Sport
15 May, 2026
Sport lively in the tropics
THE Cairns and surrounding areas have seen yet another big week in sports across all codes.
NRL
THE round started with the women’s league having three big matchups.
Game one saw Yarrabah go down to Ivanhoes 46-16, with the Knights showing their muscle all game.
The other two games followed suit with the Cairns Kangaroos taking down Innisfail 22-4, while Atherton absolutely thumped Southern Suburbs 60-4.
The reserves saw some amazing games and close scorelines.
Cairns Brothers took down Ivanhoes 28-24, the Innisfail Leprechauns won their game over the Kangaroos 24-22, while Tully also won a nailbiter over Yarrabah 40-36.
To keep the trend alive, Southern Suburbs won 23-22 over Atherton, while Mareeba were the only comfortable winner winning 38-26.
The seniors started with a 38-10 victory over Ivanhoes, while the Cairns Kangaroos won yet
another close one over Innisfail 18-14. Tully comfortably won against Yarrabah 28-16, while the Atherton Roosters also won closely over Southern Suburbs 32-30. The round finished with Mareeba winning against Mossman 38-12
Soccer
THE first game saw Douglas draw with Leichhardt, while Atherton versus Innisfail wasn’t as competitive with Atherton winning that game 7-2.
Leichhardt 1A had a 2-1 victory over top of the table Edge Hill while Southside’s dominance continued with a 6-1 victory over Stratford.
Basketball
THE Cairns Marlins and Dolphins have both kept their season undefeated with another win over their North Queensland counterparts Townsville Heat (men’s) and Flames (women’s).
The Marlins won comfortably 97-74 with guard Ky Stattmann leading the way with 26 points.
The Dolphins showed the same dominance coming away with a 92-67 victory. Cairns guard and fan favourite Mia Loyd showed out in front of her home crowd with 27 points and nine assists.
Both sides now get a well earned break until their next game where they host North Queensland counterparts Mackay at home.
Junior basketball
CAIRNS Basketball has sent their under-14s boys and girls squads off to compete in round two of their NQJBC, this time being held in Mackay.
All six teams played four games over the weekend against teams from as far south as Rockhampton.
The Cairns Sharks (boys division 3) had the most successful tournament, winning three of four games.
The Cairns Dolphins were next best, splitting their tournament with two wins and two losses each, showing some great signs, while the Pearls picked up one win over rivals Mackay.
Likewise, the Marlins also won their match-up with Burdekin.
The Stingers (boys division 2) and corals (girls division 2) all were unable to get a win on the board, but showed signs of life making their coaches incredibly proud.
