Coomera and Calamvale will open the State Association division two proceedings this week on Saturday at Coomera Sports Park. Needing another win to separate themselves from the five teams on the ladder that currently have three wins, the Magpies know that this is a big game. Coomera are coming off a 12 goal win last week against Griffith Moorooka, with Zach Compton best on ground, and the goals shared between Aaron Talbot and David Beljak. Calamvale are also had a win in round six, beating UQ at St Lucia by 17 points. Dan Eckert was the standout, while Alan Flower was again amongst the goals, kicking four and taking his season tally to 36.
On Saturday at Dauth Park, Beenleigh will host Ipswich in the battle for third spot on the ladder. It is only the Eagles superior percentage that separates the two sides, and this highly anticipated contest will shed some light on who will be the big threat to Nambour and Logan. Last week, Beenleigh were left wondering after kicking 15 behinds in their 15 point loss to Redcliffe. Kye McNaughton was the only multiple goalkicker, finishing with two for the day, while Matt Kimpton and Andrew Soutar battled hard. The Eagles were unable to tame to Cobras last round, going down by a convincing eight goals. Michael Leamer was the standout, while Brett Nairn was dangerous in front of goal, finishing with three majors.
Caboolture will travel to Moorooka on Saturday to take on Griffith Moorooka, with four points desperately needed following their loss last week against Nambour. The 34 point defeat allowed Nambour to stay at the top of the ladder, so the Lions will be ready for a big one to make up for it. Chris Allen was again able to come up with three goals in the loss, while Grant Wilkinson and Michael Matthews continued their strong early season form. Moorooka will need to bounce back following their 74 point loss against Coomera last week. Barry Morris and Sam Wiltshire tried hard in the defeat, but it will take a big effort if they are going to hold off the Lions on Saturday.
The Red Lions will be up against Nambour at St Lucia on Saturday in a top versus bottom contest. UQ came close to a strong Calamvale outfit last week, falling short of a win by three goals. Sean Westerhuis was best for the Red Lions, and he was assisted by Tom Howard who had three majors of his own. But Nambour have been a wrecking ball so far this year, claiming another victim in Caboolture last week. Their 200+ percentage record is something that opposition forwards and defenders should be well aware of, with Adam Thornton and Simon Pickering both capable of kicking bags of goals. They could both very well have days out this week if the UQ defence aren’t switched on for the full four quarters.
To end the round, Logan will host Redcliffe at Tansey Park. Even with 20 behinds last week, the Cobras were still able to hand out a crushing 47 point win against a quality opponent in Ipswich. The amount of scoring shots generated by the Logan midfield is something that is rarely seen, and the Tigers will need to put the clamps on in the centre square if they are any hope of putting a winning score on the board. Dylan Witney has continued his brilliant form so far this year, being named best on ground in round 6, and was assisted well by Dan Milligan and Ellery Bowman with five goals. Vice-Captain Damien Lee was superb for Redcliffe last week in their win over Beenleigh. He and Aaron Richardson will again need to be at their best if they are any hope of coming away with the four points against one of the genuine contenders for the flag this year.
