Sport
30 March, 2026
League off to cracking pace
AFTER a long and treacherous off season, the 2026 Cairns District Rugby League (CDRL) competition is officially underway, with a jampacked A-grade, reserve grade and senior women’s opening round, showcasing some of the league’s top talent for what is expected by many to be one of the most competitive seasons in recent memory.
The A-grade season started with a traditional grudge match between the Mossman Sharks and the Yarrabah Seahawks.
With both teams having serious premiership aspirations, they came out the gate hot, but in the end the Seahawks talent outshined Mossman, winning 32-20.
The next game saw a Tablelands clash with Mareeba making the road trip to Atherton. In a closely-fought game, there was a draw at 28-28.
Innisfail made the road trip down to Tully where they walked in and stole a comfortable victory 28-8, while the game of the round resulted in Cairns Brothers beating Ivanhoe Knights 22-10.
The Kangaroos and Southern Suburbs game was abandoned.
In the reserves, the Yarrabah Seahawks followed suit of their A-grade side taking down Mossman 24-16.
The Mareeba reserves squad handled business against Atherton also stealing a win, beating them 26-12. Tully reserves avenged their senior side taking down Innisfail 22-6.
Cairns Brothers started their premiership defence off strong with a 24-14 win over Ivanhoes, while the Kangaroos and Southern Suburbs game was unfortunately also abandoned.
In the women’s competition the defending premiers Atherton Roosters started their 2026 campaign nicely beating Innisfail 22-14.
The Yarrabah Seahawks completed the clean sweep against Mossman with a 44-6 thrashing.
Like the other competitions, the Kangaroos and Southern Suburbs game was abandoned while the Ivanhoe Knights got the bye to start their season.
