The quality displayed by the Caboolture FC senior teams this season has been emulated by the club’s juniors, with almost half of all Caboolture teams qualifying for this weekend’s semi-finals.
After finishing second on the ladder, the Capital League 3 Men’s team will take on minor premiers St. George Willawong on Saturday night, while the table-topping Caboolture reserve grade team play AC Carina to try and advance to the grand final.
On top of that, six junior Caboolture sides will feature in finals matches across Brisbane this weekend, with the under-12 Division 2 and Division 6, under-13 Division 3 and under-15 Division 1 boys teams, and the under-14 and under-15 Division 1 girls teams all fighting for a spot in deciders.
“It’s been excellent for the club to see our teams rising to the challenge of playing in a higher league,” Head of Football Operations Paul Shorter said.
“The better standard of football has been great for all our players since we moved into the Brisbane competition a few seasons ago.
“There’s a lot of smiling faces at the club. The most important thing is that the juniors are enjoying their football.
“It’s particularly good to see the under-12 age group making that step up into competitive football and handle it really well.”
Two of Caboolture’s three under-12 boys’ sides have qualified for the semis, with the Division 2 side taking on Taringa this weekend after finishing third on the ladder, and the Division 6 team, who finished runners-up, playing UQ FC.
Both teams have been spearheaded by their respective competitions’ leading goal-scorers, with Boston Wheeler leading the way in Division 2 with 24 goals for the year and Minh Ho topping the stats in Division 6 with 26.
With their only loss for the season coming back in round five, Caboolture will look to cap off a dominant season in the under-12 Division 3 competition, which included an 11-0 drubbing of Virginia United, with a win over fourth-placed Samford Rangers on Saturday to advance to the decider.
Also taking out the minor premiership was the under-15 Division 1 team, with Ronan Martin (20 goals) and Jay Mai (15) sharing the majority of the scoring, and will be out to book their place in the decider in the semi-final against Lions FC.
While still finishing second on the ladder, three draws from their last three matches has somewhat halted the progress of the under-14 Division 1 girls team, but they will be looking to return to the winners’ circle in their semi-final against Mitchelton on Sunday.
A spot in the grand final seems likely if strike weapon Charlotte Platt can add to her outstanding season tally of 24 goals.
The under-15 Division 1 girls are out to continue their late season charge on Sunday, taking on Souths United after six wins and a draw from their final seven matches helped Caboolture to third on the ladder.
“It would be great to get as much support as possible for all our teams playing on the weekend,” Shorter said.
“Although none of the juniors are at home unfortunately, it would be great if people could look on the Football Brisbane website to see where each team is playing and go out and cheer them on.
“The reserve grade men are at home on Friday night, while the A-grade team plays at Willawong on Saturday.
“Seeing the senior teams do so well is an inspiration for the younger players at the club, particularly when so many of them have been at the club since they were very young.”