TIGERS TAKE TITLE
EDGE Hill United have claimed the 2019 FNQ Football Premiership but player and coach Crios O’Hare says his players were not about to hang up the boots any time soon.
The Tigers dominated the Premier Men’s field all year, recording their only loss in Round 15, against Marlin Coast Rangers.
On Saturday night they were rewarded for their efforts when they were presented with the FNQ Football Premiership Trophy following their 1-1 draw against Southside Comets at Walker Rd.
Despite the Tigers having three “controversial” decisions go against them, O’Hare said it did not dampen spirits during the post-match premiership celebrations.
Three Edge Hill players were sent from the field – Jesse Casson, Liam Cashmere and Kevin Wong.
“We were all hoping for a different result but in the big scheme of things it’s one result and it’s not going to take anything away from the season we’ve had so far,” O’Hare said
“We certainly had a good night on Saturday night, after the game back at the (Edge Hill Tigers) club.”
Edge Hill’s closest competitors – Marlin Coast and Leichhardt – were second and third respectively, with 22 points each heading into this round.
After they both suffered shock losses to Innisfail United in the past two weeks, the Tigers etched their name on to the Premiership trophy with a 13-point buffer and four games to spare.
“It’s great for us to be able to wrap it up early and we’re going to be trying to do everything we can to go on and have a good finals series and win a grand final as well,” O’Hare said.
“For me as a coach and as a player – winning the league is the number one priority.”
The Tigers have a bye this weekend and will finish with two away matches against Innisfail next weekend, before taking on Stratford in their final game of the season.
“It’s been a really frustrating year in terms of fixtures because we play one week then we miss a week and then we play two weeks.
“It’s just been really inconsistent – we’d much rather be playing every week especially because we’ve been winning and you want to keep that roll going.”
The FNQ Premier Women’s Premiership may be decided tomorrow night when ladder leaders Leichhardt Lions take on fifth placed JCU Strikers at James Cook University Cairns.