by Jo Westgate

It was another busy weekend for players and parents alike with all games played in Cairns over the weekend. The Under 16s were still unable to come away with a win but it was fantastic to see the Under 14s have their first win for the season.

It just shows that hard work, persistence and a never say die attitude can bring home the results no matter the odds against you.

Well done to all players and to newly appointed coach Pat Zorba Barnett. The Under 16s have the next few weeks off due to school holidays and don’t return to the field until Friday 29 April. The Under 8s through to 14s have matches this weekend before the Easter break.

Under 8s

The Under 8s went into to the match with numbers a bit lacking this week and were in for a hard task against a very strong Cairns Blue outfit. Coach Brad Cooper put the emphasis on playing as a team encouraging the kids to move the ball around a lot more.

Frequent use of the handball assured that everyone saw a fair bit of the football. Great team work and a strong defence were the highlights of the game.

Goal Kickers were once again Super-Boots Geneva Gilbert and Scott Cooper. The player of the day medallion was awarded to young Dean Laurence with the Macca’s awards going to Geneva Gilbert and Jake Sherwell.

Under 10s

The Under 10s put in a great contest against Centrals in what were once again very warm conditions. It was hard to pick best players this week as every player contributed to what was a good even performance.

Daniel, Ryan and Reuben were outstanding on the ground feeding the ball out to team mates resulting in numerous goals for the Crocs. It was great to see everyone working so well as a team and sharing the goals around. For such young kids they possess great skill and an ability to read the ball and each other.

Goal kickers were Leon 3, and Reuben, Daniel and Toby with 1 each. Club Medallion recipient Jacob Rich had a great game as did Dylan Collier Foodworks Award and rounding off the awards this week were Anthony Long and Leon Wren.

Under 12s

Port Douglas 10-7-67 def North Cairns 3-2-20

In what were very blustery conditions the Crocs started off well winning the toss and kicking 3 goals in the opening quarter. Brayden took an inspirational mark converting the goal giving the boys the confidence to back themselves and run through the lines.

Great ball work, handballing and accurate delivery of the ball saw the Crocs open the game right up and take charge of the momentum kicking accurately for goal.  Leon played up from under 10s for the first time and after a great grab in front of goal he kicked his first 6 pointer in Under 12s.

All the boys contributed to what was a resounding win with Finn, Charlie, Joel and Hamish playing inspirational football. Tom, Pidge, Jack and both Daniels lead by example and all in all it was a great display of football from the youngsters.

Goal Kickers were Brayden 2, Charlie 2, Finn 2 and 1 each to Harry, Pidge, Leon and Jye. Great win boys, that's 4 in a row so lets keep it going.

Under 14s

Port Douglas 8-13-61 def South Cairns 8-4-52

The Crocs travelled to Watsons Oval on Sunday to take on South Cairns playing in warm windy conditions on a semi-soggy oval.

After what was a very impressive first quarter that showed plenty of promise the boys eased up on the pressure allowing the opposition to swoop. The Crocs played catch up footy for the next 2 quarters but to their credit they kept battling hard and never lost touch of a victory.

Going into the final quarter the Crocs were 14 points down but with some words of encouragement from Coach Pat Barnett at 3 quarter time, the boys return to the field with fire in their bellies. In a dazzling shock and awe display they left the opposition in their wake booting 3 goals in quick succession to take the lead and secure a 9 point victory - their first for the season.

Goal Kickers were Mitch Bohm, Charlie Williams, Guy Phongsunthorn and Quinlan Cannon. Awards winners were Nathan Evans Beach Shack Award, Jai Phillips, EJ’s Takeaway. Macca’s awards went to Louie Ganaia, and Quinlan Cameron.

Thanks to new players Travis Gulliver, Wade Lutgater and Charlie Williams who made an enormous contribution to the final outcome. Thanks to Brett Davidson for his courage and commitment and everyone who assisted with match duties including Jack Goodall (runner) Water Persons Cheryl McCullough and Rod Davidson, Joey Muia (Goal Umpire) and Dave Evans (Boundry Umpire). Your help is greatly appreciated. Well done boys! 

Under 16s

South Cairns 13-8-86 def Port Douglas 4-11-35

In  what was not a pretty game to watch a very undisciplined Crocs line up went down to South Cairns. The Cutters out played the Crocs all over the ground with the Crocs lacking team work, not backing up and kicking poorly in front of goal.

There were moments of brilliance but 10 behinds had them playing catch up football all night. A couple of converts could have seen a whole new ball game. To their credit they fought hard all match and definitely have the talent and the numbers to be competitive this season.

Jack Goodall saw plenty of the football as did Micheal Mckeown but they struggled to find options to kick too. Kizza battled hard in the backline stopping what could have been a few more goals. 

Goal Kickers for the match were Westy 2, Micheal Mckeown and Jack Gibson 1 apiece. Awards went to Jack Goodall, Brent Mckeown, Westy, Kieran and Keegan. Let’s hope after the Easter Break the boys go into the next round with a whole new attitude and show Trevor that all his hard work and commitment is worth it.