GUT Feelings - Brought to you by Regis Aged Care

• 5 out of 5 ain't bad! The Senior footy teams of the club had 5 good victories last weekend and all wins either secured a finals berth or improved the finals position. The Seniors can secure 4th place on the ladder with a win on Saturday at Labrador, the Reserves can’t really finish anywhere but 6th regardless of Saturday's result, the Colts can finish 4th with a win, the Woodsmen secured second place on the ladder and a first round finals bye and a home preliminary final next week and the Women's  team have all but secured top place on the ladder and a home semi final.

• The club held its Ladies' Day on Saturday when the Magpies hosted Surfers Paradise and a great day was had by all. The Ladies’ Day continues to grow and  this year Blair Hamill, Danielle Mitchell and Shelby Beams organised a fantastic  day which will get bigger and bigger each year. Ex-Magpie heart-throb Brent Staker hosted the event once again and club manager John Simpson and his hard working band at the Social Club made sure no stone was left unturned to make it a special day. 

• The Reserves had a shortened match due to a serious head injury to a Surfers Paradise player right on three-quarter time. The player had airway compromise and it was only the quick thinking actions of Sherwood parent Dr Hugh Gower  and a Surfers parent who is a nurse that stabilised the player until an ambulance arrived.  Dr Gower is a GP and also coaches one of Sherwood's under 8 teams and was sitting near the incident. Sherwood club doctor Dr Greg Thompson was also on the scene so the positive for the injured player was  he was in the best possible hands which is remarkable for a suburban footy ground, as Sherwood continue to be the only QAFL club with a Club Doctor at each match.

• Ex-Captain and 2017  Bill Peirce Medallist Drew Mitchell was chaired off the ground in celebration of his last home and away match at McCarthy Homes Oval. Drew has been a true champion of the Magpies and in 2015 to 2018 he was in the top 30 players in the QAFL and was very unlucky not be named in the QAFL Team of the Year in 2016 and 2017. In true clubman fashion he is now co-coaching the Colts with his great mate, brother-in-law and fellow Bill Peirce Medallist Ben Jaenke-Cain. Drew has played 145 Senior games and will be left stranded on 149 should the Pies make it to the Grand Final, though he would likely be over 200 in all grades of Senior Football.

• Hopefully for Drew and the Pies, he will get another home game in a semi final if the Pies win over Labrador on Saturday.

• Several older Magpies supporters almost collapsed in disbelief and had to be revived with the smelling salts on Saturday when on-baller Ryan Harwood was not only awarded one free kick but three free kicks! Despite being scragged off the ball, jumped on and generally manhandled in most matches this season, Harwood was the invisible man as far as the umpires were concerned, very rarely being awarded a free kick in the first 6 matches of the season. Will be interesting to see if he gets any Grogan Medal votes. To his credit, Harzy never complains and just gets on with it, winning the hard ball at the contest week in week out.

•  The Magpies are blessed with a number of talented youngsters but one who often goes under the radar is half back Ethan Sivijs. In 2019, he just continued to get the job done, and was awarded most consistently player in the Senior side. Once again this year he goes about his work unobtrusively across half back with shut down roles or  to be an attacking half back flanker. He plays taller than he looks, has rapid closing speed and rarely fumbles  or misses targets when he has the ball. He is also he is a good decision maker and the Pies have unearthed a gem. 

• Another classy player to catch the eye on Saturday was teenage half forward John Baker.

• Baker has returned from Springwood where he has played 2 years of Senior Football and was one of the Pies best players in the Reserves victory on Saturday after playing in the preceding Colts match. Having played at Jimboomba, Ipswich and Sherwood as a junior he is a smooth mover and reads the play well with clean ball handling and looks to possess a deadly left foot (gotta love a left-footer!!). He has a big future and has settled back in beautifully at the Pies.

• The Pies Seniors now have their destiny in their own hands-- a win over Labrador seals fourth place and a home final, a loss will see them drop to either 5th or 6th depending on other results and a tough elimination match on the road either way. A fourth place finish will give the Pies a big chance of advancing to the preliminary final. A fourth place finish would mean opponents could be Mt Gravatt or Maroochydore, but a sixth place finish would likely mean a trip to the Gold Coast to play Palm Beach-Currumbin

• The Reserves, currently 6th on the ladder,  meet 5th placed Labrador on Saturday and regardless of the result should still finish in 6th place on the ladder. A win definitely seals 6th place while a loss  and a big Surfers Paradise win means it will come down to percentage but with a 35% gap on the Demons,  the Pies look safe for a finals berth.

•  Sherwood Colts had a good victory over bottom placed Surfers Paradise-Southport combination.  The Magpies can finish 4th with a victory over Labrador on Saturday but a loss could see them slip to 6th on the ladder which still means a finals appearance in this strange covid-19 shortened season.

• The Womens team won an entertaining top of the table clash on Saturday evening over the previously undefeated Beenleigh to  go to the top of the ladder with one round to play. Sherwood have a bye this round but with a percentage advantage of 30% over second placed Beenleigh should hold onto top place and earn the right to host a semi final next Saturday evening.

• Interestingly the Pies match against  Jimboomba a fortnight ago was cancelled due to the Covid-19 scare in in which one player or coach from each team had potential exposure it was decided not to play the fixture and the was match declared a draw and the 4 points shared. 

• Sherwood's QFA team, aka "The Woodsmen",  had a great win over ladder leaders Maroochydore last Friday night and are guaranteed to play finals, finishing second on the ladder. The Woodies will have a bye in the first week of the finals and will play the winner of this Friday’s  Jimboomba v Morningside semi final next Friday night in a Preliminary Final at home at McCarthy Homes Oval. The Woodsmen are one win away from a Grand Final Berth. The week before the Magpies had  a hard fought victory over Morningside. Gut Feelings noted an interesting name on the teamsheet with Brady Allen escaping Victoria and after 2 weeks in quarantine was free to play. Unfortunately he tweaked a hamstring but it must have been a minor injury as he has been selected in the Reserves this week.

• Interestingly, the Woodsmen finished 2nd on the ladder, but both their losses were against sides who have not made the finals.

• The Sherwood u14 age group are leading the way in youth football, with both teams looking set to play finals in Conference Cup and Community Cup Football. The u16s are a competitive outfit in both divisions, but a huge injury toll has resulted in each team playing short most weeks, but the lads are impressive in their commitment each week, with many often playing twice.

• The u12s have won just the one game, and enjoyed a close game on the weekend. Due to the age group changes this year from AFLQ, this age group was most impacted by pure cooincidence and resulted in 6 x u11 boys playing up for the entire season to ensure Sherwood can field a side each week. Good signs for the future, but a tough year for the boys who are playing in the Division 1 competition against some strong opposition.

• The Junior Magpies are booming (u11 down) with the 2 x u11 teams extremely competitive each week, and exceptional numbers in u10s through to the 5 x u8 teams and 6 x Superstars teams. Not to mention our 2 x u11 Girls teams who put on a great show every Friday night with their skill and sense of fun.

• The 2000 Colts Premiership team had a reunion on Saturday and in conversation with the group it was clear they all have an abiding love of the club and said it had a big say in their development as  not only footballers but as good people and citizens. I'm not sure the 2000 Colts team fully qualify as Grey Magpies just yet but they most definitely are  "Old Boys". Good to see legendary coach Kevin Stephens at the reunion. Kevin coached a number of Sherwood junior teams and he instilled a toughness in them that stemmed from his days playing in the old VFA, arguably the toughest footy  played in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Pictured: Jenny Fozard (Life Member), Chris Keane, Chris Fozard (Life Member), Daniel Maroske, Tim McEvoy (Life Member), Jason Evans, Dylan Mudge, Kevin Stephens, Will Fozard, Daniel Hitchcock, Peter Kilroy (Life Member)

• Interestingly, from this Colts 2000 team several players pictured were still playing Seniors, Reserves or 3rds football as recently as last year, or at least in the last 3 years and Peter Kilroy still plays Reserves this season

• The Pies senior squad has  a long injury list.  Riley Greene (fractured elbow), Lachie Dennis, (shoulder reconstruction),  Billy Johnson (fractured scapula),  Harry Marshall (ankle sprain) Caleb Scott (fractured fibula), Alex Davila (fractured arm) and Jackson Paynter (shoulder dislocation) have all had season ending injuries, while Mitch Stallard injured his hand and recently made a comeback next door with Kenmore. Physio Megan Hunter and Doc Thompson has also been busy with five players requiring sutures to lacerations so far this season as well as three head injury assessments and a number of ankle, shoulder and knee injuries requiring assessment and rehabilitation. Who says the game isn't as tough as it was in the Grey Magpies' eras? 

• The Brisbane Lions Academy team made  a better fist of it in their second match against the Gold Coast Academy a fortnight ago with Sherwood's Jack Briskey and Bruce Reville among the best players for the Lions Academy. Bruce revile was moved to the centre after halftime and racked up a mountain of possessions in the third quarter and collected 2 goals to bring the Lions back into the game. The Lions went down by just 7 points after being thrashed the week before and the inclusion of Reville certainly played a part in the improvement

• Both Briskey and Reville returned to the black and white last week to be good players for the pies in their victory over Surfers Paradise, and Briskey has recently been invited to the draft combine - and exciting step for the youngster.

• The NEAFL is officially dead!! The AFL announced last week  that the NEAFL is no more, which came as no surprise to most observant footy followers in SE Queensland.

• What does this mean for the QAFL and footy in Queensland? 

• The current NEAFL clubs can apply to join a new VFL/East Coast competition involving all Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland AFL clubs or re-join the QAFL. The word is that Gold Coast Suns will not field a stand alone Reserves team and that  Southport will be the Suns defacto Reserves team. Where does that leave Redland and Aspley? The rumour is that Aspley may become the Brisbane Lions de facto Reserves team but nothing concrete as yet. Redland will most likely apply to rejoin the QAFL. More interesting times indeed!! 

• The demise of the NEAFL now raises the question of what happens to the Redland and Aspley listed players and what will be Southport's recruiting strategy. Certainly any player from SE Queensland wanting to play at a high level or have aspirations of making an AFL club list will gravitate to Southport, exactly where Sherwood sent exciting youngster Riley Greene in the off-season. RG secured a spot on the Southport list before COVID hit and then suffered a season ending injury in Rd 2.

• So what of the Redland and Aspley listed players? Sherwood will be hoping its home grown NEAFL players who have lined up this year for the Pies will elect to stay in 2021 but there are no guarantees. The Player point system will be a leveller for the QAFL but it will still  make for an interesting off-season. Expect plenty of off-season AFLQ news as well as AFL news.

• Just a reminder that when you are down at the club next time to have a look at the club's updated Honour Boards in the Sportsman's Bar. There are still gaps to be filled especially Reserves so if you know of an award winner or coach not listed then let Greg Thompson or Kevin Kluver know. The gaps will eventually be filled in. Also many thanks to Craig St John, Sam St John and John Simpson (club manager) for assisting in putting the updated boards up on the wall. 

Grey Magpies Pictured: Des Lashman (Life Member), Mel Beswick, Shane Arnold, Greg Adams (Life Member), Peter Filler, Craig St John, Warren Selvage (Life Member), Rocco Stewart, Ian Anderson. At Back; John ‘Crackers’ Cawcutt