FNQ rugby league juniors glad to be back after season finally kicks off
It wasn’t about winning or losing when the Far North’s junior rugby league players made their long-awaited return to the field over the weekend.
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It wasn’t about winning or losing when the Far North’s junior rugby league players made their long-awaited return to the field over the weekend.
According to Tully Tigers under-15s halfback Thain Hansen, it was just good to get back out on the paddock with his mates and go toe-to-toe with one of the competition’s strongest teams.
“It was pretty good to be back and to play a hard team,” he said, catching his breath just moments after the game.
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His Tigers might have went down 24-10, but Hansen, like every other kid who laced up their boots on the weekend for the first time this year, was just happy to play.
He said it was good to finally be able to let some steam off after having to wait an extra four months for the season to start, due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been pretty slack without footy, I didn’t really do much,” he said.
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“It was pretty hard getting back into training, I think we were all a bit unfit.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but it felt good to play again.”
NRL Lead Game Development Officer for Cairns Alby Anderson praised everyone involved for contributing to rugby league’s “fantastic” return.
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“We’ve been off for about four months so it’s been fantastic to get back and to have a really good start to the 2020 season with our 13s to 16s,” he said.
“All weekend games were played in the spirit they should be played and there was some fantastic footy.
“They were a bit rusty, but that’s to be expected, especially after such a short preparation as well.
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“We’re just really looking forward to seeing these guys improve over the next seven weeks.”
Anderson said the under-6s to 12s would get a chance to play footy at four gala days over the course of the season, with the first scheduled for next weekend.
“We’re also hoping to get a couple of girls’ games of footy played on those gala days, probably in the under-14,” he said.
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“It’s a strong age group and they’re really dedicated.
“Unfortunately, a couple of our girls were that keen they’ve actually shot down to Townsville to play down there.
“We really need to build on those girls and give them an opportunity to play a bit of footy, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Originally published as FNQ rugby league juniors glad to be back after season finally kicks off