Sport
24 January, 2024
Eagles ready to swoop into 2024 season
THE Atherton Eagles were a force to be reckoned with last season and are ready to do it all again as they head into the 2024 season.
In 2023, the Division 1 Men’s team swooped into the Far North Gulf Football competition and took out the grand final with ease.
Joson Curcio has resumed his position as head senior coach this year, bringing an energetic spark and new ideas to the team.
He said last season’s grand final win helped put the team on the map and looking back; he said he was proud of where the team is at now.
“We had a bit of a ragtag team last season as opposed to the season before where we had a lot of seasoned players,” he said.
“We had a lot of good players, and then we had some up-and-comers, and it was a bit hard to gel at the start, but then we watched them grow, and that chemistry started to build throughout the season, and then when we got that grand final win, it was pretty awesome.”
After taking a break from the “top job”, Jamie Cuda will be back on the field as the Division 1 Men’s captain for the 2024 season and is keen to help bring his teammates up.
His goal for the season is to keep the morale high through every win and every loss.
“Your season is defined by your losses, and whether you can bounce back, so it’s all about keeping morale high and keeping the spirit high and taking each game as it comes,” he said.
The biggest goal the Eagles have this year is developing a more senior side in the competition.
The highest level of competition the Eagles compete in is the Division 1 Men’s competition, and the team hope they can enhance their skills on the field enough to eventually form a Premier Men’s and Women’s team.
“We have plenty of players we have retained from last season to this season, which is a big positive,” Curcio said.
“We just have to up the intensity and up the standard, and that will be a big change from where we have been – we are going to break into that highest level.”
Eagles vice-president Jason Cummings has been working towards their goal of forming a higher level side since he joined the committee after watching his sons leave for Mareeba when they reached a Premier level.
“We can only take them so far, and they have to go to higher levels to play,” he said.
“So long term, we are really concentrating on building junior numbers, so that as they’re coming through, we can start to see some real depth in our senior teams … and then we can have a go at the next level.”
For the time being, the club is putting a major focus on building every grade and is calling on soccer fans and their families to join the team.
The club will be having a Come and Try Day for junior players on 3 February from 10am-1pm. Seniors looking to play can attend training on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 5.30pm at the field behind the Atherton International Club.
