Bulls look to future after sting of loss

FOOTBALL MAREEBA United’s journey was not supposed to end now.

The Bulls had the foundation for one of the best rosters in the men’s FNQ Football Premier League.

They secured the signatures of former Cairns FC captain Jamie Carroll and former FNQ Heat skipper Alex Plowman, and with fellow former NPL player Bronsen Koppen, they looked, on paper, to have a side capable of a deep playoff run.

While benefiting from that experienced trio, the Bulls had a clear focus on the development of young Tablelands football players.

The likes of Milan Quintieri, Deane Alterio, Jack Centofanti and Liam Pozzebon were banging on the door for an opportunity in the Bulls’ Premier League team.

In Perry Krakowczyk, the former FNQ Heat director of football, Mareeba United had a coach who could pull together those competing elements and get the best of both worlds.

But like in any other sport, they had to be consistent, and Krakowczyk is the first to admit that’s where they missed the mark.

Krakowczyk said Mareeba didn’t miss the finals because they lost their do-or-die lastround game to Leichhardt on Saturday night.

“We lost our place in the finals in the first few games of the season,” Krakowczyk said.

The Bulls struggled for consistency in those opening rounds of the season, when they inexplicably dropped valuable competition points.

Perhaps most telling is Mareeba’s record against the next three-worst performing teams.

Southside finished on the bottom of the table with just two wins and five draws from their 18 games.

One of those wins came against the Bulls in Round 9, a shock 1-0 win at Walker Road Sporting Precinct, while they shared the points in their Round 16 game at Mareeba.

A 3-3 draw against Innisfail will also haunt the Bulls, as will a 2-1 loss to Stratford at the height of the Tablelands club’s inconsistent home stand to open the season.

“It’s never a good feeling when you’re eliminated from the finals, especially when you play good football throughout the year," Krakowczyk said.

Krakowczyk’s goal for the year was to finish top of the league and win the grand final, restoring Mareeba to the glorious heights of the FNQ Football Premier League, and as far as that goal is concerned, this season is not a success.

But if Mareeba’s measure of success is youth development and a future title, they have certainly ticked a few boxes.

Quintieri, Alterio and Pozzebon spent considerable time in both the youth and Premier League teams, while the next generation of teenage talent is already knocking on the door.

“We incorporated a lot of young players and there’s a few ready to join them,” he said. “The whole idea was … to make the finals then to win it, but always looking to the future.”

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IT has been a massive week of grand final cheers and tears for former FNQ football players. Former Mareeba player Nicholas Panetta scored a goal as his Gold Coast Knights clinched the NPL Queensland title. The Knights beat Olympic FC, which featured former FNQ duo Alex Smith and Luke Glover, 2-1 in the grand final. In the NPL under-20s, former Cairns FC goalkeeper Jacson Riley won a premiership as his Lions FC beat Brisbane FC 4-1 in their grand final. Former Southside junior Nathan Readman also tasted success when his Monaro Panthers beat Belconnen United 1-0 in Capital Football’s NPL1 U20s grand final. Further south, Marco Jankovic and the injured Ethan Docherty tasted premiership glory for NPL Victoria club Bentleigh Greens, who beat an Avondale side featuring fellow former FNQ product Charlie Beverley on penalties.

Young Matildas trio

THREE FNQ products have been named in the Young Matildas’ 24player squad for the upcoming AFC U19 Women’s Championship in Thailand. Former Leichhardt duo, sisters Mary and Ciara Fowler, and former FNQ Heat goalkeeper Ayana Aoyagi will be part of the training camp in Sydney ahead of next month’s titles. Mary, a member of the Matildas’ World Cup squad earlier this year, and Ciara played for Bankstown Lions in the NSW NPL this year, while Aoyagi was in the Calder United squad which won the NPL Victoria Women treble.

FNQ duo switch code

TWO former FNQ Rugby juniors are one game away from becoming national champions in another code. Jeremiah Nanai and Jacob Taia both player their junior rugby at the Penrhyn Sharks, but have shown they can more than hold their own on a rugby league field. The duo will line up for Kirwan State High School when they face Westfields Sports High in the NRL National Schoolboy Cup Grand Final at Campbelltown Stadium.

See Cairns High bid

CAIRNS State High School’s basketball team will fly to Brisbane for the Champion Basketball School of Queensland tournament today. The Cairns Post will stream a number of games from the competition, which starts tomorrow, live at cairnspost.com.au. Details of the live stream schedule, which will include a Cairns SHS fixture, will be released online today.