HUNDREDS of people packed Cooktown’s John Street Oval on Saturday to cheer on their teams for the first Cooktown home games of the season.
Cooktown District Junior Rugby League hosted the day, with junior and senior teams from Wujal Wujal, Hope Vale and Pormpuraaw travelling to the event.
CDJRL president Teila Winton said the event was the first of several home games for Cooktown.
“The under-7 league tag was a huge hit with 25 players all new to football and learning the game,” she said.
“We have games coming up in Wujal Wujal on July 23, Mossman on July 30, August 13 in Wujal Wujal and again in Cooktown on September 3 to finish the season.”
The junior games were non-competitive, Winton said, and aimed to give the players a chance to practice their skills against each other in a friendly environment.
“We had a few junior teams who were just starting, and it was a good way to introduce them to games and focus on skills development rather than the score.”
As well as the under-7 league tag, there was under-13 to 17 mixed league tag, under-9, under-11 and under-12 rugby league games, as well as an under-13 boys game.
The junior matches were followed by senior games between Hope Vale, Wujal Wujal and the Pormpuraaw Crocs.
Pormpuraaw won 22-10 against Wujal Wujal, with fullback Jeremiah Gilbo a standout for the Crocs, scoring four tries.
Pormpuraaw went on to play Hope Vale, with the Cockatoos winning 30-4 on the back of a strong performance from Kai McLean.
