PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN v. WESTERN MAGPIES
Western Magpies 5.1, 7.4, 10.8, 13.10 (88)
Palm Beach Currumbin 1.4, 7.4, 10.8, 12.12 (84
This game reflected 2016 in the QAFL perfectly.
Unpredictable until the final siren, tense, tight, fast, and two teams giving it all.
It was the Magpies who held on in a thriller today, booking a spot in a final next week against Labrador, for a chance to lock in a spot in the Grand Final.
Here is what we learnt:
- When the going gets tough, Cal Carseldine gets going: He was immense in the last quarter. Without him, there is no way the Magpies win.
- The Magpies love to run: Yes they pride themselves on their contested ball, but if they get the chance to open the game up and take off, they will.
- Is there a good match-up for Jarryd Douglas? Put a tall bloke on him, he runs off, put a small on him, he out marks you. Wenham tried today, which was a surprise, but it was a constant headache for Nathan Clarke.
- Palm Beach do the basics well: When Palm Beach were on top today, they simply backed themselves in to win the footy, and took off. When they tried to overthink it, or be too cute, they were beaten.
- Jon Croad could be the biggest barometer in the competition: When he was getting his hands on the footy, the Lions were on top. Limit him, limit the Lions…. easier said than done though.
Coaches thoughts:
Chad Owens – Palm Beach Currumbin
“We had our chances in the last two minutes, I guess the pressure gets to some people, and unfortunately they weren’t able to take that.
“If you’re having to kick a goal with a minute to go, other things have gone wrong during the game. There is no problem with the bloke who missed the goal, because we should not have had ourselves in that position.
“Allowing a six-goal lead doesn’t help. We allowed the ball to come out easy in the second quarter. They were first to the footy, and they were outnumbering us.”
Nathan Clarke – Western Magpies
Scroll through below to check out how the full game went down.
By Andrew Wiles
Follow @andrewjwiles
