Pressure rises as finals bid heats up
THINGS do not come much bigger in local football than in the final round of the QAFL today when a minor premiership is decided and the finals fate of another club will be determined.
Heading the bill of fare is a blockbuster Gold Coast derby between Labrador and Palm Beach-Currumbin at CookeMurphy Oval where the minor premiership is at stake.
The winner gets the first week of finals off and the runner-up is virtually assured of a home-ground qualifying final next weekend.
Up the M1 at Chelmer Oval, Surfers Paradise are in do-ordie mode against the Western Magpies.
Win and Surfers could finish third for the finals and give Coast clubs the top three finals positions.
But lose and the Demons could miss the top five altogether with Morningside (fifth) and Mt Gravatt (sixth) likely to leapfrog them.
The situation is this: PBC (52 points) and Labrador (48) are safe for top two. But the Magpies (44, 120.6 per cent), Surfers (44, 120.4), Morningside (44, 115.4) and Mt Gravatt (42, 126.7) are all potential finalists.
Putting extra pressure on Surfers is the fact that Morningside (v Sandgate) and Mt Gravatt (v Wilston-Grange) should both win today.
Adding to the big show today is a double premiership reunion for Labrador’s 1986 and 1991 premiership sides to watch the derby.
“Win by a point we finish top, lose by a point we finish second – it’s in our hands,” Labrador coach Perry Meka said of the Cooke-Murphy Oval showdown.
“We are also rapt to be in a position to play a finals-type game in the last round.”
The Tigers are clearly the in-form side at the moment with their triple-pronged attacking formation in dominant form.
But Lions coach Chad Owens feels he has the defensive artillery to spike the Tigers and he confirmed Jackson Emblem will start on gun forward Josh Baxter.
Labrador regain Matt Daniel, Sam Walker and Tom Davidson while PBC still have a number of key players, including Kristen Higgs and Daniel Grant sidelined.
Surfers are at near fullstrength and have Damien Hector back from Southport.