Brothers eye another title
BROTHERS cemented their reputation as the premier women’s football side in North Queensland in Saturday’s Crad Evans Shield and they’re not done winning trophies just yet.
A blistering first half saw Brothers claim a 4-1 victory over Cairns outfit Leichhardt to win the annual showdown between the premiers from the two regions for the second year in a row.
Townsville teams won five of the seven trophies on offer, but it was heartbreak for MA Olympic in the men’s game as Edge Hill ground out a 1-0 win to seal the Far North Football treble.
Brothers women won the premiership, grand final, and Crad Evans last season and they have a rare opportunity to go back-to-back this year following their performance against Leichhardt.
Maggie Dwyer opened the scoring for Brothers with a nice finish before Steph Harrison followed it up with another clean strike as the visitors dominated through the midfield.
Goals to Theresa Allen and Taylah Roncato then gave Brothers a commanding 4-0 lead at the break before Leichhardt lifted to get on the scoreboard in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.
Brothers coach Steve Mcnaughton said it was always a huge effort to travel to Cairns for the Crad Evans, which was made all the more special by defending the prestigious trophy.
“The girls are ecstatic about what they’ve achieved,” he said.
“You never know who you’re up against when it comes to this competition. You’re not sure what the standard is going to be like when you make the journey, similar to last year’s win against Edge Hill.
“It was a rebuilding stage for us as well. It’s unrecognisable from last year’s squad so to have all the new players come to the club as a measure of success is comforting.
“We’ve always sort of ridden the coat-tails of the men’s performances and the women have been thereabouts with the sporadic grand final win, but in the last couple of years we’ve rallied enough good quality players to come to the club.”
Brothers have become the powerhouse of women’s football in Townsville, but they’ve had a fierce rivalry with MA Olympic this season after only winning the premiership on goal differential.
Olympic is set for a preliminary final clash against Rebels this Saturday with the winner to meet Brothers in the grand final as Mcnaughton stressed the importance of his side staying focused.
“This year’s been strange because Crad Evans is normally the final game of the season,” he said.
“We’ve had to temper the celebrations because we’ve got the big game to happen in a couple of weeks’ time.”