Brothers blossom as juniors dominate

BROTHERS A-grade teams didn’t win a game during a transitional 2020 campaign, but vice-president John Winkel believes they will be a force in years to come.

Despite their shortcomings in the top division this season, Brothers sides managed to claim the minor premiership in the three Cairns Hockey Association under-18s divisions.

The club topped the U18 men’s and U18A women’s competitions, while BrothersTAS took out the U18B women’s division.

“A lot of the kids that are playing U18s have stepped up into A-grade roles this year,” said Winkel.

“Even though we were never really in contention (in A-grade), it’s been a very good development year for us.

“Those kids have all got opportunities they never would have been given and most of them have just jumped at it and taken it with both hands.

“This year, we weren’t worried too much about who won A-grade, it was all about development for us and it was a really good opportunity to throw all of our young kids into the squad together.

“We had a splattering of experienced players to help out, so they weren’t getting belted.

“The men, especially, have only been losing by one or two goals here and there, and the women had a couple of draws in the season.”

Brothers A-grade men’s side finished the season with a 0-0-9 record, while the Agrade women’s were marginally better on 0-2-7.

On the contrary, Brother’s U18 men’s finished the season with a 5-2-2 record, while the U18A women’s finished with a 7-1-1 record.

Brothers-TAS completed a perfect season in the U18B women’s competition, with nine wins from as many games.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic forced Cairns Hockey to suspend its competitions in March, Brothers were facing an uphill battle in the new season following the loss of several key players at the end of 2019.

Brothers face Saints in the U18 men’s decider tonight, while Brothers-TAS take on Souths in the U18B women’s grand final. The U18A women’s play Saints tomorrow night.