Brothers brothers to face Stingers siblings
Action-packed weekend looms and it’s tipped to be a game-changer
MOST Cairns Hockey players will be seeing double this weekend but you can multiply that again for Brothers and Trinity Stingers.
Brothers’ Jacob and Ashley Raymond and Stingers’ Rohan and Scott Sparkes will be out to cause twice the trouble when the two clubs face off tomorrow and on Sunday, making up for the first-round washout last month.
Jacob Raymond, Brothers’ vice-captain, said it shaped as a game-changing weekend.
“It’s a massive test against Stingers, they’ve got a quality side and a lot of their players have played high-quality hockey, so they will definitely be a tough opposition,” he said.
“But if you have a good game Saturday, you’re pretty high on momentum and got a lot of good things going for you.
“So I think it can definitely be something that works in your favour, just depends how the first game goes.”
Jacob said his younger brother Ashley was a “pest” sometimes but could not deny the quality hockey he was bringing to the pitch, which he would need to do against a red-hot Stingers side.
Rohan Sparkes, the Stingers vice-captain, had similar sentiments about his younger brother Scott, who had been showing the benefits of a full A-grade season in 2017.
It adds to the depth of the squad, which will be important to combat changing availability and a tough physical weekend ahead.
“There’s a number of guys that actually back up and play reserve grade as well and they’ll potentially be playing three games of hockey this weekend,” Sparkes said.
“Thankfully, we’ve got more depth in the squad this year than last year so it shouldn’t be as fatiguing on them.
“(Brothers) have got a good squad too.
“They’ve built their team up over a few years now so it’s good to see they’ve got a quality side out there.”
A-grade matches take place on Saturday and Sunday at 6pm and 7.15pm.
THERE’S A NUMBER OF GUYS THAT ACTUALLY BACK UP AND PLAY RESERVE GRADE AS WELL AND THEY’LL POTENTIALLY BE PLAYING THREE GAMES OF HOCKEY THIS WEEKEND CAIRNS STINGERS’ ROHAN SPARKES