QWFA Division 2 Grand Final
Broadbeach vs. Kedron
It’s spoken about all the time, how grand finals are a different sort of game. They need to be won and it doesn’t happen all by itself. Surprisingly, the undefeated Broadbeach outfit went into the first break three points down after Kedron made it clear this was a different day, where early season form wasn’t going to matter. It was the Aimee English show early on, the forward bagging two goals to give the Lions real belief going into the second quarter.
The Cats hit back early in the second, pressing forward and scoring from a long range bomb and a free kick in the goal square, giving them a handy lead. The footy remained locked in the Cat’s forward half for much of the quarter while Kedron tried desperately to clear and managed to get one back through another English running goal, keeping them within three points at half time.
Then the game changed, despite some heroic efforts from Tali Wickham and Ingram, the Cats surged in the second half, flexing their muscles and kicking away to a 42 to 23 win and remaining undefeated in 2017.
It was Beth McLaughlin and Wendy Bristow that did the damage across the half forward line, Bristow a commanding presence in the air and McLaughlin hitting the scoreboard late in the game to secure victory. McLaughlin also walked away with the medal for the best player on the day.
“The way they have conducted themselves throughout the year, the level of respect they’ve shown all the opposition teams they’ve played, they’ve been a fantastic group to coach,” said Cats coach Rohan Toll, speaking after the game.
QWFA Division 1 Grand Final
Bond Uni vs. Yeronga South Brisbane
Bond wasted no time getting their game faces on, booting three goals to none in the first term. They looked switched on early with skipper Kate Reynolds dominating in the ruck and Amanda Berry kicking a goal after an exciting run through centre half forward.
They didn’t let up either, kicking three goals in quick succession in the second quarter. Hawking started things off with a massive tackle and goal, before Berry kicked truly from a tight angle, extending Uni’s margin further and setting a difficult challenge for the Devils.
Yeronga managed to steady the tide late in the second with a goal to Sargent, then came out hard in the third, kicking two goals to Bond’s one in the first ten minutes and getting themselves to within 28 points at three quarter time. It wasn’t to be though, as the Sharks held on to their margin and finished up on top, 50 to 29.
Reynolds was fantastic for Uni, setting herself up in defence at stages to intercept everything that came her way. The Bond captain was awarded the best on ground medal for her efforts.
“They did come at us and to our credit we just stuck to our guns and stopped them kicking multiple goals. That was the way to go and that was what we did,” said Sharks coach David Ashkar.
