MACK TRUCK MATCH REVIEW - 'HOLY' DAY AS PIES DOMINATE 2ND HALF
Andrew Thomson
MAGPIES DOMINATE SECOND HALF TO CELEBRATE POPE'S 200th
The Western Magpies completely dominated the second half of their QAFL clash with Mt Gravatt at Chelmer in front of a healthy home crowd to help celebrate Val Pope's 200th Senior game in the black and white.
Pope was presented with his guernsey for his milestone match by premiership teammate and fellow 200 gamer Tim McEvoy, who is the Pies defensive line coach this year.
The Pies overcame a three goal deficit late in the second quarter to dominate after half time with 9 goals while keeping the Vultures to a solitary third quarter goal
The Magpie midfield and backline were brilliant as they kept the visitors to 1-4 after the long break and 1 point in the last quarter.
The Magpies had a 57 point turnaround to win by 39 points, 13-15-93 to 8-6-54.
Charlie Pershouse was outstanding up forward and pinch hitting in the ruck and finished the match with 6 goals to underline his talent. He has been threatening a break out match and he delivered with strong marking but also his defensive efforts led to several turnovers at the contest and this forced the Vulture defenders into hurried decision making and turnovers.
The Pies held sway in the opening minutes of the first quarter but once again wasted opportunities and inaccurate goalkicking threatened to derail the team again. Coach Brydan Morgan asked his players to have faith in each and continue working hard and the tide will turn.
The second quarter didn't go according to plan as Mt Gravatt pounced on several Pies errors to open up a 3 goal lead at the 20 minute mark of the second quarter before a late Pies goal had them 12 points down at half time.
A goal apiece early in the third quarter including a scrambled snap by Val Pope kept the Pies in the hunt before they took complete control of the midfield and won the contested ball. With confidence rising the young Pies found their mojo with strong running and tackling to score 8 unanswered goals and a victory which puts them back in fifth place on the ladder.
Pershouse enjoys playing Mt Gravatt because he also had a fine fame in the Magpies round 1 win and in this match he had his best game for the club.
Another youngster in Billy Johnson also had his best game in Seniors and along with Lachie Dennis and Will Fletcher, in his return to the Senior team, absorbed a fair bit of attention from Mt Gravatt players who tried to rough them up but they all responded with strong games. Johnson ran and tackled hard and his disposal and decision making were both excellent in a display that pleased his coach.
Luke Mitchell made the most of his recall with a much more polished display and he along with Jack Goodall and Harry Marshall were strong in defence to keep the Pies in it in the first half.
Aaron Highlands again rise to the occasion in ruck and also did strong work around ground and must be close to a QAFL Rising Star nomination. Jake de Winter was also a live wire up forward and 2 goals was not anaccurate reflection on his work rate.
Pope was as usual busy in his 200th match but uncharacteristically missed a few shots on goal.
The Magpies host Sandgate at Chelmer next week and will look to consolidate in the five.
QAFL Coach's interview-- Brydan Morgan
"It was a good win in the end but we made hard work of it in the first quarter but to win by almost 40 points, with 29 scoring shots to 14, was pleasing.
The message at quarter time was to keep the faith and continue to work hard and the tide will turn.
We have been playing good footy but often with no reward so it was a matter of keeping them up mentally and it was good to see their effort bring a strong win,
Charlie Pershouse was fantastic for us today and has been working hard all year. He is a great young kid who can put a lot of pressure on himself and today showed what he can do.
Val Pope in his 200th match was good and I have been fortunate enough to see him play in 2015 and this year. His class in the air is unbelievable and he is a terrific ball player at ground level.
He has the right mix of talent and competitiveness and is just a class act. It is great to have him at our footy club”.
3.6-244.8-32 9.11-65 13.15-93
3.2-20 7.2-448.5-53 8.6-54
Western Magpies
Goal Kickers:
C. Pershouse 6, J. De Winter 2, T. Ielasi 2, A. Maricic, L. Dwyer, V. Pope
Best Players:
C. Pershouse, W. Johnson, L. Mitchell, A. Highlands, J. Goodall, G.Crawford
QAFL writeup on the game:
Welcome to Charlie Pershouse
Western Magpies tall forward Charlie Pershouse been an interesting study this season, dominating in some games, while going missing in others. The nineteen-year-old Lions Academy prospect was the former on Saturday, using his blistering pace to impact up the ground, then get back and hit the scoreboard. The big Magpie’s performance netted him six goals.
“We don’t need him to be perfect and that’s the same with all our forwards. He puts a lot of pressure on himself and it’s good to see that he just takes the game on and like you say, get’s some reward for effort,” said Magpies coach Brydan Morgan, speaking after the game.
While the Magpies controlled the contest for most of the game, Mt Gravatt were ahead on the scoreboard at half time, and maintained their lead till midway through the third. The dam wall eventually broke and from the eighth minute of the third term, the Magpies kicked eight unanswered goals to finish off the game.
Magpies midfielders Drew Mitchell and Tom Ielasi were influential around the grounds, with ‘in and under’ support from Gareth Crawford. Jakob De Winter threatened down forward, but missed some opportunities, while Liam Dwyer also provided a forward target to kick to.
Jayden Crawley was impressive for the Vultures, taking some important big marks and attracting plenty of the footy. Joe Murphy put in another reliable performance and won his share under the packs. Too much was left to too few on the day and going forward the Vutures will need more contributors, particularly if they want to be around come finals time.
