MINOR PREMIERS SHOW BITE
come at the king, you best not miss.
Port Douglas are the reigning AFL Cairns kings’ and South Cairns missed on Saturday afternoon.
For almost three quarters in the second semi-final, the Cutters made an emphatic case to be the first club through to the decider, but as Omar Little said in the popular American television show The Wire — “you come at the king, you best not miss”.
The club from Fretwell Park, who were missing as many as five first-choice players, fired their best bullets but were sloppy in front of goals and should have taken bigger leads into the first two breaks.
The Crocs are an excellent football side, but they are not perfect, and usually give a strong opposition a chance or two. On Saturday, the Cutters hit the scoreboard on five occasions before the Crocs had woken up – but could only manage two goals, with a couple of easy shots in front of goal missed.
A four or five goal lead inside the first quarter is intimidating for any side to chase down in a final, but as South Cairns did not take their opportunities, Port eventually reeled it in.
By late in the third term, the three-time defending premiers had regained the lead and held it from then on, to secure their position for the last day of the season.
The final scoreline just shows how dominant Port Douglas can be when they are on as they trailed for much of the day before almost doubling the Cutters score by full-time.
“That’s finals footy and that is the way it is played, there are never any easy games,” Crocs coach Brad Cooper said.
“South were first to the footy and set the tone early on, we did not turn up early, but to our credit, we stuck to our task and it eventually turned.”
The inclusion of Darwinbased ruckman Shane Williams, who played five games this season before Saturday, gave the Cutters an array of options. Premier ruckman Jake Roach was allowed to roam free at centre half forward while the talented Jermaine Wardle was able to do as he pleased and fill gaps.
Roach was instrumental in his new role after being one of the better ruckman for much of the season.
Cutters coach John Tootell conceded his side wasted too many chances.
Port skipper Kye Chapple has battled injury for much of 2019 and he was back to somewhere near his top form on Saturday.
He took a handful of strong marks as well as getting on his bike up the ground, something he has struggled to do this campaign.