Mackay Cutters to take on Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Sarina

It will be a feeding frenzy of aspiring league talent when Sarina’s Ray Edwards Oval plays host to its second ever Mackay Cutters QCup clash. Read what it will mean to the club and the town.

Despite its small population, Sarina has served as a breeding ground for some of Mackay’s greatest league players.

On July 23, the town will host its second ever Q Cup game with the Mackay Cutters set take on the Wynnum Manly Seagulls at Ray Edwards Oval.

The match is part of Queensland Rugby League’s “Activate Queensland Country week” and headlines an enormous Super Saturday of rugby league in Sarina with the Crocs juniors starting from 8.30am.

Mackay Cutters Kane Bradley attempts to evade a tackle against the Townsville Blackhawks. Picture: Evan Morgan.

QRL chief executive officer Rohan Sawyer said regional communities such as Sarina were “the heartland of rugby league”.

“Events like this bring people together, and we’re grateful to the Queensland Government for its sponsorship and support of a program that will again generate an enormous amount of goodwill, entertainment and economic benefit for local communities,” he said.

“Activate Queensland Country Week is about much more than a game of football – there’s school visits, community fundraisers and opportunities for our coaches and referees to upskill through course updates in each area.”

Sarina Crocs president Rick Goode said it would not only be great for the club, it would also be a great day for the town.

“Hopefully we will get a good crowd with a bit of a Q-Cup football, it will be good to watch,” he said.

Goode said providing the juniors and seniors with an opportunity to see what the next level looked like, up close and personal was another way to encourage the Crocs players to work on bettering their games.

“We’re trying to bring them through and hopefully take them onto the next level,” he said.

“You look at Rueben Cotter just recently and where he is at the moment.

“He started at Sarina juniors and he’s looking like he is on the verge of playing for Queensland at the moment.

“It’s always great to see those sort of blokes go through, especially from a small town like Sarina.”

The game comes at an important time for the Crocs, who after breaking their 21 year premiership drought in 2021, have struggled out the gate in 2022.

The Crocs president said spirits remained high around the club.

“The club’s going all right. We lost a few players after last year’s grand final but that was one of the things we expected,” Goode said.

“We knew it would happen but we didn’t expect to lose that many and being half an hour away from Mackay, it’s very hard to attract players to do the extra travel.

“The talent pool isn’t in Sarina like it used to be but we’re holding our own at the moment. It’s still early days.”

Former Sarina Crocs junior Reuben Cotter celebrates scoring a try for the Cowboys. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Speaking on Cotter, who is shaping as a potential origin bolter, Goode declared with pride the Cowboys forward has “never forgotten where he came from” and is a superb role model for the juniors.

“Last year we had our presentation night and when I first spoke to him about it, he said I’d love to come down here and do it,” he said.

“Just recently we had some kids playing up in Townsville and he met up with them.”

After Mackay Rugby League’s round five fixture was postponed, the Crocs look to bounce back this weekend against the Moranbah Miners at Moranbah.