Mareeba’s winning ways
FOOTBALL JUNIOR Mareeba stars have a big incentive to keep working hard over the off-season after winning the Gold Coast Champions Cup carnival.
The Under-14 team brushed off more fancied rivals from southeast Queensland and New Zealand in a 22-team division, beating NPL club Brisbane Olympic 2-0 in the final.
Mareeba team manager Genio Quintieiri said he hoped the win would instil self-belief in the young side and make them believe they could compete with anyone in the state.
“Now they can claim to be the best club in Queensland,” Quintieiri said.
“I think we flew under the radar a bit, because there was 146 teams there in the whole competition from under-8 to under-18. They were fantastic, considering we are a Saturday club side from Cairns.
“The main reason we went was to give them an incentive for the end of the year and they’ve gone down there and went through the whole thing undefeated.”
Mareeba U14s beat Olympic 2-0 to win the Gold Coast Champions Cup carnival
It followed a wins over Wellington and Townsville Warriors to reach the final Squad: Josh Leporati, Ray Guest, Justin Kattenberg, Billi Piro, Liam Haendel, Stephen Doctor, Daniel Rossi, Saifu Savage, Deane Alterio, Damian Avolio, Milan Quintieri, Tyler Ius, Logan Acha, Kaine Salmon. Coach: Luch Avolio. Manager: Genio Quintieri.