Sport
11 September, 2026
FQPL men’s head to the nitty-gritty
THE FQPL Far North premier men’s finals series delivered plenty of drama at Endeavour Park last Saturday, with Marlin Coast Rangers booking their place in the grand final and Stratford Dolphins keeping their championship hopes alive.
Premiers Marlin Coast Rangers faced Edge Hill United in the major semi-final, with a direct passage to the 19 September grand final awaiting the winner. There was little separating the two sides throughout a tightly contested opening half, with neither able to find the breakthrough before the interval.
The contest opened up after the break and it was Rangers who struck first, with Jesse McCormack finding the back of the net in the 55th minute to give Marlin Coast a 1-0 advantage. Edge Hill refused to go away and were handed the opportunity to level the scores from the penalty spot in the 71st minute.
Max Van Eck made no mistake with the spot kick, bringing the Tigers back to 1-1 and setting up a tense finish. Neither side could find a winner before the end of regulation time and another 30 minutes of extra time also failed to separate the two teams.
With the score remaining locked at 1-1, the match headed to a penalty shootout, where Rangers held their nerve to claim a 3-1 victory and secure the first place in the grand final. The defeat was not the end of the road for Edge Hill, who will now have another opportunity to qualify when they face Stratford Dolphins this weekend.
Stratford earned their place in the preliminary final with a hard-fought victory over Leichhardt in the minor semi-final. Kyle Nichol proved the difference for the Dolphins, scoring twice in the opening half.
Nichol opened the scoring in the 30th minute before striking again on the stroke of halftime to give Stratford a valuable 2-0 advantage heading into the sheds. Leichhardt came out after the break knowing their season was on the line and battled hard to find a way back into the contest. Stratford’s defence stood firm as the clock wound down, with the Dolphins looking set to keep a clean sheet and comfortably progress to the next stage of the finals.
However, Leichhardt continued to push and were finally rewarded in the 90th minute when Luke Haines found the back of the net to reduce the deficit to 2-1. The late goal gave Leichhardt a glimmer of hope, but time ran out before they could find an equaliser, bringing their 2026 campaign to an end. For Stratford, the 2-1 victory keeps their championship ambitions alive and sets up a huge showdown with Edge Hill this weekend.
The winner will advance to the 19 September grand final, where Marlin Coast Rangers will be waiting as the Tigers and Dolphins battle for the final place in the season decider.
Comets U23 lose to Bulls
SOUTHSIDE Comets’ under-23 season has come to an end after a brave late fightback fell just short against the Mareeba Bulls in their sudden-death semi-final at Endeavour Park on Saturday.
The Comets went down 2-1 in a hard-fought finals encounter, but showed plenty of character in the closing stages, pulling a goal back despite being reduced to 10 men and giving Mareeba some nervous moments before the final whistle.
With both sides knowing there was no second chance for the loser, the opening half developed into a cautious and scrappy affair.
Neither team was able to establish any real rhythm as the pressure of sudden-death finals football took its toll.
Mareeba created several opportunities, but the Comets worked hard defensively to keep the Bulls at bay and ensure the teams went to the halftime break locked at 0-0. Southside would have been looking to build on that defensive effort after the restart, but their plans suffered an almost immediate setback.
Just two minutes into the second half, Tatti found the back of the net for Mareeba to give the Bulls a 1-0 advantage.
The goal gave Mareeba confidence and the Bulls began to settle into their football, applying increasing pressure as the Comets searched for a way back into the contest.
Southside continued to battle, but their task became considerably more difficult in the 78th minute when Liam Brault struck Mareeba’s second goal to make it 2-0.
With time running out, the Comets then suffered another major blow when Izaac Quintieri received his second yellow card and was sent from the field.
Reduced to 10 men and trailing by two goals, Southside could easily have accepted that their season was over. Instead, the Comets responded with one final surge.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Southside pulled a goal back in the 86th minute to reduce the margin to 2-1 and suddenly put Mareeba under pressure.
Mareeba was forced to defend its slender advantage as Southside continued to push, but the Bulls held firm until the final whistle to secure the 2-1 victory.
