by Daniel Viles
Kings victorious in Battle Royale
The mental toughness of the Coorparoo Kings was on full display in their come-from-behind 24-point victory over the Wilston Grange Gorillas in the featured match of Bond University QAFLW Round 8.
Despite the Gorillas spending most of the second and third quarters deep inside Coorparoo territory, it was the Kings who made more of their opportunities scoring five unanswered goals in the second half and doubling their score in the final quarter alone.
Navy Blues midfielder Grace Roberts-White led the clearance (8) and tackle (10) counts for the match while winger Lucy Schneider registered 26 effective disposals and was usually in the thick of what was an often bruising encounter at Giffin Park.
The home side had the better of the opening stages both territorially and at the contest. Any Grange breaks usually ended with captain Ajla Fetahagic intercepting at halfback and restarting the attack.
A long kick from Fetahagic nearly presented Chelsea Chesterfield with an early goal in her fiftieth match for Coorparoo. Alas, her quick snap missed, as did one from the Tricolours’ Taylor Simpson three minutes later.
In the Grange defence, Grace O’Donnell was conducting her own intercept marking clinic, capitalising on the pressure being created ahead by Jasmin Rivers and Haley Jones.
Kaitlyn Zelinski was a creative force all evening, regularly seeking out the aerial marking prowess of tall forward Chloe Gaunt. It was this combination followed by a 35-metre set shot from Gaunt that opened the goalscoring late in the first term.
Grange dominated the second quarter winning the inside-50 count 13 to 3, nine of those entries going inside 30. Summer Hamilton, whose darts in attack were complimented by nine tackles, most inside forward-50, levelled the scores in the third minute when she won a free kick for high contact and then shot truly from left of the posts.
Ten minutes later, the Gorillas capitalised on two defensive errors, firstly when a kick out on the full in the pocket gave Lauren Shackleton a difficult set-shot, and secondly when Daisy Carter’s mark from Shackleton was moved to in front of the posts for encroachment on the protected area.
The northsiders’ six-point lead looked healthy enough when they gained the first six inside-50 entries of the third stanza and looked to be the more composed side. Hayley Finning in ruck and Mia Geere playing on the ball were beginning to control the restarts while Annie Wallace was frequently finding space on the outside.
Their problem was that Coorparoo’s defence, especially Mia Teubler, Jasmine Fretwell and debutante Alana Mitchell, were closing the space and preventing clear shots on goal.
Coorparoo needed only one counterattack to hit the scoreboard. One minute, Jenae Govan was providing shepherds and handballs on the left wing; the next, she was snapping a goal from the forward pocket. Credit must also go to Chesterfield whose handball to Govan came after she had turned her body and freed her arms from a ball-and-all tackle.
The physicality of the match notably increased in the next ten minutes with several kickers receiving late contact and one tackle near the interchange gates threatening to get out of control.
Grange regained the lead briefly with a rushed behind, but on their next attack, Zelinski won a holding free kick on the arc, played right, and then pressed forward to eventually intercept a clearing kick thirty metres from goal. Zelinski’s set shot narrowly cleared the defence and gave Coorparoo a lead they would never surrender.
The Kings gained the first nine inside-50s of the final term and used them to manufacture three goals. In the second minute, Roberts-White cleared a contest at centre halfback, the ball was worked through Grace Perry to Zelinski who kicked over the Grange defence to give Govan a headstart in a footrace to the goalsquare that she was never going to lose. Grace Perry was involved again seven minutes later when her pass from the right pocket found a charging Alyssa Gall. And former Gorilla Georgina Ott secured the victory with a strong set shot after marking a Schneider pass.
Both teams face unexpected Round 8 winners next week with Coorparoo travelling to Maroochydore and Wilston Grange hosting Southport.
Southport’s 26-point defeat of Bond University was its first Gold Coast derby win since May 2023; Maroochydore followed a scoreless first term with a four-goal second quarter to upset University of Queensland; and while Aspley’s win over Yeronga was expected, conceding their second-highest score of the year to the last-placed Devils was not.
Saturday 8 June 2024, 4:45pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
COORPAROO 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7) 3.2 (20) 6.4 (40)
WILSTON GRANGE 0.1 (1) 2.1 (13) 2.3 (15) 2.4 (16)
Coorparoo
Goals: Jenae Govan 2, Chloe Gaunt, Kaitlyn Zelinski, Georgina Ott
Best: Kaitlyn Zelinski, Alana Mitchell, Alyssa Gall, Grace Roberts-White, Lucy Schneider, Chloe Gaunt
Wilston Grange
Goals: Summer Hamilton, Daisy Carter
Best: Jasmin Rivers, Daisy Carter, Grace O’Donnell, Gemma Donataccio, Haley Jones, Keyshia Matenga
Saturday 8 June 2024, 2pm at Fankhauser Reserve, Southport
SOUTHPORT 2.2 (14) 4.3 (27) 5.4 (34) 8.6 (54)
BOND UNIVERSITY 1.1 (7) 2.1 (13) 4.2 (26) 4.4 (28)
Southport
Goals: Megan Hunt 2, Tayla Gregory 2, Dekota Baron, Alannah Welsh, Maighan Fogas, Maddy Baldwin
Best: Georja Davies, Abbie Pluples, Kaylee Kimber, Tayla Gregory, Rianna Schipp, Jo Baltais
Bond University
Goals: Ella Calleja, Nyalli Milne, Charlotte Taylor, Arianna Clarke
Best: Ella Calleja, Tahlia Meyer, Paris Lightfoot, Mia Salisbury, Charlotte Taylor, Nyalli Milne
Saturday 8 June 2024, 4:45pm at Domino’s Park, Maroochydore
MAROOCHYDORE 0.0 (0) 4.1 (25) 5.2 (32) 6.3 (39)
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND 2.2 (14) 2.3 (15) 3.4 (22) 4.4 (28)
Maroochydore
Goals: Jesse McMillan 3, Jaspar Jordan, Imagen David, Lataya De Pauw
Best: Rose Hughes, Sara-Jane O’Grady, Poppy Tindal, Jesse McMillan, Claire Drake, Axel Oswald
University of Queensland
Goals: Jane Childes, Gracie Roy, Edie McCabe, Paige Livingston
Best: Gabi Simpson, Jane Childes, Gracie Roy, Laura Clemesha, Eva Sartor, Lara Mason
Saturday 8 June 2024, 4:45pm at Zupps Aspley Oval, Carseldine
ASPLEY 2.4 (16) 6.6 (42) 9.8 (62) 11.12 (78)
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE 1.0 (6) 3.0 (18) 3.0 (18) 4.1 (25)
Aspley
Goals: Kitara Whap-Farrar 5, Jess Stallard 3, Holly O’Flaherty, Alanna Perry, Courtney Daniec
Best: Kitara Whap-Farrar, Holly O’Flaherty, Lucia Liessi, Jaimie Bryant, Jasmine Kawa, Louise Tyson
Yeronga South Brisbane
Goals: Sienna Morassuti 3, Lucy Bellinger
Best: Sienna Morassuti, Peppa Poultney, Chelsea Winn, Jamie Howell, Madie Satyasiv, Madi Goodwin
Find all your information about the Bond University QAFLW at the Competition Hub.
