MAROOCHYDORE has jumped into fourth spot on the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) Women’s ladder with a convincing 63-point victory over Coorparoo at home on the weekend. The Saturday twilight game took place at the spectacular Maroochydore Multisports Complex, where the Roos proved too strong for the Kings in the Round 12 clash, running out 11.11 (77) to 2.2 (14) winners.

Maroochydore started off the game in strong form, slotting the only three goals of the opening quarter to lead 19-0 by the first break. They built on that strong start with a dominant second term, scoring 4.4 to 1.0 to blow the lead out to 41 points by half-time. The Kings managed to stem the flow in the second half, particularly the third term, with both sides only scoring a goal, and the lead only increasing by two points to 43 at the last change. A 3.3 to 0.1 final term was reminiscent of the first quarter, as the Roos put an exclamation mark on the result to put the Kings to the sword in a 63-point triumph.

Maroochydore had 86 more disposals, and 25 more inside 50s, only conceding 11 to their opposition, making it light work for the Roos defenders. Though the Roos also won the contested possessions (plus-22), they really dominated the outside with 88 more uncontested possessions. Surprisingly, it was not necessarily through marks, with Coorparoo taking one more (39-38), but 21 of the Roos’ 38 marks came inside 50, showing the forward half dominance and relative freedom inside the arc. To Coorparoo’s credit, the Kings laid 11 more tackles and won 22 more hard balls, indicating they were up for the fight.

Ahead of AFL Women’s Season 7, talented Brisbane Lions duo Lily Postlethwaite and Bella Smith went to work. They combined for a massive 51 disposals – 37 contested – eight marks, 15 tackles, and a goal each, whilst Postlethwaite – who has spent the QAFL Women’s season recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury – also managed seven clearances and six inside 50s.

Ball-winning jet Mikayla Martin (20 disposals, three marks and a goal) and Rachel Crack (20 disposals, four clearances, two tackles and two goals) both found plenty of the ball. Talented teenager Sophie Peters (18 disposals, two marks and six inside 50s) was busy across the ground. Up forward, it was hard to look past Emma Day who had more scoring shots than the opposition, with 4.5 from 17 disposals and nine marks – four contested – in what was an unstoppable day inside 50.

Sally Young picked up a team-high 18 disposals for Coorparoo, also taking three marks and laying three tackles. Ariana Reilly (16 disposals – at 100 per cent efficiency – two marks, and two tackles), Meg Muir (16 disposals, three clearances, four marks and two tackles), Hannah McLaughlin (16 disposals, eight tackles) and Chelsea Winn (16 disposals, five clearances, six tackles and four inside 50s) were all productive. Talented young forward Chelsea Chesterfield slotted two goals from limited opportunities.

The result meant the Roos moved into the top four, now boasting an impressive percentage of 190.76, to move within two points of Bond University on 26 points. Heading into the round, the Coorparoo was two points clear of Maroochydore in fourth, but the big loss meant the Kings percentage dipped below the 100 per cent down to 98.28. They can still make finals however, with six of the eight QAFL Women’s teams in contention.

In other Round 12 QAFL Women’s results the biggest talking point was the abandonment of the Aspley-Southport game in the second term after an injury to a Hornets player. Both sides will take two points from the contest. Meanwhile Bond University proved too strong for Yeronga South Brisbane, picking up a 20-point win at home, whilst the University of Queensland dominated Wilston Grange, piling on 16 goals to zero to win by 106 points.