This time last season the Cairns City Lions were licking the wounds sustained from a Tiger mauling.
Now coach Marc Harbrow, who played in that game, reckons they can beat them.
"It did, it got ugly in that first round last season," the coach recalled.
"But I want to be clear, I am going for the win."
Improvements to their roster and a more-stabilised club mean optimism is high at Holloways Beach this season, even after a hefty loss to South Cairns last weekend.
"On paper we are a better team (than last season), but I just want the players to be thinking about how we go about it, not the end result," he said.
"I wasn't there for last week's game, but watching the video we gave them lots of possession just with poor kicking.
"It was tough to watch but I've got nothing but confidence in the group."
North Cairns are coming off a tense first round win over Saints, in which Queensland under-18 squad member Glendon Woosup was the inaugural recipient of the weekly AFL Cairns rising star award.
Last Modified on 06/11/2014 15:08