All the action from the Allied Pickfords Cup this weekend.
Featured match: Mayne vs. Springwood
Springwood continued its perfect start to the season, defeating Mayne 20.9.129 – 7.11.53 on Saturday.
The Pumas’ new recruits led the away again, with Albert Proud (two goals) having an impressive game in the middle.
Springwood dominated from the opening bounce, keeping Mayne to only 1.3 up to half-time, and kicking eight themselves.
Mayne mounted a comeback in the third quarter but shot themselves in the foot, turning the ball over across the ground, allowing the Pumas to pounce.
After winning only 12 of their past 86 games previous to this season, Pumas coach, Tony King said it was incredible to have a 2-0 record.
“We’re really enjoying a bit of success,” King said,
“But we’re conscious not to get too arrogant and just keep at it.”
King said his side was keen to avoid another second half opposition comeback, after only narrowly holding off a young Sandgate side last week.
“Last week, we got a bit ahead of ourselves. We were very conscious (of that) this week,” he said.
“We probably dropped away a bit in the second half. I think there was just a bit of ball watching.
“At three-quarter time, we said, ‘let’s really finish the job here,’ and I think that’s what they did.”
Mayne coach Mitch Ferguson did not sugar coat his side’s performance after the match, saying his team were “smashed.”
“We were beaten all over the ground, in just about every position. They (Springwood) deserved the win,” he said.
“The boys were trying their guts out, just the harder we tried, the worse it got.
“It was one of those days, where everything went wrong.”
It was a case of déjà vu all over again for Ferguson, with Tigers captain Caleb Brown suffering a knee injury in the second quarter, as well as two other injuries.
“We can’t keep a good team on the field at the end of the game,” he said.
Ferguson said the first two weeks of the competition had forced him to re-assess where Mayne sits.
“I just think we’ve played two of the top sides in the comp and this is where we‘re at,” he said.
“It’s a fair way off. We aren’t as good as we thought.”
Around the grounds:
Burleigh vs. Surfers
Surfers Paradise 3.9, 6.12, 9.15, 18.18 (126)
Burleigh 1.4, 3.8, 7.10, 10.12 (72)
Surfers Paradise picked up its first win of the Allied Pickfords Cup season, with a victory over Burleigh.
The Bombers showed plenty of improvement from their opening match, but a nine-goal last term to the Demons left the result in no doubt.
Surfers Paradise’s three under-18 players, Jack Taylor, Dylan Mutu and Benji Neal all showed potential in the win.
What the coaches said:
Shane Williams (Burleigh):
“It was much, much better than last week.”
“We’re still two weeks off where we want to be. With such a young group of players, it’s going to take a few weeks for them to gel.”
“They were good at the contest and gave their all all day, which didn’t happen last week.”
Beau Zorko (Surfers):
“It was very, very important to get on the board so we made sure we didn’t take them lightly.”
“Nine goals in the last quarter was certainly pleasing. Out ball use started to sharpen up and our senior players certainly lead that aspect of our game, so that was pleasing.”
“We won the clearances quite convincingly but broke down through poor decisions and trying to play the game too quickly.”
“We knew it was going to take match practice, but the last 20 minutes of the game was much more pleasing. It’s good to see that we’re headed in the right direction.”
Maroochydore vs. Palm Beach
Palm Beach Currumbin 3.2, 7.4, 15.5, 18.11 (119)
Maroochydore 0.3, 3.6, 5.8, 7.9 (51)
Palm Beach asserted themselves as September contenders, with a win over Maroochydore on Saturday.
An eight-goal to two third quarter broke the game open for the Lions, as the Roos simply ran out of legs.
Nathan Carr kicked five for Palm Beach in the win, while Jackson Emblem was again among his side’s best.
The performance of 16 year-old Will Kristelly in the ruck was a major positive for the Roos, with the youngster more than holding his own.
Brett Maloney (Maroochydore):
“We were competitive in the first half, but we didn’t really grab our opportunities when they were presented.”
“Our ability to go with them wasn’t there (late in the game) – we just fell down in pretty much every area.”
“Their bigger bodies were able to crash through and we weren’t able to.”
Daryn Cresswell ( Palm Beach):
“We knew it was going to be pretty tough, but one of our major strengths is running through the midfield.”
“We rotated well early and we ran the game out really hard.”
“Obviously there’s still plenty of improvement when you bring in new players, but I’m really please with the way we’re gelling. That will only get better as the season rolls on.”
UQ vs. Noosa.
University of Queensland 1.3, 3.7, 8.11, 10.13 (73)
Noosa 2.4, 5.5, 8.7, 10.12 (72)
UQ notched up its inaugural Allied Pickfords Cup win on Saturday, clinching a thriller over Noosa.
It was an arm wrestle all day, with the Red Lions leading by only four points going into the final change.
In a goal for goal last quarter, UQ jut did enough to hold off the Tigers and claim the historic win.
Red Lions, Michael Stewart and Zac Southern again stood up for UQ, with strong contributions, while Noosa Captain Peter Trompf played his usual consistent game.
What the coaches said:
Matt Stewart (UQ):
“The first win in Division one, it’ll be a pretty memorable one. To win by one point is even better.”
“I was pretty nervous in the last five minutes. Up until then, you’re so busy looking after rotations that you don’t really get a chance, but the last five when it was goal for foal, it was quite nerve wracking.”
“We were focused on playing our game for four quarters and I was confident that if we did that, we could go close.”
“It was a team effort, we need everybody contributing to get us across the line.”
See the Red Lions singing their song for the first time in Div 1 here.
Wayne Fletcher ( Noosa):
“The game was there to be won and I think we were giving away too many free kicks, we were unable to shake them off and keep them off.”
“They play a good brand of footy and they certainly kept going until the end. As much as we were disappointed, they deserved the win.”
“We’ve got a lot of new players in our group and it’s just those pressure situations (where we’ve slipped). We need to work on getting things right when they need to be right. Sometimes that takes a little bit of time.”
Western Magpies vs. Coolangatta
Western Magpies 4.3, 9.7, 14.9, 17.12 (114)
Coolangatta Tweed 3.0, 3.1, 7.3, 9.5 (59)
The Western Magpies continued their perfect start to 2013, with a comfortable win over Coolangatta on Saturday.
The Magpies, still missing a number of key personnel, showed their depth to keep an improved Blues side at bay.
Anthony Corrie kicked six for the defending premiers, after being well held early in the match, while Coolangatta’s Jack Ryan got his own bag of six at the other end.
What the coaches said:
Craig St John (Magpies):
“I was disappointed with our ball control and our decision making, but it was good to get away with a win.”
“I think our fitness base is helping us finish games off. It helped us against Mayne and also yesterday.”
“We’ve had a lot of injuries over the last couple of weeks and there are still some premiership players floating in the wings to come back. The second half of the season will be better than the first, for sure.’
Daniel Hawkins (Coolangatta):
“I thought we were pretty competitive but lacked a bit of polish on our forward entries.”
“We needed the test against the top side. We’ve taken a few things out of the game that we need to fix up.”
“We’re going to be looking at going forward and hitting our targets. Around the ground, we had good skills but then it would get to the last possession in our forward line and it’d fall down.”
