FNQRL GF: Innisfail, Brothers, Tully, Mareeba, Edmonton, Kangaroos chase glory

Junior and senior grand finals will be held back to back at Barlow Park for the first time, and subscribers will be able to watch every minute of seven deciders.

All seven games, kicking off with under-13s at 9am through the A-grade decider at 7pm, will be shown LIVE and EXCLUSIVE via KommunityTV at this link.

Scroll down for full previews of the reserve grade, under-18s and four junior grand finals.

RESERVE GRADE

Third time the charm for Leps

Innisfail coach Ken Laza hopes the third time will be the charm when the Leprechauns roll into the reserve grade grand final.

There’s been plenty of heartache for the Innisfail club with two straight grand final defeats, but Laza and his troops will use every bit of that experience as motivation to break their drought on Saturday.

“We’ve had some trial and error, third year in a row we’ve got there and looking for a changed result,” Laza said.

“Communication has been good, positive attitude, just a matter of getting the win.”

Laza, who has coached the side in both previous grand finals, said the teams which represented the Leprechauns on those heartbreaking days were young.

While the core group has remained fairly similar over the journey, the Leprechauns of 2023 have gone to another level on the back of that experience, and the inclusion of several players who have played regular A-grade.

“It’s the experience of getting there,” he said.

“I didn’t realise until the other day when I was thinking about the guys we had but, back then, a lot of the team was under 23 years old.

“This year we have guys there from the past three years, some have played at that A-grade level.

“We still have some young blokes in the team and it’ll be their first final, but the majority has played finals before.”

The Leprechauns finished as minor premiers with a one-point advantage to Kangaroos, before jagging a tight two-point win in the major semi final a fortnight ago.

They drew 18-all in their only other game this year.

It makes it tough to split the rivals, but Laza said his side’s spine and captain Bodean Tanner will be called upon to step up and make a difference.

“Our spine, that’s been my focus this week and the previous week, about their role and getting us around the paddock, getting opportunities and keep the lid on enthusiasm,” Laza said.

“Sometimes young blokes can get overawed by the occasion and panic. The spine and captain Bodean Tanner need to keep everyone calm and moving forward.”

Roos embrace the challenge

Kangaroos are just 70 minutes away from winning their first reserve grade premiership in a decade, but player-coach Gedi Dau hasn’t considered what that success might feel like yet.

The Mooroobool club knocked fierce rivals and defending premiers Brothers out of the title race in last week’s preliminary final, but must now dig deeper if they are to overcome Innisfail and taste premiership glory.

It is a simple scenario in theory, though Kangaroos will have to do something they’re yet to do this year if they are to lift the trophy: beat Innisfail.

Their success to date can be traced back to Dau’s hard line stance at the start of the year as he was forced to lay down the law to get the right mix of players in his squad.

“Definitely a fair few hiccups,” Dau said.

“At one point we had nearly 50 blokes at training but I held my ground and told the boys I do have some standards they had to abide by.

“If you didn’t come to preseason, you have to put three weeks of work in before you see the footy field.

“It put a lot of players away but the boys who stuck through are an integral part of our finals campaign.

“We have some injuries and the amount of talent has been a headache to pick teams each week.”

It’s worked out well, with the squad’s mix of young guns alongside some older heads, like Anthony Satrick, who was part of the last side to win back in 2007, gelling together as they target a title.

“It’s all about developing those younger guys coming through, so it was a two-year plan to get the boys to where they are now,” Dau said.

“I wouldn’t say this season brought them together, we did a lot of work last season.

“We’ve just had a lot of fun at training and done a bit bonding away from footy.

“It’s helped us a group come closer together, and you can see it, when we’re playing and something goes wrong, we’re all there.”

Dau isn’t expecting an easy run against a team he is yet to beat in 2023.

“It’s a tough forward pack and they have that centre, Bodean (Tanner), who is really tough to handle.

“Their forward pack has always been consistent which is why they’ve been so good for the past couple of years.

“They are beatable, but it’s about playing smart football.”

UNDER-18s

Full squad effort fuels Mareeba

The small town, big heart of Mareeba has been the backbone of the Gladiators’ tilt at two grand finals, and it will take a true club effort to repeat history and win an under-18s premiership.

The Gladiators will play for both U16s and UI8s titles on Saturday, with the older group facing Kangaroos for their first premiership in the age group in 36 years.

That win also came against Kangaroos, providing an eerie backdrop for the decider.

The current squad has had a season to remember, claiming the minor premiership by five points then qualifying for the decider on the back of an impressive, but tough, two-point win against Kangaroos.

Coach Shaun Fincham said that success had been on the back of a club-first approach, with members of both the U16s and A-grade side chipping in at different times of the 2023 campaign.

“It’s been a really collective team effort,” he said.

“It is a bit cliche, but the team has bonded well together and the team effort is what’s stood out for me.

“They’re just a pleasure to be around. Their work ethic is really good, they get to training, but more importantly, they’re good people and good mates to each other, and that’s why you play sport.”

The inclusion of U18s-eligible A-graders like Cain Hastie and Gabriel Tunimakubu has meant some Gladiators miss out on grand final day, but Fincham said it hadn’t been an issue with players who had bought in to the overall success of the team.

“Having those guys come back into the team certainly does help, it strengthens our team and gives us some more confidence heading into the game,” Fincham said.

“But a lot of the younger fellas have stood up as well, and I don’t want to take away from those guys either.

“It’s not something I look forward to however the guys I spoke to, their attitude … I could not fault them.

“They took the pressure off that decision, and they’re really 100 per cent behind the team still, which is a credit to those lads who miss out on the grand final experience.”

U18s captain Tyrone Williams has taken his game to another level in a season in which he was named the grade’s player of the year, while Tunimakubu was the A-grade rookie of the year.

They will lead a talented outfit with plenty of strike weapons across the park.

The bulk of this Gladiators team has been together for the past decade, and a premiership will be the icing of the cake for the group, some of whom are in their last season in Mareeba.

“For a small town, a lot of the lads have come through the grades from under-6s together and they’ve been supported by fantastic coaches and team staff since that time,” Fincham said.

“For them to get the minor premiership and be in contention for a grand final on Saturday is an amazing feeling, and I’m really happy for the boys and the club.”

‘Misfits’ power Kangaroos premiership dream

A team of misfits could create the ultimate FNQRL grand final story if they can claim a long-awaited under-18s premiership for Kangaroos.

The Mooroobool club are in their third straight decider but are yet to break through for that elusive title.

And their hopes could lie on a side which, at the start of the year, struggled to get up.

“We didn’t have an under-16s team last year, we were in trouble at the start of the year to get a team together,” said coach Jamie O’Kane.

“We were a bunch of misfits, we had a few boys down from Julatten but were a bit all over the place.”

It might have felt like that at the time but Kangaroos have gone on to be one of the best attacking units in any grade of the FNQRL competition.

It’s always been a team effort, which was best showcased in their blowout 56-6 win against Atherton last week.

The forwards laid the platform, the halves controlled the tempo, then the outside backs tore their rivals to shreds.

Centre and player of the year finalist McFarlane Misi was at his damaging best, scoring four tries, adding to his season haul of 27 four-pointers.

“He’s a quiet humble kid, don’t get much out of him, but if you give him the space he goes,” O’Kane said.

“His growth, he’s benefited from the way we play and confidence – nobody had heard of him before this year.

“He played for Edmonton last year, but he’s benefited from how we play. He could have had a heap more, he gave away 10 tries to other kids.”

Kangaroos will rely on the experience of halves Gabriel Wood and Lachy Magill to steer them around the park, and are fully expecting Mareeba’s forwards to bang down the front door.

It’s why O’Kane will need his pack to stand up on the biggest day of the season, and if they can do that, it will go some way to laying the platform for success.

“They’re a good side, we know where they’ll come – through the middle,” O’Kane said. “We have to stop the middle, they’re a good team.”

UNDER-16s

The top two teams in the under-16s will collide when Mareeba takes on Brothers.

The teams finished equal first with an identical 12-2 record but the Gladiators took top spot courtesy of a better points differential.

The sides faced off just a fortnight ago in the major semi final with a Cayde Miller double leading the way to Mareeba’s 22-16 win despite having two players sin-binned. Manuau Roesler-Hohaia bagged a double as Brothers overcame Innisfail 20-12 in the preliminary final to book their place in the decider. Both sides have plenty of strikepower.

Johsan Daniel led all tryscorers with 18 four-pointers for Brothers, while Jett Walker crossed 15 times for Mareeba Gladiators. Brothers’ Kymani Nasslander is leading pointscorer with 90 points.

UNDER-15s

Brothers’ outstanding defence paved the way to their topping a three-way tie for the under-15s minor premiership, and they will need to fire without the ball to ensure they can overcome a tough Kangaroos.

The young Brethren went through the season with a 12-1 record but lost four competition points, bringing them back level with Kangaroos and Suburbs.

They did enough to finish top of the table, then crushed Suburbs 30-6 a fortnight ago to qualify for the decider.

Kangaroos battled through the two sudden death finals to make the grand final, beating Innisfail 32-12 before a hard-fought 40-22 win against Suburbs in the preliminary final.

Brothers lock Samu Nomani led the U15 competition with 19 tries, while Kangaroos weapon Michael Misi is next best with 16 tries.

UNDER-14s

There will be plenty of strikepower on display in the U14s FNQRL grand final.

Tully Tigers flyer Denan Anderson will be out to add to his impressive haul of 22 tries when his side locks horns with Edmonton Storm, while Alex Greenwood (15 tries) and Lance Ivey (14 tries) have also been in impressive tryscoring touch throughout the year.

They will need to be at their best to topple a Storm side with plenty of strike weapons, including duo Reuben Ale and Kaci Singleton, who each crossed 17 times.

UNDER-13s

Brothers are just one game away from completing an undefeated under-13s premiership, but must be at their best to overcome Innisfail.

The Brethren went through the season with a perfect 13-0 record, conceding less than seven points a game on their way to the minor premiership.

Brodie Booker was Brothers’ top tryscorer with 17 tries, while Ash Summers scored 16.

A 22-18 win against Innisfail, with five different tryscorers, sealed their passage to the grand final.

More Coverage

Why Morton, Jolley, combo has worked so well for Innisfail

Matthew McInerney

Foul-mouthed footy fans face ban from grand final

Matthew McInerney

Zaeden Kitching-Ely has been in elite tryscoring touch for Innisfail, crossing 29 times to be a clear leader in the top tryscorer stakes, and was fourth in the pointscoring race with 116 points.

Innisfail beat Edmonton 20-18 in the preliminary final to reach the decider and set up their shot at glory.

matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au

Originally published as FNQRL GF: Innisfail, Brothers, Tully, Mareeba, Edmonton, Kangaroos chase glory