Kangaroos are celebrating after clinching the Bendigo Bank Cairns District Rugby League A Grade minor premiership after an impressive 36-12 win over their nearest rivals Southern Suburbs at Alley Park on Saturday night.
Both sides went into the game knowing that a win for either side would ensure a top place finish at the end of the regular season.
And it was Roos who silenced the home crowd with a dominant performance to finish four points clear at the top of the ladder.
Half-back Rob Amber starred for the visitors with a try and six conversions, while Wilhelm Lauenstein, Alphonso Gimma, Josh Mene, Jake Leuman and Jared Allen also scored tries.
Roos coach Michael White said it was a blessing to not only defeat a finals rival like Suburbs, but also to finish first.
By finishing top, it means we have a week off, which will help a few of our boys to get over any niggling injuries, he said.
Suburbs coach Billy Beard rued a missed opportunity to become minor premiers in front of their fans, but said his side was now focusing on the business end of the season.
We just made too many mistakes and spent the whole first half defending, and you cant do that against a good side like Roos, said Beard.
A combination of handling errors and a lopsided penalty count took a lot of juice out of us, and we eventually cracked.
It would have been nice for the club to win the minor premiership, but our aim at the start of the season was to finish top three, which means you get two cracks at it in the finals.
Well now switch our attention to the finals, which as everyone knows, is a completely different kettle of fish.
Suburbs will now face Brothers in a qualifying final at Barlow Park this Sunday after the reigning premiers secured third place with a thumping 68-16 win over Edmonton Storm.
Nathan Kepa grabbed a hat-trick in the Brethrens 12-try romp, with Jodeci Hodge, Justin Sibley and James Doolah all bagging doubles.
The other finals game at Barlow Park this Sunday will see an elimination final between Yarrabah and Mareeba.
The Gladiators sealed their finals spot with a 76-10 thrashing of Mossman-Port Douglas at Davies Park.
Halfback Gordon Hunter finished with a personal haul of 24 points, while Dryston Hayes crossed for three tries.
Yarrabah, who had the bye at the weekend, had already secured their place in the finals.
Innisfail just fell short of a top five place but finished the season in style with a 62-6 victory over bottom-of-the-table Atherton at Callendar Park.
Ivanhoes also finished just one point outside the finals race, but ended their season positively with their 12th win of the season in a 22-14 triumph over Tully at Smithfield.
2013 Bendigo Bank A Grade ROUND 22
Kangaroos 36 (Amber, Lauenstein, Gimma, Mene, Leuman, Allen tries; Amber 6 goals) def Suburbs 12 (Singleton, Sailor tries; Babsek 2 goals) at Alley Park.
Innisfail 62 (Topliss 3, Healy 3, Koraba 2, Tanner, Romano, Laza, Biondi-Odo tries; Topliss 4, Koraba, Sofa, Laza goals) def Atherton 6 (Whap try; Hauraki goal) at Callendar Park.
Ivanhoes 22 (Bassini, Wykes, Doolah, Holland tries; Doolah 3 goals) def Tully 14 (Miglio, Dimauro, Kapea tries; Rix goal) at Smithfield.
Mareeba 76 (Hayes 3, Williams 2, Jousiffe, Shave, Hunter, Mitchell, Kose, Grainer, Sore, Donahue tries; Hunter 10, Mitchell 2 goals) def Mossman-Port Douglas 10 (Denman, Wallace tries; Ryan goal) at Davies Park.
Brothers 68 (Kepa 3, Hodge 2, Sibley 2, Doolah 2, McIntosh, Fitzpatrick, Ledger tries; Sibley 7, Beetham 3 goals) def Edmonton 16 (Patterson, Tildora, Murgha tries) at Barlow Park.
Yarrabah Seahawks bye.
Both sides went into the game knowing that a win for either side would ensure a top place finish at the end of the regular season.
And it was Roos who silenced the home crowd with a dominant performance to finish four points clear at the top of the ladder.
Half-back Rob Amber starred for the visitors with a try and six conversions, while Wilhelm Lauenstein, Alphonso Gimma, Josh Mene, Jake Leuman and Jared Allen also scored tries.
Roos coach Michael White said it was a blessing to not only defeat a finals rival like Suburbs, but also to finish first.
By finishing top, it means we have a week off, which will help a few of our boys to get over any niggling injuries, he said.
Suburbs coach Billy Beard rued a missed opportunity to become minor premiers in front of their fans, but said his side was now focusing on the business end of the season.
We just made too many mistakes and spent the whole first half defending, and you cant do that against a good side like Roos, said Beard.
A combination of handling errors and a lopsided penalty count took a lot of juice out of us, and we eventually cracked.
It would have been nice for the club to win the minor premiership, but our aim at the start of the season was to finish top three, which means you get two cracks at it in the finals.
Well now switch our attention to the finals, which as everyone knows, is a completely different kettle of fish.
Suburbs will now face Brothers in a qualifying final at Barlow Park this Sunday after the reigning premiers secured third place with a thumping 68-16 win over Edmonton Storm.
Nathan Kepa grabbed a hat-trick in the Brethrens 12-try romp, with Jodeci Hodge, Justin Sibley and James Doolah all bagging doubles.
The other finals game at Barlow Park this Sunday will see an elimination final between Yarrabah and Mareeba.
The Gladiators sealed their finals spot with a 76-10 thrashing of Mossman-Port Douglas at Davies Park.
Halfback Gordon Hunter finished with a personal haul of 24 points, while Dryston Hayes crossed for three tries.
Yarrabah, who had the bye at the weekend, had already secured their place in the finals.
Innisfail just fell short of a top five place but finished the season in style with a 62-6 victory over bottom-of-the-table Atherton at Callendar Park.
Ivanhoes also finished just one point outside the finals race, but ended their season positively with their 12th win of the season in a 22-14 triumph over Tully at Smithfield.
2013 Bendigo Bank A Grade ROUND 22
Kangaroos 36 (Amber, Lauenstein, Gimma, Mene, Leuman, Allen tries; Amber 6 goals) def Suburbs 12 (Singleton, Sailor tries; Babsek 2 goals) at Alley Park.
Innisfail 62 (Topliss 3, Healy 3, Koraba 2, Tanner, Romano, Laza, Biondi-Odo tries; Topliss 4, Koraba, Sofa, Laza goals) def Atherton 6 (Whap try; Hauraki goal) at Callendar Park.
Ivanhoes 22 (Bassini, Wykes, Doolah, Holland tries; Doolah 3 goals) def Tully 14 (Miglio, Dimauro, Kapea tries; Rix goal) at Smithfield.
Mareeba 76 (Hayes 3, Williams 2, Jousiffe, Shave, Hunter, Mitchell, Kose, Grainer, Sore, Donahue tries; Hunter 10, Mitchell 2 goals) def Mossman-Port Douglas 10 (Denman, Wallace tries; Ryan goal) at Davies Park.
Brothers 68 (Kepa 3, Hodge 2, Sibley 2, Doolah 2, McIntosh, Fitzpatrick, Ledger tries; Sibley 7, Beetham 3 goals) def Edmonton 16 (Patterson, Tildora, Murgha tries) at Barlow Park.
Yarrabah Seahawks bye.
