Coorparoo has won its first two Bond University QAFLW matches of a season for the first time in its history with a 13-point win over Wilston Grange at a saturated Hickey Park.
After trailing by a point at halftime, Best-on-Ground Tilayna Nissen scored two goals and was outstanding in general play (9 tackles, 4 inside-50s) to ensure that Coorparoo dominated both territorially and on the scoreboard.
The disposal efficiency for each side was just 43% as the teams coped with driving rain and a ground with more lakes than Canada. In that context, midfielder Grace Osborne was outstanding for Grange not only registering a game-high 13 effective disposals at 57% but also laying 14 tackles.
Both primary rucks, Ella Smith for the Gorillas and Renee Teys for the Kings, broke their club records for most hit-outs in a match with 31 and 34 respectively.
The heaviest rain of the match fell during the first quarter as both sides adjusted to the unreliable bounce of the ball. In the thirteenth minute, Grange forward Tia Magarry decided the best tactic was to take the ground out of the equation and bombed home the opening goal from 40 metres.
Coorparoo responded two minutes later when a long free kick from Nissen landed in the sea that occupied the western goal square. Alyssa Gall’s attempt at soccering the ball saw it surf towards the line before Jasmine Fretwell found a way to finish the job and score her first Bond University QAFLW goal.
The second quarter was played almost entirely in Wilston Grange’s forward 50 but repeated frenzied defence from Coorparoo, most spectacularly from Teys and Emily Harding, restricted the Gorillas to one scoring shot.
That was from the final kick of the quarter when Taneka Dhadlie soccered into an open goal only to see the ball held up in the quagmire. Madi Goodwin got a hand to Dhadlie’s second kick having sprinted from the centre circle to the goal square.
Nissen broke the game open early in the third term, firstly by forcing a rushed behind, then with a goal a minute later after taking a mark that would have remarkable enough in dry weather running across the front of a pack from a Rose Clancy-Dillon free kick.
The Kings took further control when Amy Dwyer was ruled to have been tackled after marking at right half-forward. The resulting 50-metre penalty gave her an easy set shot from the goal square.
The game leapt back to life early in the final term when Naomi Celebre was tackled without the ball to the right of goal and held her nerve to convert the free kick.
Both sides had their chances to turn the match over the ensuing quarter-hour, but when Nissen gathered a loose ball to the right of goal in the 17th minute and snapped hard over the defence, Coorparoo’s bizarre 13-season hoodoo was broken.
Despite winning four premierships since entering the state league in 2013, the Kings had never managed to win both of its first two games of any season. From 2019 to 2024, Coorparoo won just two of its games in the opening two rounds. Even now, no Coorparoo coach has begun a year with two wins as Michael Artis filled in on Saturday for the absent Ben McKenzie.
After a week’s break for Easter, Coorparoo will resume its season on Anzac Day with its now traditional match against Bond University, while Wilston Grange travels to the unbeaten Morningside the following day.
In other Round 2 matches:
- a hat-trick from Elka Barnett helped University of Queensland record a 63-point win over Yeronga
- Southport followed up last week’s highest ever score with its second-highest score in defeating Maroochydore 124-12
- Bond University defeated Moreton by 74 points thanks largely to four goals from ex-defender Kendra Blattman
- and Morningside are two-from-two with a shock 15-point win over Aspley despite new Hornets recruit Jesse McMillan obliterating the league record for most tackles in a match with 23 (previous record was 16).
Saturday 12 April 2025, 4:45pm at Hickey Park, Stafford
WILSTON GRANGE 1.0 (6) 1.1 (7) 1.2 (8) 2.3 (15)
COORPAROO 1.0 (6) 1.0 (6) 3.2 (20) 4.4 (28)
Replay and match statistics
Wilston Grange
Goals: Tia Magarry, Naomi Celebre
Best: Jasmin Rivers, Mackenzie Findlay, Siobhan Senior, Tia Magarry, Charlize Anderson, Daisy Carter
Coorparoo
Goals: Tilayna Nissen 2, Jasmine Fretwell, Amy Dwyer
Best: Tilayna Nissen, Emily Bleney, Rose Clancy-Dillon, Emily Harding, Zina Fetahagic, Renee Teys
Saturday 12 April 2025, 1:00pm at Leyshon Park No. 2, Yeronga
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE 0.0 (0) 1.0 (6) 1.0 (6) 2.1 (13)
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND 1.4 (10) 6.7 (43) 7.8 (50) 11.10 (76)
Replay and match statistics
Yeronga South Brisbane
Goals: Crisstal Povis, Racquelle Sutton
Best: Lily Clutton, Melody McHugh, Crisstal Povis, Jemimah Smith, Clare Walker, Eliza Haigh
University of Queensland
Goals: Elka Barnett 3, Bec Barnes 2, Molly Nelson 2, Harriet Knijff, Eva Sartor, Farradai Hopkins, Emily Rogers
Best: Harriet Knijff, Coco Garton, Farradai Hopkins, Gabi Simpson, Charlotte Andrews, Anneliese Neary
Saturday 12 April 2025, 3:00pm at Fankhauser Reserve, Southport
SOUTHPORT 4.3 (27) 9.6 (60) 14.10 (94) 18.16 (124)
MAROOCHYDORE 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 1.0 (6) 2.0 (12)
Replay and match statistics
Southport
Goals: Olivia Meagher 4, Caitlin Miller 4, Maddy Baldwin 3, Tearnie Brown 2, Mel Watts 2, Rianna Schipp, Olivia Robinson, Ebony Milne
Best: Megan Hunt, Steph O'Brien, Olivia Meagher, Maddy Watt, Rianna Schipp, Kierra Zerafa
Maroochydore
Goals: Amy Bissett, Lillianne Chambers
Best: Danielle Fenwick, Abbey Tognazzini, Roxy Beuzeville, Abi Boutchard, Lataya De Pauw, Demi Salton
Saturday 12 April 2025, 3:00pm at Bond University Oval, Robina
BOND UNIVERSITY 1.3 (9) 8.4 (52) 11.4 (70) 13.6 (84)
MORETON BAY 0.2 (2) 0.3 (3) 1.3 (9) 1.4 (10)
Replay and match statistics
Bond University
Goals: Kendra Blattman 4, Ella Calleja 2, Maisy Evans 2, Trinity Ella 2, Abbey Bevan 2, Jasmyn Davidson
Best: Shannon Nolan, Kendra Blattman, Jasmyn Davidson, Maisy Evans, Skye White, Georgia Johnson
Moreton Bay
Goals: Mahalia Johnson
Best: Taylor McCosker, Jess Davy, Eloise O’Connor, Charis Tarr, Tahlia Smith, Taima Rue
Saturday 12 April 2025, 4:30pm at Jack Esplen Oval, Hawthorne
MORNINGSIDE 1.0 (6) 3.0 (18) 3.0 (18) 4.0 (24)
ASPLEY 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7) 1.3 (9)
Replay and match statistics
Morningside
Goals: Courtney McDonnell, Sienna Graham, Gracie Roy, Laura Roy
Best: Georgia Lwin, Kahla McKinless, Ally Blyton, Laura Roy, Roisin Chu, Issy Levine
Aspley
Goals: Rachael Vetter
Best: Lucy Pengelly, Holly O’Flaherty, Jesse McMillan, Rachael Vetter, Lilu Hung, Maddy Kawa
Table: Southport 8, Bond University 8, Coorparoo 8, Morningside 8, University of Queensland 4, Wilston Grange 4, Aspley 0, Moreton Bay 0, Maroochydore 0, Yeronga South Brisbane 0.
Find all your information about the Bond University QAFLW at the Competition Hub.
Photo credit: Coorparoo Senior Australian Football Club