This weekend will see the clash of the 2 best teams in the SEQAFL u18 Division 1 Cup competition with the Maroochydore Roos facing off against the Sandgate Hawks.
by Simon Devine
This Saturday at Hickey Park the Division 1 Under 18 Grand Final between Sandgate and Maroochydore gets underway at 9.00am.
These two teams have had stellar home and away seasons which actually mirror each other to get to where they are now. These teams finished first (Sandgate) and second (Maroochydore) at the end of the home and away season. Both teams finished on the same points with 13 wins 2 losses and 1 draw (a washout round) the only thing that separated them was percentage which Maroochydore were 22% points behind Sandgate.
This game is a battle of Defence vs Offense with Sandgate having the best defensive record in the competition during the home and away season conceding an average of only 30 points per game, whilst Maroochydore is only a fraction behind with 35 points.
Maroochydore on the other hand has been a powerhouse in front of goals kicking an average of 108 points per game to have the best attacking record in the competition during the home and away season. And who is 2nd you might ask well if you guessed Sandgate you would be correct they have kicked an average of 97 points per game.
With these stats being as they are is it any wonder their second semi final was only decided by a single kick. Maroochydore will be hoping C. Miller, G, Douglass and J Chapman play like they did in that Semi Final win. Coach Hans Heystraten will also hope that key forward Nic Selman’s radar is on as a bag from him will go a long way in seeing the roos get over the line.
Sandgate Coach Brett (Snowy) Ayton needs to rectify 2 things if Sandgate are going to trouble the roos this weekend. First is they need to get out of the blocks early the last 2 games they have played catch up football and this has hurt them. The second aspect is their goal kicking. Sandgate give themselves plenty of opportunity to kill off sides early but are struggling to convert where it matters by inaccurate goal kicking. Ball winners Dickfos and Conway will need more assistance from Arnott-Hollick if they are to be a challenge this weekend. Jordan Fuller has hopefully strapped on his goal kicking boots and is looking forward to a big game.
This game is too close to call with the potential for it to end in a Grand Final Replay.
| Sandgate U18’s | v | Maroochydore U18’s | ||||
| N Buckley | B Brown | A Maher | T Buckle | B Kethro | B Hawley | |
| R Barber | B Conway | R Boden | E Escott-Kenny | N Frankcombe | L Bold | |
| C Heath | J Warden | T Ely | B Mahony | M Allman | A Mahony | |
| L Johnson | J Giles | L Simmons | R Manfield | H Mathews | D Chapman | |
| J Fuller | J Parsons | J Kavanagh | H Smoothy | N Selman | C Stevenson | |
| Rucks | Interchange | Rucks | Interchange | |||
| C Dickfos | T Rogerson | J Simpson | C Lee | |||
| T Arnott-Hollick | R Freeman | J Chapman | B Henderson | |||
| L Conroy | R Reynolds | C Miller | G Douglass | |||
| D Reichle | D Henderson | |||||
| M Armstrong | ||||||
Live scores updated on the AFLQ Website throughout the day
