Capricorn Cougars were an Australian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club from

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

who played in the Queensland State League.

History

The Capricorn Cougars were one of ten foundation teams in the QSL formed in 2008. In 2008 the Capricorn Cougars coach was Justin Kilshaw. He resigned after round 4 after conflict occurred between the coaches objectives and outcomes for the team, in comparison to the Boards requirements on player selections for the team. The current coach is Bradley Smith, who is a locally grown coach with great knowledge of the region. He had previously been Assistant Coach to Kilshaw in 2008 and was quickly appointed Head Coach after Kilshaw's resignation. In 2008 Cougars player Michael Cay was selected in Soccer International's top 50 players in Australia outside the A-League. Another player who has been successful at the Cougars is Tristan Fraser who was hand picked by Ian Ferguson, the coach of the new

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

team

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from t ...

to attend a training session in Townsville prior to the 2009–2010 season. Capricorn Cougars aim to provide the highest level of football possible for local talent throughout their district. However, due to the geographical distance between the major towns in Central Queensland; Rockhampton,

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

Yeppoon Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

and

Biloela Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...

the Cougars struggle to represent the zone as a whole with the majority of the squad being based in Rockhampton. The Capricorn Cougars coach Brad Smith has been quoted saying, "We are not going to beg players to play" hinting that those who want to play at the highest level available still have the opportunity but they must want to play and train and go through the trial process. The Capricorn Cougars have been criticised in the past for not offering to take in the best players from Gladstone and favouring Rockhampton based players in the past.In 2011 the cougars signed two talented Uk based players.After completing successful trials, both Liam Williams and Tom Evans were added to the squad for that up and coming season.

Current squad

2012 Queensland State League Squad

References

{{Reflist Queensland State League soccer teams Association football clubs established in 2008 2008 establishments in Australia