by Nadia Zammataro

Seven of the Port Douglas Junior Crocs' Under 18 squad will be playing to win a grand final next Wednesday night (August 31 at 7pm) at Cazalys in Cairns.

Kerrod Andrews, Jackson Brown, Lewis Butterss, Michael Doust, Zak O’Gorman, Michael Pidgeon and Karl Zammataro have all season worn the Lion’s colours on Wednesday nights, and then played seniors and reserves for the Crocs on Saturday.

In previous years, the current Under 18 squad of Crocs players have been able to field a side with the help of boys from St Augustine’s College in Cairns.

The merger with Cairns City Lions Under 18s has proven to be successful as the Lions finished as minor premiers at the end of the regular season, and on Wednesday played themselves in to the Grand Final with an 11.11.77 to 2.3.15 win over their main rivals Centrals.

The contribution of the Crocs' boys has played a big part in this successful venture with all of them being awarded with a Best on Ground honour at different stages of the season.

For most of the season the boys have had to play in positions unfamiliar to them but have handled the challenge with ease.

Michael Doust had such a good year that he was rewarded with the league’s U18 Reg Lillywhite Best and Fairest award at the AFL Cairns Junior League presentation on Monday night. Jackson Brown also polled well in the votes.

With some of the boys still eligible to play Under 18s in 2012 there is hope Port can field their own side next year.

The boys would also like to thank Denise and Martin McHugh for the use of their bus every week to get them to the games.