Cutters’ wake-up call in loss to Dogs
SOUTH Cairns coach John Tootell admits his playing group was given a “wake-up call” by a rampant Centrals Trinity Beach on Saturday afternoon.
The Cutters were held to their third-lowest total of the season in their first defeat since round 5, with the Bulldogs holding on to claim a thrilling five-point win at Fretwell Park.
After five straight wins – the last four of which came at an average of just over 100 points, with large thanks to a 295-point victory over North Cairns Tigers in round 10 – the Cutters soared to equal top spot on the ladder and into joint favouritism for their first AFL Cairns Seniors premiership since 2003.
But Tootell said the loss to the Bulldogs was a good example of not taking anything for granted.
“The boys were pretty deflated and took it pretty hard, but I think there was a bit of a realisation that if you’re not switched on for a game of footy in the competition at the moment, then you’re going to get beaten,” he said.
“You can’t go into any game thinking you’re underprepared or thinking that you’re going to win it because the competition’s so close that anyone can beat anyone on their day.
“We consistently turned the ball over and I think we were probably lucky to be as close as we were throughout the game.
“It’s a bit of a wake-up call for our boys.”
It was the second time the Bulldogs have defeated the Cutters this season, with South Cairns’ other two losses coming against Cairns Saints and Port Douglas.
“They match up really well with us and other teams match up really well with each other, so it’s one of those situations where anyone can win it, it’s just going to come down to who wants it the most I guess,” Tootell said.
He expected the Bulldogs to shake up the competition over the final five rounds.
“They’ve changed their style a little bit and they were really good on the rebound footy,” he said.
“The way they moved the footy, pushed it wide and ran hard from the back was really good, and I think they’ve done really well in regards to (Benjamin) Eddy and (Jack) Taylor down back creating that run and drive for them.”
The defeat leaves South Cairns in equal second position on the ladder, with Port Douglas joining them on 40 competition points following its win against Cairns City Lions on Saturday.
Tootell said defence would be a focus at training this week, after a poor effort against the Bulldogs.
“Our defensive side was pretty low,” he said.
“We had a couple of good match-ups there but they just ran hard and we failed to run with them in that transition and gave them some easy outs, which set them up.
“A couple of times we pushed too far forward and they were really good on that rebound, we didn’t help by consistently turning the ball over, which gave them that good chance to do it, so we’ll look at that this week.”
In the round’s other matches, Cairns Saints moved to outright first on the ladder with a big win against Manunda, while Port Douglas condemned Cairns City to a fifth straight defeat.