It has been another incredibly consistent season for the Bond University AFL club with QFA seniors and reserves through to the preliminary final.
The seniors meet last year's Grand Final foes Burleigh while the reigning premier reserves take on Carrara.
Preliminary Final
Bond v Burleigh at Burleigh.
Last time they met:
Round 15, 2024 at The Canal.
Bull Sharks lost 15.10 (100) to 8.6 (54)
Best: Liam Viney, Tom Ferguson, Will King, Ryan Cook, Ryan Dienjes.
On reflection:
Last time we faced Burleigh we were soundly beaten on our home deck. It was a day where not much went our way. Burleigh are a side that can pile on goals when they get their tail up and this was certainly the case during our last encounter with them. We went into the game understrength due to some significant injuries and managed to hold on for 70 per cent of the game only to get blown away late.
The opposition:
It is widely regarded that Burleigh are the team to beat this season and have earned that reputation by being very consistent throughout the course of the year. They have a very settled team that have played together for many years, with a number coming through the junior ranks through to senior footy together. We will meet them at full strength so it is a massive challenge and one our group cannot wait for.
Shuffling the magnets:
There shouldn’t be too many changes this week given we didn’t have any significant injuries last week. We are hopeful of bringing Felix Packer back into the mix although he will need to prove his fitness during our final training session.
Ones to watch:
As has been the case for most of the season our midfield contingent has been super consistent and have provided real drive out of the middle to give our forwards first look for much of the year. This will be the case again this week as we match up very well against Burleigh through the middle of the ground. Liam Viney, Jack O’Shea and Kain Ford in particular will be critical to us winning on the weekend.
The focus:
This week we need to be super disciplined in the way we set up. Burleigh are so well drilled and set up very well behind the ball. This means we need to cut through their defence with precision then work hard back in defence on turnover as they score at will from defence. They have no weaknesses across the ground, so every player needs to be fully dialled in and disciplined for the entire 100 minutes to match them.
The final word:
We see this game as a massive challenge although one we know we can win if we play our game style and back our strengths. If we win, we move into the Grand Final, so no bigger prize awaits the victor. Bring it on!!
With Andy Lovell
Reserves
Bond v Carrara at Burleigh
Last time they met.
Rd 14, 2024 at Carrara
Bull Sharks won 13.9 987) to 2.7 (19)
Best: Luke Manns, Joshua Clarke, Alex Crowe, Oliver Burrows-Cheng, William Cooper.