Reef Raiders have presence in the Queensland Country Championship
SPORT
Four senior and five junior Port Douglas Reef Raiders rugby union players have been granted the ideal opportunity to obtain invaluable experience by playing in the 2019 Queensland Country Championship in Brisbane.
The senior players are Jack Murday, Esteban Correa, Nicolas La Ferrera and Juan Dillon. The club was represented by the following juniors: Dereck Letcher, Jared Tesch, Lachy Buzza, Joshua Cranswick and Cole Watson.
This season loose forward Murday was clearly the stand-out player for the Raiders who reached the Top 4 in their most successful title challenge in a number of years. The ebullient Dillon was another who shone with his solid performances from the base of the scrum.
Raiders’ senior coach Travis Gooch said this is an excellent opportunity for the players.
“This is a boost for the club to have these players at this level and a great reward for their efforts throughout the season.
“It will also be a good experience for them to play against top quality teams as there is so much they can learn and bring back to the club heading into 2020,” said Gooch.
Dillon has played in both the senior matches. Correa, who took a head knock against Sunshine Coast, now has a mandatory 12-day stand down. Murday and La Ferrera both played against Townsville.
Some of the results in the 2019 Queensland Country Championship:
Seniors
FNQ 7 Sunshine Coast 38
FNQ 12 Townsville 45
U19s
FNQ 10 Sunshine Coast 40
FNQ 17 Townsville 22
This weekend, the seniors play Gold Coast on Saturday and Darling Downs on Sunday at Ballymore Stadium.