The GAA folk in Brisbane breathed a sigh of relief yesterday, Sunday, as recent inclement weather was replaced by 25 degree sunshine, and though windy, there was very competitive games in the Queensland League at Willawong.
In Men’s Senior Football Division 1, the wind made it difficult, however the two scheduled games were close affairs. Easts v Souths saw the former, with two early goals, lead at the break by four points having played with the wind. Souths started to win midfield in the second half and slowly fought their way back into the game. They took the lead 10 mins from the end, and though the lead changed hands before the final whistle, the Souths with two great points from frees by Shane McKenna and another from play, saw them home by a point. Midfielder Paul O’ Leary had a great second half at for Souths and got good support from Ronan Brady and Stephen Tormey. For Easts, the Bowe brothers, Rory and Eamon, as well as Conor Carroll and Owen Stephens, had strong games.
The Harps versus John Mitchels match was just as close an encounter with again the wind a factor. It turned out to be a good victory for Harps over a ‘Mitchels side that had recently put in back-to-back wins. The Harps, playing against the wind in the second half, coped much better than their opponents, and a couple of late points was enough to give them a good victory. ‘Mitchels had a few opportunities late in the game but failed to take their chances. Steve McHugh put in another man-of-the-match for Harps, while Oisin Lynch at half back, covered a lot of ground and setup several scoring chances with Eamon Fitzpatrick also doing well for Harps. Both players had already played in the hurling match. For John Mitchels, John Mallon, Michael Murphy, Tony Whelan, had all strong games.
In the only senior hurling match, Emeralds managed to stay in touch with Na Fianna in the first half but playing against the wind in the second proved that bit too difficult and Na Fianna ran out easy winners. Both sides were slow to get going and scores were hard to come but eventually they arrived with some fine long range shooting. Best for Na Fianna were Brendan Coady, Pat Marnane, Rory Conroy, while Rob Ryan, Stephen Henry, David McDonagh, were best for Emeralds,
In Ladies Football, John Mitchels had a very easy win over a new Harps team. A lot of the Harps girls were having their first run at Gaelic Football and they put in a good effort, and with a bit more coaching and games, they will improve in the coming weeks. For John Mitchels, Jannette Newell was strong in defense while Laura Shaugnessy took some great scores.
The Easts v Souths game was a thriller and could have gone either way. Easts, playing with a strong wind, went in at half time just 3 points ahead, but two quick goals just after the restart, seemed to set them up for an easy win. However, the Souths kept coming back and managed to draw level with 10 mins left, but two quick points from Easts best player, Aileen O’Loughlin, got them over the line. Souths have really improved and any idea this was going to be a two horse race between John Mitchels and Easts this year needs to be dismissed. Brid Guy and Karen Bowe, played well for Easts, while Souths had good players in Bridget O’ Brien, Grainne Heduan and Helen McAleer.
In Mens Division 2 Football there was wins for John Mitchells and Souths (Easts Celts forfeit).
Report Seamus O’Sullivan, Queensland & Australasia GAA Chairman.
Queensland GAA League May 13 Results
