By Stacey French
The 2012 AFL Queensland Kooga Under 14 State Championships playoff finals have been decided at the conclusion of day two.
In muddy, wet, boggy, rainy and cold conditions at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast the Northern Raiders took on Papua New Guinea Binatangs in game five.
The boys from PNG were sensational in the wet conditions, keeping their feet and again showcasing their athletic capabilities and ball handling skills in tricky conditions.
The Raiders struggled in the wet but still put up a fair contest against with their coach Stephen Pickering happy with their efforts.
“It was a good learning experience on how to play wet-weather football- tough conditions,” Pickering said.
PNG came away with the win 2.12.24 to 0.0.0.
PNG coach Ben Drew was equally impressed with the performance.
“We are very proud of the boys and how played in the very wet conditions and we are looking forward to the next game,” Drew said.
Best Players Raiders:
Troy Hammond, Ryan O’Shea, James Taglieri, Sam King and Hamish Carruthers.
Best Players Binatangs:
John Susuve, Steven Tiki, Bol Mark, Gilmore Morehari and Gideon Peter.
Binatangs Goal Kickers:
Gilmore Morehari and Bol Mark.
Game Six was fought out between the Country Kookaburras and Gold Coast North as the rain got heavier and the wind got colder.
The Kookaburras kicked away early with six goals with Coach Scott Smithwick with their efforts.
“It was a fantastic first quarter, six goals to nothing really set up the game with all players contributing to a great Kookaburras win,” Smithwick said.
The Gold Coast North outfit did not give up, fighting hard in the last half to see a more even result on the scoreboard.
“It was a slow start by the boys but they showed real character in the second half,” Gold Coast North Coaching Staff said.
The final score Country Kookaburra defeated Gold Coast North 7.6.48 to 2.6.18.
Best Players Gold Coast North
Ben Presser, Josh Matulis, Dane Watmuff, Matt Robson-Petch, Nicholas Bond and Jesse Esam.
Goal Kickers Gold Coast North
Bailey Atto and Joel Baxter.
Best Players Country Kookaburras
Jack Bowes, Riley Raven, Bo Saunders, Braden Deangelis, Rene Lefeuvre and Josh Redsell.
Goal Kickers Counrty Kookaburras
Lachlan Bulmer, Reiley Guest, Neil Fiorini, Jack Bowes, Nick Kempe, Ben Dempsey and Braden Deangelis.
In the first playoff for the championship title on Friday the Suncoast Power were up against Gold Coast South.
In true spirit of the day the rain continues puddling across the field and forcing spectators further back under the covers.
Gold Coast South again proved that they are a power house of the competition showing some impressive skills in the wet with a number of players playing good hard, tough, wet-weather footy.
Gold Coast South Coach, Peter Hill was again pleased with the performance his boys produced.
“In difficult conditions it was hard for the boys to showcase the full potential of their skills,” Hill said.
“I was really pleased with their tackling pressure and attack on the ball.”
The Power boys played hard all day but just could not stay in touch with the Gold Coast South unit going down 1.4.10 to 5.4.34.
Power Manager Paul Tresise said that the boys had a tough day in the office but it was good for their football development.
“It was a big slog in very trying conditions; we fought the game out well considering scoreboard pressure come the last quarter, injuries and conditions… it was a good challenge for all players,” Tresise said.
Suncoast Power Best Players
Jake Warren, Corey Boardman, Fletcher Ormrod, James Barnes, Brennan Dempsey and Bayden Goff.
Suncoast Power Goal Kickers
Bayden Goff.
Gold Coast South Best Players
Brad Scheer, Sam Italiano, Brandon Kaldi, Curtis Marsden, Karlton Wolsey and Kai Sheers.
Goals Coast South Goal Kickers
RBrad Scheer (2), Riley Mayne, Curtis Marsden and Nick Byrne.
In the final match of the Western Taipans were up against the South Eastern Bushrangers to find out who will be playing Gold Coast South in the grand final on Friday.
The Taipans were out of the blocks early with multiple goal kickers, solid effort across the mid field and through centre half back.
The Bushies did a great job in trying conditions with coach, Scott Easdown relatively happy with their performance.
“The terrible conditions did not suit our run and carry… the Taipans adjusted to the conditions better but our boys never gave in and fought it out,” Easdown said.
The Taipans won through to the grand final with a 7.3.45 to 1.0.6 victory over the Bushies.
South Eastern Bushrangers Best Players
Jack Rolls, Issac Mole, Zeke Taylor, Jordan Liu-Batista and Jake Warren,
South Eastern Bushrangers Goal Kickers
Campbell Walker.
Western Taipans Best Players
Liam Workman, Lucas Bell, Rory Johnson, Riley Easton and Nat Carswell.
Western Taipans Goal Kickers
Chae Lawson (3), Rory Johnson (2), Patrick Renner, Sam Holna.
Match Schedule Friday June 29
Maroochydore Multi-Sport Complex, Fishermans Road- OVAL THREE
10am- Fifth Playoff
Papua New Guinea Vs Country Kookaburras
11:30am- Seventh Playoff
Northern Raiders Vs Gold Coast North
1pm- Third Playoff
Suncoast Power Vs South Eastern Bushrangers
2:30pm- Grand Final
Gold Coast South Vs Western Taipans
