The Bond University footy side sit atop the QFA ladder with a whopping percentage of 311.32 after an 89-point mauling of the Tweed Coast Tigers on Saturday.
The Tigers are not expected to be among the contenders when the finals roll around and the Bull Sharks were entitled be hot favourites in Bogangar.
However, there were still plenty of positive takeaways from the 15.16 (106) to 1.11 (17) win.
What worked:
The addition of Liam Viney across half back totally transformed the Bull Sharks. With such a creative and highly skilled player behind the ball, the side were far more efficient with their ball movement. It made life tough for the Tigers’ defence and provided plenty of opportunities for the Bond forwards.
Making his mark:
This year’s Riewoldt Family AFL Excellence Scholarship recipient Tom Ferguson has made a terrific start to his career with the Bull Sharks. Although lightly built, the Victorian is comfortable in traffic and possesses the necessary evasive skills to allow him to be effective with the footy until such time as he has the strength to bust tackles. And he is a beautiful kick of the football. His three goals on Saturday were a great return in just his second game at senior level.
Speaking of great kicks:
Matthew Smith made it look like a day under the roof at Marvel Stadium, rather than a grinding type of day on a wind-swept country footy ground. The burly half forward defied the conditions to boot seven goals for the day.
A lot can change in a week:
The ball security wasn’t great in round 1 which kept Robina in the contest. And long, high switches of play made life hard for the Bond forwards. The desire to move the ball around was still there at Bogangar but the decision-making and execution was greatly improved.
What they said:
Senior coach Luke Mansbridge has made it two from two in his first season at the helm.
The long-time Bull Shark, who was formerly an assistant coach in the men’s program and more recently led the women’s QAFLW side, said he was impressed with the improvement shown from the previous week’s scratchy win over Robina.
“The boys were really strong,” he said.
“Overall, our structure held up really well. It was testing conditions, very windy, and I’m really happy with where we are at and the learnings that are coming and the development that is occurring week on week.
“We will just keep building towards the end of the year, so yeah it was really good and I’m very happy.’’
Pressure from below:
Every footy coach wants a strong reserves side applying pressure on the seniors and Mansbridge must be delighted with the performance of the reserves. They booted 17.17 (119) to 1.2 (8) in a thrashing that was almost a carbon copy of the senior game.