Reece Poyner can forget about flying under the radar this season. The giant Saints centre half forward was a constant menace in his team’s 162-point thumping of Norths on Saturday afternoon and will be a regular target for his new club in 2011. Poyner marked strongly and kicked truly to bag six goals on debut and claim best-on-ground honours in a performance that would have caught the eye of Port Douglas coach Brad Cooper who was at the ground. It was clear from the kick off that Saints have not lost much since winning the AFL Cairns premiership less than six months ago. The absence of 2010 Howard Kennedy Medal winner Matt Hammond as well as Jim Rushton, Josh Walsh, Ricky Scarce and Josh Cother mattered little as they slowly wore down a valiant Tigers unit. Player-coach James Coatsworth was among the action early and had kicked four goals before half-time, but it was the emergence of Poyner that grabbed the headlines. Close to the tallest man on the park and with an imposing build, Poyner was a constant target for the Saints and he did not disappoint, continuously getting the better of the out-gunned defence. Coatsworth was wary not to heap praise on the debutant just yet. “He should be good with us this season with any luck,” Coatsworth said. “Big Reece is about the biggest we’ve got (in height) so we’ve got to base our team around that.”
Courtesy of The Cairns Post
Last Modified on 11/05/2011 11:59