Caloundra defeated Samford 5 goals to 1 on Sunday to stay in touch with the FQPL2 top four.
We caught up with Caloundra captain Kaine Frew after the game.
Q: Mate, how was that for a good win?
A: Yeah, that was a bit of a relief, actually. It’s been a tough couple of weeks. We’ve had a lot of boys out. I think at one point there, there was probably eight starting players out, suspended, injured, or overseas for work. So that was a relief, obviously. nil-nil halftime. Five goals in the second half. Yeah, we’re happy with that. Hopefully we can turn a corner and I think in the next couple of weeks a couple of boys will start to come back from injuries and overseas so that’s going to really help. Hopefully the last three weeks hasn’t put too much of a dent in the table and we can still push for the top four.
Q: I had a quick look at the ladder before and you’re there or there abouts ladder wise.
A: Yeah and look the league I think overnight, some of the top four teams lost. So it’s a very competitive league so you really got to show up week in week out which I know I say that every week, but you have to because, as I said, top teams are dropping points. We’ve been dropping points, everyone. Those boys there tonight, I think they lost their coach a couple of weeks ago, a number of players. It happens with every club and it’s just that middle part of the season. You’ve got to regroup and go again for the tail end and just make sure you’re there or thereabouts for finals.
Q: What was said at half-time to pull five goals out here?
A: No, not too much. Obviously, it was a windy day today, as you can see. First half, obviously, we’re going into the wind. I’ve obviously played down here long enough to know when it is a windy day that the car park end is always a good end to get the tail end of the game on. We didn’t make any changes, no real change. We just had to tidy up and take some of our chances which we did. We knew that if we kept pushing and, obviously, Sanford running into the wind, you know, it’s like carrying another five kilos. So we knew that if we kept pushing we’ll get the result.
Q: Souths at Souths I think next week?
A: Souths down there. They’re another good team that early on they were doing really really well they’ve dropped off in the last probably month or so they beat us last time. So at the end of the day, you know, we’ve got to regroup, get back to training Tuesday, Thursday. And as I said, hopefully everyone gets through that unscathed and we can start to get a couple more boys back from injuries.
Q: I suppose last time doesn’t matter if you’ve got to play them again?
A: Not at all. They know that. We know that. At the end of the day, it’s a new week. And, you know, in this competition, as I said, you’ve got to take it week by week and just push for three points every week.
Q: Are you guys expecting to be this close to finals in you first season in QPL 2?
A: Everyone probably wrote us off. I watched this league last year and I knew that we’d be able to match it with a lot of the teams, so I’m not overly surprised. I think depth is probably the only consideration for us and something we’ll definitely have to try and build on for seasons to come. Obviously 23s, they all age every year and become better players, so you’ve just got to get them coming through and getting comfortable with senior football, a bit of a faster pace, but I’m not overly surprised that we’re there or thereabouts to be honest.
Q: So just learning all about the depth required for this league?
A: Yeah pretty much and like you know we’ve got a lot of boys who’ve played NPL in the past, QPL 1, a couple have come from QPL 2 clubs, Maroochydore and whatnot. So it’s not like we’ve not played at a higher level before and obviously we’ve sort of got the main, there’s a solid group of probably seven or eight players now that have been together for a few years and we just build on that year on year. But, like I said, injury, suspensions, and things like that has taken its toll so the next month will be good to get a number of boys back.
Q: I think you’ve got Ethan coming back soon?
A: No, no big Ethan got a large suspension. So we won’t be seeing him this year.
Q: Ah, he’s out for the rest of the year?
A: He’ll be out for the year and a few games next year, but Conor Demeridis has been overseas for work and Max, his brother’s obviously over there catching up with him as well. Hiro, Buddha, number of injuries, a bit jakey from last week. It’s been tough, but at the end of the day it is what it is, that’s football. Try and get through those tough patches and come out the other side.
Q: I suppose having the injuries allows the 23s to come up and get experience in the senior side?
A: There was probably three or four there that got minutes tonight and last week there was probably six. So it’s good for them. Obviously they get a bit of exposure to senior football. Get a bit of a feel of it and then they take that into their games as well. It’s a little bit quicker than obviously under 23s and they take that into training. Hopefully they can just build on that into next season. They’ll become senior players in due course, there’s no doubt about that.
Q: Have you been in local QPL 3 to see who else is coming up, maybe?
A: No, I’ll be honest, I haven’t. Obviously, it’s the same old teams in local league. Noosa, Woombye, NYU, and Kawana and I guarantee that’s the top four now. So it’ll be one of them. They have to go through the playoffs, which is a couple of games and you’ve got to win those games as well. But there’s still a few matches to go. I think it’s a tight comp that one as well, which it always is. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Coast team in QPL in due course. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with local comp as teams come up. People sort of ride off Sunny Coast, but you can see that with the Wanderers. They’re doing well at the moment as well, and obviously we’re doing it right. I think the top four teams on the Sunny Coast could easily be comfortable in QPL 2 right now, to be honest, and I’d challenge anyone who thinks otherwise.
Q: Anything else?
A: No, mate. That’s it.
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