Foxtel Cup: Morningside V Thunder

I figured no one else would do this, and I was curious anyway, so here goes: a preview of the first round Foxtel Cup match between Morningside and NT Thunder.

Venue: AAMI Stadium, Adelaide.
Date: Saturday, March 26.
Time: 3.05pm (curtain-raiser to Adelaide v Hawthorn).
Coverage: Fox Sports 1 HD, 5pm (two-hour delay).

This opening Foxtel Cup match was originally supposed to be the curtain-raiser at the Gabba, but the AFL elected to move the game to AAMI Stadium to give the Gabba maximum time to recover from the cricket season, and who are we to argue with the AFL over a measly two hours worth of surface recovery time.

The venue change has forced a change in travel plans for both clubs, just four days before their match was due to take place. Notification was apparently issued by the league via a media release on Monday evening.

The match throws up one of the quirks of the draw, in that the Thunder were selected as the NT representatives, and as such make a third team from the QAFL, given the northern league equal representation with the more traditional Australian football strongholds in the VFL, SANFL and WAFL.

This will be one of the few matches where two teams from the one league play each other in the preliminary stages.

Morningside Panthers and the Northern Territory Thunder are foes from the Queensland Australian Football League (now the NEAFL), and so have met several times previously.

They will also clash in this year’s newly formed NEAFL competition.

The Territory have done exceptionally well at home, going almost undefeated at TIO Stadium in eight matches, but only winning one match away, at Alice Springs, against this weekend’s opponent.

The Thunder will however be greatly strengthened with the inclusion of dual Crows premiership player, and multi-all Australian, Andrew McLeod.

Morningside are a QAFL powerhouse, trading premierships with the big boys in Southport and Labrador frequently over the last 20-30 years. They won the QAFL premiership in 2010, and thus are the top-ranked contender from Queensland for the Foxtel Cup.

Given the inability of the Territory to win away from TIO Stadium, even with the experience and panache of Andrew Mcleod in the Thunder lineup, I expect Morningside to carry the day in what should be a very close match at the neutral venue.

The match itself will hold some interest for the early-comers to the Adelaide-Hawthorn match, due to the inclusion of McLeod. As such, this promises to be one of the more enthusiastic crowds that a Foxtel Cup will be played before.

Head-to-Head

Morningside 3, NT Thunder 1.
2010 QAFL Round 13 – Thunder by 16 points (Darwin).
2010 QAFL Round 3 – Morningside by 23 points (Alice Springs).
2009 QAFL Round 16 – Morningside by 53 points (Darwin).
2009 QAFL Round 10 – Morningside by 21 points (Cairns).

Introduction to the teams:

Morningside Panthers

Morningside AFC Panthers is more than 50 years old and is based out of Jack Esplen Oval in Hawthorne, Brisbane. It operates both seniors and juniors.

Morningside is one of Queensland’s most successful Australian football clubs, and the breeding place of several AFL class players including Micheal Voss (Brisbane), Mal Micheal (Brisbane/Essendon), Brett Voss (Brisbane/St Kilda), Scott Harding (Brisbane) and Tony Lynn (Carlton).

Morningside are coached by former VFL footballer John Blair (Sth Melbourne/Fitzroy/St Kilda)

In 2010, Morningside finished third in the QAFL with 13 wins and five losses. They went on to win the QAFL premiership by 31 points over Mt Gravatt.

Established: 1947.
Premierships: Eight.

Northern Territory Thunder

The Northern Terriotry Thunder were formed in 2008, after some years of debating just which league to put a Territory team in. With the AFL’s help, the team competes in the Queensland Australian Football League, and is based out of TIO Stadium in Darwin and Traeger Park in Alice Springs.

In 2010, the Thunder finished fifth in the QAFL with 10 wins and eight losses. The Thunder made the QAFL finals, losing to Mt Gravatt.

The team has had some issues winning away from Darwin, where they were undefeated last season, and is likely to be one of the weaker sides in the Foxtel Cup.

The Northern Territory have recruited former Crows two-time premiership player, Andrew McLeod to play with them through the Foxtel Cup campaign. The Territory are coached by former AFL player Micheal McLean (Footscray/Brisbane).

Established: 2008.
Premierships: Zero.