Place Preview - QAFL Round 5 - Magpie lineup boosted with key inclusions
Andrew Thomson
The Western Magpies have been boosted for their Round 5 QAFL clash with Sandgate by the return of key position players Jack Goodall , Brody Lumber and Doug Lawrence.
However, as is becoming the story there must be some injury debits and not just omissions, with the Pies losing skipper David Lewis with a broken hand and Logan Murray has been suspended for 1 match but would have missed through injury regardless. Monty Vine drops back to the Reserves.
The Pies were brave last week in another narrow loss so will be keen to return to the winner's list at Taigum on Saturday.
The Hawks are winless to date but are still a dangerous proposition for the Pies, especially on the wide open spaces of the Hawks home ground.
Goodall and Lumber were sorely missed last round and their inclusion may well have turned the tables. With Aaron Highlands in top form the Pies key position stocks look decidedly dangerous and Claye Beams, Riley Easton and Lachine Dennis will add to the danger at ground level.
Lawrence bolsters the defence and with Luca Winton and Jayden Gallagher both in fine form last week the Pies defence is solid. They will miss the leadership of Lewis but the inclusion of Lawrence will help compensate.
Liam Dwyer has provided a good contest in the ruck in his three games and Will Fletcher will only get better as midfielder with each outing. Gareth Crawford showed there is still some gas in the tank as he turned back the clock last week and he is clearly enjoying himself back in senior footy and leading the way with his outstanding form the last 2 weeks.
Teenagers in Macauley Lonergan, Riley Greene and Ethan Sivijs have been a revelation in the past two matches and will revel in the open spaces at Taigum.
The Pies will be keen to pocket the four points to get their season back on track before next week's bye.
