Move north for EWK junior pays off with medal win and grand final opportunity

Jeremy Piercy recently claimed AFL Cairns' Crathern Medal for best and fairest after a stellar season for South Cairns. Picture supplied

The decision to pursue a higher level of football has paid off massively for East Wagga-Kooringal junior Jeremy Piercy.

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After leaving the Hawks at the end of the 2024 season, Piercy first joined Wanderers in the NTFL before signing with South Cairns.

After an enjoyable first season, Piercy recommitted with the Cutters for 2026, which now has him playing in a grand final on Saturday against Port Douglas.

One of the Cutters' best players this season, Piercy had the recent honour of winning the Crathern Medal as best and fairest in the AFL Cairns competition.

Playing alongside and against some high-quality players, Piercy said it was a bit of a shock to claim the honour.

"It was a bit of a surprise," Piercy said.

"We've got a lot of very good footballers at our club, so I thought we might've been nicking votes off each other.

"But when I won by only a vote, it was a big relief as I led the whole night. The relief of winning it was really rewarding and humbling.

Making the move 2500-kilometre north was a huge sacrifice for Piercy, as he had to leave family and friends behind in Wagga.

While hard to do at the time, Piercy believed his success in the AFL Cairns competition was proof that he made the right decision.

"It was definitely a big sacrifice," he said.

"I left a lot of mates back home, and I left East Wagga, and that hurt me a little bit with having to move elsewhere to find better football.

"But looking back, it's definitely pointed me in the right direction of improving my football and climbing the ranks.

"I'm still only young, and I'm looking for opportunities out there, and I want to continue to build on my strengths."

Having played in both the Farrer and Riverina League competitions during his time in Wagga, Piercy believed the standard of play in AFL Cairns was pretty similar to back home.

"I think it's probably on par, or maybe just a bit better than the RFL," he said.

"You've got a lot of state league and ex-AFL players moving here for the lifestyle, and there's a lot of young kids coming through the ranks as well who are really good footballers.

"We've got a ruckman who's six foot five, and he's only 18 years old. I reckon he'll be playing AFL soon, as he's as good a ruckman you can get.

"That's helped me a lot, and the standard gets better every week. I've sort of been a bit starstruck on how good it's been from last year to this year; it's been really good."

The Cutters will face Port Douglas in Saturday's grand final, and Piercy said his side has hit its best form when it matters most at the end of the season.

"We'd lost to Port Douglas multiple times through the year," he said.

"They were 15-0 going into the last round, but then we knocked them off by a goal after the siren.

"We then went into the first final and knocked them off again by three points to get the week off and go straight through to the grand final.

"We're in the right headspace with confidence behind us, but they're a quality side, and they've got eight to 10 either state league or ex-AFL players in their side.

"It's going to be a very good game, and it could go either way."

"I was so excited," he said.

"I missed the game because I was playing, but I've been checking the scores every week and keeping updated.

"I speak to the boys about what's going on, and I'm always trying to stay involved with the football club because it's my junior club.

"I love it to bits, and it made me smile so big when I saw them get over the line finally."

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