Injuries a blight on Cats victory
TWO of their players were whisked away in ambulances while another was treated by paramedics but the Broadbeach Cats have still managed to put themselves within one game of the QAFL grand final.
In incredible scenes at Subaru Oval on Saturday, Broadbeach overcame the loss of Ryan Pantic (torn spleen), Benji Neal (shoulder) and utility Nelson Sorensen (ankle) to beat Morningside 19.9 (123) to 10.16 (76) in the qualifying final.
Pantic collapsed while medical staff tried to help him into the ambulance after being hurt in a contest in the opening stages of the game.
Broadbeach battled with just one rotation for the majority of the second half, while key forward Luke McGuane played on despite suffering a hamstring injury that hindered his ability to kick.
The Cats will have a week off before playing minor premiers Palm Beach Currumbin in the preliminary final at Salk Oval, but they may have to do it without the injured group.
Broadbeach captain Nathan Quick said the Cats already had up to six players who just missed selection for the qualifying final who could fill the voids left by the injured group.
“I’m not sure what is wrong with the guys but at the start of the game there were probably five or six guys who missed out on selection,” Quick said.
“That’s finals. Everyone puts their body on the line and you are probably going to lose a couple.
“Those guys set the tone for the game. Hopefully they are not too bad and can come back next week but we have guys ready in case.”
Despite Broadbeach’s lack of rotations, it was their superior running game that ultimately allowed them to overcome a tight first quarter to secure a comfortable 47-point victory.
“Eight weeks ago we set ourselves the goal of finishing second and to get a home final to do things a bit easier than last year,” Quick said.
“After the first quarter we didn’t change too much. We kept to the plan and kept grinding. Maybe we settled down a bit and started to hit our leads and use our skills to build some scoreboard pressure.
“It definitely helped having the (Suns) academy boys. Ace (Hewago Paul Oea) and Kwabe (Boakye) gave us some more run.”