CDRL Round 1 wrap: Suburbs star thrives at new home
The first round of the Cairns District Rugby League is in the books, with Brothers and Mossman-Port Douglas chalking up huge wins to kick off their campaigns. FULL WRAP >>
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The first round of the Cairns District Rugby League is in the books, with Brothers and Mossman-Port Douglas chalking up huge wins to kick off their campaigns.
Scroll down for full results.
CHINFAT’S NEW HOME AT SUBURBS
SOUTHERN Suburbs has the confidence, and belief, that this could be the year they break into the Cairns District Rugby League’s top five and put together a deep run to the finals.
And they will do so with perennial Gold Medal finalist Cephas Chinfat making a spot in the halves his new permanent home.
The Cockatoos held off a tough Mareeba Gladiators outfit 26-24 to kick-off 2022 with a win, one which provides Paul Stevens’ troops the perfect confidence boost as they roll into a heavyweight clash with Innisfail.
And Stevens, in his second year as Suburbs coach, has his eyes on a more successful season than last year, when they finished eighth.
That’s not to say his focus is only on September, far from it.
He is the walking, talking definition of taking a season one week at a time, and it started with the Gladiators last week despite Suburbs attracting quality recruits like brothers Presley and Ritchie Lowe, who combined for three tries in the nailbiting win.
“I was always wary of Mareeba,” Stevens said.
“I know what they’re capable of and the way (new coach) Chris Sheppard will have them playing.
“They never let up, so it was a good test for us, especially at this time of the season.
“It’s a young side, we had a few 18-year-olds out there and it was pleasing to see them handle it.”
The Lowe boys impressed, Minjiluk McInnes look good in his first outing of the season, crossing for a try and being a genuine handful with the ball in hand, and the pack has benefited from the recruitment of former Gladiator Kurt Jackson, who is tireless in the front row.
And that sets the platform for Chinfat to do his job.
Now lining up at five-eighth alongside Ritchie Lowe in the halves, Chinfat has closed the book on his career at fullback.
It’s where he’s dazzled defenders for the past few seasons and played his way to a Hostplus Cup debut with the Northern Pride, but the 30-year-old chose to commit himself to Suburbs this season to ensure he could spend more time with his young daughter.
And he couldn’t be happier with the positional change.
“Fullback is fun but a bit of a change is a good thing,” he said. “I’m a bit more greedy now. I like to be in control, and I get a lot more involved with the boys being up in the line with them.”
ROOS FLYER A BIGGER DANGER
HE is a dual-code strike weapon who has turned heads across Far North Queensland for the past few years, but Kangaroos flyer Daniel Woodhouse could be more dangerous than ever.
Woodhouse, who can play across the back five, scored three tries for Kangaroos as the Mooroobool club beat Edmonton Storm 40-28 to open their Cairns District Rugby League campaign.
His tryscoring ability has never been in doubt. Last year he scored eight tries in the CDRL and is no stranger to the white stripe while suiting up for Wanderers in the FNQ Rugby competition.
With three tries already, it seems only injury could stop him.
Kangaroos coach Jared Allen said the fast, agile flyer had added another dimension to his game since spending the off-season with the Northern Pride.
He is stronger and harder to tackle, but he has a new-found confidence - and that’s, Allen said, what makes a big difference.
“He came back with a lot of confidence after spending that time with the Pride,” Allen said.
“He’s also bigger. He had regular access to the gym there, and he’s probably not had a program like that before.
“That confidence is big, but you know he’s been spending a lot of time with a better class of players just by the way he talks.”
There was plenty for Allen to like, given the performance of fellow rugby converts Jairel Hodge (second row) and Will Treston (five-eighth), but he wasn’t too impressed with the defensive execution.
“I was disappointed, we turned over a lot of ball and made a few too many errors,” he said. “It’s definitely one of the areas we need to work on.”
BROTHERS STAY GROUNDED
BROTHERS are off to a flyer after a 60-point win against the Tully Tigers to open their Cairns District Rugby League season, but the team is remaining grounded as it pursues a drought-breaking premiership.
New signing Devante Heron scored four tries as Brothers wiped the floor with an understrength Tully 64-4 at Stan Williams Park.
Coach Jordan Biondi-Odo was well aware how undermanned the Tigers would be so put the focus on defence. And by allowing just one try, the team passed its first test.
“It was pretty solid across the group,” Biondi-Odo said.
“I can’t fault anyone too much. We had a defensive mindset coming into the game, and I was happy with just the four points.
“But we know Tully will be better in a few weeks.”
While happy to collect two competition points on the first weekend of the new season, Biondi-Odo urged his team to stay grounded.
“It’s round 1,” he said. “We know that we can be good all year but if you weren’t there at the end, then it doesn’t matter.”
Brothers travel to Smithfield on Saturday to face Ivanhoes, while Tully hosts Mareeba Gladiators.
SUBLIME SHARKS SMASH SEAHAWKS
DO not forget about us.
That is the message coming from the northernmost team in the Cairns District Rugby League after Mossman-Port Douglas rolled to a dominant 72-12 blowout win against defending premiers Yarrabah and gave Joel Marama a winning start to his coaching career.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE REPLAY
The Seahawks are usually among the slowest starting teams in the CDRL, but nobody would have expected the Sharks to dominate as they did in the 13-tries-to-two win, which has them sitting level with Brothers atop the table.
Some of that was down to discipline, with four Seahawks sin-binned and another sent off throughout the 80 minutes.
That just opened the door for Mossman-Port Douglas, who only had two sit down, and their lightning quick outside backs kicked it down.
Fullback Matthew Gibuma and winger Charlie Gibuma scored three each, while Marama and Stanley Anau both crossed twice.
Marama was happy to start his coaching career with a win, but it was the way his team played that made him happiest as he praised Yarrabah for sticking in the contest.
“It’s just really good to see the fitness and work we did over the preseason show itself on the field,” Marama said.
“It reflected on the paddock and everyone was pretty happy in the sheds after the game.
“Credit to Yarrabah, they’ve been going through a bit of a tough time and the score didn’t reflect the contest.
“We wanted to play footy, and then we showed them love and respect after the game.”
Marama has taken on the coaching role from Brian Murgha, who steered the side to a successful title defence in 2019 before guiding them to the semi finals last season, and made an immediate impact on the win column.
And while the prop, who also celebrated two rare four-pointers, didn’t know how he felt rolling into the first-round clash, he settled into the roles when the first whistle blew.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever done both so it was good to get that win,” he said.
“Having Matty at the back and Charlie on the wing, they looked impressive.”
Mossman-Port Douglas will now prepare for another road trip, this time to Edmonton, while the Seahawks will travel over the range to take on Atherton Roosters.
LEPRECHAUNS EARN TOUGH WIN
INNISFAIL Leprechauns have earned a win to kickstart their campaign to break a seven-year premiership drought.
Among the most consistent clubs in the Cairns District Rugby League for the past decade, Leprechauns have finished near the top of the table in most seasons, and reached three of the past four grand finals, only to be knocked over in the decider.
Last year it took extra time for Yarrabah to run them down, but a new season means a new opportunity for the experienced and successful Leon Hallie and his troops.
And they have started on the right foot, toughing out a 26-10 win against Atherton Roosters at Callendar Park.
Ayden Kris scored a double, as a largely familiar Innisfail went about their business in the typically tough and methodical way for which Hallie’s sides are known.
Rob Haren is back, suiting up at lock, while Jared Laza returned at hooker and perennial Gold Medal finalist Aaron Jolley took his place at five-eighth alongside Ashton Galea in a new-look halves pairing after the departure of Julian Christian to the Northern Pride.
But, more than anything, the Leprechauns are back in the winner’s circle, and they’ve shown signs that they can pick up where they left off in 2021.
“It’s good to start the season with a win,” Hallie said.
“We’re going to take it week by week.
“The defence was good, we defended well, but the discipline let us down. If we can get that sorted, we’re going to be OK.
“Jared did really well. It’s his first A-grade game in a while so it was good to see him out there. Aaron and Rob were good for us as well.”
Innisfail will play a second straight game in front of their home fans this Saturday when they host Southern Suburbs.
They won’t be total strangers – the clubs usually face off in trials every preseason – but Hallie is not expecting anything other than a tough, unrelenting contest from the Paul Stevens-coached side.
“They always make you work,” Hallie said.
“They’ve got a few big boys in the middle there.”
Suburbs will come off a close 26-24 win against Mareeba Gladiators at Alley Park, in which Presley Lowe scored a double before the Cockatoos held off the fast-finishing Chris Sheppard-coached Mareeba.
Elsewhere, Daniel Woodhouse scored a hat-trick as Kangaroos earned a 40-28 win against Edmonton Storm.
He spent the off-season training with the Pride and with three tries to kick off his 2022 account, it could be a big year for the fullback or winger.
RESULTS
INNISFAIL LEPRECHAUNS 26 (Kris 2, A Galea, C Galea, Satrick tries; Morton 3 goals) def ATHERTON ROOSTERS 10 (Pedro, Molloy tries; Pedro goal) at Callendar Park, Innisfail.
SOUTHERN SUBURBS 26 (P Lowe 2, R Lowe, McInnes, Chambers tries; Chambers 3 goals) def MAREEBA GLADIATORS 24 (Pedersen, Elu, Major, Banjo tries; Banjo 3 goals) at Alley Park, Gordonvale.
MOSSMAN-PORT DOUGLAS SHARKS 72 (C Gibuma 3, M Gibuma 2, Marama 2, S Anau 2, K Anau, Ahwang, Guligo, Waireg tries; Elia 6, S Anau 3, Waireg goals) def YARRABAH SEAHAWKS 12 (Bann, Mundraby tries; Harris 2 goals) at Jilara Oval, Yarrabah.
KANGAROOS 40 (Woodhouse 3, Hodge 2, Treston, Fauid, Stephen tries; Millard 3, Treston goals) def EDMONTON STORM 28 (Bounghi, Epseg, Newman, Anton, Tatipata tries; Murgha 2, Simpson, Newman goals) at Vico Oval, Mooroobool.
BROTHERS 64 (Heron 4, Child 2, Simpson, Suavai, Wigness, Harrold, Cannon, Ta’ufo’ou tries; Peni 4, Child 3, Wigness goals) def TULLY TIGERS 4 (Tauli try) at Stan Williams Park, Manunda.
IVANHOES had the bye.
RESERVE GRADE
Innisfail 26 drew Atherton 26.
Southern Suburbs 26 def Mareeba 6.
Mossman-PD 32 def Yarrabah 30.
Kangaroos 30 def Edmonton 20.
Brothers 50 def Tully 4.
UNDER-18S
Atherton 28 def Innisfail 6.
Mareeba 20 def Southern Suburbs 14.
Kangaroos 44 def Edmonton 0.
Brothers 12 def Tully Tigers 10.
ROUND 2 FIXTURES
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
6pm: Tully Tigers v Mareeba Gladiators at Tully Showgrounds.
6pm: Innisfail v Southern Suburbs at Callendar Park, Innisfail.
7pm: Ivanhoes v Brothers at Smithfield Sporting Complex.
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
3pm: Edmonton Storm v Mossman-Port Douglas Sharks at Petersen Park.
3pm: Atherton Roosters v Yarrabah Seahawks at Mungalli Ck Dairy Stadium.
Kangaroos have the bye.
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
Originally published as CDRL Round 1 wrap: Suburbs star thrives at new home
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