Sport
27 April, 2024
Cutters’ big win over Hawks
Manunda Hawks vs South Cairns Cutters at Cazalys Stadium, Cutters by 98. Souths were absolutely scintillating in their debut game of the 2024 season, showing how desperate they are to return to the finals for the first time since 2021.
New look teams always have question marks about how well and how quickly they can gel, but Souths blew those fears out of the water in the first term, kicking eight goals to one.
They did not let their foot of the gas for the remainder of the game, finishing with 21.10, with Cutters veteran Damien Hill kicking four.
For the Hawks, this was the second of tough losses after an agonising one-point loss in round 1.
They will certainly feel unlucky to have caught a fresh Souths absolutely raring to go.
Key big man Ezekial Frank kicked three, while skipper Troy Barbero gave a typically lion-hearted performance.
Souths best: Ryan Nyhuis, Joseph Ugle, Josh Clayton, Tom Fields, Damien Hill, Tyler Roos.
Hawks best: Ali Aniba-Hodges, Mitchell Seles, Matthew White, Troy Barbero, Ezekiel Frank, James Boyd.
Central TB Bulldogs vs Cairns City Lions at Crathern Park, Lions by 67.
City Lions showed that they are once again a force to be reckoned with in season 2024, dismantling the ‘dogs at the kennel’.
The Lions were exceptional in defence, allowing only eight scoring shots throughout the entirety of the match.
They will feel they could have won by even more, after they kicked 11.19 in the match.
There was something in the mascot on Saturday, with their AFL namesakes kicking 4.13 that night.
For the Bulldogs, it was a stark and untimely reminder of just how much experience they lost over the off-season.
It will take time for the Dogs to gel as a new team and find the right combinations and connections moving forward.
In their favour, they have arguably the most depth in the competition, as their reserves are back-to-back premiers.
Lions best: Beau Flint, Jake Twycross, Nicholas Johnson, Tommy Bolton, Thomas Lindenmayer, Daniel Charlesworth.
Bulldogs best: Flinn Kelly, Jonah Matthews, Tyler Spencer, Cam Sudholz, Bailey Fry, Oliver Rix.
North Cairns Tigers vs Port Douglas Crocs at Watson’s Oval, Norths by 15.
After copping an untimely four injuries to first graders on Thursday evening, Crocs were forced to blood some of their youngsters in their trip to Watson’s. Crocs kicked the final three goals, all rippers, of the game to tighten the margin, but will still feel they let one get away and will surely be rueing a 2.7 second term with the wind advantage. For the Tigers, they lay claim to being the hottest team in the comp after completing the 2023 grand final double as they beat the Crocs for the first time in 12 years.
Experienced backmen Darcy Keast and Rory Tarlinton were swung forward and kicked eight between them, while Billy Welch remained the competition’s leading goalkicker after nailing a drop punt from the boundary late on.
The Tigers will look to keep their unbelievable accuracy going forward. They stand at 31.12 to start the season.
Port Douglas best: Ben Mcphee, Brett Mckeown, Liam Brandt, Ethan McCullough, Sam Fairclough, Sam Wall.
North Cairns best: Rory Tarlinton, Isaac Sinnott, Hayden Spiller, Kevin Canendo, David Denboer, Cooper Cartledge.
