EDITORIAL

TON OF MEMORIES FOR DERRICK
By Ron McDonald
Ultra-consistent Broadbeach half-back Jesse Derrick played the 100th and most memorable game of his NEAFL/QAFL career
last weekend.
In fact, the games that have given him the biggest buzz of his State League career have been the most recent.
“I was asked by our fi tness trainer before the NT game (two weeks ago) ‘of your 99 games, which one stands out?’ and I
couldn’t think of one,” Derrick said.
“Afterwards I said ‘there you go, that’s probably it’. Then after what happened last week (against the Gold Coast Suns Reserves),
that’s defi nitely up there.”
Broadbeach won a high class affair with the last two goals of the match to keep their fi nals hopes alive in a do-or-die affair.
“Just being the home ground, the home crowd was very vocal. The club area was going off,” Derrick said. “It was really good.”
A Palm Beach junior and well performed State Under 18, Derrick was a regular QAFL Rising Star nominee before he turned 21.
Still only 22, he has been a model of consistency through his nearly six seasons at senior level.
Runner-up best and fairest behind the brilliant Dayne Zorko last season, he fi nished third in 2007 and 2008, and fourth in 2009
in club champion voting.
Derrick’s durability has also been a huge asset to the Cats, having played his last 99 games in succession.
He is the fourth Cat behind Korey Fulton, Ben Tindall and Ben Walters to play 100 State League games for the blue and whites.
Not that he treated the milestone as anything special beforehand.
“Not really, I thought it was just another game,” he said. “I was more concerned with getting a win and keeping our season
alive.”
The Cats were on the verge of oblivion a month ago but have made an inspired charge at the fi nals with close wins over the
Brisbane Lions Reserves, Thunder and Suns.
NEAFL Football Record Issue18 13th - 14 th August 2011 Page 10