by Jo Westgate

Well done people once again a vey successful home game with plenty of volunteers eager to give the committee a hand. Thanks to those who helped out in whatever capacity and a special mention must go to BBQ King Joey Muia who stationed himself tongs in hand at the BBQ all day cooking up a swagger of bacon, eggs onions and burgers.

Thanks also to Tim Pigeon who honed in on the canteen, making burgers, cooking chips whipping up the odd hot dog or two and also being our chief customer service person thanks boys but a special thanks to the girls who really are the backbone of a very successful canteen.

As always President Rod Davidson worked tirelessly with ground set ups through out the day and Mrs President Nicky sold raffle tickets in the 100 board as well as assisting in the canteen. Thanks to Sheryl McCullough our Ace of Cakes who baked up a storm. Funny, know one ever asks me to bake, have they spoken to my children? Perhaps my talents lie more in cooking up a story!

Under 8s

The Under 8s on Sunday saw the Crocs take on a very polished Cairns South White. With the home crowd behind them and bolstered by newcomers Kalan Scott and Ethan Poole making their debut after stepping up from Auskick.

The big kicking Souths White team saw the Crocs struggle to gain possession, and with limited opportunities Harry Walker, Scott Cooper, Dean Laurence and Jae Mitchell kicked the Crocs goals. Player of the Day Award was awarded to Ethan Bakker and the Macca’s Awards went to Dean Laurence and Kalan Poole.

Under 10s

The weather may have been warm and dry but it rained goals at the Croc pit on Sunday with the under 10s playing a great game of team football. With every player giving 100% over 4 quarters the boys dominated there opponents in every position out running, out marking and outscoring the Saints at every change.

Rueben and Anthony took some great grabs, while Ryan, Daniel and Jack ran the ball well gathering many possessions for the match. All goals were a combination of effort by several players. Goal Kickers where Reuben 2, Ryan 2, Daniel 2, Anthony 2, Toby 2 and Toby 1.  Awards went to Leon Wren Club Medal, Casey West, Toby Allison and Rory Nyko.

Under 12s

South Cairns 5-2-32 def Port Douglas 4-4-28

The Crocs got off to a slow start on Sunday allowing South Cairns to kick 2 unanswered goals in the opening term. The boys pulled up their socks in the second quarter only allowing Souths to kick 1 goal.

Although they dominated most of the play in the second term a couple of missed opportunities up forward saw them boot 1.3 for the quarter giving Souths a narrow lead going into the big break.

The second half was a an evenly contested encounter strong defence from both teams saw goals few and far between. The Crocs hit the lead late in the final term and a win looked assured in front of a pumped up home crowd. However a late surge by the Souths forwards resulted in a quick goal pipping the Crocs at the post with a very narrow 4 point win to South Cairns.

Goal Kickers for the Crocs were Daniel Davidson 2, Jye West 1 and Benny (Bonkus) Muia 1. Awards after Sundays clash went to Ben Muia, Jye West, Charlie Burns and Tom Goodall.

Under 14s

South Cairns 6-10-46 def Port Douglas 0-6-6.

Expectations were high in front of a large home crowd with the Crocs fielding a full team with 5 on the bench. A very special debut took place on Sunday with Tableland Trio Ben, Zac, and Josh Macaulay lining up for the Crocs. It's not everyday that a club President receives a phone call from a mum saying I have triplets who want to come and play for your under 14s. What a coup!  

Numbers were also bolstered by the inclusion of Ashley Davidson, Daniel Smith and Jake Gibson who are all now eligible to play Under 14s. With so many new additions to the team I think it will take the boys a few games to get the feel of how each other plays and where everyone is best utilised on the ground.

The Crocs, although having a home ground advantage, struggled to find flow in their game and poor disposal of the ball resulted in uncontested marks to the opposition who then made the most of their opportunities. The Crocs were not completely outclassed, several fantastic passage of play were unfortunately not rewarded with goals.

A couple of 6 pointers may have given them the boost they needed to gain confidence in their abilities. The scoreboard aside, the new look under 14s put in a great effort and I can see some good results coming up in the future.

Jai Phillips and Brady Stewart, the pocket rockets, played hard all game and both received awards. Daniel Smith opened up play on several occasions with his fast running game and his willingness to play hard at every given opportunity. Ben, Zac and Josh also received awards in their first games and we look forward to seeing them in action in the future.

Under 16s

Port Douglas 11-5-71 def South Cairns 4-6-30

Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork! what a difference 4 quarters of that can make. The Crocs came out with guns blazing establishing a 21 point lead in the first quarter keeping South Cairns scoreless.

They Dominated play in the first three quarters moving the ball well with everyone putting in 100 percent. The boys won in all key positions with the smaller on ballers being unstoppable controlling the pace of the game and creating several opportunities up forward.

Hard work was finally rewarded by accurate kicking with the Crocs only scoring 5 behinds for the match. Jack Goodall once again was a stand out with Jordan O’Gorman, Kizza and Mark Byron all tireless in their effort for the Crocs.

Teamwork was evident on the scoreboard with 7 individual goal kickers this week the best of those being Micheal Mckeown 3, Jack Goodall and Brett Mckeown 2, and 1 each to Jordan O’Gorman, Zach Stewart, Aaron Marks and Josh Harris.