By Beth Newman
1. Size doesn’t matter
It’s not the big men taking all the spotlight in front of goals this season, with smaller forwards the order of the day. One of the best of these is Maroochydore’s Jarryd Hill (184cm) who is well and truly on top of his club’s goals in 2013, and third in the league. Hill kicked another bag of five on the weekend, playing on the wing and half forward and showed his value to the side yet again.
2. Wade Dickson is a gun
It’s been a tough year for Burleigh, but hard nut Wade Dickson has provided plenty of highlights. Dickson is only available to the Bombers every second week, but he’s been close to best on ground in every game. Senior coach, Shane Williams, would be wishing he could play every week.
3. Springwood can kick a big score.
Springwood’s grunt has helped it out a lot this season, with a lot of hardened mids in their side. But on the weekend, they proved their finishing skills, with an incredible 52 scoring shots, and 35 goals. The Pumas have a solid defensive line that has been its foundation in recent weeks, but it was their attacking potency against Coolangatta that took people’s attention. The ladder leaders have officially added another weapon to their artillery, which can only be a good thing with finals fast approaching.
4. Any game anywhere on the road for Palm Beach.
Palm Beach has not dropped a game this season on the road, and they continued that record against Noosa. While Salk Oval has a pretty intimidating aura, both of the Lions’ losses (Wilston Grange and Magpies) have come at their home ground. It’s a pattern that they showed last year too, with two of their three 2012 home and away losses also at home. While they still have an incredibly good record over the season, their Salk Oval record may make Surfers feel a little bit more comfortable this Saturday.
5. Sandgate’s young kids showing plenty of upside.
Sandgate has fielded one of the youngest sides in the competition this season, but haven’t looked it, with a number of impressive performances. Yet another young gun took the torch on the weekend, with 16 year-old Josh Elmslie continuing his strong senior form, after originally being called up for the Hawks’ Rd 12 clash with Maroochydore. Sandgate’s performances this season should make a lot of opposition sides wary of the Hawks’ future potential, if they aren’t already.
6. Magpies’ midfield back to its damaging best.
The Magpies have thrown themselves back into premiership contention in the last month, and on the weekend their midfield showed some of its best work. The usual suspects of Jimmy Rozynski, Tim McEvoy and Reid Dobson put the sword to the Demons and reminded everyone why they held the cup aloft last year. If they can continue their silver service in the middle, the Magpies will send shivers through the spines of every other finals side.
