By Beth Newman
SEQAFL Division 3 Rd 15
SEQAFL Div 3
Beenleigh 5.4, 8.6, 14.11, 17.18 (120)
Ipswich 2.0, 3.1, 6.1, 6.3 (39)
The Buffaloes gave themselves some extra breathing space in second spot, with an 81-point win over Ipswich yesterday.
After a hard-fought first half, the Buffaloes’ class came to the fore in a six-goal third term.
In-form forward, Ashley Templar, kicked another bag for Beenleigh, finishing with nine goals.
Ipswich’s young charges fought all day, but coughed up possession too often to threaten on the scoreboard.
Chris Devlin, playing a sweeping half back role, and Matt Gordon on Templar, were two of the Eagles’ best on the day.
What the coaches said:
Michael Rush (Ipswich):
“The score line wasn’t great but we had half our side out and probably five or six of our best players out. so we knew we were going to be up against it.”
“Our endeavour was there, we just lacked polish and that’s about it.”
“ We did really well with the players we had out there, with effort and performance and the score line.”
“We struggled to maintain possession and link the play up and we kept turning it over and that was the key difference.”
“Their full forward and our turnovers were the difference.”
“We want to be competitive and have fun in the last couple of weeks.”
Pine Rivers 4.2, 12.6, 20.11, 28.13 (181)
Calamvale 1.1, 3.3, 4.5, 4.7 (31)
Pine Rivers picked up a crucial percentage boost in the lead up to finals, with a 150-point win over Calamvale.
The Swans, started slowly but broke the game open with an eight goal second term and never looked back.
Calamvale, with a number of players backing up from the reserves, ran out of legs in the final term.
With three games left in the home and away season, the Swans are well within striking distance of the top two, with games against UQ, Ipswich and Carrara.
Two of those are at their home ground, where they haven’t lost all year.
Luke Kendall was the best for the Swans in the win, while Tim Greed was a light for Calamvale.
What the coaches said:
Ben Long (Pine Rivers)
“Probably the biggest plus was it gave our percentage a bit of a boost. We’re really a long way behind Beenleigh with that and at the end of the year that second, third, fourth position could come down to percentage.”
“We’re focusing on trying tp play a consistent brand of footy and hopefully we’ll be rewarded with some decent wins.”
“It would be nice to go through without losing a home game.”
Brad Steven (Calamvale):
“We played half a game. We fell away in the second half a bit, but the first half was quite pleasing.”
“The first half was really good and I think most of the year, our best football has been as good, if not better, than some of the top teams. We just need to learn to maintain it through four quarters of footy.”
“We’re a fairly young side and this year will be good for them, to know what it takes to win.”
“When you’re down on confidence and things get away from you, you struggle to maintain that intensity for four quarters.”
Logan 5.3, 8.4, 11.5, 15.7 (97)
Griffith Moorooka 0.1, 3.1 3.2, 4.3 (27)
Logan sealed its finals spot with a dominant win over Griffith Moorooka.
The Cobras burst out of the blocks with a five goal to one opening term, which set the tone for the rest of the match.
Christopher Fletcher starred for the Cobras, booting six majors.
The win keeps Logan in third, a game clear of fourth-placed Pine Rivers, with three games left.
Carrara 19.20 (134)
UQ 8.7 (55)
It was a case of same stuff, different day for UQ, losing to Carrara yesterday.
After conceding an eight goal first term, the students were on the back foot for much of the day, despite an improved effort late.
Coach, Jarad Evans, was pleased with the way his side finished the game, winning the final quarter, but rued the impact of a constantly changing side.
Ruckman John Flynn dominated for the uni side, winning the taps.
Jason McConchie booted four for the Saints, while Tim Benson was another among their best.
What the coaches said;
Jarad Evans (UQ):
“Still the same old, same old. We were not quite switching on early enough.”
“The sides were quite evenly matched but again, we’re battling the same issues of having different personnel and losing a lot of our good players up to our seconds this week.”
“You look at the good sides and they’ve been playing together week in, week out.”
“Our tacking and in close work has been very good and again that showed on the weekend. We’re good tackling side – can’t get the ball out of that.”
