It was a tough Grand Final weekend for our QAFLW seniors and reserves teams.
The Bull Sharks went into both deciders as the reigning premiers, but were beaten by strong Southport sides who claimed well deserved premierships.
There's still more Bull Sharks footy to come with our seniors and reserves advancing to the QFA preliminary finals.
The seniors accounted for Carrara in their semi-final while the reigning premier reserves lost to Burleigh but live to fight another day after finishing on top of the ladder.
QAFLW
Seniors
Bond v Southport at People’s First Stadium
Bull Sharks lost 8.6 (54) to 3.1 (19)
Best players: Mia Salisbury, Paris Lightfoot, Nyalli Milne, Havana Harris, Skye White, Lexi Samuels.
Where it was lost:
A disappointing third quarter all but ruined our tilt at back-to-back flags as we failed to adjust to Southport’s pressure and the fact they rolled their wingers behind the ball to stop us scoring.
The Highlight:
Leah Kaslar kicking our first 2 goals in the first half as she battled hard to keep our forward line functioning effectively while outnumbered.
What made you happy:
Despite an uncharacteristic showing we battled hard to fight out the game. Both squads stuck tight post game and vowed to keep searching for improvement leading into next season.
Bull Sharks Football:
Sadly, this wasn’t on display after half time. Our poor ball use execution and decision making meant we consistently kicked the ball back to them and we couldn’t get any clear air to allow our runners to get the ball in space.
Work to do:
We’ll go away, reflect and review all parts of our program in an effort get better across all levels of the club. From playing to coaching, to fitness and medical, we will leave no stone unturned. And after a playing list review we will get straight into recruiting for next season.
Trademark player:
Jasmyn Davidson did a sterling job on the opposition’s Dakota Baron, limiting her impact on the game. Our skipper Paris Lightfoot also competed strongly over four quarters despite some ankle problems.
Reserves
Bond v Southport
Bull Sharks lost 7.5(47) to 3.9 (27).
Best Players: Sarah Heptinstall, Annabelle Foat, Aleah Stronger, Makayla Sekac, Andria Heard, Hannah Garland.
QFA
Seniors.
Bond v Carrara at The Canal.
Bull Sharks won 10.6 (66) to 7.8 (50)
Best players: Wyatt Bacon, Oliver Burrows-Cheng, Tom Ferguson, Nicholas Francis, Kain Ford, Ryan Dienjes.
Where was it won:
Bond started the game really well and produced some early scoreboard pressure which resulted in early goals. This gave the team real momentum leading into half time. We had a midfield this week who were well on top for the majority of the game and gave quality supply to our forwards. We had a young ruckman playing his first game of the season in Seth Burquest who is super athletic and got his hands to the ball first on most occasions to give our midfielders first use out of the middle.
The Highlight:
The highlight was the way the team rallied late in the third quarter when challenged. Carrara came within a goal in the later stages of the third and had real momentum. Our senior players in Wyatt Bacon, Ryan Dienjes, Will King and Liam Viney really steadied the team and slowed the game down to get it back on our terms. We kicked two late goals in the third to steady the ship which gave the group some real belief leading into the final quarter.
What made us Happy:
The response when challenged late in the second half. We had to hang on and fight hard not to get overrun and managed to do this with unbelievable effort and some individual brilliance. It was mentioned post-game that it was the win of the season given what was at stake and how the team managed to hold on.
Bull Sharks Footy:
This week epitomised what we mean by Bull sharks Footy. It was a classic hard fought finals game where we were challenged and managed to hang on and win against a high-quality outfit. Manic pressure mixed with high quality skills won the game for us. It’s a game the team should be super proud of and again gives us real belief going into another week of finals this week.
The work to do:
This week it will be more about recovery and getting ourselves up for another week against a flag favourite in Burleigh. We have a lot of sore players as every side does so our focus early in the week is to get all the players back to feeing healthy then having a light session Thursday going into the game as fresh as possible.
Trademark Player:
This week’s Trademark Player is our previous club captain and stalwart Wyatt Bacon. His leadership and work in defence was of the highest order on the weekend. He was super on the weekend for us and is a well deserving winner of the Trademark Player this week.
Reserves
Bond v Burleigh at Burleigh
Bull Sharks lost 3.3 (21) to 4.5 (29)
Best Players: Joshua Clark, Nathan White, Harrison Black, Josh Lanham, Adam Forward, Sam Bowen.
With Andy Lovell