Tully Tigers secured Cassowary Coast bragging rights after beating local rivals Innisfail Leprechauns 22-6 on Saturday night in Round 11 of the David McCoy Homes Cairns Key Real Estate Cairns District Rugby League A Grade competition.
Tries to Greg Miglio, Fabien Tauli, Jake Clifford and Aaron Jolley ensured a hard-fought win for the hosts at Tully Showgrounds.
The result means Tully remain top of the ladder, while Innisfail remain in sixth place, one spot out of the finals race.
Cairns Brothers kept pace with Tully on 18 points with a battling 20-12 victory at reigning premiers Kangaroos.
Northern Pride-contracted players Dean McGilvray and Denzel King, along with a further score to Sonny Rea, secured the win for Brothers.
Kangaroos remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder, but a much-improved display from Michael White’s injury-hit squad should stand his side in good stead for the remainder of the year.
Ivanhoe Knights leapfrogged Southern Suburbs into fourth place with a dramatic 20-18 win over their finals rivals at Alley Park yesterday (Sunday).
Ivanhoes led 14-0 before Suburbs launched a superb comeback to lead 18-14 with seconds left on the clock before Ben Reed scored at the death to level the game, and Ben Pye coolly slotted over the winning conversion.
Ivanhoes centre Trent Barnard showed he is back to his best with two tries, while Marvin Toko also chipped in a four-pointer for the Knights.
Ivanhoes coach Ben Rauter said it was a good feeling to win a tight game after being on the wrong end of similar scorelines earlier in the season.
“It was a real relief at the end to finally win a tight one,” said Rauter. “We got off to a good start but then Suburbs got their own roll on.
“It’s such a tight comp this year, and maybe aside from Tully and Brothers who are clear at the top, everyone else is still in the mix, including Kangaroos who are bottom of the ladder.
“I’m pretty happy with where we’re at right now. It’s a long process and we’re trying new things, so it is a bit of a culture change this season.
“We’ll step it up during the second half of the season. We’ve got a lot of players who have never even been in contention for a semi-finals spot, let alone played in one, so it’s going to be a new experience.”
Atherton Roosters gained their fourth win of an impressive season when they edged a 17-14 thriller in their Tablelands derby clash with Mareeba at Davies Park.
A Darryl Grant field goal in the last minute sealed the points in an enthralling and bruising encounter, a result which leaves Atherton in eighth spot.
Meanwhile, free-scoring Yarrabah Seahawks showed they are back to their attacking best with a 48-26 triumph over Mossman-Port Douglas Sharks at Jilara Oval.
Wingers William Mudu and Javen Gibson both scored two tries for the Seahawks, who crossed the white stripe nine tries in a high-scoring encounter.
Yarrabah five-eighth Brian Murgha was named LD Total Cairns Player of the Round for his superb display (one try, four goals).
Edmonton Storm had a bye.
2015 DAVID MCCOY HOMES CAIRNS KEY REAL ESTATE A GRADE - ROUND 11 RESULTS:
SATURDAY 30 MAY
Tully Tigers 22 (Miglio, Tauli, Clifford, Jolley tries; Jolley 3 goals) def Innisfail Leprechauns 8 (Healy, Bounghi tries) at Tully Showgrounds.
Atherton Roosters 17 (Tohorahi, Nanaibalauu, Joseph tries; Grant 2 goals; Grant field goal) def Mareeba Gladiators 14 (Walker, Grainer, Foster tries; Nona goal) at Davies Park, Mareeba.
Cairns Brothers 20 (McGilvray, Rea, King tries; Castellaro 4 goals) def Cairns Kangaroos 12 (Pau, Joseph tries; Stephen 2 goals) at Vico Oval, Cairns.
SUNDAY 31 MAY
Yarrabah Seahawks 48 (Gibson 2, Mudu 2, Garrett, Bann, B. Murgha, C. Murgha, Canendo tries; B. Murgha 4, C. Murgha, Dabah goals) def Mossman-Port Douglas Sharks 26 (Saigba 2, Whap 2, Lightning, tries; Amber 3 goals) at Jilara Oval, Yarrabah.
Ivanhoe Knights 20 (Barnard 2, Toko, Reed tries; Pye 2 goals) def Southern Suburbs 18 (Chinfat, Joinbee, Elliott, Fourmile tries; Chinfat goal) at Alley Park, Gordonvale.
