Match of the round:
Saturday 4:45pm – Coolangatta Tweed Vs. Zillmere Eagles (Coolangatta Tweed, Peak Oval)
After coming off a disappointing loss to Coorparoo last week and dropping out of the top four for the first time this year, Coolangatta will be looking for redemption on Saturday against Zillmere. The Bluebirds will be resting some key personnel against the struggling Eagles, which should give coach David Thorpe the opportunity to test out some fresh faces at QWAFL level.
Zillmere has had a tough run at it this year, but is taking a retrospective approach to give young players valuable senior football experience during its build. While they are unlikely to get the win over Coolangatta this weekend, the Eagles will be relishing the opportunity to put in a four-quarter competitive effort against a premiership side to further their development as a group.
Halfway mark:
Round 9 will mark the halfway point of the Bond University QWAFL regular season. After eight rounds of unpredictable footy week-by-week, we now have just four points separating first and fifth place on the ladder. In the goal-kicking department, Maddison Peeters has held onto the lead she’s had for the majority of the competition, on 19 goals. She is closely tailed by Yeronga pair; Jade Ransfield on 16, and Demi Leach on 11. With Wilston Grange on the bye this week, could we see Peeters dethroned by a Devil?
The Devils’ redemption:
In Yeronga coach Scott Stephens words, last week’s game against UQ was “one of those games where you feel you’ve dodged a bullet”. While still registering a five-goal win, Yeronga seemed to lack the polish we’ve seen from them early on in the season. The Devils were caught off-guard by UQ’s game plan to draw them out of position, and never fully responded to this new pressure they faced. It’s something they’ve addressed this week at training, but they’ll have to apply it in foreign conditions this weekend when they play Maroochydore. Having never played up the coast before, Yeronga have a new challenge to get back to the way the brand of footy they want to play after a long road trip.
Round 9 Matches:
Saturday June 3
4:45pm – Coolangatta Tweed Vs. Zillmere
Venue: Coolangatta – Peak Oval
4:45pm – Maroochydore Vs. Yeronga South Brisbane
Venue: Maroochydore – Maroochydore Multisports Complex
BYE: University of Queensland
BYE: Coorparoo
BYE: Wilston Grange
By Josh Cheadle
Twitter: @JoshCheadle20
