TWO contrasting victories to open their season has set the scene for an intriguing battle between North Cairns and Cairns Saints this Saturday in round two of the AFL Cairns competition.
Both teams finished comfortably ahead of their rivals on the Easter weekend Saints battling a tough Manunda side and inclement weather to do it the hard way before Norths did it much easier on a hot day at Watsons Oval against Cairns City Lions.
Extra time was neededto split the sides in the AFL Cairns Preseason Cup final a fortnight ago and another tense battle is predicted at the Tigers' home ground in round two.
"We're looking forward to it. They've recruited well and are playing well. It's the perfect chance to see where we're at," Saints forward Matt Walsh said. "There were a lot of positives to take out Thursday night's game. It was a hard-fought win and those are the kind you like at the start of the season."
Walsh kicked five majors in the 47-point victory, but with a slippery ball and muddy playing surface it was never pretty from either team.
He said they were still impressed with their structure though and ability to respond after Manunda lifted their level in the second quarter.
"They came out hard and we weren't ready. But we fixed that and finished well. We were able to rebound the ball back into our 50m pretty well to control that last quarter," he said.
Despite his productive start, Walsh's name does not appear at the top of the competition's leading goal kickers list. Instead it is headed by North Cairns full forward Travis Thorne, who booted eight on his return to footy on Easter Friday.
The Tigers kicked 36 goals, with four players kicking five or more and 12 getting their names on the goal-scorers list in total.
Basketball has been Thorne's game of choice more recently, but he looked right at home in front of goal and took advantage of a weary Lions' defence to get an early advantage on Walsh, who easily won last season's golden boot.
"They've obviously got a good forward line and our defence is probably the best in the competition and hasn't changed much from last season, so it's going to be a good battle in that regard," Walsh said.
Walsh kicked 129 goals in the regular season last year, more than anyone in the history of the AFL Cairns competition. His partner in crime Nick Gill also managed the century milestone during the finals series.
Gill is playing with North Hobart this season though, giving Saints one less target up front.
"I guess there is a bit more pressure on me to kick goals with Gilly gone, but I haven't got any expectations and as long as we're winning I'm happy," Walsh said.
"I think (playing co-coach) Nick Braybon will surprise people with how well he fills the void at centre-half forward."
Last Modified on 08/05/2013 13:50