Round 2 results:
Coorparoo 8.13 (61) def. Wilston Grange 1.3 (9)
University of Queensland 5.9 (39) def. Maroochydore 2.6 (18)
Coolangatta Tweed 19.10 (124) def. Zillmere Eagles 2.1 (13)
What mattered most:
With almost every team experiencing some sort of interruption during pre-season, the telling indicator in round two was match fitness and awareness. In all three games, the losing side were competitive early, but faded away as the game went on, allowing for the more polished and fitter sides on the day to open up a bigger margin than the game suggested. This was the case in Coorparoo’s game, where they led Wilston Grange by just three goals at half-time before running away with it in the final quarter to win by 52 points.
Code-hoppers and newbies:
Something to take away from round two for all teams was the introduction of new players to both their respective clubs and the QWAFL competition. Reigning champions Coolangatta fielded 10 new girls on the day, highlighting their depth this year. Grange in particular faced the challenge of converting a large number of women from soccer, touch football and rugby sevens to AFL footy over the preseason. These women showed great physicality for Grange on Saturday with the team recording close to three times more tackles than Coorparoo, but lacked in gameplay experience which will get better the more they play.
Where to improve:
Every team showed some signs of early-season rust on the weekend. For Coolangatta, despite kicking a big total on the scoreboard, they could have done better at supporting the ball carrier in the middle of the ground by improving their communication. Likewise, Maroochydore burst out of the blocks kicking the first two goals in their match against UQ but weren’t able to continue that trend, largely due to losing possession in transition as the game wore on. UQ were good in general, but need to sharpen up their disposal efficiency coming out of the back half, with Maroochydore exposing their vulnerability at half-back on a couple of occasions early in the game.
The ladder:
After their demolition job on Zillmere, Coolangatta now sit on top of the table on six points with a big percentage boost. Coorparoo and UQ, also on six points, follow close behind. The remaining four sides yet to register a win will have to wait until after the Easter break to open their accounts.
By Josh Cheadle
Twitter: JoshCheadle20
