South Cairns have cut in on any plans Manunda had of securing third place, taking the spot for their own in an an impressive victory at Fretwell Park on Saturday.Their 13.14 (92) to 8.10 (58) defeat of Hawks, last year's AFL Cairns champions, was reated as one of the best by coach Grant Russell. Five goals to Glen Gascoyne set up the win but the South Australian coach did not restrict the credit to just Gascoyne. "That's the interesting thing. It's been everyone. We've had guys in defence, midfield and up front playing really good footy thest past few weeks," he said. "It's been good to watch, we'll see how long it lasts." Teenager Ryan Etherington did stand out for a special mention though - as he has done all season. The Cutters junior has belied his tender age with his positive and confident manner this season and it has not gone unnoticed by Russell. "He's been our best pretty much every week. Daniel Fry has been up there as well," the coach said. Heavy rain threatened to turn the game into a slop, but it abated and allowed for a good spectacle. Souths, in their blue strips to raise money for Beyond Blue, started well and stretched their lead to 34 points at half time. They'd kicked 12 majors to Manunda's five at three quarter time before they took their foot off the gas. "That sometimes happens to young blokes, but I'd rather they do it then than whenthey are five goals behind," Russell said. "It was certainly that second quarter that set us up." The result shows that the Cutters' off-season recruitment is starting to pay dividends, while Manunda will be sweating on the arrival of several players from the Northern Territory. They must arrive and play before June 30 to be eleigible for finals, leaving the club with an anxious wait this month. Results went according to script in other games as North Cairns powered 17 goals past Centrals in their big win and Saints were too good for Port Douglas.
Courtesy of The Cairns Post
Last Modified on 25/09/2012 09:32