Surfers Paradise v Palm
Beach-Currumbin at Sir Bruce Small Park, 2pm
Saturday
A VETERAN Hawk has flown the
Lemke Road coup and landed in the lions’ den at Salk Oval, where coach
Craig O’Brien could not be happier.
Aggressive veteran big man Brett
Zeidler made his debut for Palm Beach-Currumbin last round after a late
clearance from Sandgate – and left O’Brien confident he can be a
significant contributor in PBC’s quest for back-to-back titles.
“He played well and kicked
four goals from limited opportunities,” said O’Brien of Zeidler’s debut
performance.
“He’s going to be good for
us, I reckon. He’s tall, smart and can do ruckwork in the forward line.
And he’s going to take a good defender each week.
“If we get two or three goals
out of him every week it’ll be a bonus for us.”
Zeidler, a member of West
Brisbane’s 1996 West Brisbane premiership side, has linked with PBC
after Sandgate elected to run with younger players this season.
The
Lions also get a tremendous boost with the returns of 2009 Ray Poulter
Medallist Mikal Bloom, class ruckman Michael I’Anson and they named
former WAFL player Kaine Marsh.
For Surfers Paradise, fomer
Labrador pair Troy Armstrong and Shane Burn are back after missing the
massacre at Maroochy in round two.
Yet the job ahead remains a
significant one for the Demons.
“It doesn’t get any harder
than this week,” said coach Rob Martin. “I’m just glad to be playing at
home this weekend.
“We’ve lost some players, and
we’ve got a few coming up from the seconds. It’s just a continuous
rotation at the moment and we’re trying a lot of young blokes.”
Maroochy-Northshore v Burleigh
at Fisherman's Road, 2pm
Saturday
IN-FORM Maroochy-Northshore
are leaving it until as late as possible to decide whether to play
champion midfielder Ryan White in the clash against fellow unbeaten
Burleigh.
White has been on a pre-paid
overseas holiday and coach Peter Somerville said the Roos are unsure
whether the dual Todd-Duncanson Medallist will arrive back in Queensland
in time to take his place against the Bombers.
“We’re not sure, but he’ll go
straight in if he gets back in time,” said Somerville.
“Apart from that, we’ll have
basically the same team as last round.”
Down on the Gold Coast, the
news is good for Burleigh, who know this will be a test after wins
against Coolangatta and Wilston-Grange to start the new season.
For
starters, captain and forward tyro Aaron Pianta will resume after
completing a suspension carried over from 2009.
And Mick Van Rossum, Stu
Sutherland and Hugh Priest, 1-2-3 in the Bombers’ best and fairest last
season, have also been named to return.
The Bombers have lost Simon
Fletcher, Jay Allan, Dean Cook, John Chenhall and Sam Page, who has
moved north to play in Cairns.
“Yes, we have some quality
coming back,” said coach Zane Doubleday.
“So this match gives us the
chance to see how much we have improved. If we can go up there and get
close I'll be happy with that because they smashed us up there last
year.”
Sandgate v Wilston-Grange atLemke
Road Oval, 2pm Saturday
EVENTS off the field should
ensure extra feeling in this northern Brisbane derby.
For starters,
Sandgate now have a refurbished social club in operation,. Opened late
yesterday after more than four years in hibernation.
Then there is
Wilston-Grange’s tribute dinner for former champion clubman Scott
McIvor, a function that has drawn AFL luminaries Kevin Murray and David
Parkin, at the Gorillas’ headquarters following the derby.
But it is
out on the field where the major action is and Sandgate player-coach Ben
Long is not counting his chickens before they hatch in terms of
premiership ratings.
Unbeaten after two matches,
the Hawks are a street corner tip as 2010 champions, having recruited
strongly from Aspley.
“Yes, we have high
expectations but we don’t want to go too far with them,” said Long.
“We’re just worrying about Wilston-Grange.”
The Hawks have two changes.
They included 2009 B&F Ben Drew and utility Shane Rogerson, a former
Sandgate junior who has returned after stints with Zillmere and Aspley.
Rivals the Gorillas are going
in ‘a bit short’ according to player-coach Michael Rogers.
“We’ve
lost our last remaining ruckman,” he said of a shoulder injury to Jim
McMahon, following on from the absence of Mark Pennington, out
indefinitely after surgery on a broken hand..
The Gorillas have also lost
Chris Burdon, with six goals to his name in two matches, because of Army
commitments.
Coolangatta v Mayne at Len
Peak Oval, 2pm Saturday
THERE’S a bullish mood
apparent at the home of last year’s whipping boys Coolangatta at the
moment.
An honourable loss to Coast
rivals Burleigh, then an away win over Springwood has coach Grant
McKenzie looking forward to this engagement which presents the Blues
with a chance to go one better than 2009 when the club’s seniors won
just once.
“We’re on the board,” said
buoyant McKenzie.
“It’s all positive down here.
The senior team has definitely improved and our reserves are going
really well. So we have some depth this year.”
Mayne were poor last
round against Sandgate and take an ordinary record on the Gold Coast
with them to Peak Oval.
Yet, as coach Mitch Ferguson
pointed out, the Tigers did manage two rare wins on the tourist strip in
2009 – one against eventual premiers and the other against the Blues.
At the selection tables,
Coolangatta got back ruckman Adrian Miller, but lost on-baller Dylan
Cicolella (hamstring0 and under-18s captain Cameron Busch.
Mayne
suffered a blow with skipper Andrew Housego and Aaron Whitecross
unavailable because of weddings.
But the Tigers covered well
by naming champion Caleb Brown, defender Daniel Weller and Jeff Teale.
Teale
is an interesting character. He was a member of the Ten Tenors group –
so Ferguson is hoping he’ll be able to lead the players in an
after-match victory song.
Noosa v Springwood at
Weyba Road, 2pm Saturday
NOOSA have to cover for the
loss of some height following injuries to star forward Brett Duke and
ruckman/centre-half back Peter Trompf for their clash against the Pumas.
Duke, a big scorer in the
grand final rematch against Palm Beach-Currumbin last round, has work
commitments, and Trompf has groin soreness.
Centre half-back Adam Eady
returns, as does on-baller Liam Guinan.
An on-song Noosa, at home,
represents a daunting road trip for most teams – and Springwood boss
Brad Pollock rates it as the hardest in the competition.
But the
Pumas are set to give the Tigers a shake, especially with inspirational
captain Shane Murrihy back in business, plus the injection of another
two former Mt Gravatt players Chris Moor and Ryan Magarry.
But the
Pumas have lost ruckmen Reen Lovitt and Tiger Monk, leaving them
decidedly short on height.
“Yes, we’ll lack height but the boys are
getting better every week and I’m confident we can give them a run for
their money,” said Pollock.
Last Modified on 09/04/2010 14:21