A TOP of the table clash between Bond University and Maroochydore headlines our Round 7 Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) weekend preview, with a number of ladder-defining clashes occurring on the weekend.

BOND UNIVERSITY vs. MAROOCHYDORE
Saturday, August 1, 3.30pm at Bond University

• Top of the table clash between first placed Bond University and second placed Maroochydore, winner takes top spot, loser could drop to fourth
• The teams have both had four wins, a loss and a draw on 18 points, though the Sharkettes’ draw was a cancellation against Wilston Grange
• Maroochydore had four wins on the board either side of the extended break, but have picked up just two points in the past two weeks
• Of the losses, the Roos’ came last week by just five points to Coolangatta Tweed, the same team Bond University lost to way back in Round 1 – eerily also by five points
• After losing to the Bluebirds in Round 1, Bond University exacted revenge after the break in Round 4 with a four-goal win
• Bond University is ranked second for offence and first for defence, conceding just a stingy 12.8 points to their opposition
• Maroochydore are strong defensively as well, conceding the 21.5 points, while averaging the 37.5 points per game
• Annie Muir (four), Lucinda Pullar (three) and Maddison Levi (three) have all been named in the best multiple times for the Sharkettes, while Jasmyn Davidson (six goals) and Taylor Smith (five) lead the club’s goalkicking
• Maggie Harmer (four) and Ruby McDowell (four) are the most common players in the Roos’ bests, while Lily Postlethwaite (three) has been named in the bests every game she has played
• Ashleigh Hales and Mikayla Pauga both lead Maroochydore’s goalkicking with five majors each

COOLANGATTA TWEED vs. WILSTON GRANGE
Saturday, August 1, 3pm at Eximm Oval

• Coolangatta Tweed won its first game since the break over Maroochydore after losing the past two
• Wilston Grange has not won since Round 1, with four losses and a cancelation draw the results in the past five rounds.
• Last week the Gorillas got within a point of Yeronga South Brisbane without spiritual leader Kate Lutkins
• The Bluebirds are the only side to have toppled the Roos and are four points clear inside the top four
• A win to the Gorillas will see them at least draw level with University of Queensland, though they cannot move out of seventh
• Coolangatta Tweed can leapfrog whoever loses the top of the table clash, as well as Yeronga South Brisbane if the Devils have a shock loss to the Hornets
• Sally Riley, Keyshia Matenga, Casey Samuels and Alexandra Hamlyn have all been named in the best a team-high three times for the Bluebirds
• Kaitlyn Day (five games) and Catherine Svarc (three) have been named in the Gorillas’ best in every game they have played

ASPLEY HORNETS vs. YERONGA SOUTH BRISBANE
Saturday, August 1, 4pm at Aspley

• Third placed Yeronga South Brisbane travel to last placed Aspley to take on the Hornets
• The Devils will take second spot with a win given the top two sides face off, whilst a loss could see them drop as low as fifth if both Coolangatta Tweed and Coorparoo both get up
• Aspley cannot move from the bottom of the table, but were more competitive last week against University of Queensland
• Yeronga South Brisbane won its first two matches, then became the first team to draw consecutive matches then hold off Wilston Grange in a thriller last week
• The Devils are third for scoring, but also concede the second most points of any side
• The only side that concedes more points than the Devils is Aspley, who also average just under 10 points per game
• Four players – Courtney McDonnell, Lucy Bellinger, Madison Goodwin and Sam Virgo share the goalkicking for the Devils in an even spread of three each, whilst Bellinger, Goodwin, Emily Bates and Jordan Zanchetta have been named in the best multiple times
• Rachel Crawford and Michaela Campbell are the sole multiple goalkickers for the Hornets with two apiece, but Phoebe Baird has been among the best the past three weeks for the Hornets, while Courtney Daniec (six), Isabella Kotatis (four), Lucy Pengelly (four) and Shaye Easton (four) are regularly named among the best

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND vs. COORPAROO
Saturday, August 1, 4.45pm at UQ at St Lucia

• In a battle of fifth against sixth, a win will at the minimum guarantee fifth spot, with Coorparoo also able to leapfrog Coolangatta Tweed and Yeronga South Brisbane if both lose
• The Kings have the highest scoring offence in the competition, averaging 50.8 points per game compared to the Red Lionesses’ 28.5 points per game
• Defensively, the University of Queensland (UQ) average 27.3 points per game, while Coorparoo average only marginally more at 28.8 points per game
• After losing their first three matches and then drawing the first game out of the break, the Red Lionesses have won the past two against the bottom two teams
• Coorparoo won three consecutive games coming into last week, including two thumping wins over Aspley, but then went down to Bond University by 21 points
• Three leading goalkickers in the competition will be situated up either end, with Dakota Davidson (UQ), Emma McKenzie and Kelsey Crosbie (both Coorparoo) all on eight majors
• Megan Hunt (five), Alexandra Moran (three), Jane Childes (three) and Mikayla Martin (three) are all among the top players earned in the Red Lionesses’ bests
• Jade Ellenger (four), Brooke Spence (three) and McKenzie (three) have been the top Kings throughout the season, but with the amount of AFL Women’s talent such as Emma Zielke, Ally Anderson, Jess Wuetschner and Jamie Stanton among others, it is hard not to consider them one of the favourites for the title