AFL Cairns
The Australian Football League Cairns is a semi-professional Australian rules football league that includes clubs from the Cairns region in Queensland, Australia. It is widely regarded as the strongest regional Australian rules football league in Queensland and has a large base at Cazaly's Stadium which has staged pre-season Australian Football League matches.
The league has significant coverage in local media such as The Cairns Post. Each year the Grand Final attracts between 2,000-3,000 spectators.
The league has produced many notable players at VFL/AFL level, including Colin Judd (Hawthorn), Craig Brittain (North Melbourne), Troy Clarke, (Brisbane Bears), Mark West (Western Bulldogs), Che Cockatoo-Collins, Donald Cockatoo-Collins, David Cockatoo-Collins, Jason Roe, Courtenay Dempsey and Jarrod Harbrow.
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[edit] History
An article in Cairns Post Page 3 Thursday, September 3, 1885 titled "Football Match" describes a game of football played at the then cricket grounds, believed to have been in the precinct around Munro Martin Park and the Civic Theatre. This game was between Cairns, led by Jack MacNamara (believed to have been a representative of Victoria at first intercolonial match) and Townsville, led by F Rendall. References are made of "Little Marks" and the final score after 2 hours was Cairns, 1 goal 7 behinds to Townsville, 1 goal 3 behinds. The Cairns umpire was AJ Draper.
The Cairns team was :- Jack MacNamara, Tom Swallow, J Swallow, "Little" Draper, Reid, Crawford, Field, Campbell, Warren, Harrison, McClelland, Oldham, Rev.Nobbs, Grcnsen, J.Loridan, Bulcock, Wood, Ärmstrong, C.Loridan, Johnstone, D. Wall, Middlebrook, Schumhronk, Dent, McCarthy, Hogarth.
T. H. LAKE was the secretary[1].
The Modern league as we now now it formed in 1956 and a local schoolboy competition was also formed resulting in a junior representative trip to Townsville by plane. In 1957 the ANFC, through Bruce Andrew, purchased land in Cairns for the first dedicated field in regional Queensland which became Cazaly's Stadium. The initial Senior competition had only two teams, Norths and Souths.
Around 2000, the league affiliated with the Australian Football League and was re-branded AFL Cairns. The league has grown rapidly in recent years with the ongoing development of Cazaly's Stadium, the success of the Queensland based Brisbane Lions, and with Cairns hosting exhibition Australian Football League matches.
The league introduced a Women's Footy competition in 2002.[2]
[edit] 2004 Grand Final brawl
In the 2004 Grand Final between the North Cairns Tigers and the Port Douglas Crocs, a wild and violent bench-clearing brawl [3][4] erupted after Tigers players charged at their opponents at the end of the pre-match national anthem, and escalated when spectators and team officials became involved. This caused widespread media publicity around Australia, and sparked the biggest investigation in the history of Australian Rules Football.
The instigator, former VFL/AFL player and Tigers coach Jason Love, was suspended for eight years (three years for a string of charges arising from the melee, including striking three opposition players and abusing and threatening the field umpires when they went to report him, and five years for bringing the game of AFL in Queensland into disrepute), and the 22 North Cairns players were suspended for a total of 400 matches, with suspensions ranging from 10 matches to five years, for various charges in relation to starting the brawl. AFL Cairns declared the Grand Final a "no result" and withheld the 2004 premiership.
[edit] Premiers
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[edit] Clubs
[edit] Current
| Club | Colours | Years in competition[5] | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns City Lions | Maroon, Blue, Gold | 1990- (Previously known as City United; 1970, 1972–1989) Cobras 90- | |
| Cairns Saints | Red, Black, White | 1993- | |
| Centrals-Trinity Beach Bulldogs | Red, blue and white | 1962- (merger of Centrals and Aloomba, known until 1988 as Centrals-Aloomba) | |
| South Cairns Cutters |  |
Foundation member, 1956- (known as Souths/Balaclava Swans from 1963 to 1984) | |
| Port Douglas Crocs | Dark blue and white | 1989- | |
| North Cairns Tigers | Black and yellow | Foundation member, 1956- | http://www.northcairnstigers.com.au/ |
| Manunda Hawks | Brown, Yellow | Formed 1984- | http://www.manundahawksafc.com.au/ |
[edit] Former
| Club | Colours | Years in competition[6] |
|---|---|---|
| Aloomba-Gordonvale | 1957-1960 (merged with Centrals to form Centrals-Aloomba) | |
| Babinda Magpies | Black, White | 1958–1971 |
| Balaclava |  |
1960-1962 (merged with South Cairns to form Souths-Balaclava) |
| Centrals | 1958-1961 (merged with Aloomba to form Centrals-Aloomba) | |
| Innisfail Roos | Red, White | 1958, 1980, 1982–1983 |
| Mareeba Saints | Red, White Black | 1980–1982 |
| Tinaroo Falls/Tolga-Tinaroo | Dark Blue, White, Light Blue | 1957-1958 (under each name for one season) |
[edit] Junior
- Centrals Trinity Beach
- South Cairns Cutters
- Port Douglas Crocs
- North Cairns Tigers
- Cairns Hawks Juniors
- Pyramid Power
- Redlynch lions
- Cairns Saints
- Tableland Pythons
[edit] 2009 Ladder
| AFL Cairns | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Cairns | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2363 | 1241 | 190.41% | 68 |
| Centrals Trinity Beach | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2306 | 1347 | 171.20% | 56 |
| Cairns Saints | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2152 | 1566 | 137.42% | 44 |
| Manunda Hawks | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1903 | 2093 | 90.92% | 40 |
| Port Douglas | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1471 | 2406 | 61.14% | 16 |
| Cairns City Cobras | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1185 | 2045 | 57.95% | 16 |
| North Cairns | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1424 | 2106 | 67.62% | 12 |
FINALS
| Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Semi | Cairns Saints | 20 | 11 | 131 | Manunda Hawks | 17 | 12 | 114 |
| 2nd Semi | South Cairns | 16 | 15 | 111 | Centrals Trinity Beach | 16 | 10 | 106 |
| Preliminary | Cairns Saints | 20 | 15 | 135 | Centrals Trinity Beach | 11 | 5 | 71 |
| Grand | Cairns Saints | 16 | 8 | 104 | South Cairns | 12 | 9 | 81 |
[edit] 2010 Ladder
| AFL Cairns | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Douglas | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2826 | 1155 | 244.68% | 72 |
| Cairns Saints | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2131 | 1453 | 146.66% | 48 |
| Manunda Hawks | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1982 | 1838 | 107.83% | 40 |
| Centrals Trinity Beach | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1701 | 1899 | 89.57% | 36 |
| North Cairns | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1750 | 1902 | 92.01% | 28 |
| Cairns City Cobras | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1434 | 1992 | 71.99% | 24 |
| South Cairns | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1136 | 2721 | 41.75% | 4 |
FINALS
| Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Semi | Centrals Trinity Beach | 13 | 14 | 92 | Manunda Hawks | 9 | 16 | 70 |
| 2nd Semi | Cairns Saints | 12 | 12 | 84 | Port Douglas | 10 | 11 | 71 |
| Preliminary | Port Douglas | 16 | 25 | 121 | Centrals Trinity Beach | 4 | 6 | 30 |
| Grand | Cairns Saints | 17 | 16 | 118 | Port Douglas | 12 | 8 | 80 |
[edit] 2011 Ladder
| AFL Cairns | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manunda Hawks | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2381 | 1366 | 174.30% | 76 |
| Cairns Saints | 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2367 | 1383 | 171.15% | 72 |
| Port Douglas | 14 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2337 | 1474 | 158.55% | 68 |
| Centrals Trinity Beach | 8 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1817 | 1726 | 105.27% | 44 |
| North Cairns | 6 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1617 | 2300 | 70.30% | 36 |
| South Cairns | 4 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 1654 | 1999 | 82.74% | 28 |
| Cairns City Lions | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 956 | 2881 | 33.18% | 12 |
FINALS
| Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Semi | Port Douglas | 15 | 16 | 106 | Centrals Trinity Beach | 9 | 8 | 62 |
| 2nd Semi | Cairns Saints | 23 | 16 | 154 | Manunda Hawks | 9 | 8 | 62 |
| Preliminary | Manunda Hawks | 14 | 11 | 95 | Port Douglas | 13 | 8 | 86 |
| Grand | Manunda Hawks | 14 | 9 | 93 | Cairns Saints | 8 | 10 | 58 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?l-title=Cairns+Post+%28Ql...%7Ctitleid%3A60&fromyyyy=1884&frommm=02&fromdd=14&toyyyy=1893&tomm=05&todd=20&q=Football
- ^ Women pull on the jersey from ABC North Queensland
- ^ PM - AFL yet to decide fate of brawling players
- ^ Eight-year ban for ex-Swan - AFL - www.smh.com.au
- ^ Cairns Post
- ^ Cairns Post
[edit] External links
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