By Greg Nicholson

It’s been a few weeks since I last touched base but needless to say we have had a couple of pretty good weeks.  Round 3 at Cazaly’s was a grand affair at night where we took on the old foe in Cairns Saints.  This was always going to be a tough affair but I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the way that we dismantled the Saint’s midfield.  We started out kicking 3 quick goals and we pretty much stayed in that 18 point lead for the entire game.

Coops has really had to start over again with a relatively new look line –up.   Tough job!! The one thing that is really pleasing is the form of some of our 2014 Premiership players like Declan Kelly who is probably the best back in the league at present and Josh Lea who just goes from strength to strength.  Both these players have been rewarded for their early season form by being picked in the AFL Cairns representative squad.  Other Port players selected are Alex Bendle, Scotty Roe, Kurt Bradshaw, Antony Sercombe, Mitch McKee and the freakish Tommy Clough.  Congratulations to you all.  Out of interest, Port players make up a very big percentage of the squad.  

Last weekend saw us travel to Holloway’s beach to take on the new up-starts in Cairns Lions.  As the Lions have recruited very well in the off-season this game had danger written all over it.  For the first three quarters it was a fantastic arm wrestle.  We were up against a fit, fast and well coached outfit that look like they have been given some structure.  In the end our superior body strength got us over the line together with another outstanding performance from Declan Kelly.  Forgive me for raving about this bloke but he simply “does the job”.

This week we’re at home hosting North Cairns.  This game presents a few challenges.   Playing an undermanned, cellar dweller after a couple of decisive victories can be a recipe for having a slack afternoon and taking the opposition for granted.  I hope I can report back next with another decisive victory.  

This Saturday night we have our huge player auction.  This is one of our bigger fund raisers for the year and I hope you’ll all get behind it and get in on the spirit of the auction.  The night kicks off straight after the match awards with a barbeque.  And some really well priced drinks.   Please come along and form a syndicate and purchase a  group and feature financially in their success for the year.  

One negative for the year so far has been the decision of AFL Cairns to do away with the good old Footy Record.  I apologise for this but I have been told to “get into the 21st century” .  As a result we have up graded our web site, www.portdouglasafl.com.au has now got a link on our front page that will give you our team list.  Hopefully, this will help you identify our Crocs on game day without having to go to some foreign web site.  Many thanks must go to Karen Wren for her huge efforts in helping to transform our web site and internet brand.

Finally, I’d like to see as many of you at the Croc Pit this Saturday to hopefully, witness another solid effort from our boys.  Furthermore we need to see as many of you at our Player Auction after the game.   Also, please don’t forget that we are always welcoming new members to our club and in particular to our 200 Club.  Chase down treasurer, John Cameron for details on Croc’s membership but please give him a chance to watch the game and grab him during the breaks.

Go Crocs!