The Bond Bull Sharks QFA and QAFLW teams are gearing up for their round 3 matches following a successful start to their seasons.
Both the senior men’s and women’s sides are undefeated and hope to keep the ball rolling this Saturday as the women match-up against the Wilston Grange Gorillas and the men against the Carrara Saints.
Here’s what you need to know.
Last time they met
The senior women faced Wilston Grange twice in 2022, with Bond inflicting heavy defeats on both occasions.
In round 1 of 2022, Bond dominated the Gorillas with an 85-0 victory and backed it up with another win in round 11, 62-13.
Due to their abandoned match against Carrara in round 18 of 2022, the senior men haven’t played a full match against the Saints since round 12 of the 2022 season, where Carrara came out victorious in a tight game, 65-60.
Where it will be won
After their commanding win against Tweed Coast last weekend, the senior men’s team will be looking to continue building on their decision-making and execution as they head into their match against cross-city rivals Carrara.
The senior women’s defence have already proven their strong ability to mitigate opposition scoring opportunities. But after their low-scoring game against Coorparoo last weekend they will be looking to create a stronger connection within their attacking 50.
Bond University Director of AFL and senior women’s coach Andy Lovell is confident that with a few small improvements Bond will be able to create more scoring opportunities.
“I think our overall defence has been outstanding but despite lots of entries inside our 50, we probably struggled to connect with our forwards,” said Lovell.
“Improving this and conversions are really going to be the biggest focusses for us this week.”
Young players step up
Additional reserves players will get their shot on the big stage this weekend. After previously losing a number of players to the Suns in the AFLW autumn series, the Bull Sharks also lost key player and team captain Paris Lightfoot in Tuesday’s game.
Andy Lovell was particularly pleased with the girls who stepped up in round 2 and is impressed with how they gelled into the team.
“The girls from reserves who came in last week played superbly,” he said.
“We focus really heavily on our team structure and they didn’t miss a beat.”
Match day information
Saturday April 29 at Alan Nielson Oval
Men’s reserves 12:00pm
Men’s seniors 2:00pm
Saturday April 29 at Hickey Park
Women’s seniors 4:45pm
Women’s reserves 6:45pm