By Beth Newman
Kedron 8.8, 12.15, 18.19, 23.23 (161)
Coorparoo Kings 5.4, 8.7, 11.12, 20.14 (134)
Kedron caused a major finals shake up, with an upset win over Coorparoo on Saturday.
The Lions jumped into fourth spot, and gave themselves a massive confidence boost, with one of their most impressive wins of the season.
Michael Leamer led the way for Kedron in the shootout, with nine goals for the Lions.
The win has come at the perfect time for Kedron, who now face Aspley in an elimination final next weekend, sending a strong statement to the rest of the finalists.
The Lions’ day was soured by a knee injury to Jason Duce.
Coorparoo’s Michael Gleeson was the best for his side in the game.
The Kings were unable to be moved from second regardless of the result, and will face Yeronga in a qualifying final next weekend.
James Debono (Kedron):
“It was the first time we’ve played four quarters of football all year.”
“We’ve had 22 contributors, when a lot of times we’ve had blokes sort of come to games thinking that someone else will do the job for them.”
“We need to know that when everyone plays well that’s the type of footy we can play.”
Alexandra Hills 6.5, 8.8, 12.11, 13.13 (91)
Hornets 2.3, 6.6, 8.11, 10.15 (75)
Alex Hills finished its season on a high, with a win over Aspley.
The Bombers have had the wood over the Hornets in recent times, and set the tone for the day with a six goal first term.
From there, Aspley was unable to claw its way back, slipping to fifth and surrendering a home final in the process.
Nathan Burgess booted four for the Bombers in the win.
It was Aspley’s fourth loss from the last five matches of the regular season, setting up an elimination final against local rivals, Kedron, on Saturday.
Graham Henwood (Alex Hills):
“It’s always nice to finish the season with a good win.”
“It’s been a season of highs and lows and once again we used the opportunity to blood four first gamers in Scott Bloye, Jay Surridge-Jensen, Matthew Pyke and Clayton Hodges.”
Adam Holland (Aspley):
“We played pretty ordinary football and to Alex Hills’ credit, they deserved to win.”
“It cost us a lot of things- fourth and a home final, but that’s footy.”
“At the end of the day, winning form’s good form and heading to a finals series with only one win in our last five games isn’t a good thing, but I think the boys understand where they went wrong.”
“We know our best footy is competitive against the other sides in the finals, we just haven’t been able to find it consistently enough.”
Nambour & Hinterland 2.1, 5.6, 9.8, 15.13 (103)
Caloundra 5.2, 8.6, 10.8, 15.11 (101)
Nambour claimed a victory over Sunshine Coast rivals, Caloundra, to finish its season on a high.
They started on the back foot, but Nambour clawed their way back into the contest, with a one-goal margin at the final break.
Strong performances from Ben Hicks, Christopher Abraham and Jesse Ferguson set the tone, while Nicholas Selman slotted four in the win.
For the Panthers, Quinten Ross continued his superb season, kicking four goals, while Luke Edgecombe was the side’s best.
Caloundra finish the season one spot out of finals, in sixth, with an 8-8 record, while Nambour is seventh, on seven wins.
Both proved their competitiveness this season after being elevated from Division three and Division Four.
Yeronga South Brisbane 7.2, 12.3, 17.4, 23.6 (144)
Kenmore 2.4, 5.7, 7.10, 8.12 (60)
Yeronga gave itself a good tune up in the last week of the season, with a comfortable win over Kenmore.
Shaun Mugavin had a cracker in his return from injury, slotting seven goals for the visitors.
The young Kenmore side fought hard against the Devils, but showed the effects of a long season as the game wore on.
Nick Ielasi was the best for the home side, in their final outing of 2013.
After an inconsistent year, Kenmore finishes in ninth, with six wins.
Yeronga remains in third, setting up a qualifying final against Coorparoo on Saturday.
Tom Corless (Kenmore):
“They did alright, the season’s just taken its toll. The longer the game went, they were just tired and they looked cooked.”
“Even though there was nothing riding on it (the result), I ‘m happy that they rode it all the way through.”
“They’ve been against a lot of experience. As long as they want to be better and as long as they’re enjoying themselves, and want to try and get better.”
We’ve got some good kids in my side and they’ll get better.”
Robina 14.7, 29.13, 47.18, 60.25 (385)
Wynnum 1.1, 2.3, 6.3, 7.4 (46)
Robina coach, Mark Vigus, couldn’t find the words to describe his side’s incredible win over Wynnum on Saturday.
With eighteen individual goal scorers, a 20-goal haul to Korey Fulton adding to his tally of 101, and 12 for Vigus as well, the Roos finished their season well on top.
On Robina’s small ground, scoring came easier to both sides, with Wynnum kicking its highest 2013 score, but the complete dominance of the Roos was simply too much for the visitors.
Blayze Sherry was the best for the Vikings in the match.
With only one loss so far this season, the Roos a week off before facing either Coorparoo or Yeronga in the major semi final in a fortnight.
Wynnum finished with the wooden spoon, missing out on a win this season.
Mark Vigus (Robina):
“It was pretty crazy, I really don’t know what to say.”
“I’m pretty happy with the way they went about it. They didn’t get carried away and they were just doing things on our own terms.”
“Everyone took their turn when they needed to and that was the best part. We can’t leave it to one or two guys to get us to win games. We need 22 to play well and we can’t have any passengers.”
“We’ve got one more game to win and then we get a crack at what we want.”
Caboolture 3.3, 9.5, 10.8, 12.9 (81)
Redcliffe 4.1, 5.4, 7.7, 7.7 (49)
Caboolture claimed local bragging rights in the last game of the season, comfortably beating Redcliffe.
The Lions started on the back foot, in their final game at Alexander Barr Oval, four points down at quarter time, but a six-goal-to-one second term saw them claim the ascendency back.
Their momentum carried through the rest of the match, keeping Redcliffe scoreless in the second half.
One of the major upsides for the Lions was the performance of youngsters Charlie Driffield and Hayden Jeffries, two 16 year-olds, who have cut their teeth in seniors this season.
Caboolture finishes 10th for the season, with three wins, while Redcliffe is a spot back in 11th.
The match was the last to be played at Alexander Barr Oval, with the Lions moving to the new Burpengary precinct in 2014.
Mark Crooks (Caboolture):
“It was a good way to finish off the year, it was a great four-quarter effort yesterday.”
“We’ve improved on tackling and the defensive side of things and that causes opposition to turn it over more.”
“It was another hard fought game yesterday and it was good to come out on top after losing to them earlier in the year. We’ve got the bragging rights at the end of the year.”
