FISH SWIM INTO FINALS

COURTESY JACOB GRAMS @ THE CAIRNS POST

WHATEVER Innisfail can do, Cairns can do better – just look no further than what “the Fish” dished out to finish the CDRL regular season.

Brothers blew out the cobwebs from a bye last weekend in style yesterday, obliterating wooden spooners Edmonton in a 92-4 romp, bettering Innisfail Brothers 80-0 win a fortnight ago.

While 11 players crossed the stripe amid the 16 tries, surprisingly none of them were Ben Fitzpatrick, who only had a successful kick at goal in a “fun” final game in Stan Williams Park.

“It was a bit of fun, but we didn’t expect that to happen,” he said. “We turned up for a tough game going into finals next week. We thought they’d turn up too, but obviously they didn’t. They’re down on numbers and it’s sad to see.”

Fitzpatrick said unlike his retirement plans after 2016, these ones were set in stone.

“Things have changed. I’ve got a baby coming now, so my life’s about to change so I think footy will be too much for me next year,” he said.

“Fitzy” said he had “so many” great moments at Stan Williams Park, but one stuck out.

“Probably one of the ones I’ll never forget is 2009, we played Atherton,” he said.

“That was when Todd Carney was playing for Atherton and we hadn’t beaten them all year and we were sitting tied fifth with someone and we either had to win or draw that game to make the finals.

“It ended up 34-all, so we just scraped through the finals and that year went ended up going straight through and we beat Atherton in the grand final.”

Fitzpatrick’s best Brothers moment could be yet to come should the club avenge their grand final demons.

Defending premiers Ivanhoes stand in their way in an elimination final this weekend.