Atherton celebrates 30 successful years

IT will be just like old times for the founding fathers of Atherton Cricket Club’s move into the Cricket Far North firstgrade competition in a reunion of past players this weekend.

Coinciding with the Agrade match against Mulgrave, the club will celebrate 30 years since the, at the time, controversial step to give Tableland players access to the best quality of cricket available.

About 50 players from all eras are coming from around the state to spin a yarn and cheer on their boys, including around half the original squad.

Shane Legg, who played in Atherton’s second game in the then solely Cairns-based competition, has done the hard work to make sure as many former greats as possible get a chance to celebrate a highly successful 30 years.

“It’s tough work tracking down everyone who’s played at the club over the years ... but we’ve done our best,” he said.

“We’ve probably got about half the first ever side that was put on the park.

“A couple of guys like myself and Darryl Bridgeman, we missed the first game but played the second game, so we’ve got over half the second side that took to the park.”

Success came quickly for Atherton, who made the grand final in their second season before breaking through with a premiership in 1989-90.

The club has long been a pathway to Australian Country representation, most recently with Gerard Fox.

Atherton legend Ken Shanahan, who drove the move and still remains as coach of the A-grade side, said the milestone was an obvious highlight and useful in uniting the cricket community.

“I was going to go to Cairns and play and the club I played with here decided they wanted to go too,” he said. “The Atherton club we started was the club team from Malanda.

“There was a bit of controversy, but it was resolved pretty quick.”

Shanahan said he was looking forward to catching up with some of his former teammates and felt it poignant that the club was marking the occasion against Mulgrave.

“We’re probably the same sort of people. They see themselves as country and so do we,” he said.

“In Atherton, the team bonds very well because we’re sort of isolated a bit.

“Even when you move on, you still keep contact. That’s why you play, I think.”

THERE WAS A BIT OF CONTROVERSY, BUT IT WAS RESOLVED PRETTY QUICK ATHERTON COACH KEN SHANAHAN