Ten State League players are fighting for six berths in the Queensland Country side to contest the national championships in Canberra next month.
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Ten State League players are fighting for six berths in the Queensland Country side to contest the national championships in Canberra next month.
The 30-man squad released last week will be pruned back to 25 in the middle of July, the week before the team contests the Australian titles from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 July.
The five to miss will be mostly State League calibre, with the Queenslanders allowed no more than six QAFL based players who are originally from the country.
Matt Fife, Sam Brown, Josh Brown, Jesse Derrick, Blake Passfield, James Rozynski, Tyson Upton, Josh Norman, Nic Tomlinson and Glenn Screech are all top talents in the QAFL and the final six who make the side will be pivotal to the Maroons’ chances of a competitive effort in Division One.
Former South Cairns coach Stephen Daniels, now based in Victoria, will coach the team, with the assistance of Paul Grentell, Mark Mooney and Kevin O’Donohue.
The squad currently contains 10 Gold Coast players, nine players originating from Cairns, four players from Noosa and players originating from Townsville, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Toowoomba and Goondiwindi.
Last year’s Aspley best and fairest winner Lucas Matthews is likely to be one of the first players picked, showing he has lost nothing in his drop back to Pineapple Hotel Cup with a medal winning performance in the Stockmen v Cairns game 10 days ago.
The Country squad is:
James Drake Palm Beach Currumbin
Caleb Brown Mayne
Matt Fife Broadbeach
Sam Brown Cairns/Morningside
Matthew Walsh Cairns Saints
Jason Smith Tweed Coolangatta
Brad Horn Palm Beach Currumbin
Jesse Derrick Broadbeach
Lucas Matthews Noosa
Luke Brauer Noosa
Mikal Bloom Palm Beach Currumbin
Blake Passfield Hervey Bay/Redland
Brendan Page Noosa
Evan Hocking Port Douglas
Lukas Ehlich Manunda Hawks
Paul Michington Port Douglas
Trent Nesbitt Cairns City Cobras
Kane Richter North Cairns
Jay Reynolds Noosa
James Rozynski Toowoomba/Magpies
Tyson Upton Toowoomba/Morningside
Nic Tomlinson Rockhampton/Morningside
Josh Norman Sunshine Coast/Redland
Michael I’Anson Palm Beach Currumbin
Keiren Daley Townsville
Mark Kennedy Cairns
Josh Brown Cairns/Morningside
Dan Hawkins Tweed Coolangatta
Angus Munroe Palm Beach Currumbin
Glenn Screech Southport
