Rugby league wait is over

THE wait is over for Tablelands rugby league fans as the first set of trial matches for the FNQ Rugby League as the Mareeba Gladiators travel down to the Tiger’s den in Tully this Saturday ahead of the first game of the Tableland Cup the following weekend.

The Gladiators second trial match and the Rooster’s first and only will be the first matchup of the Tableland Cup and both teams have circled the day on their calendars.

The Tableland Cup has been a town competition between the rival teams for decades and the three games they play throughout the season are undoubtedly the most attended.

Atherton retains the cup but a supercharged Gladiators side hopes to wrestle it back and bring the trophy home from red soil.

Gladiators president Darrin Hastie said the boys have been hard at work in preparation for this season and the trial matches are a good way to gauge their performance.

“We have been getting some really good numbers at training and the boys are looking fit and ready to go,” he said.

Hastie said while a fierce rivalry has always been present between Mareeba and Atherton, there is also a quiet respect as each team always puts their best foot forward to beat the other.

goal for Megan as she plans to settle some personal scores with a few 70.3 races where she is not quite happy with her times and have another go at a full distance race before setting her eyes back on the world stage in 2024.

It will be another big year for Megan as she aims for two separate world-class competitions, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in New Zealand and the World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville.

“There has always been a fierce rivalry between us and Atherton and it has been there for decades,” he said.

“It will be at home as well which will be our first home game so I am hoping we get a massive crowd as we reveal our new retro jerseys as well.”

Both of the trial matches are set to start at 3pm with the U18s, followed by Reserve Grade and finally A Grade to finish off.