Back to drawing board for ousted Port Douglas
PORT Douglas coach Travis Gooch has no idea what the future holds for his side after their FNQ Rugby A-grade season was ended by Barron Trinity in the FNQ Rugby minor semi-final on Saturday.
The three-time defending premiers held a 20-0 lead at the break, an advantage which proved too much for the Reef Raiders to overcome.
While the 35-26 win set up the Bulls for a preliminary final date with Southside this week, Port Douglas Rugby Union Club will now work to ensure this season was not a flash in the pan.
Gooch, who said he’d make a decision on his return later in the year, said the transient nature of Port Douglas’s population made it difficult for the club to make long-term plans.
“It is difficult retaining players up here; you can probably put a line through half of the players we had this season,” Gooch said. “We rely on backpackers, so we’ll sit back and see what comes in.”
While proud of the way the club fought this season, Gooch was disappointed in the way his team opened their sudden death final.
“We just couldn’t get into the game and 20-0 was just too much to come back from,” Gooch said. “Barron Trinity played well in the first half, they dominated the ruck.
“We were penalised out of the game in that first half. But this year, we set out to put rugby back on the map in Port Douglas and we wanted to make the finals, so it is good to achieve those goals.
“It would’ve been nice to go one or two more weeks.”