Port Douglas have joined the Tigers on top of the AFL Cairns ladder after another dominant performance on their home track, while Saints defied a strong-starting South Cairns to stay in touch with the leaders.
And it was more tears for the Cairns City Lions as they lost to Centrals by just five points at Crathern Park.
The Crocs are back to their best this season and easily accounted for an under-strength Manunda Hawks, with Jackson Brown and Adam Boone both kicking five and Braddon Kazakoff again showing his worth in the 18.15(123) tp 10.3(63) deconstruction.
The victory, Port's seventh from eight games this season, puts them equal with North Cairns on 36 points while Saints sit one win adrift in third.
Saints' 116-point walloping of the Cutters was one of the more peculiar affairs of the season, considering scores were tied at the main break.
Rebounding from a horror week bouyed by the return from injury of Luke Powell, Cutters kicked ahead early and showed fantastic intensity to take an early lead and finish the half square with the defending champions.
Powell (six) goals was deadly in the unusual full-forward role, marking everything that came his way.
Their run and second efforts stopped in the third quarter though, Saints piling on 11 unanswered goals in a term that finished 73-1 in favour of the hosts.
The turning point came when Cutters gave up a soft possession in the midfield only to watch Jesse Dixon (six goals) give Saints a two goal buffer. Shortly after, some clever work to keep the ball in play down the left sideline allowed Dixon to line up for another, and when Sam Harkin (five goals) goaled immediately after it was suddenly a 30-point margin.
From there it was a procession as Saints allowed Souths just nine points after half-time.
"We probably had our mind on the bye (next week) a little bit and Souths had a great first half; we had no answer to Powell up there, I've never seen him play so well," injured player-coach Nick Braybon, who gets his arm cast removed this week, said.
"Lots of little errors - we were probably our own worst enemies in a way - didn't help but we turned it around well I thought and used the ball and finished well in the second half."
Centrals were happy campers too, celebrating their second straight win as they again hung on to a final-quarter lead.
Down by 36 points at the half, the Lions kicked five goals to one in the third term and made it a six-point game.
They couldn't peg it back any further though and remain winless at the bottom of the ladder.
Last Modified on 31/07/2013 15:48