By Terry Wilson
Big Jack back on the attack for the Lions
Palm Beach Currumbin 5.0, 6.2, 6.3, 13.7 (85)
Broadbeach 1.2, 3.5, 6.11, 9.13 (67)
GOALS, Palm Beach Currumbin: J. Anthony 6, A. Dawson 2, J. Croad 2, C. Beaman 1, J. Burge 1, T. Thynne 1. Broadbeach: B. Erickson 3, B. Neal 2, N. Burton 1, M. Fowler 1, N. Kempe 1, D. Irwin 1.
BEST, Palm Beach Currumbin: A. McKenzie, D. Neuhaus, J. Anthony, N. Crowley, J. Burge, A. Crossley. Broadbeach: B. Erickson, B. Neal, E. Panozza, T. Betson, N. Quick, R. Pantic.
A FREAKISH goal from Palm Beach Currumbin’s big forward Jack Anthony was the knockout blow that sunk Broadbeach in the big Gold Coast derby at Salk Oval on Saturday.
The almost unstoppable former Collingwood and Fremantle AFL player was a dominant figure as the Lions downed their cross-city rivals by 13.7 (85) to 9.13 (67) in a tough encounter.
Anthony finished the day with 6.2 and arguably as best-on-ground as he roamed far and wide, mixing forward duties with stints dropping back in defence when things were in the balance late in the clash.
Anthony kicked two goals in the first term, then four in the fourth and it was his fifth for the match, in the 24th minute, that was the highlight.
Anthony somehow found the ball in his hands in a goal square pack and, despite falling to his back, he managed a freakish overhead bicycle kick for maximum points.
“It was unbelievable, only Jack could do that,” noted PBC coach Chad Owens, describing his star as ‘massive’ on the day as he provided the difference between the sides.
“But just before that there was Cory Beaman’s goal from the boundary line and on a tight angle.”
The derby was an intense affair, strange in many ways because after PBC kicked 5.0 to 1.2 in the first quarter, they did not register another major until Jon Croad, resting up front, kicked two in a row to open the fourth term after the Lions trailed by eight points.
Those goals changed the face of the game because, after such a good opening stanza, the Lions let the Cats dominate for the middle two terms.
The Cats cleverly fired the ball backwards from contests before spreading it wide – a tactic which PBC like to use but one that exposed a few flaws in their game plan.
“We lost our way there for a while,” PBC coach Chad Owens said.
“What was really disappointing was that our blokes, for half a game of footy, did their own thing.
“They thought ‘we’ve got ourselves a lead, now we can chip away and we can go and get some cheap footy or we can sit off the ball and maybe get an intercept’ instead of what we did so well.
“To kick five goals because everyone did their spots well, and it exposed their lack of legs, was good.
“Then in the second and third quarter, when we steered away from that, their bigger, heavier bodies were able to congest the ball, inch it forward, inch it forward and get goals.
“Thankfully they didn’t kill us on the scoreboard.”
That lack of firepower, coming after the Cats kicked only 7.11 in a winning effort against Surfers Paradise the week before, is a worry for coach Brett Andrews.
“Yes, it is a concern,” Andrews agreed of a lack of centre half-forward input.
“Hopefully Luke McGuane will come back next week and we’ll have a better target.
“It was like ground hog day, we couldn’t put them away in the second and third quarters.
“Then we just went away from our game plan. Instead of giving it off we were doing it individually.”
Broadbeach lost big Matt Smith and Rob Blood before half-time, both with rib-chest injuries while Nick Kempe and Nick Burton limped through to the finish with leg issues.
So it was not too bad an effort from the Cats to push the premiers to the limit.
“A positive was that for three quarters we probably matched them, or even beat them,” Andrews said.
Syd Guilford Trophy candidate Blake Erickson had an outstanding game for the Cats, capping a non-stop performance with three goals.
Ever-consistent Benji Neal chipped in with two goals, Evan Panozza was a force on-ball and ruckman Tiom Betson toiled hard for the losers.
PBC had Anthony, half-back Adam McKenzie, defender Dale Neuhaus and utility Nick Crowley as their best in a game that featured the debut of Corey Joyce.
In a special moment for the Joyce family, Jesse was on hand pre-match to present his younger sibling with his game jumper.
“Corey can play, his skills are as good as his brother’s and they’re both elite kicks,” Owens said of the younger Joyce’s debut.
“He is a backman but we played him forward because he has to learn more roles if he wants to go to the next level.”
Another player to get a big wrap from Owens was skipper Jesse Derrick, whose has had a so-so season because he is living and working in Brisbane these days and his training has been limited.
“I thought Jesse’s last quarter was huge,” Owens said.
“He’s not a massive talker, he’s a doer. In the last quarter he was so clean at the contest, he was tackling and he just got the ball going forward.
“I thought that today, in the last quarter, it was Jesse Derrick at his best.”
Magpies survive a scare from the Gorillas
Western Magpies 4.2, 8.4, 11.7, 14.8 (92)
Wilston Grange 3.3, 4.5, 5.8, 7.10 (52)
GOALS, Western Magpies: L. Dwyer 3, J. De Winter 2, R. Harwood 1, L. Winton 1, T. Ielasi 1, S. Copland 1, D. Mitchell 1, D. Adkins 1, R. Easton 1, K. Reed 1. Wilston Grange: J. Daye 2, L. Mason 1, M. Lawler 1, J. Farry 1, A. Chapman 1, M. Heaslip 1.
BEST, Western Magpies: D. Lewis, L. Winton, L. Dwyer, B. Jaenke-Cain, D. Mitchell, J. Goodall. Wilston Grange: I. Corvo, J. James, A. Hughes, R. Thomson, H. Leong, L. Mason.
THE Western Magpies expected a tough workout against Wilston Grange on Saturday – and they were not disappointed as the underdogs took the game right up to them.
In the end, it was victory to the Magpies by 14.8 (92) to 7.10 (52) at McCarthy Homes Oval but the final margin flattered the home side slightly.
“We got there,” was how Magpies coach Brydan Morgan saw it.
“It was a hard-fought win in the end and I thought the Grange played well.”
The Gorillas worked hard on getting extra numbers behind the ball and it resulted in a real grind for points, Morgan said.
“The way they played it was never going to be a big win,” he said.
“They rolled a few numbers behind the ball which made life tough for us at times.
“One of dangers of playing teams not playing finals is that they want to knock you off.”
Wilston Grange certainly threatened to do that when they grabbed a 14-point lead 17 minutes into the opening term.
However three successive Vultures goals had the home side leading by five points at the first break.
A Joey Daye goal three minutes after resumption of play put scores level and reignited the chance of a huge upset.
But that was to be the end of it for the Gorillas as the Magpies went 23 up at half-time.
“I knew at that stage it was going to be a hard day,” Morgan said of early events.
“It is hard to kick a big score when opposition play that way and it was a good learning curve for us to navigate our way through that sort of a situation.”
Grange coach Nathan Clarke said a wasteful period late in the second quarter, when the Magpies kicked three goals, was the killer blow for the Gorillas.
“In the last quarter I thought if we could kick the first two goals we were in with a chance but at the end of the day they were too good for us,” he said.
“Yet we were certainly happy with our efforts. We had some wasteful moments but so did they.”
For the Magpies defensive duo David Lewis and Luca Winton were strong performers, Liam Dwyer as a forward/ruck was solid and Ben Jaenke-Cain and Drew Mitchell stood tall in the midfield.
Best for the Gorillas were Isaac Corvo, who kept Redlands NEAFL player Sam Copland to one goal, Jack James on Ryan Harwood, wing/on-baller Adam Hughes and Ryan Thomson, who continues to try to lift his side leading by example in the tougher going.
Hawks give the Vultures a hard workout
Mt Gravatt 2.2, 3.7, 8.9, 12.13 (85)
Sandgate 0.2, 1.3, 3.3, 5.5 (35)
GOALS, Mt Gravatt: J. Bain 5, S. Stubbs 2, R. Estall 2, D. Daye 1, C. McGuren 1, B. O’Dea 1. Sandgate: J. Taglieri 2, B. McElligott 1, C. Barber 1, J. O’Halloran 1.
BEST, Mt Gravatt: F. Neate, J. Bain, C. McGuren, B. O’Dea, M. Hart, M. Hamill. Sandgate: J. Maynard, Z. Buechner, D. Affleck, J. Harding, T. Marango, J. Patching.
MT Gravatt continued their charge for a top-three finish for the QAFL finals after a tougher than expected win against Sandgate at Lemke Road Oval on Saturday.
On the back of a return to form of full-forward Jordan Bain, who kicked five goals, the Vultures eventually wore down the Hawks to win by 12.13 (85) to 5.5 (35).
It was hardly the stuff that premierships are built on, yet the win provided a number of positive signs for the Vultures, who had been mixing their form over recent weeks.
The Hawks made it a scrappy tussle with their emphasis on tackling and pressure around the contests, so it was good, winning coach Daniel Webster said, to get the job done a week ahead of a major match against Morningside next weekend.
There were few highlights in a dour first half. The scores were 0.2 to 2.2 at quarter-time, then 1.3 to 3.7 at half-time.
The Sandgate method was to shut down the Mt Gravatt prime movers and it worked to an extent.
“They tried to close the game down,” Vultures coach Daniel Webster said
“It was a bit scrappy with that and a cross wind, so it was tight and not a great spectacle.
“Still, I thought our boys were very good and, in the end,, it was a good, solid win.
“The real positives were getting the win and keeping the opposition to five goals.
“And Jordan Bain and his return to form. He has battled a bit after his back injury but he has been working and training hard so it was good reward he got for the amount of work he has put in.”
Stand-outs for Mt Gravatt were midfield duo Frazer Neate and Corey McGuren, Bain up front, and debut-maker Braydon O’Dea.
“Braydon set up some goals and kicked one himself,” Webster said of his first-gamer.
“And our entire back six were solid all day.”
Sandgate coach Jarad Marsh said the intent of the Hawks was to apply tackling pressure and make good, hard contest for the ball at stoppages.
To a degree that worked for the battling Hawks, although the inevitable errors in skill execution hit home hard.
“We butchered at least three goals in the first half,” Marsh said of those skills shortfalls but overall, he was reasonably happy with the effort.
“We were reasonably happy at half-time and even at full- time, it was just the third quarter that hurt us.”
This was the period when the Vultures kicked 5.2 to 2.0 to break the back of the home side.
For the Hawks best were Jordan Maynard in the middle, Zac Buechner who started ruck then played centre half-back, and two more midfielders in Daniel Affleck and Jordan Harding.
Photo: BC Sleep Photography
