World Footy News

Five PNG players currently playing in the AFL Queensland with the Coolangatta Blues got a mention in the Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper this weekend after a match as some of the best on ground in a losing side. Coolangatta went down to the Maroochy-Northshore Roos by 39 points, but the Roos' coach noted that without the PNG contingent the Blues would be a lot worse off, also commenting on the immense untapped potential of players in PNG who might be appearing in AFL ranks in future.

Article courtesy of the Sunshine Coast Daily.

Season just gets better for Roos
20.05.2007
By PAUL MUNNINGS

USUALLY kicking just three goals in the second half of an AFL match played in fine, dry conditions doesn’t get you the points. It helps big time if you restrict your opponents to a meagre one major. That’s what happened to the Maroochy/Northshore Roos yesterday as they continued their promising start to the AFLQ Pineapple Cup season by downing Coolangatta by 39 points at Fishermans Road. The Roos’ fifth win in six starts was built around a strong first half where they had registered eight goals before slipping up with their first behind. However the free-flowing attacking play which featured for most of the first half, and was responsible for building up a 26-point lead for the home side, disappeared for long periods of the second half.

Maroochy/Northshore's only two goals of the final quarter, to Sam Lyon and Ben Hitchcock, both came from free kicks. "It was probably a bit of a struggle after that big game against Noosa last week," Roos coach Peter Somerville said. "When you play Noosa, it’s like a final and the boys were probably a bit leg weary. "I’m still happy to get a win like this one because when you look at their (Coolangatta’s) recent form – a win against Springwood at Springwood and a loss by a couple of points to Aspley – they’ve been going along pretty good."

When it wasn’t the Roos providing the best footy, it was the five-strong Papua New Guinea contingent in the Blues line-up who stood out. The PNG boys, as young as 17, showed amazing speed and some clever ball skills, although their tactical nous and inability to kick accurately at goal let them down at times. What they did show was that PNG could be an untapped source of AFL talent. "Without them, they’d struggle a bit," Somerville said of the imports. "They were lightning quick, although they probably turned the ball over a few too many times and made some silly decisions". Maroochy / Northshore will get a better test of its qualities next Saturday when it hosts unbeaten Aspley.