Sport
7 September, 2026
Bulls bow out with victory as Rangers seal premiership
MAREEBA United ended its 2026 campaign on a winning note, defeating Edge Hill United 2-0 at Tiger Park last Saturday, but the result was not enough to carry the Bulls into the finals.
Mareeba entered the final round still holding a slim chance of claiming fourth place.
The equation required the Bulls to defeat Edge Hill and hope the match between fourth-placed Leichhardt and the Redlynch Strikers produced the right result.
Facing a difficult assignment away from home, the Bulls delivered when it mattered and played with the determination of a team refusing to surrender its finals hopes.
Mareeba produced a disciplined and committed performance against Edge Hill, keeping the home side scoreless while finding the net twice to secure a deserved 2-0 victory.
The Bulls had completed their part of the equation, but their fate remained in the hands of the result elsewhere.
As news filtered through from the Leichhardt and Redlynch match, Mareeba’s hopes were dashed.
The teams played out a 1-1 draw, allowing Leichhardt to collect the point it needed to secure fourth position.
Leichhardt finished one point ahead of Mareeba, leaving the Bulls agonisingly short of reaching the playoffs.
Despite the disappointment, Mareeba finished the season with two of its strongest performances.
Only three days earlier, the Bulls had stunned Marlin Coast Rangers 5-2 at Borzi Park in their midweek catch-up match.
The Rangers needed only one point that night to secure the premiership and appeared to be cruising towards the title after scoring two goals inside the opening 15 minutes.
However, Mareeba fought back to level the match at 2-2 before half-time and then overwhelmed the competition leaders with three unanswered goals in the second half.
The result was Marlin Coast’s biggest loss of the season and forced the Rangers to wait until the final round to complete their premiership campaign.
MCR entered its home match against the Stratford Dolphins still needing at least one point to finish on top of the table.
The Rangers were again made to work hard, with Stratford pushing them throughout an entertaining match. A 3-3 draw was enough for Marlin Coast to clinch the premiership, its third consecutive title.
While Rangers celebrated another successful regular season, Mareeba was left to reflect on how close it had come to extending its campaign.
The Bulls’ final two results, including victories over the premiers and Edge Hill, demonstrated the quality within the side and provided encouragement ahead of next season.
Attention now turns to the FQPL Far North finals series across all divisions. The semi-finals were be played at Endeavour Park on Saturday 5 September, with the surviving teams progressing to the preliminary finals on 12 September.
The 2026 season will then reach its conclusion with the grand finals ironically at the home of Brothers Rugby League club, Stan Williams Park on 19 September.
