The South Cairns Cutters have shaken off a disappointing home loss last weekend to post a hard-fought 110-99 win against ladder rivals Cairns Saints.
After a week in which coach Daniel Lock cahllendged his men to step up or be dropped to reserve grade, the Cutters dug deep on Saturday, winning most of the contested balls and firing in their front third at Griffiths Park.
"It was a day of action and not of talk on Saturday and the boys responded to that," Lock said. "I think deep inside, they knew they had to put a performance in to reassure themselves that they are finals contenders.
"I don't think we've won there since 2009, so the boys were pretty rapt. The contested footy was ferocious."
Cutters full forward Paul Smith put in an inspirational performance, bagging seven goals for the match.
"He's a contested-mark specialist with his big frame and one-on-one, he doesn't get beaten too often," Lock said.
Lock said Smith's ability to calmly put away the majority of balls kicked to him helped rally the troops further downfield.
"His execution going forward really uplifted the team," he said.
In a slight setback for South Cairns, Cutters midfielder and assistant coach Sam Fary is out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken wrist during the game.
Lock said he would call upon the talents of midfielder Conor Napiorkowski to fill the void, who is recovering from a quad injury.
Saints coach Nick Braybon said his team lacked enough grit on the field, hampered by inaccuracy in front of goal.
"The Cutters' scoring efficiency probably hurt us in the first half, and that's where they held the advantage," Braybon said.
"At times we turned over the ball in some pretty poor spots and they were able to get some quality entries on goal.
"We didn't control possission. They controlled the game in that middle section of the ground."
Despite the loss, Saints full forward Matthew Walsh booted nine goals, including four in the third quarter.
Last Modified on 21/01/2015 14:30