HAWKS FLY HIGH WITH HARBROW
Former AFL star returns to junior club in boost for league, writes Jake Garland
AFL Cairns officials believe the Far North’s Aussie rules competition is bordering on semi-professional status after a local club secured the signature of a big AFL name.
Former Gold Coast star Jarrod Harbrow has signed for Manunda Hawks, with the retired AFL midfielder returning to his junior club after a professional career spanning 262 premiership games.
Harbrow arrived in Cairns on Thursday to meet the playing group at Cazalys Stadium for the club’s second pre-season session of the year.
Hawks coach Wayne Siekman said players looked to be more switched on with Harbrow around.
“Introducing him to the playing group there was a huge buzz and no doubt that training went up another notch,” Siekman said.
“His leadership is going to be huge, for someone who has played over 250 AFL games, it is pretty beneficial for us.
“It is exciting for me because it made my job just a little bit easier with the players not wanting to make mistakes in front of him.
“It will help my coaching and the team, more importantly.”
The biggest signing of the 2023 AFL Cairns season has returned to one of his junior clubs, and could face his other former home – South Cairns – if he is available.
Harbrow, who started his AFL career with the Western Bulldogs before becoming a trailblazing Suns star, is expected to play a handful of games for the Hawks.
“Standing here it is pretty obvious that it is hard to attract players to a club that only wins one game of footy,” Siekman said.
“But to get someone like Jarrod who is so invested in the game and not just for the Hawks.
“He has got a purpose for coming up here and he is trying to get young kids to aspire to play AFL.
“Hopefully ... people coming to watch him, he can inspire them to maybe get to the AFL in the future.”
Harbrow’s acquisition is expected to boost interest and could raise the standard of arguably regional Queensland’s leading league.
He is the latest in a string of former professional footballers to be involved in the AFL Cairns competition.
Former Melbourne defender Aaron Davey has coached Cairns City Lions since 2017, leading the Holloways Beach club from the bottom of the league to two straight flags, while former Adelaide midfielder Jared Petrenko is the new captaincoach at Port Douglas.
South Cairns recruited former Fremantle defender Ryan Nyhuis while former Gold Coast ruckman Zac Smith played for the Bulldogs in 2022.
It is why AFL Cairns general manager Craig Lees is so excited about this season, as the league becomes a “destination” competition with more than enough talent to be considered a step above community football.
“I said in our staff meeting last week that we have done some really great work over the last couple of years, but how do we add layers to that again?” Lees said.
“Jarrod (Harbrow) is one of those, Chris (Baksh) at South Cairns and even Wayne (Siekman) as the appointment is just fantastic.
“All of a sudden these high quality people who have been in professional environments see AFL Cairns as a destination competition.”