The final home-and-away round sees a QWAFL triple-header at Yeronga on Saturday with two QWAFA games to kick off the day.
That’s five women’s matches back-to-back from 10am.
Match of the Round:
Zillmere v Coolangatta
It’s the fourth time these teams have met this year and, with finals on the horizon, it should be the most exciting.
Coolangatta are the in-form team of the competition. They’ve had a target on their back all season, and if they take this one, are almost a certainty to win the minor premiership.
While they haven’t been able to match them, the Eagles have performed consistently against the Bluebirds this season, with the largest defeat of the year just 23 points. Zillmere has been playing some quality footy and an upset win this round would give them some serious momentum heading into finals.
The Bluebirds need to continue moving the ball with class, as Zillmere will be putting on plenty of pressure. They will be without key players Ruby Blair, Lauren James, Alex Hamlyn, Shae Adams and Zoe Lattanzi who are all battling minor injuries from last week. Interestingly, Cooly’s Kalinda Howarth and Zillmere’s Tayla Harris, will be battling it out at opposite ends of the field, with only two goals separating the front runners in the leading goal kicking.
Catch the live blog via aflq-new.fspdev.com from 2:15pm!
Where & When:
Leyshon Park, Yeronga @ 2:30pm, Saturday August 27
Last time they met:
Round 13, 2016- Coolangatta defeated Zillmere by 23 points
2016 form:
Zillmere (7/15 Wins) Coolangatta (13/15 Wins)
Key match up:
Tayla Harris (Zillmere) v Charlie Duke (Coolangatta). Duke has been given the tough task of shutting down key opponents this season and she’s done an excellent job so far. For two weeks in a row, Duke had to minimise Tahlia Randall’s (Wilston Grange) influence on the game.
In their last meeting, Duke held Harris to just two goals.
Prediction: Coolangatta by 15 points
Wilston Grange v Yeronga
Wilston Grange coach, Marcus MacDonald Camden describes this match as Gorillas grand final day.
Grange have had a difficult season, but have never stopped a well connected and close knit team of women who love playing footy together.
When they step out on Saturday, they will have much to play for and the same goes for Yeronga. If Cooly lose to Zillmere – a match where there is no clear winner – Yeronga could finish off in top position.
The Devils have struggled to implement four full quarters of football over the last month, and will want to shake this before finals.
The Gorillas will need to get off to a huge start if they are any chance at snatching this win; Once the Devils get going there is no stopping them.
Yeronga’s Jade Ransfield has to kick at least six goals to have any chance at taking home the QWAFL’s leading goal kicker. But don’t count her out, she bagged a season-high seven goals against Zillmere earlier in the season.
Where & When:
Leyshon Park, Yeronga @ 4:45pm, Saturday August 27
Last time they met:
Round 9, 2016 – Yeronga defeated Wilston Grange by 28 points
2016 Form:
Yeronga (13 /15 Wins) Wilston Grange (1/15 Wins)
Key match up:
Hannah Slaughter (Wilston Grange) v Delissa Kimmince (Yeronga) It’s centre-half back v centre-half forward with both women able to influence a game.
Slaughter has great speed and agility, and is always looking to offload the ball to a teammate in a better position to kick a goal. Kimmince has played an important role for the Devils this season, and is a great decision maker.
Prediction: Yeronga by 20 points.
UQ v Coorparoo
We finish off the regular season with the same matchup we started. Coorparoo has come so far since round one. That was a difficult day for the Navy Roos and there would be no better way to finish off their 2016 campaign than with a win over UQ.
UQ has solidified third position on the ladder, and this won’t change regardless of this weekend’s result. The Red Lionesses will look to bounce back from last week’s confronting loss to Coolangatta.
Coorparoo had a big win over Wilston Grange last weekend, and will be looking to show plenty of fight. It’s going to be a physical contest, but it will come down to who can use the Yeronga field the best.
Where & When: Leyshon Park, Yeronga @ 7:00pm, Saturday August 27
Last time they met: Round 12, 2016- UQ defeated Coorparoo by 34 points
2016 Form: UQ (9/15 Wins) Coorparoo (2/15 Wins)
Key match up: Sharni Webb (UQ) v Cleo Davis (Coorparoo) Davis plays a critical role for Coorparoo, especially in the defensive rebound. She attacks the ball with grit, and loves to get her side moving out of the backline. Webb is an extremely influential forward, who has a lot of class and X-Factor. It will be interesting to see if Davis goes directly to her and matches up one-on-one, or she tries to play her own normal defensive game and float across the backline.
Prediction: UQ by 10 points.
By Jess Stewart
