Devils fall just short against reigning premiers

The Devils always look forward to testing themselves against the competition benchmarks. With a couple of weeks to get over the Burleigh game, you would think selection would have some tough choices to be make, but there were mixed results with 8 changes due to injury or unavailability. The good news is that 8 players had their first game of the year. Ryan Yorston and Mitch Fallon played their first games for the Devils as we took on last year’s QAFA South premiers.

The wind was up again and Coorparoo kicked with it to start the game. Both teams attacked the ball hard as they tried to set the tone of the game. The Devils took the game right up to Coorparoo for much of the quarter and only late did Coorparoo kick a couple of goals to set up a handy lead. Jonno Jennings left the ground with a broken hand, so our rotations were under pressure early.

At half time the Devils had worked very hard to kick 6 goals to 2 and lead by 5 points. Our rucks, led by Dom and Mitch, were giving us first use of the ball and Rolla was working up the ground to provide a key target. We worked well in a tough encounter. Whilst we had fought well, the fact was that we were well down on our tackles and our execution of the basics often frustrated our endeavour.

The Devils kicked an early goal in the third quarter and our confidence was growing. A further 2 of the next 3 goals meant the Devils were looking at a handy lead, but Coorparoo really started to get into the game from that point and took a 2 goal lead into the 4th quarter. They held the momentum and when Lushy limped to the bench not to return, it was always going to be tough. Coorparoo started to give some lip as they stretched their lead to 30 pts and it did look like the Devils were going to succumb to injuries and their run.

Most pleasingly, the Devils showed their never say die attitude and slowly turned the game around. Whilst it is unlikely to grab 6 goals in 10 minutes to win a game, Coorparoo had to kick a late goal to ensure they won. Boydy started to take his grabs against 3 defenders and kicked 4 for the quarter, but unfortunately, to no avail as the siren left the Devils 8 points down. So following on from last year, the Devils showed that they have a never give up attitude to games and know how to run a game out. This attribute is one that can make a huge difference to results in a competition like this.

As Wangas told the boys after the game, with the depth we currently have at the Devils, we can be the benchmark of this competition. Proving that to ourselves is the challenge we will take on.

Yeronga: 1.2 7.4 10.8 15.10 (100)

Coorparoo: 3.7 5.11 12.15 15.17 (107)

Goal Kickers: G. Boyd 8, B. Davis 2, D. Middleton, R. Haslam, S. Hall, B. Malkki, R. Yorston Best Players: D. Shewell, G. Boyd, R. Yorston, C. Lyon, D. Wili, B. Davis, M. Fallon, H. Livesey