Thirds football

Ok, lets talk local footy. The Mighty Yeronga Thirsty Thirds have just completed their first round of the season (played all of the other 4 teams once). What we can take from the season is this: Another top quality team has joined our competition replacing the outgoing young, fast and strong Bond University as well as the older other 'thirds' team Beenleigh. With one team coming in for two outgoing, we are now down to a 5 team competition. With a top 4 finals finish, the equation is simple. Don't finish last and you will play finals.

The final 5 for me will be in this order:

Pine Rivers Swans - This new team who arrived from Div 3 North are a force to be reckoned with. They are the remaining members of the now defunct Strathpine team, who once won the senior div 1 comp that our Yeronga Seniors used to play against. The new brand of Swan player is big and fast. They love the dry conditions and will be hard to beat at home. Mike Salmon and Nate Boucher among their better players. 

Jimboomba Redbacks - The reigning premiers finally have some competition from new boys Pine Rivers. They have been the dominant team of the past few years. The redbacks are an older team with good team structures built around a solid bunch of blokes who have played together for a long time. Their key player is Kim Watson. This bloke is probably the player of our division and is very hard to stop. Old stager 'Ringa' tends to be at the top of the goal kicking list most years. He has recently taken the coaching position and along with the Heppel brothers, Luke Valdes and Bear they form a formidable opposition. They should make the final this year, but might be a little behind Pine Rivers at this stage.

The Woodsmen - Playing out of the Sherwood ground, the Woodsmen have always been a tough team. They rarely have all their players available at the same time, but when they do they can rack up a high score. They are the most improved team this year and could challenge those two above. Their oldest player Mousy is their most skillful, but does tend to get injured. Their star at the moment is Tim Green, back from a spell on the sidelines with a broken arm.

Yeronga - I think we have what it takes to grab the decisive 4th spot. Our mixture of experience and youth is coming together well. This season is probably the newest team we have fielded in a few years. Some great ins and some tough outs (Jorgo, Doutta, BJ and even single game player PT). Skipper Vossy and VC Kieran are the heart and soul of the team. The latter missing a few games recently with a calf problem. Best players are hard to judge, but the form players for us at the moment are: Ben Freke - Tough as nails defender who reads the ball better than the opposition forwards. His run out of defence sets up a lot of our play. Josh P is a new addition with a lethal left foot. Josh is not typical thirds player and would be playing in the higher grades if it wasn't for work. Josh is a fitness machine and racks up huge possession counts. Russ is another key thirds player who has also suffered from injury lately. On his day can be one of the most damaging players in the competition. Russ has sublime skills and is tough to bring down when in possession. Others of note in the season new crop are; Josh H, Nate A, Jordy, Aidan and Bryan. Returning super stars Carlo, Jeremiah, Beefy and DJ Tribe have all been in good form. The next matchup between us and Collingwood Park will be a terrific contest.

Collingwood Park Power - The team we need to beat to make the finals. Like us this team is a combination of a few older players mixed with a lot of young blokes learning the game. Yeronga's last taste of finals came at the Power's expense. Their skipper Duey is the coach's son and their best player. He is tough, hard, fast and can tear apart the opposition. He is also a little hot tempered at times which i'm sure causes Collingwood Park some headaches. Livewire runner Jesse Koining can also be damaging on his day.

Well that's the wrap up. Apologies to those that don't like football, but I'm sure you wouldn't have read this far if you didn't.