The Bull Sharks return to The Canal this weekend after claiming three wins from four matches last round, with both the men and women building strong momentum heading into another home fixture.
The men overcame a slow start against fierce rivals Burleigh before exploding with an eight-goal-to-zero third quarter to seal the result. Now, Bond faces Robina at home, with the Bull Sharks looking to bring the same intensity and pressure that powered last weekend’s turnaround.
Meanwhile, the women delivered one of their most complete performances of the season, dominating on both offence and defence. Coach Andy Lovell praised the squad’s even contribution, with all 21 players playing their role in the victory.
This weekend presents another challenge as the Bull Sharks host UQ at The Canal. With confidence building and the team firing across every line, Bond will be eager to continue its winning form in front of a home crowd.
QFA
Last round – Bond v Burleigh - Bull Sharks won 10.8 (68) - 7.2 (44)
Round Five
Bull Sharks v Robina at The Canal
The opposition – Robina are somewhat of a puzzle, as you never quite know what you may get. What we do know is that they will pose a significant challenge, given the quality of their team. It looks like it may be wet, so that will also present us with more of a challenge, given that they love a contested brand of footy. They have big-bodied mids who love the scrap and contested game.
The challenge – The unknown is the challenge this week, given we haven’t seen them play at all this year, and their form line has been up & down. What we do know is that if we continue the way we have been playing in the opening few games, we should account for them.
Shuffling the magnets – There may be up to 5 changes this week, with all players back on deck and returning from Uni break, as well as some players leaving the team for various reasons. Our depth is our strength, so we should be able to manage with little interruption.
Ones to watch – Looking forward to watching the increasing form of one of our key forwards, Jack Tilley. We also have a milestone game for one of our favourites and best players, Ollie Burrows-Cheng.
The focus – Put them away early with relentless pressure and scoreboard pressure. We have a very strong midfield that will give our forwards great service. In the wet conditions, we need to maximise this advantage early.
Final word – Another chance to continue the momentum we have built early in the season and beat a legitimately good team on our home deck. The boys will need their screw-ins this weekend, that’s for sure.
With Matthew Kennedy
QAFLW
Last round - Bull Sharks v Maroochydore - Bull Sharks won 14.11 (95) - 0.2 (2)
It was one of our best games yet, really even, and everyone was doing what they were meant to be doing.
Round Six
Bull Sharks v UQ at The Canal
The opposition – UQ are playing really well, they had a good game last week and only lost by one goal, so they are in good form. They beat us last year at their home ground, so we have got a bit of history. We are in good form, but we need to be wary of them as they are a quality team.
The challenge – The challenge is going to be the wet conditions. We have a very skilful running game, which is obviously reduced in the wet, heavy conditions, so we have got to adapt our game a bit. We will just have to do a bit less handball and more kicks.
Shuffling the magnets –We are excited to welcome back our captain, Grace Mooney, coming back after a week out. We are also welcoming back Charlie Adamson after she has been out for quite some time recovering from an ACL injury.
The focus – We just want ot continue our team first footy, last week was our best game, and it was a really even game as well. So it's really important that everyone plays their role and plays for the team.
Final word – It's a must-win game because it means we will go into the bye at 5-1 and 2nd on the ladder. If we can perform and win, it's a critical game in the context of the rest of the season.
With Andy Lovell