilled players to put the points on.
“Cooly certainly had the better running game, we couldn’t match them in that department, but in terms of everything else I’m pretty happy.
“We had a quite a few novices running around out there and hopefully a game like this one will help them learn and grow as players.”
Aaron Russell – Coolangatta
“You could tell everyone was pretty keen to come out and have a good game and make a statement early, a few players were disappointed with how they played last week and they wanted to make up for that.
“Defensively we got back to nearly our best and we didn’t have any lapses I thought which is what I wanted to achieve.
“Last time we played them they scored every time they went forward expect twice and this week we were able to stop them which was really good.
“They are a physical side and one of the bigger sides in the competition, so we wanted to clear it from congestion and focus on our structures and that’s how I think we won.”
GRIFFITH MOOROOKA 2.2.14 DEFEATED BY UQ 7.11.53
After one of the lowest scoring first halves of football this season, UQ rallied in the third quarter to defeat Griffith Moorooka by 39-points at Alexander Park
Last time these two clubs met, UQ ran out comfortable 88-point winners, but with the Red Lionesses only able to field eight QWAFL regulars this week, the door was well and truly open for the winless Reds.
The game was extremely physical from the opening siren and both sides were struggling to get the ball forward.
UQ’s star product, Breanna Koenen, was let loose in the midfield this week, and made an early impact, helping the Red Lionesses win the hard contested footy.
The arm wrestle continued for most of the second quarter, but at the 10-minute mark, UQ’s Chantal Beaudin finally found the goals to give the Red Lionesses a 12-point half-time lead.
Trailing by just two goals with a half to play, this was easily Griffith Moorooka’s best chance to claim a win after a very tough nine weeks.
The Reds continued to play a physical, scrappy style in the third quarter, with Helena Thong and Sam Virgo leading the charge.
UQ managed to open the game up in the third however, spreading the ball beautifully from the contest to set up a slew of chances inside fifty.
The Red Lionesses made the most of their forward pressure in the third term, booting four goals to end Griffith Moorooka’s chance of comeback.
Despite being down and out with a quarter to play, Griffith Moorooka fought hard in the final term, kicking two late goals in what was easily their best quarter of 2015.
Shannon McCartney was a star for UQ on debut, while first gamer Anna O’Keeffe managed to kick her first goal in the big leagues.
With the win, UQ now move into striking distance of Zillmere and Wilston Grange, while Griffith Moorooka remain on the bottom of the ladder.
Coach’s thoughts
Glenn Hogetts – Griffith Moorooka
“Overall I was pretty happy, third quarter we dropped right off and it killed us and we couldn’t peg them back from there.
“I thought we were in with a chance we just couldn’t get it passed their defense and couldn’t score and when we finally did in the last quarter it was too late.
“The last quarter was a reward for them though, we haven’t kicked that many goals this year, so it was good for the girls and they definitely celebrated it.
“We just have to keep working away and keep training at a high level until we finally get there, and we’ve got Wilston Grange after the bye and I see that as another big opportunity.”
Michael Swann – UQ
“We were short staffed this week but the girls that got picked got the job done for us, and I thought they were some of our best.
“It was a pretty hard fought close contest all the way through, Griffith have come a long way and have definitely improved.
“In the second quarter we started to link up and we started to open them up through the gaps, but outside of that it was a pretty close game and was really tough physically.
“I think today was definitely a team effort and everyone rose to the occasion, it was a good challenge for the whole group and chance for the new girls to experience the next level.”
By Grant Hitzman – @granthitzman
