The Panthers have now won their last 3 State League encounters on the Darling Downs afetr previously eclipsing the Lions Reserves in 2005 and Redlands in 2007.
The Magpies, in their second outing under new coach Jarrod Thorpe, outscored the Panthers in the second term to trail by just 27 points at the long break.
However, they were hit by a cyclone in the third term as the Panthers piled on 9.4 to 0.0 with the aid of a stiff breeze.
The Magpies took stock at the final break and finished with a five-goal final term, so the score line of 26.16 (172) to 11.8 (74) did not reflect their competitiveness for much of the game.
“We were terrific for three quarters but the floodgates opened in that one quarter,” said Magpies coach Jarrod Thorpe. “They had a reasonable wind behind them but we started to go away from what we have worked on and fell into some bad old habits.
“To their credit, the guys did regroup.”
Morningside coach John Blair was happy with his side’s second half, particularly in light of the fact that Brett Connell and Jon Williams were involved in a sickening collision at the start of the second quarter that saw Williams taken to hospital and Connell take no further part in the game.
“We were obviously down a couple of rotations but we were pretty good with the way the blokes went about it,” Blair said.
Toowoomba product Tyson Upton put on a clinic in his home town, dominating around the ground and constantly feeding the ball out from heavy traffic. He capped a brilliant day with five goals and was later awarded with the best on ground award during the presentations which followed the game.
Ex-Goondiwindi junior Ryan Holman shrugged off a hamstring scare from last week to figure prominently in the winning midfield, while Damien Bonney continued his outstanding form.
Alastair Nash was given a midfield role and responded with a polished performance topped by four second-half goals.
Star Panthers on ballers Paul Shelton won his share of ball, although the Magpies were delighted with the tagging effort of teenager Alex Kitchener on Shelton.
Former Morningside premiership player Mark Dowley was the Magpies’ best player against his old side, winning an intriguing battle with Kent Abey before moving forward in the last term and providing a strong focal point.
Gerard Moore battled hard against the hardened campaigner Gough and James Rozynski tried hard on his home soil.
A thank you goes out to both clubs who have provided a great opportunity to promote the game on the Darling Downs. This game was well recieved by all and with further consultation from AFLQ may become an annual event.
Also a big thank you to Matthew Croft and his support staff from University who did a tremendous job in hosting the day.
Last Modified on 30/08/2010 12:39
