Covid: Hockey, AFL to return as restrictions ease in Cairns
Cairns Hockey will be the first Far North sports league to return to the field following an easing of community sports restrictions this weekend.
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Cairns Hockey will be the first Far North sports league to return to the field following an easing of community sports restrictions this weekend.
The association’s junior competitions will be back in action from 4.30pm on Friday, with Queensland Government restrictions, including the suspension of community sports, to ease from 4pm that same afternoon.
The A-grade men’s and women’s sides will return to play the fifteenth and final round of the regular season from 6.20pm on Saturday night.
Cairns Hockey operations manager Kym McPhee-Smith said the restrictions had impacted the winter season draw, with seven divisions unable to complete week 14.
As a result, week 14 of the competition will only count towards the final ladder standings for divisions with bye games – that is, with an odd number of teams.
“This is due to a constraint in time to fit in all the games of week 14,” McPhee-Smith said.
“A review of each division assisted in the unanimous decision that it won’t have a major impact on the final standings and further ensure equity of games.
“Moreover, this provides the opportunity for all teams to return to the pitch to complete their season and allows time to play a finals round before proceeding to grand finals.”
Finals will proceed as a three-team format, with the team that finishes first on the ladder going straight through to the grand final, while second and third meet in the semi-final.
The first week of finals will be held from Thursday, August 26, to Saturday, August 28, with grand finals to commence on the original dates from Thursday, September 2, to Saturday, September 4.
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“Without impacting on grand finals and finishing our season with finals, we have only two weeks to complete the competition in its current format,” McPhee-Smith said.
“We have received recommendations from our competition advisory group and have
consulted and discussed with our club presidents and their club committees.
“The Cairns Hockey team were able to work through and discuss several options with the goal to achieve the best outcome for most of our members that included participation, and the least impact on the competition format.”
Souths Hockey Club have stormed their way to another double minor premiership in the men’s and women’s A-grade divisions, the two sides sporting a combined record of 22 wins, three draws and one loss.
The women’s side is chasing a third-straight Cairns Hockey title in 2021, while the men are looking to return to the top after last year’s grand final defeat to Saints.
Souths took out the double minor premiership in 2019, before going on to win the men’s and women’s A-grade premierships that year.
THE SCHEDULE
A Grade – Round 15
Saturday, August 21
Saints v Stingers on Rainforest Turf
6.20pm: Women, 7.45pm: Men
Souths v Brothers on Reef Turf
6.20pm: Men, 7.45pm: Women
AFL Cairns returns as restrictions ease in FNQ
AFL Cairns will be the only major code to return to Far North sports fields this weekend with the all three senior grades – including the women’s Pride Round triple header – set to resume on Saturday.
The league had originally moved fixtures to Sunday and Monday nights in response to Queensland government-enforced restrictions.
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But after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Wednesday that restrictions, including the suspension of community sport, would ease from 4pm on Friday afternoon, AFL Cairns bounced straight back into action.
Teams can only train in groups of 10, and must observe all guidelines until 4pm on Friday, but all senior, reserves and women’s games will now go ahead as originally scheduled.
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All three women’s games will be played at Cazalys Stadium, and while the top four is set, North Cairns Tigers will leave nothing in the tank as they finish their season.
The Tigers reached the grand final last year, but could not overcome the departure of experienced personnel, struggling on their way to fifth.
The cancellation of last week’s round – in which they would have faced last-placed South Cairns – struck the fatal blow to their finals hopes, and coach Marcus Mcgregor-Cassady said his team would look to finish the season in style.
“It’s disappointing but we still take a lot out of our performances throughout the year,” the coach said.
“It’s hard when you go from players with 400 games of experience to players who have only played a handful of games, but it’s been good.
“We would’ve liked a few more wins, we gave ourselves enough chances to do it. We also went through a number of games with only one or two players on the bench, and you can’t compete like that.
“We had the players to do it, but we’ll go out there to win.”
MAJOR CODES STAY ON THE SIDELINE
Meanwhile, as AFL Cairns clubs prepare to return to play this weekend, no other major team sports code will return early.
Cairns District Rugby League, both men’s and women’s FNQ Premier League and FNQ Rugby will stick to their plans of returning next week, while Cairns Basketball’s juniors will hit the court this weekend.
CDRL and FNQ Rugby are the heaviest contact sports, and neither were willing to risk returning to play with no time to properly train beforehand. Both will return next week, with FNQ Rugby going straight to the finals.
The FNQ Premier League will also return next week.
“This will allow all players and teams the opportunity to train before returning to matches, reducing the risk of injury and providing clubs with sufficient time to prepare for competitions resuming,” a FQ statement read.
THE SCHEDULE
AFL Cairns teams will return to various Far North footy fields on Saturday, highlighted by the Pride Round triple header at Cazalys Stadium.
Seniors
2.30pm: Cairns Saints v Port Douglas at Griffiths Park.
2.30pm: South Cairns v Cairns City Lions at Fretwell Park.
4pm: Manunda Hawks v North Cairns at Cazalys Stadium.
Women
All games at Cazalys Stadium
9.30am: North Cairns Tigers v Cairns City Lions.
11am: Manunda Hawks v South Cairns Cutters.
12.30pm: Cairns Saints v Centrals Trinity Beach.
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
Originally published as Covid: Hockey, AFL to return as restrictions ease in Cairns
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