REDLAND-VICTORIA POINT has kept its 2022 Senior QAFL season alive thanks to a point after the siren from star full forward Matt Hammelmann against Palm Beach Currumbin
The league leading goal kicker marked on the boundary line 40 metres out from goal with scores level 79-apiece with the siren sounding moments later. Hammelmann only needed to kick a score to send the Sharks through to the Preliminary Final and he did so to perfection; kicking the ball through for a point before being mobbed by fans in an extraordinary finish.
The Sharks were given the right of their life by the Lions who came from 36-points down late in the first quarter before surging back into the contest to level the scores with just minutes to play. A free-kick on the scoreboard wing set the play in motion for Hammelmann to end the fairytale for the Lions and see his team through to a Preliminary Final date with Aspley at Graham Road this weekend.
Redland-Victoria Point went to the home clash against Palm Beach Currumbin filled with confidence after just holding off a fast-finishing Noosa outfit at home the previous week. PBC on the other hand; thanks to small forward Ethan Sekac, surprised the QAFL world with a memorable win over Labrador in the dying moments.
1ST QUARTER – Sharks start strongly
With wet conditions threatening to derail the likelihood of a high scoring contest; the Sharks ignored the weather forecast as they pressed forward and scored the opening goal of the game from Josh Brown inside the opening minute.
Crowd favourite Silvelio Lemana-Paku goaled from a free-kick moments later and in the blink of an eye, the home team opened up a 12-point lead.
Star forward Matt Hammelmann marked strongly at half-forward in the ninth minute and kicked a towering goal to get his day off to the perfect start. He would kick two of the next three goals of the game in the back half of the quarter with his third goal at the 27-minute mark opening up a staggering 36-point lead (37-1).
Jamie Ivers was outstanding in the ruck for the Sharks with Brock Aston dominating in the midfield.
PBC captain kicked the cliched ‘Captain’s Goal’ late in the quarter to cut the margin back to 30-points at the first change.
2ND QUARTER – Lions poor kicking proves costly
Palm Beach Currumbin stormed out of the blocks to start the quarter, and kicking with the aid of a slight breeze, looked to close the gap quickly.
Unfortunately for the Lions, poor kicking let them down. Two missed opportunities from dead-in-front inside the first five minutes would see Corey Beaman start his day in style with a goal at the six-minute mark.
The entire second quarter belonged to PBC but they wasted opportunities in front of goals; kicking 3.6 for the quarter. Eight of those scoring attempts were from set shots with seven of the nine shots occurring from almost in front.
The Lions closed the margin back to six-points at the 18.5-minute mark of the term before James Rayner kicked the only score for the Sharks at the 24-minute mark, a goal that sent the margin out to 12-points at half-time.
3RD QUARTER – Sharks struggle to put the game away
With goals into the wind very difficult to come by; Ashton Crossley started the term off in style for PBC with a goal on the run in the opening minute. When a rushed behind occurred shortly after, the margin was cut back to five-points, the closest it had been since the opening minute of the game.
Matt Warren marked and goaled for the Sharks to restore order for the Sharks who had kicked 7.1 to that point of the game. The Sharks added two more goals at the margin ballooned out to 24-points mid-way through the term.
Inaccuracy proved costly for the home team with three misses in five minutes either side of time-on after looking like they couldn’t miss in the previous 80-minutes of play. The margin pushed out to 27-points at the 23-minute mark of the quarter.
Like RVP had done to the Lions in the second term by kicking a goal after a run of misses from the opposition; the script had flipped with goals Harrison and Joyce in quick succession to cut the margin back to 15-points heading into the final term.
4TH QUARTER – Sekac stars – Hammelmann reigns supreme
One of the highlights of the season occurred inside 2.5minutes of the final term. Malachi Dumas kicked the ball up on the boundary line the Lions; shrugged off an opponent and sent the ball to the top of the square. Ethan Sekac soared forward and took the the most spectacular juggling mark seen for the year that involved him turning around mid-air in full momentum, tapping the ball around his body and then launching forward horizontally to take the grab; it was extraordinary.
Sekac went back and kicked the goal to cut the margin back to nine-points. RVP responded through Caleb Franks just minutes later and the Lions were desperate to not let the game slip. In fact, they kept the scoreboard ticking over, but like the second term, had the yips. They kicked 4 points in eight-minutes to trim the margin back to just 11-points.
Jamie Ivers gathered the ball down the other end for RVP and kicked arguably the sealer at the 17-minute mark of the quarter.
PBC were not done with yet as McLennan and Walter kicked goals to reduce the margin to just five-points at the 20-minute mark.
One of the biggest moments of the game to that point occurred at the 24-minute mark when the PBC kicked the ball long to Will Bella inside 30 metres who tried to claim the contested mark but the umpire called touch and it was a stoppage. The Sharks went forward and missed two shots on goal after that stoppage and the margin was back to seven points.
Palm Beach Currumbin went coast-to-coast from the kick-in as Joyce cut the margin back to a point at the 26-minute mark. A missed shot on goal moments later levelled the scores with just moments left to play.
The ball went to the wing; Hammelmann marked 33-minutes into the final quarter with the siren sounding and he kicked the winning point to salute a famous win; 12.8.80 to 11.13.79.
BROADBEACH continued its undefeated start to the season by securing an outstanding 25-point win over Aspley for a spot in the 2022 QAFL Senior Men’s Grand Final.
The Cats kicked away to a four-point lead at quarter-time in a fierce contest. Aspley rose to the occasion in the second term playing its fast attacking brand of football to catch the Cats napping. It kicked 6.2 for the term to open up a handy nine-point lead.
Broadbeach stormed out of the blocks in the third term and played its best attacking brand of football for the season; kicking an extraordinary 7.2 to 1.2 quarter and lead by 27-points. This effort showed how important the ‘premiership quarter’ is in finals.
The backline of the Cats held firm in remarkable fashion to hold off a determined Aspley outfit to win by 25-points; 14.9.92 to 10.8.68.
Brad Lowe and Brad Lynch kicked four and three goals respectively while James Gledhill was outstanding in defense for the reigning premiers. Tom Watson kicked four and Will Peppin kicked two for the Hornets.
RESERVES
LABRADOR advanced through to the 2022 Grand Final with an impressive 62-point win over Aspley, 12,14.86 to 3.6.24. The Tigers kicked a staggering six goals in the final term to salute an incredible win. Mackenzie Riddle was outstanding in the backline with his brilliant defensive work while Rhys Coombe kicked four goals.
PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN came from 20-points down against Maroochydore at half-time to force the game into Extra time at Victoria Point. In a sign of things to come with the thrilling finish in the Seniors (almost going the same way), the Lions were outstanding in the two extra time quarters largely thanks to Jamison Shea who was crucial with some big marks and goals to win by 13-points.
Ben Wilson and Jack Granville were outstanding for the winners while Hayden Smoothey kicked two goals for the Roos in the 11.10.76 to 9.9.63 result.
Aspley play Palm Beach Currumbin at home on Saturday.
COLTS
PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN advanced to the 2022 Colts decider with a thrilling six-point win over Maroochydore, 5.12.42 o 5.6.36. Luca Laverde was outstanding for the winners with Macklin Johnson kicking two goals, while Bailey Hahn and Takoda Boltong were the best for the Roos.
BROADBEACH edged out Labrador in a three-point thriller to advance to the Preliminary final; 3.4.22 to 2.7.19. The Cats kicked just three points in the first half before kicking 2.1 to 0.1 in the third term to hit the front and ultimately hold on for the win. Jack Bowen and Jaxon Denny impressed for the winners while Louis Pain and Harry Sullivan tried hard for Labrador.
Image by Brooke Sleep Media.
