AFL: A third quarter fade-out in Queanbeyan's 5.6 (36) to (85) loss to Belconnen at Allinsure Park on Saturday, August 8, made any chance of a top two spot for the Tigers seem unlikely, but the squad as a whole will have to lift after a broken hand to their coach and game-changing best player Kade Klemke suffered in the second quarter could make their journey to the flag that little bit harder.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Tigers were attacking early and the majority of the play was in the Queanbeyan forward line, but missed opportunities allowed Belconnen to kick two early goals and lead by seven points at quarter time.
Belconnen seemed to put little effort to reap the reward, whereas any reward from the Tigers was from a great deal of hard work. They trailed by just eight points at halftime, but a wayward boot in the middle of a contest connected with Klemke and sent him off with a broken hand.
Momentum well and truly shifted in the third and the margin blew out to an unbelievable six goals, Klemke said he had "no idea" what changed and what went so drastically wrong for the home side.
"For 12 minutes of the (third) quarter we just stopped. We didn't man up, we stopped running and we didn't get the footy," he said.
"They're a lot more physical side with bigger bodies and I guess losing me at halftime we were a young side and they were stronger at winning the contested footy.
"But on a positive note we matched them for the first half and we have a few boys still to come back."
Rebound footy through the midfield and at the stoppages from Brett Fruend was superb and Klemke prasied the efforts of Jack Carroll-Tape on the wing, who played only his second first grade match up from Rising Stars.
Defensive pressure was once again solid against the top-placed Magpies, lead by captain Andrew Swan, Jack O'Halloran and Alec McCormick, but second efforts were lacking, allowing free players to mark close to goal.
The Tigers never looked like getting back into the match in the final term, running out of legs in the final minutes and allowing Belconnen to run out eventual winners by 49 points.
Tough nut Dean Ross joined his coach on the injury list, going off in the fourth quarter with a sore shoulder, and a back injury forced Kane Godde out of the match, but Klemke insists the pair will be back, along with Ben Fulford who is nursing a hamstring strain, after the bye.
As for Klemke, he awaits news of surgery and is hopeful he can get back in time for finals, but is confident the team can cover his absence.
"I'm about a 50/50 chance to play finals, but I want the whole team to step up," he said.
"Against Ainslie the whole team stepped up when I wasn't here (in round 11) and we won. It's not up to one or two individuals though, it's a team effort, the whole team needs to step up.
"I'm confident we can go a long way in finals. If we can keep injuries to a minimum and I think we can beat these sides."
