One-way traffic as Cats set sights high
TAKING away the lure of having a Gold Coast QAFL grand final on the line ripped some of the gloss from the top-of-the-table clash between Broadbeach and Morningside but the Cats look destined to win the premiership regardless.
Broadbeach smashed Morningside 13.16 (84) to 6.8 (44) at Subaru Oval on Saturday to finish on top of the ladder at the end of the regular season as it prepares for a finals campaign that could deliver the club’s first senior premiership since 1996.
Both were undefeated going into the Round 9 game in what many considered a prelude to the grand final but it was one-way traffic.
It has left the Cats as huge favourites to win the premiership decider, that AFLQ announced would be held at Yeronga on September 26 due to the unavailability of Southport’s field.
“We beat Morningside at their own game,” Cats coach Craig O’Brien said. “They are a very good stoppage team but people underestimate how good our midfield is when Jed Turner is in ruck.
“We have big bodies who don’t tire, are fit and quick. We just had to match them there and we did.”
Broadbeach and Morningside will have a week off, with the Cats playing the winner of an elimination final between Sherwood and Maroochydore the week after in which a win will cement a place in the grand final.
Palm Beach Currumbin will play Mt Gravatt in the other elimination final after beating the Vultures 15.12 (102) to 7.12 (54) at Salk Oval on Saturday.
Injuries in attack prompted coach Jess Sinclair to send defender Max Spencer forward and he booted 5.4. It was the first time Spencer, 22, has played a full game as a forward since his junior days before being drafted by Gold Coast Suns at the end of 2016.
“I was pretty much a forward for my whole junior career,” Spencer said. “It still comes naturally to me.”
Palm Beach Currumbin could welcome back senior figures Jackson Emblem, Thomas Thynne and Jason Burge for this week’s game.
Labrador has bid farewell to captain Bryce Retzlaff and Ben Fagan as they announced their retirement after the club’s final game of the season. The Tigers lost to Sherwood 11.18 (84) to 10.6 (66) at Cooke Murphy Oval on Saturday, the same day reigning premier Surfers Paradise lost to Maroochydore to fall short of finals.