Hill goal haul sees Cutters win thriller
Damien Hill’s five-goal bag led South Cairns to the Cutters’ first win of the AFL Cairns season after a nailbiting three-point win against Cairns City Lions.
The defending premier Lions pounced from the start, kicking six opening term goals to take a 26-point lead at the first break.
But the gutsy Cutters clawed their way back into the contest with a fivegoal second term, and while they trailed by a goal at the final break they made the most of their limited opportunities in the fourth quarter.
That would prove the difference, as the Cutters kicked four goals with their four scoring plays in the last while the Lions could only convert two of their five goalscoring chances to allow South Cairns to hand Chris Baksh his first win as an AFL Cairns coach.
Accuracy in front of goal let down the Lions, who had two more scoring shots than the Cutters, and coach Aaron Davey is facing his toughest challenge in years as he seeks an answer to his side’s early-season slump.
The Lions are second last with just one win from their first four games, but Davey won’t be hitting the panic button just yet given two of those losses were by three (v Cutters, Rd 5) and four (v Saints, Rd 1) points each.
Saints remain the last undefeated team in the AFL Cairns competition after a 15-point win against Port Douglas Crocs.
The Crocs got off to a flyer on the day they wore their pink strip for the Pink in the Tropics clash, but Saints fought their way back into the contest through a dominant middle portion of the game. Saints kicked 55 points and restricted Port Douglas to just 19 through the second and third quarters to be in complete control before the final break, and ultimately ran out 15point winners despite the Crocs’ late fight.
It’s the first time that Port Douglas has lost under new coach Jared Petrenko, while Saints move into top spot on the ladder.
At Cazalys Stadium, eight different Bulldogs kicked their way on to the scoresheet in a 65-point win against the lowly Manunda Hawks.