The Australia Post Queensland Young Scorpions have jumped to the top of the division two ladder at the NAB Australian U16 Championships with a gritty 23-point win over NSW/ACT at Blacktown in Sydney today.
Sunday, 10 July, 2011
The Australia Post Queensland Young Scorpions have jumped to the top of the division two ladder at the NAB Australian U16 Championships with a gritty 23-point win over NSW/ACT at Blacktown in Sydney today.
The Queenslanders, 46-point winners over Northern Territory in their first championship game on 25 June, are the only unbeaten side following their 14-7 (91) to 8-20 (68) win over the home side.
It was a performance full of character as the Young Scorpions overcame the loss off Josh Stiller in the first minute of the game with a suspected broken jaw following an accidental head clash, and the loss of Hayden Bertoli-Simmons with a broken collarbone in the second quarter.
When Isaac Rokeby was forced off with an ankle in the second quarter coach Ray Windsor was pleased championship organizers had decided each state would play all 25 players in today’s second-round matches.
The Queenslanders, unsettled early, trailed 2-3 to 3-4 at quarter-time but added 4-3 to 2-6 in the second term to lead by two points at half-time.
They took control of the match when they added 5-1 to 2-2 in the third quarter, and sat on a comfortable margin throughout the fourth quarter.
“It was a very good team performance,” said AFLQ Talent Manager Bob Batty.
“The inside 50’s favored NSW 66-42 so they had more opportunities but our defence was very solid and we made very good use of the ball.
“Going forward we generally hit our targets pretty consistently,” he said.
“NSW kicked 1-8 in the final quarter and finished with 28 scoring shots to our 21 but that was a bit mis-leading – our defence forced a lot of those behinds through.”
Jordan Bourke, son of ex-Geelong captain and Brisbane Bears ruckman Damien Bourke, was the difference between the sides.
Having kicked six goals against NT (all in the first half), Bourke got on the end of some very good midfield work today to boot eight goals against NSW/ACT.
He had 22 kicks and 10 marks, and was the focal point that the Blues so desperately lacked.
Yet as good as Bourke was, he ranked only fourth on the Queensland best player list provided by coach Ray Windsor.
Best afield, according to Windsor, was Lewis Radford, who had 21 possessions and eight marks playing in defence, attacking the ball hard and using it well.
Captain Isaac Conway had 21 possessions and seven tackles in the midfield, while Zac Southern picked up 20 possessions and five clearances on a wing.
Aiden Ruttledge, in his first game back from a broken bone in his leg and a bout of appendicitis, was also very good in the back half with 16 possessions, while midfielder Bill Pendlebury had 11 contested possessions among his game tally of 15.
“We had a lot of good players – these were just the guys the coach picked out,” said Batty.
Oddly, Queensland was the only division two side to win today as the World XVIII upset NT 13-11 (89) to 11-7 (73) and South Pacific, coached by Mt.Gravatt NEAFL coach David Lake, surprised Tasmania 11-13 (79) to 10-17 (77).
On Wednesday Queensland will play the World XVIII, with Saturday’s final game against Tasmania looming as a virtual grand final.
Game 2 Match Details
Queensland 2-3 6-6 11-7 14-7 (91)
NSW/ACT 3-4 5-10 7-12 8-20 (68)
Queensland Goals: Bourke 8, Gribble, Selman, Pendlebury, Dawson, Mills, Hay.
Queensland Best: Radford, Conway, Southern, Bourke, Ruttledge, Pendlebury.
