by Daniel Viles
Full Rainbow of Results on Pride Round
A breakthrough victory, an upset that opened the finals race, a tense Grand Final rematch, and a new leader of the Bond University QAFLW ladder highlighted the Jarah Corporate Pride Round at South Pine Sports Complex at Brendale on Saturday.
Wilston Grange won its first Pride Round match in the Bond University QAFLW at its fifth attempt with a 44-point victory over Yeronga.
The Gorillas controlled the first half of the opening match of Jarah Corporate Pride Round before breaking loose with four goals in the third quarter.
Midfielder Mia Geere was named Best on Ground, her seven clearances creating room for strong inside 50 entries from Keyshia Matenga, Kadie Fletcher and Kylie Welsh.
Yeronga’s Chelsea Winn produced almost identical statistics to Geere (8 clearances, 18 contested possessions) while Charlotte Millen continued her strong season in the Devils’ engine room.
Grange had the advantage of a 25 kilometres-per-hour wind in the first term and opened the scoring in the ninth minute when a Hayley Finning turnover at halfback began a passing chain that ended with Lauren Shackleton shooting straight. Naomi Celebre extended the lead three minutes later when her set shot from thirty metres passed through a sea of hands without touching any of them.
Sophie Wheeler put Yeronga on the board early in the second quarter when she knocked the ball from a defender’s grasp just outside the goal square before calmly splitting the posts.
Geere began the Gorillas’ brilliant third term with a slicing run through the corridor and a pass onto the chest of Shackleton. The set shot goal was followed two minutes later by Jasmine Ware punishing a misdirected clearance from 30 metres out, and again two minutes after that by a Haley Jones left-footed snap beneath the defender.
Celebre scored her second set shot goal late in the term after marking from a Welsh pass, while Summer Hamilton finished the scoring midway through the final term by charging onto a loose ball from ruck contest.
The win moved Wilston Grange up to fifth place in the ladder with subsequent results leaving them just one win outside the finals places. Yeronga has two remaining opportunities to break their duck in 2024.
Saturday 13 July 2024, 10am at South Pine Sports Complex, Brendale
WILSTON GRANGE 2.3 (15) 2.5 (17) 6.7 (43) 7.10 (52)
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE 0.1 (1) 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7) 1.2 (8)
Replay and match statistics
Wilston Grange
Goals: Lauren Shackleton 2, Naomi Celebre 2, Jasmine Ware, Haley Jones, Summer Hamilton
Best: Keyshia Matenga, Mia Geere, Grace O’Donnell, Naomi Celebre, Hayley Finning, Kadie Fletcher
Yeronga South Brisbane
Goals: Sophie Wheeler
Best: Charlotte Millen, Camilla Burnett, Abi Lunson, Lizzie Hill, Jamie Howell, Lucy Bellinger
Jarah Corporate Pride Round Best on Ground Award: Mia Geere (Wilston Grange)
The Bond University QAFLW will enjoy two more weeks of tension after University of Queensland overcame the weight of history to defeat Coorparoo by 16 points in the second match of Jarah Corporate Pride Round.
The Red Lionesses recorded just their fifth win in 25 matches against the Kings, thus keeping alive their own finals dream plus those of Wilston Grange and Maroochydore.
Gabi Simpson produced the highlight of the entire day when she scored from at least 70 metres out with the first kick of the second half. Earlier, Simpson had scored the first goal of the match when she ran into an open goal from a Monique Piunti handball in the third minute.
Between the double from Simpson, key defender Lucy McCormick scored her first Bond University QAFLW goal late in the opening stanza when her set shot from a free kick sailed with the wind over the defence; and Bridey Condren scored the only goal into the wind when she took the ball in a ruck contest and slipped it through a crowd of players.
Coorparoo skipper Ajla Fetahagić has had several unsuccessful long-range shots in recent weeks but finally registered her first goal in senior Australian football nine minutes from the end when an Emily Bleney tackle spilled the ball free and Fetahagić thumped it home from distance.
Winger Lara Mason had a superb all-round match both dropping back in defence and linking with her forwards to be awarded Best on Ground.
UQ’s 81 tackles were its most in one match this year. Forward Lauren Middleton led the way with nine, most of which prevented the Kings from getting out of their own 50.
Sammy Nunn was Coorparoo’s best defender with four intercept marks and several key tackles. Jess Watts and Meg Muir combined well all day out of midfield with Grace Roberts-White applying the defensive pressure.
Saturday 13 July 2024, 12pm at South Pine Sports Complex, Brendale
COORPAROO 0.0 (0) 0.4 (4) 0.5 (5) 1.8 (14)
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND 2.1 (13) 3.2 (20) 4.5 (29) 4.6 (30)
Replay and match statistics
Coorparoo
Goals: Ajla Fetahagić
Best: Grace Roberts-White, Enah Dešić, Meg Muir, Sammy Nunn, Ajla Fetahagić, Jess Watts
University of Queensland
Goals: Gabi Simpson 2, Lucy McCormick, Bridey Condren
Best: Lara Mason, Jessi Henning, Lucy McCormick, Laura Roy, Ashleigh Moyle, Gabi Simpson
Jarah Corporate Pride Round Best on Ground Award: Lara Mason (University of Queensland)
Reigning premiers Bond University held on against a fast-finishing Aspley to win the feature match of Jarah Corporate Pride Round by 8 points and stay in contention for a top-two finish in the Bond University QAFLW.
The Bull Sharks had the first four goals of the match on the board by the 23rd minute but only scored once thereafter despite dominating territory for long periods.
The Hornets unearthed the breakthrough star of Jarah Corporate Pride Round in forward Emma McNaughton, whose three goals showed that an Aspley attack without Jess Stallard remains a frightening prospect.
CJ Landwehr was awarded Best on Ground for her composure both in and behind the contest, disposing at 89% efficiency. Landwehr’s first kick of the match was followed by a late tackle, so she scored from a free kick with her second.
Sunny Hewett’s first state league goal was a pure rover’s effort in which she crumbed from a marking contest 25 metres from goal and snapped truly without looking up. Abbey Bevan’s goal on the stroke of quarter-time was a far simpler matter, a 50-metre penalty taking her to the goal line.
Bella Davies could have missed her chance to score early in the second term when a Tshinta Kendall pass bounced away from her at the crucial moment. Instead, Davies doggedly reefed the ball from the grasp of the last Aspley defender and stepped around the contest to score.
From 27 points down, the Hornets hit back immediately when McNaughton ran into goal from a Louise Tyson pass that had wrong-footed the intended contest. McNaughton had her second four minutes later after drawing a free kick for a late tackle.
What turned out to be Bond’s winning goal was scored five minutes into the second half when Tahlia Meyer won the ball on right wing and then supported the play to provide the last pass to Tshinta Kendall alone in front of goal.
A long period of forward-50 pressure from Aspley bore fruit when Holly O’Flaherty, not normally a crumbing forward, bounded onto a loose ball near goal and chipped over the last defender.
McNaughton completed her hat-trick a minute before three-quarter time with a second set shot goal before missing a chance to score another with free kick after the siren.
The Bull Sharks were unable to deliver a knockout blow but controlled the final term with four minor scores.
Apart from Landwehr, Shannon Nolan was at her zigzagging best in the Bull Sharks’ forward line and unlucky not to get on the scoreboard. Sophie Balcombe was given a one-on-one role against Kitara Whap-Farrar and kept the Hornets’ goal dynamo scoreless.
The Hornets’ midfield of Louise Tyson, Jess Davy and Jasmine Kawa were beaten in the first quarter but had the better of the remainder of the game ensuring that the direction of the Aspley attack was never predictable.
Saturday 13 July 2024, 2pm at South Pine Sports Complex, Brendale
ASPLEY 0.0 (0) 2.5 (17) 4.7 (31) 4.7 (31)
BOND UNIVERSITY 3.3 (21) 4.3 (27) 5.5 (35) 5.9 (39)
Replay and match statistics
Aspley
Goals: Emma McNaughton 3, Holly O’Flaherty
Best: Louise Tyson, Elysse McNiven, Jasmine Kawa, Emma McNaughton, Jess Davy, Courtney Daniec
Bond University
Goals: CJ Landwehr, Sunny Hewett, Abbey Bevan, Bella Davies, Tshinta Kendall
Best: CJ Landwehr, Shannon Nolan, Ella Calleja, Jemma Blair, Courtney Sexton, Sophie Balcombe
Jarah Corporate Pride Round Best on Ground Award: CJ Landwehr (Bond University)
Southport ascended to the top of the Bond University QAFLW ladder with a tough 21-point win over Maroochydore in the final match of Jarah Corporate Pride Round at Brendale.
The Sharks were never able to truly break a Maroochydore defence that held them to their lowest score in two months, but controlled the field for most of the match and never yielded the lead they established early.
Kierra Zerafa scored twice in the opening term, firstly after marking from Steph O’Brien and then after finishing a passing chain from midfield.
The move of former footballer Lucy McEachen from defence to attack succeeded shortly after quarter-time when she swept onto a loose pass from Southport’s defence to snap the Roos only goal.
Maddy Baldwin has played six first-grade matches as a forward in 2024 and maintained her record of scoring in every one of them with a set shot from a free kick midway through the second term.
Kaylee Kimber was named Best on Ground for an outstanding night both at the back of the Southport defence and charging forward to drive passes deep inside forward 50. It was a Kimber charge-down that caused the turnover for the only goal of the second half, scored by Hannah Davies to finish a passing chain in which Southport kept moving towards goal despite never completing a disposal.
Ebony Milne, dropping back from wing, and Chaise Montey, a late inclusion, capitalised on the pressure created by the Southport defence to take a series of intercept marks. The beneficiary of their turnovers was usually Steph O’Brien who surprised no-one with her workrate in both defence and attack.
Jesse McMillan was beginning to create opportunities from her new position on the ball when she sustained a shoulder and rib injury early in the final quarter and was helped from the field. Arden Quilliam had a strong night in defence in the absence of Sara-Jane O’Grady, as did Axel Oswald and Marlee Marshall who repeatedly broke down Southport’s attack even when outsized.
Saturday 13 July 2024, 4pm at South Pine Sports Complex, Brendale
MAROOCHYDORE 0.2 (2) 1.3 (9) 1.3 (9) 1.3 (9)
SOUTHPORT 2.3 (15) 3.4 (22) 4.5 (29) 4.6 (30)
Replay and match statistics
Maroochydore
Goals: Lucy McEachen
Best: Axel Oswald, Abbey Rankin, Demi Norton, Marlee Marshall, Abbey Tognazzini, Jya Epstein
Southport
Goals: Kierra Zerafa 2, Maddy Baldwin, Hannah Davies
Best: Steph O’Brien, Tearnie Brown, Kaylee Kimber, Maighan Fogas, Kierra Zerafa, Maddy Baldwin
Jarah Corporate Pride Round Best on Ground Award: Kaylee Kimber (Southport)
Table: Southport 40, Aspley 40, Bond University 36, Coorparoo 24, Wilston Grange 20, University of Queensland 16, Maroochydore 16, Yeronga South Brisbane 0.
Find all your information about the Bond University QAFLW at the Competition Hub.
