Last Saturday night won’t be forgotten in Cairns AFL circles for a very long time to come.
It was the first time an AFL Premiership matched was played at Cazalys Stadium, the Gold Coast SUNS recorded their first win of the 2012 season and who could forget THAT goal after the siren from Karmichael Hunt.
For 82 lucky local Auskickers it was also their chance to perform in front of the 11 000 strong crowd.
Participants from the Whitfield State School, St Andrews, Gordonvale State School, Isabella State School, TAS Whiterock, Freshwater State School, Redlynch State College, Port Douglas Football Club and Cairns Saints Football club were invited to play little league at half-time of the main game.
The lucky boys and girls had been fine tuning their footy skills for eight weeks at local Auskick centres for when they took to the field in the Richmond vs Gold Coast blockbuster.
As well as being able to watch the game, the Auskickers took a ‘victory lap’ around Cazalys, high-fiving the crowd the whole way round with smiles from ear to ear.
AFL Queensland Cairns Junior Development Officer Tim Mackrill said that the kids had really enjoyed themselves throughout the evening.
“It is exciting for them to be playing at Cazaly’s let alone in front of all those people,” Mackrill said.
“They’ve definitely go some memories that will last forever.”
Half-time entertainment at the Richmond –SUNS clash also featured an under 16 girls showcase game between Manunda Hawks and Pyramid Power.
The two teams have been involved in the AFL Cairns Juniors under 16’s match program from the past ten weeks and despite their nerves they relished in the opportunity to showcase their football skills.
The girls provided the crowd with some strong tackles, courageous marks, booming kicks and great decision making.
The half-time game aimed to highlight the growth of girls AFL in the region.
