Page 22 - AFL Queensland 2015 Year in Review

27 teams from Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland packed their bags and made the trek to beautiful Byron Shire to enjoy footy, friends, and ente ainment at the second
McDonalds AFL 9s Byron Bay Invitational.
Men’s, Women’s, Masters, Mixed and Youth divisions took to the field across two days, with a celebrity game - captained by the Brisbane Lions’ Daniel Merret, and St Kilda legend Spida Everi - thrown into the mix.
Both Maroochydore and Coorparoo, who finished runners up in the QFA No h and QFA South competitions in 2015, were represented in the Masters Division.
The mixed division was the first
to pay their grand final on the Saturday, with a few people very familiar to the AFL system ge ing the win.
The Gold Coast GUNS, employees of the Gold Coast SUNS, of course ki ed out in the red and yellow, went through undefeated to pick up their $4000 prize, too strong for the Spider Pigs.
They might be young, but the Lismore Swans showed their prowess by foot, taking out the Youth Division.
The Ashy All Stars plane ride back to Victoria would have been made a lot easier. They took on the Brisbane based Super Kings in the Masters final, proving too classy through the middle.
There was a bit of local flavour to the women’s division champions this year, as Coolanga a went one be er than their QWAFL final
a few weeks earlier, beating the Macquarie University Warriors.
The last game of the tournament promised to be the best. It was
the Magpies, up from Tasmania, against the Eshay Clan, made up of a few members from Aspley’s 2014 NEAFL premiership side.
The Magpies’ run was the di erence in the end. They were able to rebound the be er from the back half, running home comfo able and deserving winners.
They headed back to Tassie with
an unblemished record, and a cool $8000 to be split up between them. Not bad for a couple of days work.
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