General News
28 October, 2020
Locals make impact at Port Douglas
PORT Douglas senior coach Brad Cooper has heaped praise on the three Cobden locals set to line-up for the Crocs in AFL Cairns grand finals this weekend.
PORT Douglas senior coach Brad Cooper has heaped praise on the three Cobden locals set to line-up for the Crocs in AFL Cairns grand finals this weekend.
Christian Koroneos, Sam Giblett and Josh Hickey will represent the club after it qualified for both the senior and reserve deciders.
The senior outfit is chasing a league and club record of five senior premierships against Cairns Saints, while the reserves side is out to win its first flag since 2017 against South Cairns.
Cooper said the trio and Alvie’s Lochie Rosevear had “fitted in really well” since making the move north earlier this year and were deserving of the opportunity to play in grand finals.
“We make a point of targeting country guys being a small community separated from Cairns which we feel makes the transition a lot easier,” he said.
“They’re the type of guys we look for – we look for good club people and good citizens, footy is secondary to that, but they have all been terrific in both areas.”
Cooper said the 2020 season has been a new experience for the quartet.
Not only are they playing in a new competition against new opponents on new grounds, they have also had to learn new game plans and structures which took time to get the hang off.
“You’d have to get the boys thoughts but we’re fairly structured up here so it’s definitely been a learning curve for them I would say,” Cooper said.
“It’s pretty regimented and there is always going to be teething process but the players that are here do a really good job of teaching them because they know it inside out.
“But they have grasped all that really well and have played some ripping footy.”
Koroneos and Giblett have played every game in the seniors, while Hickey has split his time between senior and reserve level.
Cooper said Koroneos and Giblett would definitely play in the senior decider while Hickey will have an opportunity to earn a recall at training this week.
“Christian and Sam will be in the starting side and Josh is certainly in the mix,” he said.
“We have a lot of depth, particularly in regards to running players and we have some really high end types out of the VFL and what not that play the same as Josh position-wise, that high half forward-mid type but he’s certainly in the conversation.
“The other two have played their roles really well.”
While history beckons the club, Cooper said the Crocs had kept preparations as normal as possible in the build-up to the game.
While he knows they are playing in a grand final, he has told his players to treat the game like any other they have prepared for this season.
He wants them to enjoy the experience, but still be prepared to work hard to receive their slice of glory.
“We’re only sort of at the start of the week, we’ve already had nine days prep, we had a really solid session on Saturday and had two last week and we have two to go,”Cooper said.
“As I said to the boys enjoy the experience but we’ve still got work to do. It’s another game of footy but it isn’t one we highlight any differently.
“Obviously it is a grand final but we just want to keep everything familiar to them – it’s not something we try to pump up.
“On the day it obviously is pumped up and there’s already media everywhere, but aside from that we know that there is still four quarters to be played and won.”
This weekend’s grand finals start at 3.30pm and 5.30 pm and will be played at Cairns Cazaly’s Stadium.
Locals can watch both games via the Port Douglas Crocs AFL Club Facebook page.