A hat trick of trophies in 2024 for one of Cairns biggest football clubs after claiming the Crad Evans trophy

Marlin Coast Rangers have topped off an incredible 2024 by adding another major trophy to their ever growing cabinet.

Marlin Coast Rangers have topped off an incredible 2024 by adding another major trophy to their ever growing cabinet.

The Rangers claimed a 5-3 victory on Saturday over the MA Olympics in the Crad Evans Trophy.

It is the third trophy the club has claimed this year after claiming the Champions trophy and the FQPL Far North & Gulf Premier Championship.

Rangers coach Crios O’Hare said his club achieved the goal of winning the treble.

“It was a great win for us, I don’t think we played particularly well but finals aren’t just about playing well, they are about winning,” O’Hare said.

Marlin Coast Rangers player Crios O'Hare beats an MA Olympic defender in the 2024 Crad Evans Shield. Picture: Sharon Woodward.

“It was great to be able to win the game without playing particularly well and I think our experience in the end got us through it.

“Really happy to win the Crad Evans and winning the treble, that was what we sat down and planned to do at the start of the year.

“It has been a long tough year and it has been difficult but to overcome our challenges and what we faced, it was really satisfying to have the three trophies in front of us last night.

“It was a big year for everybody, we put a lot of time and effort in and got what we deserved in the end.

“Really proud of the players for the effort and commitment they put in during the year.

“We have come a long way from where we started back in January and the reward is we get to walk away with the three trophies.”

The Rangers had three teams play in the Crad Evans final across three grades, winning two of them – senior mens and Div 1 (3-2) while under 16s went down 3-1.

Rangers’ Josh Taylor scored a hat-trick during their 5-3 win over MA.

Now the focus for the club is continuing to grow and develop.

“As a club we want to keep improving, it is not just about the firsts team,” O’Hare said.

“It’s about every team at the club, we want to improve from our youngest ones up.

“I am sure there will be a bit of down time now, everyone will be relaxing a little bit but the work starts early.

“For us in the firsts team, our coaching staff, it has been a year long journey, it was around this time to the day that I found out I would be leaving Edge Hill and signing with Marlin Coast.

“So we have been planning since that day and look for next year we want to keep improving and moving forward.”

Originally published as A hat trick of trophies in 2024 for one of Cairns biggest football clubs after claiming the Crad Evans trophy