Bulldogs Riley Clarke and Redlynch’s James Mitchell. PICTURE: STEWART McLEAN.
TALL tale or true
THE he said, she said in regards to Toowoomba Mountaineers pair Manylok Malek and Paul Aleer continues to intrigue.
The Taipans have flat out denied they are signed as development players for next season but Mountaineers coach Anthony Corcoran is saying otherwise.
“They had the offer after the Cairns Marlins game and Aaron talked to them for an hour to explain what the situation was and Paul is very keen,” Corcoran said. “Paul is super keen but I am not sure about Mayo. He has a lot of family responsibility in town and any money that comes his way goes into the family pot so he is weighing up whether he can go to Cairns.
“When they get contracted it’s a 12-month thing, they would have to play with the Marlins. Aaron Fearne said he’d be happy for them to finish the current QBL season with us but beyond that I’m not sure. It would be disappointing if they couldn’t come back and play for us.”
Aaron doesn’t forget his mates
NICE touch by Marlins co-captain Aaron Bin Tahal on Friday night. During player announcements, the quick point guard, instead of being announced and just jumping in line with the rest of the Marlins, ran to centre court to shake hands with the returning James Mitchell. The pair are close mates and were teammates in the recent Redlynch FNQ Super League title.
Mitchell shunned
ON another Mitchell topic, as he was not in town when the Marlins lifted the 2016 QBL championship banner to the rafters in Round 1, his contribution should have been recognised on Friday night. It is fair to say the Marlins probably would not have won the title without the versatile forward and it would have taken 10 seconds to recognise his efforts, not just last year, but over the journey for the program.
It had to be done at halftime of the men’s game but sadly there was not a whimper. He was a Fish Tank favourite for a very long time and I am sure no one will begrudge him taking a little extra cash in Rockhampton if this is how his decade-long efforts are honoured.
Rethink by coach
THE 2017 championship fancies the Mackay Meteors dropped their first game of the season to Logan last week. Playing-coach Cameron Tragardh came from the bench and you would think the big man will insert himself back into the starting five for their next game.
Originally published as Rethink by coach
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