To truly appreciate Saturday’s 22-point major semi final victory over Southport that propelled the Bull Sharks into the QAFLW grand final, you need to look at the bench.
The skipper was in tears, in a sling. Beside her sat two teammates, one covered in ice and unable to take any further part in the game, the other nursing a painful thumb injury.
Like all Sharks, Southport could smell blood in the water and were moving in for the kill.
Time after time after time in a tense final quarter they attacked the smaller Bull Sharks, but the girls from Bond kept fighting and eventually broke Southport’s spirit, kicking the last three goals to secure the 7.9 (51) to 4.5 (29) win.
There were standout players, that is undeniable.
But the story of this win is one of grit, determination and team spirit.
From captain Paris Lightfoot’s refusal to go to hospital until after the game so she could support her teammates to Josie McCabe’s willingness to throw herself back into action, after sitting out the third quarter, even though she could only use one hand. And then there was the effort from a weary Havana Harris who answered the game changing call from her coach to go into the midfield in the final quarter.
How it unfolded
It was textbook Bull Sharks footy in the first half. They knew if they could muscle up to the more powerful opponents and at least gain parity in the contest, they had the speed and skill to do damage on the outside.
Coach Andy Lovelll had mused in the week leading up to the game that the great unknown was how the youthful Bond side would cope with the pressure against their more experienced opposition.
He was banking on the irrepressible confidence of youth and he got it. Bond’s willingness to switch play and look for the attacking corridor option exposed the Sharks.
It gave Bond the better scoring opportunities. At quarter time they led by two goals, at half time it was 20 points. Lovell and his coaching group were entitled to be confident given they had looked the better side, but they could also have been forgiven for minor feelings of trepidation. Bond couldn’t play much better and they hadn’t managed to completely break clear.
The third quarter was an arm wrestle. Anyone at Fankhauser Reserve in possession of a crystal ball would have gone upstairs and ordered a schnitzel and chips, confident they would miss nothing. When the siren sounded, the Bull Sharks had added just four behinds.
A four goal lead looked to be enough, but with rotations severely impacted by the injuries, their legs were tiring. The switch of play started to become a liability as Southport were able to turn the ball over and generate their own scoring opportunities. With less than ten minutes to go they had dragged the margin back to nine points.
The turning point
With the Sharks on the hunt Lovell sent Harris into the ruck. The teenager appeared to be out on her feet, but she rose to the occasion.
“That was the game changer for us, she turned the tables on them,” Lovell said.
“Her work with Ava Usher in that final quarter sealed the result for us.’’
Something for the scouts
The AFL world didn’t need to head to Southport to know Harris and Ava Usher are future AFLW stars and it wouldn’t have surprised anyone to hear they were among the best on ground. Nyalli Milne and Ella Calleja also showed they were up to the standard.
Kiara Bischa doesn’t get the same attention as the others but any scout worth their pay packet would be reporting that she too is an AFLW player in waiting with her ability to defend one-on-one and also take intercept marks.
The medical report
Lightfoot will undergo an MRI scan this week to discover the extent of a shoulder injury, Sally Evans has minor ligament damage to her ankle and is expected to be available for the grand final while McCabe is also a strong chance to play.
In the other games
The QAFLW reserves kept Southport goalless to advance to a preliminary final against Aspley. And there were celebrations back at The Canal also as the QFA seniors claimed the minor premiership with an 83-point win over Ballina while the reserves also qualified for finals by defeating the Bombers by 90 points to finish third.