AFL Cairns 2020 season: Club-by-club rundown
The Cairns Post has looked at all seven AFL Cairns club’s outlook before and after the coronavirus shutdown ahead of the 2020 campaign officially starting next month.
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The world has changed since coronavirus hit a few months ago and so has the outlook of your local footy club.
Your AFL Cairns club may have recruited well over the summer, trained hard in the pre-season and hit the ground running once trial games started – but it could all look so very different once the 2020 season actually does bounce down.
Cairns Post AFL writer Jordan Gerrans has looked at all seven club’s outlook before and after the coronavirus shutdown ahead of the 2020 campaign officially starting next month.
Port Douglas
2019 finish: premiers, finished regular season with 14-2 record.
Before shutdown: The four-time defending premiers were building towards their crack at a record fifth flag.
The Crocs had turned over a stack of players but they had recruited well enough to be expecting to be a definite top two finisher again.
After shutdown: Port Douglas have had an exodus of players going back to their home states, of around a dozen, with even a few long-term FNQ residents heading home.
Still, plenty of premiership players remain.
The Crocs will still be there at Cazalys Stadium when the whips are cracking.
South Cairns
2019: runners-up, 14-2
BS: The list of new faces at Fretwell Park just kept growing.
In February, the Cutters had landed two experienced local footballers and almost a dozen southern recruits to bolster their squad, which was beaten in the 2019 grand final by Port Douglas.
AS: First-year South Cairns president Heath Black earlier this month said the Cutters have lost a couple of recruits but kept the majority of their glut of quality off-season recruits.
In the recent AFL Cairns meeting with club’s, South Cairns was the most vocal around the salary cap and what players will be paid – showing they still have a stack of quality footballers ready to go.
If you could have a bet on AFL Cairns, the Cutters would be the premiership favourite at this point.
Cairns City Lions
2019: finished third on the ladder before exiting in the first week of the finals, 8-8
BS: The Holloways Beach-based club were still youngish last season so there was every reason to believe they would go on to build on their breakout 2019.
AS: The playing numbers at Lions are massive.
In one of their recent training sessions, playing-coach Aaron Davey was so blown away with how many they had there, he had to create more space to fit everyone in and be coronavirus safe.
While they have big numbers of locals, questions remain about how they will be able to get former AFL-listed small forward Ashton Hams as well as former SANFL utility Davin Ferreira into FNQ from Darwin, and if they remain for the majority of the season, instead of the previously expected FIFO technique.
Manunda Hawks
2019: finished fourth on the ladder before exiting in the second week of the finals, 7-9
BS: Respected coach Marc Harbrow called time on his tenure as Hawks coach, in a stint where he took the club to a grand final.
Harbrow was replaced by the returning Brad Sinclair.
Quality midfielder Joel Karwan headed to South Cairns, Cameron Gauci retired, reliable big Nathan Weiss may not play this season and the influential Chris Novy headed to Saints.
AS: If the Manunda Hawks were a horse, we would say they are drifting in betting.
The Hawks have been the most pessimistic of all clubs about actually playing, citing finances and playing stocks.
With that attitude heading into a revised season, it is very hard to see them playing finals again.
Cairns Saints
2019: finished fifth and missed finals, 7-9
BS: Under new playing-coach Wes Glass, a former Port Douglas premiership defender, there was plenty of optimism around Saints heading into 2020.
There was a steady stream of interstate recruits with clearances in to land at Griffiths Park this season.
Consistent on-baller Mark Horne, who was one of Saints’ best in 2019, has headed to CTB.
AS: Saints are arguably one of the only clubs to get better during coronavirus.
Previous best and fairest winner Dylan McConachy is back in town after living in Melbourne and will be a huge boost to Saints.
Former playing-coach Jack Philp has remained in Cairns, after originally being set to move back to Tasmanian, but is unlikely to feature in 2020 for Saints.
Centrals TB
2019: finished sixth and missed finals, 6-10
BS: Trinity Beach were set to be the big improvers, they had splashed the cash to get local recruits as well as a handful of quality players from Noosa and elsewhere.
Wayne Sharkie was signed to go for his second season as well as Sam Blease coming on as full-time football manager.
AS: How things can change in a few months?
Sharkie is gone, there is question marks around how many of the Bulldogs’ recruits will come to Cairns now.
The talk is CTB is looking to have a “gap year” now, just get through 2020 with an interim coach, Brad Wallace, and go full throttle next year when everything is back to normal.
North Cairns
2019: did not won a game and finished last with a percentage of just 9.10.
BS: With a new coach, Ronnie Burns, and full-time football manager, Peter German, on board – the Tigers were certainly going to improve on what they dished up in 2019.
AS: The numbers have been decent at Watsons Oval, they have picked up a heap of former Pyramid Power players.
There is hope North will be much more competitive this year but many of their recruits were only reserves players in recent years.
German had planned to grab guys from Darwin as well, which has to be in doubt now.
Originally published as AFL Cairns 2020 season: Club-by-club rundown