Tully primed for Seahawks clash

THE Tigers will be out to reward their faithful fans when they make a welcome return home to Tully when they host the defending premier Yarrabah Seahawks on Sunday.

The Tigers ended a 1295-day drought at Tully Showgrounds in round 2 when they secured their first win since 2018, but they have been on the road ever since.

After splitting their two fixtures and a washed out game in between, the Tigers are ready to perform for their fans at home.

In the Seahawks, who broke through for their first win of their title defence last week, Tully face a team who is well-known for the multitude of attacking options at their disposal, and their ability to attack – and score points – from anywhere on the park.

And that, according to captain Colin Wilkie, is precisely why the team spent almost all of the time they got on the field at training this week, working on defence.

“That’s it, defend,” Wilkie said.

“We know what they can do, and we have enough individual brilliance in our attack.

“We’ve spoken about how important our defence will be against Yarrabah. We know what they’re capable of.”

Tully will welcome back Pride forward Terrence Casey-Douglas, with the Normanton product named to start at lock.

“The boys were really excited to get him back,” Wilkie said. “He will add a lot.”

The importance of victory hasn’t been lost on Wilkie, with both sides among the plethora of clubs who will compete for one of only a handful of spots in the top five.

“Games like this are really worth double – it’s two points for us, but it takes two points from them too,” Wilkie said.

“There could be six or seven clubs fighting it out for just two spots in the finals. Every game like this, and last week’s against Ivanhoes, are really important.”

Innisfail will be without enforcer Daniel Mooka after he was slapped with a one-match ban for a late hit on Mossman-Port Douglas utility Jimmito Harris in their win against the Sharks last week.

Southern Suburbs’ clash with Edmonton Storm has been moved to Jones Park.

The decision, made earlier this week, came as council had not reopened Alley Park, and FNQ Rugby League made the call to move the south Cairns derby to the Westcourt venue.

You can watch all three grades of Suburbs’ clash with Edmonton live on the Cairns Post website, kicking off with under-18s at noon.