CATS SNEAK HOME IN POST-SIREN DRAMA
BROADBEACH has walked from the field believing it can win the QAFL premiership after surviving a late scare to beat powerhouse Palm Beach Currumbin on the road.
The Cats’ first win over the Lions at Salk Oval since 2016 came in the most dramatic of circumstances on Saturday.
Lion Liam O’Brien had the chance to win it for his side which was two points down in the Round 6 game when he took a mark inside 50m with seconds left. The siren sounded on his run in and his kick missed to the right as Broadbeach held on for a 11.10 (76) to 10.15 (75) win.
“He is actually a really good kick for goal,” Lions coach Jess Sinclair said.
“He kicks that nine times out of 10. Maybe the moment got to him, I don’t know.
“At least he put himself in a position to win it.
“We made a lot of errors prior to that and we didn’t deserve to win.
“If he had his time again he would have probably gone back (after the siren) and reset himself. It’s not the reason we got beaten.”
Both sides were undefeated heading into the blockbuster, with the Cats now moving to the top of the ladder on percentage, stamping their premiership claims.
Cats captain Matthew Fowler played his first game since breaking his ribs in Round 1 and said the significance of the victory wasn’t understated by the team that was losing by 23 points at three-quarter time.
“We were down by a few goals but we had the belief we could fight back. To go there and win on the road was special,” Fowler said.
“Throughout the whole year we have had enormous belief. There is a lot of good energy around.
“We haven’t had success in 24 years but we have a lot of good recruits and everyone is buying in.
“We knew we had the calibre to win.”
Fowler kicked a crucial goal from the pocket about 45m out in the last quarter before Michael Selsby darted around two defenders to put Broadbeach in front late as one of his three majors.
“It was my first one back and it felt great,” Fowler said.
“The ribs were fine. I had a few of the Palmy boys texting me on Friday night asking me how my ribs were going and trying to get into my head but I didn’t let that get to me.”
In the other QAFL results, Labrador beat Wilston Grange 15.10 (100) to 13.9 (87) at Hickey Park while Surfers Paradise lost to Mt Gravatt 16.7 (103) to 5.8 (38) at Dittmer Park.