Coorparoo has returned to the Bond University QAFLW winners list with a tough win over University of Queensland 5.3-33 to 0.7-7 in muddy conditions at Giffin Park.
Despite having less possession (162 disposals to 175) and less of the ball in space (25 uncontested possessions to 44), the Kings made the most of their opportunities by scoring five goals, three of them to Chelsea Chesterfield, while the Red Lionesses were frustrated by their own inaccuracy.
The tackling effort from Coorparoo was led by 17-year-old Enah Dešić, her 13 tackles showing why Australian Rules football may struggle to keep her away from a rugby league career. Chloe Haines marked her return from injury with 10 tackles, while captain Ajla Fetahagić justified her move into the midfield by leading the effective disposal count with 14.
For the Red Lionesses, Coco Garton (39 hit outs) had the better of an enthralling ruck contest with Renee Teys in which they took turn outwitting each other tactically, while midfielders Harriet Knijff, Eva Sartor and Erin Gilbert spent the night restricting space for their direct opponents and constantly trying to spark attacks.
The Kings spent most of the first quarter in their forward 50 and were rewarded with two goals to Chesterfield. In the fifth minute, the Sunshine Coast-born, Scotland-raised forward drew a free kick for high contact, then threaded the set shot from the left boundary 30 metres out.
Four minutes later, Grace Roberts-White took advantage of the space behind the advancing UQ defence to find Chesterfield alone in the goal square for a much easier set shot.
Few quarters of football have been more frustrating than the second term was for UQ. The Red Lionesses barely left their forward 50, but saw a quick snap from Knijff, and set shots from Gilbert and Edie McCabe, all miss narrowly to the right of goal.
Les Lioness Rouges maintained that energy across the halftime break and dominated the early stages of the third quarter. A beautiful passing movement from the opening ball-up resulted in a rushed behind, before Monique Piunti’s free kick from the right pocket cleared the defence but hit the base of the left goalpost.
The counter-attack from Coorparoo in the fifth minute was their first attacking foray in over twenty minutes of playing time, but their intense forward pressure helped Chesterfield to win a holding free kick in front of goal which she converted for her hat-trick.
A maiden Bond University QAFLW goal to former Queensland under-18 representative Christine Watson, running onto an intelligent kick over the defence from Dešić, took Coorparoo’s lead out to 19 points.
Chelsea Winn, playing her first match for Coorparoo since 2023, continued her scoring form against UQ (now 8 goals in 5 matches) when she gained possession behind a marking contest early in the final quarter and blasted home from 35 metres out.
The win took Coorparoo to 122 victories in the Bond University QAFLW since entering in 2013, thus passing Yeronga for the most wins in Queensland state league history (records available from 2010 onwards).
The Kings will defend that record when they take on their longtime rivals at Leyshon Park next Saturday, while UQ will also face its first ever Grand Final opponent, Bond University, at home.
In other Round 7 matches:
• Southport kicked away in the second half against Maroochydore to become only the second team in Bond University QAFLW history with 20 consecutive wins
• Wilston Grange scored more points than in their last five visits to Bond University combined but went down to the Bull Sharks by 11
• Aspley continued its resurgence with a 33-point win over Moreton Bay
• and Morningside hit the century for the first time in defeating Yeronga.
Saturday 31 May 2025, 4:45pm at Giffin Park, Coorparoo
COORPAROO 2.0 (12) 2.0 (12) 4.0 (24) 5.3 (33)
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND 0.0 (0) 0.3 (3) 0.5 (5) 0.7 (7)
Replay and match statistics
Coorparoo
Goals: Chelsea Chesterfield 3, Christine Watson, Chelsea Winn
Best: Enah Dešić, Chelsea Winn, Chelsea Chesterfield, Renee Teys, Jasmine Fretwell, Stacey Anderson
University of Queensland
Goals: nil
Best: Coco Garton, Harriet Knijff, Eva Sartor, Ashleigh Moyle, Julia Dawson, Annabel Coleman
Saturday 31 May 2025, 2pm at Neil Upton Oval, Maroochydore
MAROOCHYDORE 1.0 (6) 2.0 (12) 2.0 (12) 2.0 (12)
SOUTHPORT 2.1 (13) 4.7 (31) 6.9 (45) 9.16 (70)
Replay and match statistics
Maroochydore
Goals: Lily Gilliland, Abbie Solomon
Best: Abbey Tognazzini, Axel Oswald, Danielle Fenwick, Hayley Edgar, Lily Gilliland
Southport
Goals: Rianna Schipp 2, Maddy Baldwin, Tyla Crabtree, Scarlett Featherstone, Maighan Fogas, Maddy Watt, Keely Whittaker, Kierra Zerafa
Best: Georja Davies, Maighan Fogas, Tearnie Brown, Steph O'Brien, Tayla Gregory, Scarlett Featherstone
Saturday 31 May 2025, 2pm at Bond University Oval, Robina
BOND UNIVERSITY 1.2 (8) 4.5 (29) 5.5 (35) 6.5 (41)
WILSTON GRANGE 2.3 (15) 2.3 (15) 3.5 (23) 4.6 (30)
Replay and match statistics
Bond University
Goals: Kendra Blattman 3, Brianna Moyes 2, Charlotte Taylor
Best: Ella Calleja, Skye White, Shannon Nolan, Brianna Moyes, Evy Reeves, Lexi Samuels
Wilston Grange
Goals: Tshinta Kendall 2, Uma Brennan, Kylie Welsh
Best: Jasmin Rivers, Jasmine Ware, Mackenzie Findlay, Summer Hamilton, Keyshia Matenga, Layla Collins
Saturday 31 May 2025, 3:45pm at Red Rooster Park, Burpengary
MORETON BAY 0.1 (1) 0.1 (1) 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7)
ASPLEY 2.0 (12) 4.3 (27) 4.4 (28) 6.4 (40)
Replay and match statistics
Moreton Bay
Goals: Tahlia Smith
Best: Ebony Otto, Rosie White, Bayley Woollett, Eloise O’Connor, Grace Pearson-Smith, Tiana Anderson
Aspley
Goals: Jess Stallard 2, Holly O’Flaherty, Jaci Plumpton, Lucy Thompson, Rachael Vetter
Best: Jasmine Kawa, Anna van de Wiel, Emma MacDonald, Jesse McMillan, Jaci Plumpton, Peppa Poultney
Saturday 31 May 2025, 4:45pm at Leyshon Park, Yeronga
MORNINGSIDE 6.7 (43) 10.14 (74) 17.17 (119) 18.22 (130)
YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0)
Replay and match statistics
Morningside
Goals: Laura Roy 4, Lucy Bellinger 3, Emma McNaughton 3, Simone Arthur 2, Courtney McDonnell 2, Tori Winstanley 2, Sienna Graham, Gracie Roy
Best: Simone Arthur, Issy Levine, Laura Roy, Gracie Roy, Lucy Bellinger, Emma McNaughton
Yeronga South Brisbane
Goals: nil
Best: Thyra Tavil, Mel McHugh, Ebony Panoho, Bella Turner, Lily Cahill, Lekaiya Rabbitt
Table: Southport 28, Morningside 28, Bond University 24, Wilston Grange 16, Coorparoo 16, Aspley 12, University of Queensland 8, Maroochydore 4, Moreton Bay 4, Yeronga South Brisbane 0.
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