Page 102 - AFL Queensland 2014 in Review

Morningside finished their unblemished season, winning the QAFL premiership over Labrador, the first perfect state league season since Southport in 1999.
Through 20 matches of football, the closest anyone had come to the Panthers was 22 points, and that record remained after their 22.17 (149) – 15.6 (96) win over the Tigers.
In an incredible second half, Simon Seddon booted 10 goals for Labrador after the Tigers trailed by 66 points at the major break, his last coming as the full-time siren rang, giving the Tigers the most extreme of bittersweet emotions.
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QAFL GRAND
The end of the final match drew to a close a season of expectation and external pressure and it gave Morningside coach, David Lake, a chance to assess his side’s dominance through 2014.
“Now that we’ve won I can say out loud, we won because we worked harder and we were better than everybody else,” he said.
“It’s been perfect in many ways and there are a lot of good people that have contributed to this.
“A lot of people were helping it unfold.”
FINAL Morningside dominated the opening exchanges, with six first-quarter goals, giving the Tigers a mammoth task to come back.
The Tigers bit back in the second, dominating the stoppages and getting plenty of attacking opportunities, but the Morningside back line stood strong.
Two exciting passages of play from Ryan Davey looked promising for the Tigers, but they couldn’t finish off their hard work.
It was the second half, where the Tigers really clawed some pride back, led by Seddon, along with Davey and wingman Adam Baird.
Josh Clarke exited the game with an injury partway through the third, pushing Blake Bantoft into the ruck in the final stages.
In a dominant Panthers side, it was 21 year-old Lachie Russ who proved the standout ,winning the Joe Grant Medal in his first grand final.
Russ thrived on the big stage in his best on ground performance, and said it was a dream way to end the year.
“About halfway through the last quarter, the steam went out of the game a bit and we really tried to enjoy it,” he said.
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“It’s huge (to win the medal) and I’m sure I’ll treasure it a bit more.