by Daniel Viles
Maroochydore the Comeback Queens
Maroochydore produced the greatest comeback in its Bond University QAFLW history overturning a 24-point deficit just before halftime to defeat Coorparoo by six points at Domino’s Park.
Coorparoo scored the first four goals but were left stunned by a Roos turnaround that yielded five goals and 33 of the last 36 points.
In a match of high quality with so little separating the sides, the difference was the creativity and polish of Maroochydore forwards Jesse McMillan and Lataya De Pauw. Playing their tenth and ninth Bond University QAFLW games respectively, McMillan and De Pauw’s ability to turn half-opportunities into points through their skill and intellect was thrilling to watch.
Coorparoo had slightly the better of an opening quarter notable for the lack of space each side was allowing the other, as befits the status of the top two tackling teams in the Bond University QAFLW.
Grace Roberts-White looked most threatening early and was rewarded in the fifteenth minute when she broke a tackle close to goal and made room to shoot on target.
Eight minutes after the first break, Kings captain Ajla Fetahagic pumped long to the goal square, pressure from Chelsea Chesterfield forced the defenders into an error, and handballs from Kate Deegan and Chesterfield gave Lucy Schneider room to snap home from twelve metres out.
Monique Perry scored her first state league goal in the eleventh minute when awarded a free kick for a dangerous tackle just outside the fifty only to have it advanced to the goal square after a defender ran through the mark.
Five minutes before halftime, Chesterfield scored in her fifth consecutive match against her former side when she tackled Tindal with the ball thirty metres from goal and followed with a strong set shot.
At this stage, Coorparoo led 4.1 (25) to 0.1 (1), and even when De Pauw scored with the last kick of the first half, a free kick awarded for off-the-ball contact, there was no suggestion that the tide had been turned.
Both sides missed big opportunities to score in the third quarter, Maroochydore with shots from distance and Coorparoo from chaos ball close to the sticks.
Play was interrupted for three minutes late in the quarter when Roos defender and midfielder Billie Missen took a heavy knock to the ribs in a marking contest. Contact was accidental and there was no additional feeling or edge to the match because of the injury, but the pause undoubtedly suited the hosts.
From the restart, Marlee Marshall cleared from the Roos’ defensive fifty and found McMillan in the centre. McMillan’s cool head to play wide to Demi Norton rather than blast ahead reaped its reward two plays later when De Pauw took an outstanding mark in the right forward pocket and shot truly on the angle with her weaker left foot.
Again, the Roos scored with the final kick of the term, this time when McMillan broke loose from the goal square to mark low from a Kaiya Hides pass and score Maroochydore’s third set shot goal to reduce the margin to five points.
Coorparoo gained the first two inside-50s of the final stanza, and the first set shot, but Marshall was beginning to win turnovers for fun at centre halfback, this time with a tackle on Watts in which she nearly injured herself.
In the next thirty seconds, De Pauw linked with Lucy McEachen to attack along the left wing, then broke a tackle on the fifty before kicking to the goal square. Her pass evaded the last defender and allowed McMillan to sneak a checkside shot on target to give the Roos the lead.
Coorparoo levelled the scores six minutes in when an acrobatic shot from Chesterfield went through the goal but was ruled to have touched one of the eight players standing in the goal square.
The Roos’ final goal was built on several minutes of sustained forward pressure culminating in captain Ellen Hopkins winning a free kick for being held off the ball. Putting the memory of two missed set shots at the other end of the ground behind her, Hopkins was accurate when it mattered.
Coorparoo had the last five inside-50s of the match: Meg Muir was brilliant regaining possession outside 50; Chesterfield continually turned her defenders; Schneider and Jess Watts switched the direction of the attack. Each time, they ran into a different part of the brick wall: an Oswald tackle; an Abbey Tognazzini intercept; a Marshall spoil; a Tindal dispossession; a six-point victory.
Two of Maroochydore’s three biggest second-half comebacks have been in the last two weeks, their win over UQ in August 2020 after being 16 points down at the main break was almost matched last week when they defeated the Red Lionesses from 14 points down.
After the week off for the match between Queensland and Tasmania, Maroochydore will travel to Yeronga while Coorparoo hosts Bond University.
Elsewhere in Round 9: Aspley had to dig deep against UQ to win their ninth straight match despite never leading at any break; Wilston Grange pushed Southport early but nine goals from Alannah Welsh and Dekota Baron gave the Sharks a comfortable win; and Bond University scored 100 points for only the second team in their state league history to defeat Yeronga.
Saturday 15 June 2024, 2pm at Domino’s Park, Maroochydore
MAROOCHYDORE 0.1 (1) 1.1 (7) 3.4 (22) 5.4 (34)
COORPAROO 1.0 (6) 4.1 (25) 4.3 (27) 4.4 (28)
Maroochydore
Goals: Lataya De Pauw 2, Jesse McMillan 2, Ellen Hopkins
Best: Jesse McMillan, Sara-Jane O’Grady, Claire Drake, Arden Quilliam, Lataya De Pauw, Axel Oswald
Coorparoo
Goals: Grace Roberts-White, Lucy Schneider, Grace Perry, Chelsea Chesterfield
Best: Ajla Fetahagic, Jess Watts, Lucy Schneider, Meg Muir, Kaitlyn Zelinski, Mia Teubler
Replay and match statistics
Saturday 15 June 2024, 2pm at Hickey Park, Stafford
WILSTON GRANGE 2.0 (12) 2.0 (12) 3.2 (20) 3.2 (20)
SOUTHPORT 3.3 (21) 7.5 (47) 9.7 (61) 13.9 (87)
Wilston Grange
Goals: Zimra Hussain, Mia Geere, Naomi Celebre
Best: Hayley Finning, Grace O’Donnell, Summer Hamilton, Zimra Hussain, Annie Wallace, Jasmin Rivers
Southport
Goals: Alannah Welsh 5, Dekota Baron 4, Tayla Gregory 2, Kierra Zerafa, Scarlett Featherstone
Best: Maddy Watt, Alannah Welsh, Georja Davies, Steph O’Brien, Selina Priest, Emma Suckling
Replay and match statistics
Saturday 15 June 2024, 3:45pm at Base Architecture Meadows, St Lucia
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND 1.1 (7) 2.3 (15) 3.6 (24) 3.6 (24)
ASPLEY 0.3 (3) 2.3 (15) 2.5 (17) 5.6 (36)
University of Queensland
Goals: Bridey Condren, Lauren Middleton, Erin Gilbert
Best: Laura Clemesha, Jane Childes, Gabi Simpson, Laura Roy, Madi Crowley-Long, Eva Sartor
Aspley
Goals: Jess Stallard 3, Lilu Hung, Lucy Thompson or Jess Davy (?)
Best: Jaimie Bryant, Lilu Hung, Tiarna Ernst, Louise Tyson, Emma Pittman, Jess Stallard
Replay and match statistics
Saturday 15 June 2024, 4:45pm at Bond University Oval, Robina
BOND UNIVERSITY 3.3 (21) 9.5 (59) 12.8 (80) 15.11 (101)
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 1.0 (6)
Bond University
Goals: Ella Calleja 3, Abbey Bevan 3, Bronte Parker 2, Bella Iverach 2, Imogen Evans, Maisy Evans, Shannon Nolan, Havana Harris, Nyalli Milne
Best: Havana Harris, Mia Salisbury, Ella Calleja, Bronte Parker, Courtney Sexton, Charlotte Taylor
Yeronga South Brisbane
Goals: Sienna Morassuti
Best: Peppa Poultney, Steph Rosenthal, Jamie Howell, Charlotte Millen, Camilla Burnett, Farradai Hopkins
Replay and match statistics
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