The Cairns Saints put last week's shock capitulation to Port Douglas behind them in commanding fashion on Saturday, beating Centrals Trinity Beach by 60 points.
Overcoming a sluggish first half, the Saints won 19.14 (128) to 10.8 (680 at Crathern Park thanks to six-goal hauls from star forwards Matthew Walsh and Timothy Lamprill.
The reigning premiers had the better of the opening stages but a failure to turn their dominance into goals left them with just a 21-point lead at half-time.
"It was a bit of a problem - the boys know the way we want to play but it took a little bit of time to get it rolling our way," coach Nick Braybon said. "There was definitely a conversion problem but that was down to Centrals' pressure in the forward line. It wasn't panic stations but we had to address it at half-time."
Whatever Braybon's message was, it worked - the Saints booted seven goals and kept the Bulldogs to just two behinds in the third term as they ran away with the victory.
Ball magnet Rohan Couch was named best afield while Braybon was also pleased with the performances of Lamprill and Walsh.
"They haven't played a lot of footy side-by-side but they're getting better with each game," he said.
In Saturday's other game, Scott Hughes booted nine goals as Cairns City Lions easily accounted for cellar dwellers Manunda at Holloways Beach.
It was a match that saw Jared Brennan make his third appearance for the Lions this year.
Last Modified on 06/11/2014 14:29