ORANGE CRUSH
Cairns set to fold just days after taking A-League premiers to the brink
THE Far North’s crowning glory of hosting the reigning A-League premiers will be its last act at the top level for the foreseeable future.
As the Cairns Post first revealed yesterday morning, Cairns FC will hand back their National Premier League licence following the 2018 season, which will finish this Saturday afternoon with the team to play their final game as a club against SWQ Thunder FC.
Just days after Cairns FC took it up to a heavyweight of Australian football in Sydney FC, there will now be no Far North representation in the NPL from 2019, following attempts to make Cairns FC, and the FNQ Heat before them, viable in the competition.
A deal is set to be struck between the current Cairns FC board and Football Queensland to use the money provided by the governing body to go towards employing development officers, instead of funding the semi-professional club.
FQ officials will travel to the Far North next week and officially sign off on the deal for 2019 and beyond, with an announcement to be made soon after.
With Cairns gone from the NPL in 2019, Townsville’s NPL club is also in danger of going out of the competition. The Cairns Post was told earlier this week FQ were going to implement a “Brisbane-centric” NPL from 2019.
Sections of the playing group have known for weeks their club was on the verge of handing back their licence and have played admirably through the unknown of what their future will be.
Following the defeat to Sydney, Cairns FC coach Danny Graystone, who will now have to search for a new job, questioned if FQ understood the importance of regional Queensland clubs.
“I do not know if Football Queensland see the value of regional teams to be quite honest,” Graystone said.
“When you see what we have done tonight … we have produced that against the best team in the country.
Cairns were leading 1-0 at halftime, following a Ryan Cavanah goal, but Sydney skipper Alex Brosque netted a penalty soon after and former Central Coast Mariners speedster Trent Buhagiar’s calm finish gave his new club its matchwinning advantage.
Cairns FC will play their final game as a club this Saturday at Clive Berghofer Stadium.