Sport
26 February, 2022
Fng - Football Season Comes Alive - Australia Cup Kicks Off This Friday Night
The Football Far North season comes alive this weekend with the newly renamed Australia Cup kicking off the official start to the football calendar.
The attention will turn towards the Atherton Tablelands, where the Atherton Eagles are hosting the Douglas Dragons in the first round of the nationwide knockout competition on Friday at the Atherton International club, 7.30pm kick off.
These two clubs have meet numerous times over the years in a FNQ Division 2 competition and both sides would like nothing more than to knock the other out to stay alive in the Australia Cup competition.
The Dragons are the perennial mens 2nd division heavyweights having won the mens 2nd division premiership now four years in a row with a mix of experience and international flare, recruiting regularly internationals that fly in and call Port Douglas home for the season, while the Eagles are born and bred up on the Atherton Tablelands and are known for their fighting qualities and have picked up some handy additions as they head into this Friday night's clash chomping at the bit to knock off the Dragons.
The Eagles will welcome back the Atherton trio, the Wells brothers of Jaydon, Mason and Bryson who have returned home to the Eagles nest after playing experience with the Mareeba Bulls in the Men's Premier League and will be joined by another former Bull James Elmes who has relocated to the Tableland town and now calls Atherton home.
All four know what it takes to play at the highest level in FNQ and along with Eagles regulars Jamie Cuda, Ruben Collins and Giovanni Gallo the Eagles head into the match with all the qualities to cause an upset on their home turf.
Meanwhile the Dragons will make the two hour trek south from the sunny beaches of Port Douglas to green rolling hills of the Tablelands missing some of their stars of the 2021 campaign, but still with quality all over the park, with a squad that know how to win and turn up for the big games. Coach Christian Snell will be putting together a game plan to make the trip home an enjoyable one. The Australia cup kicks off at 7.30pm at Atherton Intenattional club.
