SOUTH Cairns captain Mick Markham said last Saturday's hiding at the hands of Cairns Saints actually helped them prepare for tomorrow's elimination semi-final against Manunda.
The no-fuss Cutters skipper said they almost expected the 157-point onslaught that came their way last weekend, considering what Saints had to play for.
"With Matt Walsh on the brink of that (AFL Cairns) goal-kicking record and the game being at Griffiths Park, we almost expected that to happen," he said.
With that in mind, South Cairns started planning for the do-or-die encounter a week early.
"The coach (Grant Russell) tried a few things and we’re pretty confident it’s going to work for us this weekend. He’s given a few blokes some key roles; he’s calling them our secret weapons."
Souths trail Manunda 2-1 in one of the tightest head-to-heads this season. Both of Manunda’s wins have come at Cazalys though, where they will meet tomorrow to decide who progresses to next weekend’s preliminary final.
The Hawks enter the match on the back of a big win, but will have a nervous wait on a few key players struggling with injury.
Player-coach Clinton Gribble (knee) is ruled out for the finals, while Willie Alick (ankle) and Glen Martin (hip) are both in doubt.
"We certainly won’t be at full strength," Hawks president Richard Martin said.
"Certainly, losing Gribble will hurt us, but the thing about our group is we have lots of quality finals experience and they know what to do at this stage of the season."
Manunda have never come from third to win the flag, but Martin said they would take solace in the fact Saints had done that before.
"That gives us hope," he said.
"We probably finished the season about where we should, we just want to get through this weekend and give ourselves a chance."
Last Modified on 24/10/2012 10:36