"Good people get good results." When Cairns Saints assistant coach Mark Kennedy uttered those words recently, team manager Keith Turner was so impressed by it, he wrote it down for safekeeping.
"I think that sums up the club," long-time manager Turner said. "They're just a good bunch of blokes. That's the culture at Cairns Saints. We don't have any trouble and I've never seen a fight or anger between the players."
It is an ethos that appears to have transcended the two decades of Saints' existence in the AFL Cairns competition and one they will celebrate heartily during their 20th anniversary this weekend.
The club is able to lay claim to being the most successful in the competition’s history, having yielded 10 A Grade premierships in 20 years – a statistic that would have every AFL club in Australia salivating with envy.
"We've had some wonderful coaches as well and I really want to give credit to them too," Turner said. "Paul Clarke was excellent for our first few years. I think we got off track for a few years there and then Keno (Kennedy) got us back on track. He's got a strong personality and he's a great leader."
Saints were born back in 1993 when former City coach and captain Paul Clarke and Bruce Gonsalves decided to form their own club. Success did not take too long to find them when Saints won their first premiership a year later and reinforced themselves as a force by winning three in a row.
Trifectas became something of a tradition as they collected the top prize again from 1998-2000 and once more between 2008 and their most recent title in 2010. A further title in 2002 takes their premiership tally to 10 and with the recent additions of a netball club and junior grades, the club has become one of the biggest in the region.
They were unlucky not to make it 11 senior titles last year after wrapping up the minor premiership, but falling at the last hurdle with a 35-point loss to Manunda Hawks in the grand final.
Players have come and gone throughout the years, but Turner and his son and former club president Stephen have named a list of five they believe to be the best to have donned the red, white and black across the years.
Assistant coach and former captain-coach Kennedy has been a game-changer since joining the club in 2005, bringing with him full-forward Matthew Walsh, who has topped competition goal-kicking tallies since his arrival.
Walsh and on-baller Ross Duffy are the only two Saints players to have won the club's best and fairest award twice to secure their spots in the top five. Recently departed captain-coach and onballer James Coatsworth also rated a mention, along with Clarke for his guidance and skill through the early years.
Celebrations kick off tonight with various functions for both current and former players, with the highlight of the weekend being a dinner at the Allen Aylett Room in Cazalys, where a team of the decade will be announced.
Courtesy of The Cairns Post.
Last Modified on 03/05/2012 09:00