PORT Douglas coach Brad Cooper is focused on the process and not the result heading into the top-of-the-table clash with South Cairns Cutters.

The Crocs have won five-games on the bounce and look a genuine premiership contender, yet the experienced mentor knows better than anyone the importance of refining the system ahead of ladder position at this stage of the season.

His team finished four-games clear as minor premier last year before being beaten by Cairns Saints in the preliminary final. The winner tomorrow will sit at the pointiest end of the AFL Cairns ladder, but Cooper wasn’t getting caught up in its significance.

“We’ve been here before,” Cooper said ahead of the blockbuster at the Port Douglas Sporting Complex.

“We’ve managed to string a few games together but the next six weeks of the season is probably the hardest to coach. We’ve been in this position before and we know it means nothing to be playing good footy now if you’re not firing when the whips are cracking later on.

“We want to finish top-two and that’s our aim, and we want to win every game we play but we are not getting caught up with wins and losses at this time of the year. It’s about how we play.”

The Crocs only blemish this year was a 17-point loss to South Cairns in round two when the Cutters piled on 5.0 in the opening term to set up the win. Cooper said they were determined to arrest that tomorrow.

“They’re a quality side and are good by foot, and that’s the game these days really, you’ve got to be able to use the footy,” he said.

“We didn’t get out of the blocks well enough the last time we played them and they jumped us. We’ll be hoping to turn that around but we’ll need to step it up a bit because, to be fair, I think we’ve had an up-and-down preparation and we are not playing our best footy by any stretch.”

Key tall Hayden Graham returns this week while Ross McCrea has been omitted.

AFL CAIRNS - ROUND 9:
Saturday 4 June - 3pm
Port Douglas Crocs v South Cairns Cutters
Port Douglas Sporting Complex

SELECTED TEAMS: