A dominant 36-6 win by Innisfail at home over Edmonton Storm on Saturday has put them on top of the Cairns District Rugby League ladder.
The top spot came after Cairns Brothers suffered a shock loss at the hands of defending premiers Mossman-Port Douglas in Round 10 of the CDRL A Grade competition.
There were a couple of debutants in Innisfail's line-up with Ayden Kris making his A Grade debut alongside Usaia Fonongaloa from the Northern Pride Colts.
Innisfail opened the scoring when the rampaging Lata Fakalelu barged his way over the try line.
The home side kept piling on the points in the first half with tries to winger Jackson Laza, Jaymon Moore and Elia Mooka to go into the break with a comprehensive 22-0 lead.
The Brethren continued their dominance in the second half with a try to Lachlan Biondi-Odo before Kris also scored a try in his debut appearance.
Moore crashed over for his second try of the match, putting Innisfail ahead 36-0.
Edmonton looked set to be scoreless until late in the game when Roger Tait registered their only converted four-pointer.
Innisfail coach Leon Hallie said Edmonton were tough in the first half which was as hard as any other game this season.
"The competition against Edmonton was very even, so if we weren't as good as we were, it could have been a totally different game," Hallie said.
"Over the past few weeks, in general the whole team has been working well together and everyone is doing their job, which makes it much easier as we're not just relying on certain players all the time," said Hallie.
He acknowledged man of the match Leon Walker has been putting in good performances over the past few weeks.
Hallie also said Kris and Fonongaloa also showed great energy, although their ball security was needing some improvement.
"We're trying to keep the positions as consistent as possible," he added.
"Hopefully we've had our run of injuries and are starting to get numbers back which we can hopefully mould them into their positions instead of having them filling in somewhere else.
"Robbie Haren and Jaymon Moore have returned from injury, and Chris Galea is also back after being away for a few weeks but Ashton Galea is still injured."
This weekend, Innisfail travel away to face Yarrabah which the Brethren coach believes is always a tough contest.
"It will be a matter of us being physical and good with the footy when we've got possession," Hallie said.
We know Yarrabah are going to score tries so it's just a matter of starving them of points as long as possible."
Round 10 Results
A Grade
Mareeba 18 defeated Kangaroos 12
Southern Suburbs 20 defeated Tully 18
Innisfail 36 defeated Edmonton 6
Mossman-Port Douglas 38 defeated Cairns Brothers 24
Ivanhoes 24 defeated Atherton 20
Bye: Yarrabah
Ladder: Innisfail 13, Cairns Brothers 12, Mossman-Port Douglas 12, Yarrabah 12, Atherton 10, Southern Suburbs 10, Kangaroos 9, Ivanhoes 9, Edmonton 6, Mareeba 6, Tully 1.
Reserve Grade
Kangaroos 34 defeated Mareeba 16
Tully 22 defeated Southern Suburbs 10
Innisfail 14 drew Edmonton 14
Cairns Brothers 28 defeated Mossman-Port Douglas 20
Atherton 28 defeated Ivanhoes 10
Under 18
Edmonton 32 defeated Innisfail 22
Ivanhoes 22 defeated Atherton 20
Cairns Brothers won on forfeit by Mossman-Port Douglas
Southern Suburbs won on forfeit by Tully
Women's Touch
Tully 1 defeated Southern Suburbs 0
Innisfail 1 drew Edmonton 1
Atherton won on forfeit by Ivanhoes
Mossman-Port Douglas won on forfeit by Cairns Brothers
Round 11 A Grade Fixtures
Saturday, June 22
Mossman-Port Douglas v Ivanhoes at Coronation Park, Mossman
Mareeba v Edmonton at Davies Park, Mareeba
Atherton v Tully at Mungalli Creek Dairy Stadium, Atherton
Sunday, June 23
Yarrabah v Innisfail at Jilara Oval, Yarrabah
Kangaroos v Cairns Brothers at Vico Oval, Mooroobool
Bye: Southern Suburbs
Main image: A barnstorming Taulata Fakalelu barges his way across the line to score Innisfail's first try. Photo: Maria Girgenti
