This is it folks. The final countdown.

We've spent the past few days comparing The Cairns Post's Top 50 Most Influential People list with our own TropicNow Power 50 list.

Needless to say, there were lots of differences between the two lists.

Today, the countdown is in the final stretch.

(You can click here to read the list from 50 - 31 and here for 30 - 11)

Please enjoy and debate the top tens of both lists below - and let us know what you think.

Cairns Post most influential vs TropicNow Power 50

THE TOP 10

The vast differences between the top 10 lists compiled by TropicNow and The Cairns Post can be summed up in one word:

Tarzan.

We are big fans of the legendary Michael Fomenko, that mysterious figure glimpsed wandering the Bruce Highway for so many years.

But by ranking him at number 4 on its most influential list, The Cairns Post has placed him higher than university vice-chancellors Sandra Harding and Scott Bowman, Federal MP Warren Entsch, a range of community and business leaders and the Treasurer of the state Curtis Pitt.

Similarly, while we admire Madeline Cowe's achievements in winning Miss World Australia, we don't believe that accolade is worthy of the number 3 spot (again ahead of Pitt, Harding, Entsch, Bowman and many others).

So TropicNow took a very different path to decide the top 10 most powerful and influential people in our region.

Our formula to decide the top 10 looked at a mix of their public profile and behind-the-scenes influence, how many people in the community are impacted by their decisions and what results they have delivered. 

At number 10, Richard Ireland is included due to his influence in the upper echelon of Advance Cairns and his close relationship with Mayor Bob Manning.

Given the remarkable rise of CQUniversity in Cairns over the past 12 months, we have included both Jodie Duignan-George and Scott Bowman in our top 10. When you think what these two have done for the Cairns CBD, as well as the Cairns Taipans, their high positions are surely justified.

We've put Deputy Mayor Terry James in our top 10 - bizarelly Cr James wasn't even featured on the Post's list at all.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch is also there (much higher on our list than the Post's ranking of 14). Like him or not, Entschy had a strong win at the ballot box this year and is making headway on projects like the Cairns Marine Precinct upgrade and the Peninsula Development Road. 

Trent Twomey is number 5 on our list, a similar ranking to the Post's list who put him at number 6. Twomey's involvement in a range of organisations, including Advance Cairns, North Queensland Primary Healthcare Network and the James Cook University Council means his influence spreads far and wide. 

JCU's Professor Sandra Harding represents one of the starkest differences between the two lists. While the Post ranked Prof. Harding outside the top 10 at number 11, we've placed her much higher at number 4. As the leader of one of the biggest organisation's in the region, we think Prof. Harding warrants a top 5 spot.

Given the tourism boss, it's little wonder Alex de Waal is so high on both lists. He is also extremely close to Mayor Manning and does well to help woo international investors.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt is our number 2 pick (again higher than the Post's ranking of number 5). Pitt controls the state's multi-billion dollar budget and has the potential to deliver significant wins for the region. We certainly hope he steps up to deliver more for TNQ over the next 12 months. 

At least both The Cairns Post and TropicNow can agree on one thing: Mayor Bob Manning deserves to be the crowned the most influential and powerful person in Cairns.