Sport
24 July, 2026
Which big cat will be roaring?
CITY Lions against Tigers, Hawks take on Crocs, Centrals Bulldogs versus Saints.
Manunda Hawks versus Port Douglas Crocs
THE Crocs resume their pursuit of a perfect season after having last week off.
More relevant to the Crocs 2026 season, and undoubtedly what the focus will be on, will be the opportunity to put more distance between them and the Cutters, who have their bye this week, as the Crocs look to wrap up a second consecutive minor premiership.
For the Hawks, the focus will be executing their skills and defensive gameplan as they look to do the impossible and reverse the 163-point loss suffered in round six at home to the Crocs.
They were good value for the first two and a half quarters against the Bulldogs before fading late and will hope they come out firing after the beautiful drive up the highway.
Centrals Trinty Beach Bulldogs versus Cairns Saints
THE game of the round sees one of the first crucial “eight-pointers” in the race for the finals as fourth-placed Bulldogs host the third-placed Saints, with only a win separating them.
Due to their superior percentage, the Bulldogs will be confident they only need to finish on the same number of wins as the Saints to finish third and secure an all-important home final.
You can just about lock this match-up in as the third versus fourth final come September, so an early finals preview is in store for patrons heading to the kennel this weekend.
Both teams secured big, impressive wins last weekend and will be raring to go.
The Saints won the previous fixture this season by 29 points in round six.
Cairns City Lions versus North Cairns Tigers
THE weekend finishes off with the Cairns City Lions in the last chance saloon for season 2026 against their old adversary, the Tigers.
Effectively four wins back on fourth, they probably need to win out and hope some other results go their way, starting this weekend against the reigning premiers, who they beat in round six.
Point-scoring has not been a problem for the Lions, but they will want to shore up what has been a porous defence at times.
The Tigers on the other hand will see this as a very winnable fixture as they look to avoid the ignominy of going from premiers to wooden-spooners.
They were certainly better value than the 84-point loss last week to the Saints and will have plenty of positives to work on as they look to finish season 2026 on a positive note.
