By Beth Newman
SEQAFL Division 2 Elimination Final
Kedron 22.5 (137) – Aspley 12.12 (84)
SEQAFL Division 2 Qualifying Final
Coorparoo 15.18 (108) – Yeronga 13.13 (91)
Kedron kept its flag hopes alive, with an elimination final victory over Aspley on Saturday.
Seven goals to spearhead, Michael Leamer, told the story of the day as Kedron romped home with the win.
The Lions looked the goods heading into the match with plenty of momentum from a win over Coorparoo, while the Hornets had been struggling for consistency.
However, few would have expected the size of the margin given the stakes of the game.
Kicking four goals to two in the first term, the Lions were in the box seat from the get go, but a goal either side of the opening change to the Hornets’ Richard Harrison, breathed life back into Aspley’s campaign.
After that first goal of the second, it was all Kedron, with seven of the next eight giving them a 47-point half-time lead.
Aspley came back in the third, but still couldn’t make any headway in the margin, and by three-quarter time, their season was in tatters.
A spirited final quarter gave the Hornets some positives, but it was all too little, too late, as the Lions moved on to next week.
As well as Leamer’s seven, Corey Stamp slotted four in the Lions’ dominant performance.
Late inclusion Kim Thompson was a massive boost for the Lions, and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat after a lengthy absence with a thumb injury.
Lions coach, James Debono, said his team had timed their run perfectly, coming into finals.
“That’s the second time we’ve played four quarters of footy, so we’re coming into some real form, which is good,” he said.
“It’s the right time to be playing good footy.”
For Hornets coach, Adam Holland, the game was a reflection of issues they’ve had all season with consistency.
“It was just a disappointing way to end the year after showing some really good patches, where we played some really good games and beat some quality opposition,” he said.
“The last couple of weeks we weren’t able to do that and I think it showed and we couldn’t find that consistency yesterday.”
It was an end of an era for the Hornets, with Steve Jackson playing his final match for the club.
“It was pretty emotional in the rooms after the game,” he said.
“He’s the heart and soul of the team. It was pretty emotional.”
The result sees Kedron face Yeronga in the minor semi final next weekend, another sudden death match up.
In the Division Two qualifying final, Coorparoo pulled off an impressive come-from-behind victory over Yeronga.
The Devils had Coorparoo covered early with five goals to one in the opening term.
A low-scoring second term saw the sides split the honours, with Devils’ experienced campaigners, Matt Brown and Tim Notting the scorers for Yeronga.
The ‘Mugalution’, Yeronga’s Shaun Mugavin, kicked off the third with a goal in the opening minute, and was in fact his side’s only scorer for that term, with two majors.
Coorparoo’s Tobi Spencer kicked three to three-quarter time, and kicked off the Kings’ final term with a major, whittling the margin back to only four points.
Consecutive goals to Mugavin weren’t enough to hold off the Kings’ final-term flurry.
Josh and Jack Lake went back-to-back, putting the Kings out to a 12-point lead, before Ben Gibson kicked the sealer.
Yeronga now faces a sudden death semi-final against Kedron.
Coorparoo will face off against Robina in a preliminary final, with a grand final spot up for grabs.
