Sport
20 June, 2025
Atmosphere heats up in Cairns AFL round 10
THE ‘battle of the north’ headlines round 10 in ‘footy in paradise’ as the Bulldogs host the Crocs on the latter’s shortest journey South for season 2025.
The Dogs sit in second after eight games, a position they would have taken without a second thought if offered at the start of the year.
They were shown that they still have plenty of room to grow after being beaten by the reigning premiers Cutters in a match that was only close due to the Cutters insane inaccuracy, 3.14 at half time.
After losing their first three matches, the Crocs enter round 10 as the hottest team in the comp, winning five straight.
After being pumped at home by the Dogs to the tune of 65 points in round 3, they will be out to even things up.
The Cutters head to Watson’s Oval for the second iteration of the ‘battle of the compass’ for season 2025.
After getting away with one in round 8, the Cutters were back to their best in round 9 in dismantling the Dogs, until it came to shots at goal, ending with 12.21.
They look hard to stop when they kick straight. That though is the task facing the Tigers who, after losing to the Crocs by an agonising five points, find themselves in the recently unfamiliar position of fifth.
This rivalry always gets the Tigers up and about and they will not be considering themselves underdogs.
The final men’s fixture sees the Saints catch the bus a mere 1500m down the road to Cazaly’s to play the winless Hawks. The ladder will say that this is the clash between last and second last, but the Saints have serious designs on playing, if not hosting, finals footy in season 2025.
Coming off a bye, they will be looking to put a big score on their geographical and ladder neighbours.
Those neighbours will be hopeful that a four-quarter performance is just around the corner.
The Hawks have been scintillating in stretches and are just looking for it to all piece together. I am backing that performance to be in the near future.
Women’s
A RARE two game round for the women, as the Cutters visit Norths, while the Dogs host the Crocs in Saturday’s opening games.
The home teams, along with the Lions, are part of a leading pack all on six wins, three more than the fourth placed Crocs.
As elite teams in the competition, they won’t even be considering the option that they might lose and will look to score big wins in a season where percentage might be the difference between a double chance and an elimination game in round 1 of the finals.
The Dogs will be wary of the Crocs, two weeks after the first giant killing win in the club’s history, while Norths will be keen to put on a show to kickstart a big day for the club at Watson’s.
The Cutters and Tigers know they can go as hard as possible, with both teams enjoying a bye next week, while the Dogs will be priming themselves for a big clash against the Lions next week.
