Sport
16 March, 2026
Rivals to clash in first round
A FIERCE clash between the Mareeba Gladiators and Atherton Roosters will be held this weekend as the traditional rivals vie it out for a Round 1 win.
The two sides faced off in the first trial match of the season last month, where the Roosters got out to an early lead but a solid second half effort from the Gladiators saw a tight 36-30 finish in favour of Atherton.
Both sides then capped off their final preseason games with strong wins, with the Roosters taking down last year’s runners-up Southern Suburbs 38-16, and the Gladiators defeating Cairns Kangaroos 42-10.
Gladiators captain-coach Trent Barnard said it was always a big rivalry between Mareeba and Atherton, and this game would be no different.
“I think coming up against them in Round 1, they’re probably going to be one of the top sides again this year, so it’ll be a good indicator to see where we’re going to be at,” he said.
Reflecting on their trial match against Atherton, Barnard said his side’s first half performance was not up to scratch.
“I was pretty disappointed with that, but we’re lucky that we started playing some footy there towards the end and we managed to bring the score back to only six points the difference,” he said.
“So if we can go up there with the right attitude and respect the footy and defend well, I think we can go a long way and be a competitive team.
“Atherton are a good mobile side and they’ve got some good outside backs, so our boys are going to have to be switched on and play some good footy to get the two points.”
Atherton’s recently recruited captain-coach Justin Frain said he was looking forward to his first regular season hit out in Roosters colours against their rivals.
“I’ve obviously heard all the history of the two towns, and it’s good to get a bit of knowledge about it,” he said.
“But the main thing for us is that it’s our first game all together. We’ve got a pretty new squad compared to what we had last year and we’ve built well in the preseason, so it’ll be good to see what it looks like out there on the field.”
He said his team would be focusing on playing their game.
“I know it’s Round 1 and it’s a ‘rivalry’, but we just need to play how we’ve been playing in the preseason games and focus on what we’re doing,” Frain said.
“We can’t worry about what Mareeba are throwing at us, because they’re going to be good. They’ve recruited well and they’ve got a good coach – we’ve just got to focus on ourselves.”
The skipper encouraged the Roosters’ faithful to come along and support them at home.
“There’s a lot of new players, so come and see what we’ve been working on – it’s a new team with a new sort of vibe,” he said.
“We had really good turnouts for the trials, so if we can keep improving on that and getting more people to come and watch, it’s only going to be better for the club.”
The big clash will be held at Atherton’s Mungalli Creek Dairy Stadium this Saturday afternoon. The Under 19s will get things underway at 3pm, followed by Reserve Grade at 4.30pm, and A Grade at 6pm.
