Cairns Saints coaching assistant Max O'Halloran has labelled this year's squad one of the best he's seen at the club, but warned now was not the time to take things easy. The former VFL player, who played 18 games for Footscray and Carlton between 1972 and 1974, was confident Saints would not get complacent ahead of tomorrow's grand final qualifier against North Cairns at Cazalys. Saints finished the season clearly on top, four wins ahead and also dropping just one game when their stars were on representative duty. They amassed 3197 points in the regular season, 1100 more than the second-placed North's, to finish with a whopping percentage of 327. But not easily forgotten is their upset grand final loss last season and that is something O'Halloran hopes will keep them hungry. "Work started straight after that grand final loss last year," he said. "We were pretty disappointed after that and we've trained and played hard since." He said the dual coaching role - shared by Brenton Powell and Nick Braybon - had proved successful so far, while they had also been privileged to a few handy walk ins. "Some quality people came to the club, which was a bonus," he said. "But our juniors and netball club have also grown and, through those juniors, some great mums and dads have become part of the club. So the culture right now is very good." He said a key to their success, and something that would help them beat the Tigers tomorrow, was their depth across the park. "Guys in the midfield and our backmen have been very good all year, but haven't had the accolades," he said. "We've had some good players over the years. But this season's group, overall, it's pretty good."
Last Modified on 24/10/2012 10:36