First Semi Final
Beenleigh vs. Coomera
Coomera will travel to Dauth Park to face Beenleigh on Saturday as both sides fight to progress to the next week of finals action in the State Association’s second division. In last week’s elimination final the Magpies recorded an emphatic victory over Caboolture to knock them out of season 2011. The 19 point win was setup through a brutal eight goal opening stand that had the Lions playing catch up for the next three quarters. Although they fought back gallantly, Coomera did enough to book their place in the first Semi and send an ominous warning to the doubters who questioned their finals prospects after being promoted from division three this year. Ash Watt turned it on for his finest game of the year in a best on ground performance, while Dougie King was also a big contributor throughout the day. Skipper Jason Stanford was influential and battled hard as Gary Smith proved to be lively up forward and finished with five goals.
Beenleigh will now have to win to stay in finals race following their 31 point loss to Nambour in the first Qualifying final last week. The Buffaloes went into the main break only one goal behind but were worked out of the game in the second half as Nambour created plenty of scoring opportunities with relative ease. Andrew Graham played a lone hand up forward and booted six of his side’s ten goals for the day and was named Beenleigh’s best. Matt Kimpton characteristically battled hard all day, as did Clint Robson and Mitch Vasterink who also kicked two goals from limited opportunities.
On the two occasions these two sides have met this year there is only a two point difference in favour of Beenleigh. The close tussles that we have already seen this season is sure to continue with both sides needing a win to continue their hopes of going deeper into the finals. Beenleigh have now lost two games on the trot but have showed plenty this year that suggests they are amongst the most skilful teams in the competition, while Coomera have continued to rise to the challenges put in front of them over the past month. Although the Magpies are running hot at the moment they will need to be well aware of what the Buffaloes are capable of. Beenleigh’s ability to test the league’s big sides is not something that any other team has been able to do and they will be more than ready for Coomera after last week’s loss.
Head-to-Head This Year:
Round Nine
14.11-95 Coomera def. by Beenleigh 17.7-109
Round Eighteen
13.15-93 Beenleigh def. by Coomera 16.9-105
The Last Five Weeks:
Beenleigh – LLWWW
Coomera – WWWLW
Second Semi Final
Logan vs. Nambour
Nambour will head to Tansey Park to take on Logan who will be fresh after a week’s break. While the Cobras were resting up, Nambour spent last Saturday taking care of business against the side that upset them last time they met. On this occasion it was a different story as Beenleigh were unable to keep up and Nambour ran away with a five goal win in an impressive display. The big guns were firing up forward with Ben Stanley booting three goals and Jason Weckert, Simon Pickering and Adam Thornton finishing with two majors each. Andrew Clancy was superb in a standout game, as was Nathan Spring and 18 year old youngster Jacob Gibson who was brilliant in his best outing at senior level so far.
Logan will be full of confidence after finishing the year on top of the ladder and allowing themselves a week off before they get stuck into the finals for 2011. Nambour will be weary of the fresh legs of the Cobras players but should take a great deal of confidence out of their match winning efforts last week. Apart from the three point win over Beenleigh in round 14, the Logan haven’t been pushed too far in the past couple months. If they are able to eliminate the complacency that can sometimes come with a week off in finals time they will be very hard to beat. With players like Dan Milligan, Steve Collier and the Witney brothers lining up for Logan this contest will be worth watching as Nambour proved last week they have enough weapons in their arsenal to kick a winning score against a quality opponent.
Head-to-Head This Year:
Round Eight
10.14-74 Nambour & Hinterland def. Logan City 10.8-68
Round Seventeen
11.9-75 Logan City def. Nambour & Hinterland 9.4-58
The Last Five Weeks:
Logan – WWWWW
Nambour – WWLWW
