Brave team overcomes heat, injuries
A BAND of brothers can now put seven years of pain behind them after Cairns took out their first Queensland Men’s Over-40s Masters Hockey Championships.
Cairns 1 beat old foes Townsville 2-1 in a tense final, surviving waves of attack for the visitors including a lastgasp penalty corner.
Alan Atkinson scored both first-half goals and was awarded player of the final.
One of four to have played in every Over-40 titles since 2012 alongside Jason Fowler, Gordon King and Maurice Andrejic, Atkinson said the final was a “war of attrition” and felt he didn’t do anything more special than his teammates.
“It was just a whole team effort across the board, I think. Everyone contributed in their own way and put in a good effort to get through, especially in the heat,” he said.
“We were just trying to get through that final, manage the injuries as best we could.”
Cairns’ Rod Taylor said he was nervous about everyone’s bodies holding together and was thrilled with the heart shown.
“I was nervous before the game and I think most of the boys were, too,” he said.
“The first half we put some good passes together and actually created a lot of space to work those goals and in the second half we held on and kept putting enough pressure on them so they couldn’t come back.
“Credit to all the boys. Half of us are injured — groins, hammies, things like that — but they still ran out there the whole game.”
Taylor said defenders Jason Fowler and Darren Holmes were rocks for the side at the back, the latter earning selection in the Queensland Over-45 No. 1 team with Brendan Ferns, while striker Gary Tippet was named in the Over-40 No. 3 team with Taylor and Cairns 2’s Troy Madero.