Injury spoils Lions’ victory
PALM Beach Currumbin have produced a dominant first-round win in their QAFL grand final replay against Broadbeach but have lost captain Stephen Thynne in the process.
Thynne injured his hamstring in the Lions’ 15.15 (105) to 6.12 (48) win over the Cats at Salk Oval on Saturday and is expected to miss four to six weeks. The 25-year-old has a history of hamstring problems but entered Round 1 firing after a strong pre-season.
“He has had a lot of trouble with it in the past so we have monitored his workload through the pre-season,” coach Jess Sinclair said.
“He has not missed a beat all summer and played all three pre-season games for us so to do it (on Saturday) was a nightmare.”
Sinclair said vice-captains Tom Thynne, 23, and Tyler Cornish, 24, would help fill the void left by Thynne along with leader Nick Crowley, 26.
The injury took the gloss off a brilliant display by the reigning two-time premiers, who showed no signs of complacency. New coach Jess Sinclair said he was a mess with nerves the night before.
“There is always a bit of unknown with the turnover of players from the opposition and what they would bring,” Sinclair said.
“It was a big game and in
the big moments they stepped up. Our leaders came to the fore, our back six were incredible and got on top of any threat when they started to look dangerous and the midfield applied the heat to the footy along with the ball movement.”
Former captain Jesse Derrick was among Palm Beach Currumbin’s best, along with Cornish, Tom Thynne and surprise packet Ethan Hunt, 16, who kicked three goals.
Former AFL player and returning Lion Jack Anthony took advantage of the midfield’s work, kicking a stunning eight goals.
Broadbeach coach Beau Zorko rued his side’s missed opportunities.
“They were cleaner, sharper and made better decisions,” Zorko said. “There were a lot of passages through the game where I thought we matched them, and even played better, but we couldn’t capitalise. If our kicks were straight … we would have been right in it.”
In other games Surfers Paradise beat Wilston Grange 12.14 (86) to 7.4 (46) while Labrador lost to Morningside 11.8 (74) to 9.8 (62).