Sport
19 September, 2025
Bulldogs versus Tigers
GRAND final week is here and it is already shaping up to be a historic one.
For the first time, both men’s and women’s grand finals will be contested by the same teams.
Congratulations to North Cairns and Centrals Trinity Beach, with a special mention to the Bulldogs reserves making it to their grand final, making it three from three. A great all-round year for the club.
Sometimes, the best two teams over the year get the opportunity to duke it out in the grand final.
To start off the day, the Tigers and Bulldogs go head-to-head one last time in the women’s grand final.
Punters will absolutely be hoping for a repeat of the prelim, where the Tigers eventually prevailed after extra time.
Both teams are battle-hardened from their finals bouts.
The Tigers will be hoping that the week off gives them the boost when the going gets tough, while the Bulldogs will hope their longer road helps them hit the ground running.
It is a cliché, but this match is a real coin toss.
In the men’s this is the Bulldogs first ever grand final, while the Tigers make it three in six years, but have lost their past two trips to ‘The Big Dance’.
Sometimes, the grand final match-up throws up a complete surprise, where even the biggest fan of AFL Cairns would not have picked this grand final, perhaps at any time this year.
The Tigers and the Dogs do battle in one of the most surprising grand final match-ups of recent memory.
Entering this season, these two clubs possessed the two longest premiership droughts, with the Tigers not winning since 1988, while the Dogs have not triumphed since 1997.
The closeness of the top five meant that the Dogs had to win an effective elimination final in round 19 just to get to the finals and did enough to jump into second and grab that second chance.
Both teams were considered underdogs in their respective first finals, while no one was tipping Port to get bounced in straight sets.
Both teams are a great example of what turning up and never giving up can get you.
The Tigers would be considered favourites based off their season ledger of 3-0 at a combined score of 275-200, but the Dogs won’t be caring much about that stat.
The breaking of a premiership drought is a great way to end season 2025.
Last weekend’s results:
Men’s – Port Douglas Crocs 26, North Cairns Tigers 70.
Women’s – Centrals Trinity Beach Bulldogs 16, Port Douglas Crocs 13.
