QWAFL Premiers Yeronga South Brisbane
Yeronga South Brisbane 10.15 (75) def. Coorparoo 9.3 (57)
From last year’s grand final heartbreak to premiership glory in 2017, redemption has never tasted so sweet for the Yeronga South Brisbane Devils.
Headlining a women’s footy triple-header, the Devils were able to overcome 21-point quarter time deficit, surging home in the final quarter to defeat the Coorparoo Kings by 18 points and claim the 2017 Bond University QWAFL Premiership.
Ball magnet Emily Bates was named best on ground, with the playmaker racking up a game-high 29 disposals to drag Yeronga back into the match.
Her closest competition was Ally Anderson, who was unlucky not to claim the medal after a phenomenal game which included 25 touches, five marks and five tackles.
Both sides came out firing to start the match, putting on a show of fierce and unrelenting football for the crowd of 600-700 people.
Yeronga were able to get the first of the day via Kate McCarthy, but it was all Coorparoo from there, with Tarni White and Jessica Wuetschner proving a deadly duo in the Kings forward line, kicking three goals between them.
The Devils were able to claw their way back to within 12 points at half-time after some individual brilliance from Selina Puruntatameri, but found they were once again plagued by inaccuracy in front of goals.
In the third quarter it was Sam Virgo and Renee Cowan who started to find plenty of the Sherrin off half-back for the Devils.
A goal after the siren to Jade Ransfield saw Yeronga lift to within nine points heading into the final term.
In a moment of déjà vu for the Kings, they found they were unable to get a score on the board in the last term, a repeat of the final quarter of the qualifying final two weeks ago where they only just held on to win.
There was no stopping the Devils this time though, as they piled on four unanswered goals to snatch the lead and close out the match.
Demi Leach was inspiring in the final term, constantly presenting up the ground and clunking a couple of important contested grabs for Yeronga to swing the momentum their way.
The feat means in their last three games, the Devils have conceded just a solitary point in the fourth term while adding a total of 61 points themselves.
A knee injury to Sam Virgo late in the fourth quarter forced her to be stretchered off the ground and soured an otherwise fairytale finish to the season for Yeronga.
Emma Aeschlimann played a superb defensive role on Jessica Wuetschner, matching her at every contest to limit the influence of the Tasmanian star.
Meanwhile Kayla Geddes played a similar role on Yeronga’s Kate McCarthy, with some superb defensive pressure earning her consideration in best-on-ground votes.
Overall, it was a disappointing end to the year for the Kings, who had such an impressive 2017 campaign, but the current list has plenty of potential and room for growth to go one better in 2018.
GOALS:
Coorparoo: White 3, Wuetschner 3, Hickie, Taylor, Bradley
Yeronga: Leach 3, McCarthy 2, Ransfield 2, Frederick-Traub, Keeffe, Puruntatameri
BEST:
Coorparoo: A. Anderson, Geddes, Zielke, B. Gibson, White
Yeronga: Bates, Virgo, Cowan, Frederick-Traub, Zanchetta
Article written by Josh Cheadle for AFLQ.com.au