LIONS LAP UP TOUGH HITOUT
PALM Beach Currumbin coach Jess Sinclair believes his side are now perfectly prepared for QAFL finals after scraping home in their thriller against Mt Gravatt.
The 97-96 scoreline at Salk Oval last Saturday was the closest any side has come to conquering the undefeated Lions this year.
Mt Gravatt blew a golden chance to lock out PBC after they went 10 points up at the 29-minute mark of the final term.
Jesse Derrick and Jon Croad booted the winners late to maintain PBC’s perfect record but more than anything, Sinclair was impressed with his side’s response to the late challenge by the Vultures.
“I said to the boys that it was the game we needed because we have won most of our games pretty convincingly this year and haven’t had a close one,” he said.
“It was good to see how the players adapted when we had to change structures but the boys responded.
“It’s a good dress rehearsal for finals though hopefully it doesn’t come down to that.”
Making the Lions’ win even more impressive is the fact they managed to fight out one of the longest games in QAFL history with both sides playing more than 140 minutes of captivating football.
The fourth quarter ran for more than 40 minutes.
“It’s no secret that it was a really long game but they came with a game plan to have a lot of numbers around the contest and we couldn’t get our game going,” Sinclair said. “I got a few texts on Sunday from the boys saying it’s the sorest they’ve felt this year.
“Ahead of finals, we’re loading them up now with extra fitness so we’ll be carrying sore and tired legs into (today’s game) to prepare for what’s to come.”
PBC take on eighthplaced Wilston Grange in Brisbane today before rounding out their season with games against top-four aspirants Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.
“We can’t take them (Wilston Grange) lightly because there’s no givens in QAFL so we need to turn up and play our best footy,” Sinclair said.
The Lions had looked set to face a selection headache with in-form Josh Woolley last week kicking seven goals in the reserves in his first game back from osteitis pubis, but he and an injured Jack Anthony were overlooked for returns.