Hawks send message
Opening effort says not far off
The start of the 2024 AFL and AFLW Cairns seasons went off with a bang, sending a shockwave through the competition.
Among the results was a side that didn’t win a game last year almost beating a team that made the finals in the men’s competition.
And in the women’s, a grand finalist from last year was kept scoreless against a side on the rise.
MEN’S COMPETITION HAWKS’ REBUILD LOOKS ALMOST DONE
Manunda failed to win a game last season and all signs pointed to the competition expecting it to be the easybeats this season again.
The Hawks took on the Bulldogs, who finished fourth last year, and gave them a run for their money in round 1.
The Hawks lost by a point but it was the system that coach Wayne Siekman and captain Troy Barbero have been working towards for the past 18 months.
All eyes will be on the Hawks in round 2 against South Cairns Cutters.
THE CROCS HAVE GOTTEN BETTER
Port Douglas was the best team in 2023 and all eyes were on it to see if it could maintain that high level in 2024.
They were pressured by the 2022 premiers, Cairns City Lions and, as expected, responded in the way a good side always would.
The Crocs run and carry off half-back and through the midfield suggested that the connections in the team are even cleaner than they were last year.
The question for the Crocs is whether they can maintain
playing four quarters of consistent footy every game?
We are likely to find out when they take on the Tigers on Saturday.
TIGERS NOW SECOND BEST TEAM IN COMP
The rebuild for the Tigers is well and truly over.
Now they are the second best team.
The Tigers took care of business when they played the Cairns Saints in round 1.
The Saints knocked them out of the finals last year, so there was plenty of payback coming in the Tigers’ roar.
It will be interesting to see if they can take the next step in their rebuild as they take on the premiers in round 2, a team they took it up to for six of the eight quarters they played against each other.
WOMEN’S COMPETITION: BULLDOGS TAKE STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION
Everyone knows how strong the Manunda Hawks women’s side are and we expected them to have a win in round 1.
Centrals Trinity Beach are coming off a very tough year from 2023 and no one expected them to better the Hawks or even come close, but they would have taken a lot out of the second half.
The Bulldogs won the third quarter, shutting down the Hawks completely and kept them scoreless.
It is a sign the Dogs have improved, now they need to turn that one quarter into a half and then three quarters before a four quarter effort, but expect them to win a few more games this year.
THE CROCS JUST WANT TO PLAY FOOTY
It is great to finally have a competition where the women’s teams play at the same ground as the men’s every week.
Despite getting a thumping in round 1 from the Lions, the Crocs players were smiling and laughing after the 79point smashing.
It showed that the group wants to play together, win, lose or draw, they just wanted to get out on the field.
It’s a statement because a team that plays for one another generally ends up being a team that wins more often than not.
THE SAINTS’ REIGN IS OVER
All the talk around town for the past four years has been
about the Cairns Saints women’s side and how good they are.
Having won three flags in three years – undefeated for two of those years, 41 games in total – you are definitely going to have a lot of people talking about you.
They have had a lot of players step away this season, so it was only a matter of time before the dominance of the Saints fell away.
Don’t take anything away from the Tigers though as coach Luana Healey has got the players working harder than people know and they are primed to bounce back after missing the finals last season.
Having said that, the Saints’ outstanding record means they should never be underestimated, and don’t forget it is only round 1.