Cameron finds his niche in Tassie competition
WHEN Cairns native Cameron Duffy went to Tasmania to play for Glenorchy in 2015, it was a short-term plan to broaden his football experience.
Fast-forward to 2018, and Duffy is a two-time TSL grand final player, Glenorchy premiership ruckman, and now one of the Magpies’ most experienced men.
On top of that, the Manunda Hawks junior is arguably the best ruckman in the TSL, making his transition from the apprentice to the master all but complete.
“I had a good coach in Aaron (Cornelius) when I arrived and we were lucky enough to taste success in 2016, and now having Paul Kennedy at the helm, it’s just been a good experience,” Duffy said.
Duffy, 23, was still learning his craft as a ruckman at State League level when he arrived. And Duffy won’t be going back to Far North Queensland any time soon.
“I’ve just come to love it – it’s awesome down here,” he said.
“I’ve really settled in, I’ve got a partner down here and I see myself down here forever at this point in time.”
■ A FOUR-try stunner from new winger Trezman Banjo propelled undefeated Nudgee College to a 50-5 victory over Ipswich Grammar at Ross Oval on Saturday.
The indigenous flyer from Cairns was playing just his second game in the First XV yet the lightly-framed Year 10 boarder stepped and evaded defenders with confidence.
■ DAMON Heuir and Jamie Pearlman’s Nelson Giants were knocked out of the NZ NBL finals in the semi-finals by the Southland Sharks on Saturday afternoon.
The Sharks beat the former Far North pair’s Giants 98-93 in the second semi-final at TSB Bank Arena in Wellington.
Former Taipans guard Heuir had 25 points, which included a key bucket down the stretch, but a turnover late in the game cost the Giants a chance to draw closer in the knockout final.
Following the Giants’ exit, Pearlman was crowned NZ NBL Coach of the Year, lifting the club to the finals in his first year, after they finished sixth on the ladder with a 4-14 record the year before.
Former Taipans lead assistant coach Pearlman under Aaron Fearne was not offered a coaching position under new coach Mike Kelly.