Sport
23 June, 2025
Gladiators just fall short
A THRILLING back and forth match between the Mareeba Gladiators and Tully Tigers over the weekend had fans at Davies Park on the edge of their seats.
Unfortunately, the Gladiators took a two-point loss in front of their home crowd after Tully just managed to edge them out 32-30.
Rain and cold weather made for some tough conditions when the Gladiators hosted the Tigers on Saturday.
It was the visitors who got the early jump, scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes to take a 10-0 lead.
Mareeba soon answered back with a try through halfback Izaak Toby to bring the score to 10-6.
Tully then went over again in the 23rd minute to extend their lead once again, but Mareeba answered back with two quick tries just before the break to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Interchange hooker Alphonse Bulkua and lock Whyatt Barnes were the ones to earn the lead for their team. The score was 18-16 in favour of Mareeba at halftime.
The second half was just as physical as the first and after 10 minutes of back and forth play, Tully broke through for two quick tries just minutes apart. The score was 26-18.
It wasn’t long after until Mareeba fullback Tommy Waianga made a break and proved too quick for the Tully defence, going through untouched for an important four-pointer. A successful conversion brought the score to 26-24 in favour of Tully.
Another 10 minutes of physicality took place as both teams fought desperately to gain an advantage.
In the 70th minute, Mareeba had made their way downfield and were 5m out from the tryline.
A play-the-ball in the right-hand corner saw the Gladiators pass it back to the middle of the field.
Captain and front-rower Caleb Dally came barrelling onto the ball and burst straight the Tigers’ defence to score a try right under the posts.
Mareeba took the lead once again, bringing the score to 30-26.
Just minutes later, however, Tully went over again after making a break downfield. A successful conversion brought the score to 32-30.
For the final several minutes of the game, both teams kept desperately fighting for a win. But the visitors managed to hold out Mareeba and sealed the game at 32-30.
Mareeba’s Reserve Grade took an unfortunate loss, going down 46-6 against Tully’s Reserve’s. However, the Under 19 Gladiators found themselves a good win, thrashing Tully 42-16.
Next week will see the eagerly anticipated local derby take place, with the Mareeba Gladiators hosting the Atherton Roosters at Davies Park. Whenever the two face up, there’s always extra aggression in the air.
The Under 19s will get things underway from 3pm, followed by Reserve Grade at 4.30pm, then the main game at 6pm.
