Page 89 - AFL QUEENSLAND 2012 YEAR IN REVIEW

CAIRNS
It has been another big year for AFL in the Cairns region; from grassroots participation programs, through to talent and, of course, hosting our second ever AFL game for points between Richmond and Gold Coast SUNS.
Participation in the Cairns region reached a record high in 2012. The most pleasing aspect of this was watching junior club football exceed 1,200 registrations for the first time.
We saw another first in the inclusion of the girls Under 16’s in the club competition. While it is still in its developing stages it is great to see the girls starting to enjoy the same opportunities as the boys.
Twenty-twelve was a very solid year in talent for the Cairns
region with the Cairns Lions taking out the Under 14 and Under 16 country championships in a dominant fashion. Fifteen Cairns players made the Kookaburras across those age groups with seven Cairns players making the Queensland Under 16 squad. At Under 18’s level six Cairns players made it through to the Gold Coast SUNS Academy team with Jermaine Wardle going on to represent Queensland.
Cairns also had an Under 17 team travel to Melbourne in April to tackle Geelong College and the Ballarat Football League. Both games were tight affairs and will serve as a valuable development experience for the players.
Junior grand final day saw two thrilling come-from-behind wins in the Under 14 and Under 16 age groups, with the Cairns Saint taking out the Under 14’s against Pyramid and Centrals coming from nowhere to get over the Hawks in the Under 16’s. In the Under 18’s North Cairns were too strong for Port Douglas.
The senior season was dominated by the Cairns Saints, who took out the grand final by 49 points against the Hawks. Two Saints players, Matt Walsh and Nick Gill, kicked over 100 goals for the season, with Matt Walsh kicking a league record 142 goals. Saints co-coach Brenton Powell took out the Crathern Medal.
Former Cobras and Nth Cairns junior, Peter Yagmoor, made his debut for Collingwood in round one against Hawthorn in front of 80,000 people. It was a great thrill to see Peter get an opportunity so early in the season and our Cairns Lions Under 17 team was lucky in enough to be there.
Cairns Hawks junior, Sam Michael, was rookie listed to the Brisbane Lions. While he has not yet had the opportunity to play on the big stage, he was named best on ground in the NEAFL Championship Match and will hopefully get some great opportunities with the club in 2013.
Cairns hosted an AFL home-and-away game between Richmond and the Gold Coast SUNS for the second time. The script could not have been written any better with a capacity crowd, a seamless execution by AFL Cairns, and a thrilling game wich saw Karmichael Hunt kick the SUNS’ winning goal after the siren.
EDDIE SKIBA
CAIRNS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
AFL Queensland
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