Crocs snap up Hawks
JUST in case anyone had forgotten, Port Douglas reminded rival clubs on Saturday of what they were capable of in this year's AFL Cairns premiership.
Everything that has carried the unbeaten Crocs to the top of the ladder this season was on show at Cazalys when they thumped fellow top-four side the Manunda Hawks 28.18 (186) to 11.6 (72).
Crocs coach Andy Viola said a tough run into the finals had
focused his side on finishing the regular season with momentum.
"The way our draw has been, playing Saints, Hawks and then Centrals next week, it happens to be the three sides in the finals," he said. "I’d be lying if I said we haven’t been looking toward finals. We’ve tried a few things the past couple of weeks but we’ve also kept a few things up our sleeve that we don’t want to spill out of the bag."
There did not need to be much science behind how the Crocs played in the first quarter when they had the breeze at their backs.
Most of their goals came in the same manner – win the centre bounce then kick the ball into the 50m arc towards full-forward Matt Shaw.
The Crocs finished the term with 11 majors but Hawks were more than competitive kicking five and set about eating into their opponents’ lead when play restarted.
It was a slow meal but the likes of forward Lenny Warren and Nathan Freebody made sure the Hawks trailed by a retrievable 30 points at halftime.
Unfortunately, the Hawks left their resilience in the changing rooms when they ran out for the
restart of play.
Like a wrecking ball swung into a mud hut, the Crocs demolished the Hawks with little subtlety.
The Crocs were at their most ruthless in the third term, booting 12 goals while their back six kept the Hawks scoreless.
The teams came together in a number of heated clashes in the final two quarters but Shaw ensured everyone’s mind was back on football by the end of the game.
Shaw kicked his 12th goal of the day and 100th of the season in the last term and was quickly embraced by teammates and two energetic Port Douglas fans who jumped the fence.
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