The Douglas United Dragons make their return to Far North Football’s Premier League after three years when they kick off their 2012 season this weekend.

The club will field two teams this year – a premier league side and second division side – after the Dragons dominated the second division in 2011, despite finishing third thanks to a semi-final nightmare.

Incoming President, Rodney Rasmussen, said the club had retained the majority of last year’s list with the exception of “Smoking” Jo Abidini and Mark Lee.

“We’re also waiting on the arrival of two English players and one Irish player in the next three to four weeks when they finish their UK season,” Rasmussen said.

Dragons’ fans will be pleased to see the return of head coach and captain, Logan Marsh, along with key players Nick Tither, Eugene Brown and John Raffaele, who looks likely to be secured for only four to six weeks before making the move to Melbourne.

Rasmussen said the club was still in the need of more players after losing their junior base and women’s side in the past couple of seasons, creating a rebuilding phase for the club. 

“The aim is to get enough players on the books to field three or four sides next season,” he said.

“But for this season, we would like to think we are competitive enough to finish in the top four, but that will depend on how we go in the first six weeks of competition.”

The Dragons’ second division side plays Souths at Stratford at 8pm tonight, while the premier league side plays arch rivals, Edge Hill, at Tiger Park, Manunda, 4pm on Sunday.

The first home game will be against Mareeba United under lights at Cassowary Park on March 31. 


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