Milk flows at Comets
FOOTBALL MILK will be the drink of choice for most Southside Comets players after shocking their rivals to win the Premier Men’s premiership.
The result was sealed when Stratford had their seventh draw of the season against Leichhardt on Sunday, following the Comets’ draw in Mareeba on Saturday.
Southside’s average age was just 19 for that match, which coach Chris Collins said might slightly subdue celebrations.
“Half of them can’t even have a drink to celebrate. They’ll be drinking milk,” he said.
“It was actually my son Ben who rang me and said: ‘Hey Dad, you were right. We’ve won it.’
“I’d told him earlier I thought Leichhardt would take a point off Stratford.”
While no one picked Southside as their premiership fancies at the start of the season, Collins always believed the potential was there.
He told his young side as much at the start of the season and they have delivered in the most fiercely contested season in recent memory.
While the players might be of a different era when grand finals rule the sporting landscape, football purists know otherwise and Collins has been able to get that across to a playing group familiar with his style.
“Most of the players I’ve been working with since they were 11 or 12, so they know my way of thinking and they know how important it is for a club,” Collins said.
“Hopefully we can go on to the grand final and do well in it and go to the Crad Evans and keep it rolling on.”
The Crad Evans will be hosted in Cairns against the Townsville premiers, likely to be contested on the second weekend of October.
While top spot has been sealed, four teams remain in contention for the last three of the Premier Men’s finals.
Marlin Coast are locked in and could finish as high as second. Stratford will also play in the post-season but hold the key to everyone else’s finishing position in a final-round match-up against Innisfail.
If the Dolphins win by two goals at home on Saturday night, Mareeba will make the finals at the expense of the Cutters. One goal is enough for Stratford to reach a grand final qualifier against Southside. Southside 2 (Walton 43’, Heron 45’) d Mareeba 1 (Kalinau 46’) Innisfail 3 (Holder 2’ 53’, Harris 89’) d JCU Strikers 0 Leichhardt 12 (Fletcher 9’ 19’ 53’ 57’, Collie 15’ 32’ 47’ 65’, Fichera 35’ 90’, Jones 72’, Sabatino 74’) d Stratford 0