Sport
2 February, 2026
Gladiators preseason in full swing
PRESEASON is officially in full swing for the Mareeba Gladiators, as they held their first club day of the year recently.
It was hot, it was sweaty and it was challenging at the Gladiators’ day camp at Speewah, with around 30 players completing a three-and-a-half-hour fitness and bonding session.
All in all, the players clocked up around 12km for the day as they ran about 1km – with 1.4km being the longest run – between eight stations which had different skill-based drills at each one.
A Grade captain-coach Trent Barnard said the day was tough but rewarding.
“It was something different for the boys, instead of just doing stuff on the field. We thought it was a good idea to get the club together and do something like this to build up our culture and a bit of mental toughness,” he said.
“It was definitely a tough 3.5 hours, but credit to the boys, everyone got through it and it was really good to see. I was pretty impressed by the boys that had only been in preseason for a week or so.”
Barnard said club days such as this were important for bonding and building mental toughness as a team.
“I think over the last few years, the mental toughness hasn’t been there as a club,” he said.
“The way the A Grade comp is at the moment, it’s pretty close – except for standout sides like (Cairns) Brothers. And you’ve got to get in the grind with these good sides, which we did do a fair bit last year, but we just couldn’t go with them at times.
“I think that comes down to having that mental toughness in between the ears – once it gets tough, you’ve got to hang in there.
“So it’s definitely important to build on that, get that culture going again, and just work hard for each other.
“If you’re on the footy field next to someone you know and care about, most of the time you’re going to work hard for him. So just little things like that, and mixing it up, instead of just having your field sessions at your footy club, it’s always good to do a day camp like that.
“Especially with the group we’ve got at the moment, I think it was an important thing to do. There’s a lot of new faces in the team, and I think they all got along pretty well towards the end there.
“I’d also like to say a big thank you to Speewah Tavern for hosting us after our training day. They let us go in there after and use all their facilities, and they put some food on for us as well. They had about 30 of us in there, so it was really good.”
LOCAL rivalry will be at its finest when the Gladiators face up against the Atherton Roosters for the first trial match of 2026 later this month.
The game will be played at the Atherton Showgrounds on 21 February. The Gladiators will then host Cairns Kangaroos the following week for the final trial match.
The club is also hosting its annual jersey auction night this weekend.
