Sports News

Hook, Line and Sinker with Lindsay Doust

The Richmond Valley Anglers Action Group Inc.

Although the group has been active since last September, we have only just recently been incorporated.

The RVAAG is affiliated with the Anglers Action movement across New South Wales representing the interests of recreational anglers. The RVAAG is the peak body and is the only registered and incorporated recreational fishing body in the area from Lennox Head to Evans Head and west to the range.

The association is not a fishing club. It is a body, which represents the interests of all recreational anglers in the region whether they are Club or non-club members.

Already the organization has been active in arranging meetings and making submissions in relation to the Cape Byron Marine Park.

A second major issue is that of Native Title claims on the Northern Rivers. The organization has been appointed by the Federal Attorney General's Department as the official Respondent on behalf of recreational anglers in all hearings and cases as these matters are determined in the future.

The elected executive represents both club and non-club anglers. Membership is $20.00 per club and $2 per individual or family with all members receiving a quarterly newsletter. Already membership is in the hundreds and growing.

The activities of the association have, and will bring us into contact with:

Federal and State Fishery Departments; National Parks and Wildlife, Marine Parks Authority; Waterways, Landcare, Healthy Rivers Commission etc; Seven local Councils; Federal and State Members of Parliament; All local media; Fishing Clubs and Tackle Shops.

To date our activities have centred around The Cape Byron Marine Park; Northern Rivers Native Title Claims; Shaws Bay mullet netting; the closure of the Richmond River from Tatham to Casino to all commercial netting; and the release of 10,600 Australian Bass fingerlings at Casino.

Sailing scholarships now open

Kate and Josie Fraser lead out a group of fellow 2003 NCAS Sailing scholarship holders on a training sail at Ballina last November.

Young sailors are being sought out by the North Coast Academy of Sport (NCAS) to join its 2004 Sailing Squad. The 2003 squad was one of the most successful in any program conducted by the academy.

To be eligible, athletes should be turning 10-17 years in 2004, be a resident of the North Coast (between Laurieton in the south and the Queensland border), and be a member of a North Coast sailing club.

Selections will be based on state and national performances over the past summer, and on an assessment of skills during the 2004 Regional Youth Sail, to beheld at Coffs Harbour on July10-11.

The NCAS Sailing program was established in 1998, runs from September to December. It provides squad members with a high quality coaching program to assist them overcome the barriers of being a regionally-based sailor. Selected athletes are expected to attend the state and national sailing championships over the upcoming sailing season in their respective class.

Yachting NSW supports the NCAS program by sourcing elite national and world class sailors and coaches and bringing them to the North Coast for the intensive coaching weekends. The sessions will be held at Coffs Harbour, Harwood and Ballina. Last year, boat classes included Manly Juniors, Flying Elevens and Lasers, however any recognised class of boat and their crew is eligible for selection.

There have been some outstanding successes through this program, including Gabrielle Kings stunning State and National championship double in the Women's Laser 47 class last season.

Tom Scully sailing in the Laser 4.7 Open division, won the Queensland title and placed third at the national titles. A third state title to the academy squad of 2003 went to Ballina's Nick Peate in the Queensland Flying Eleven Championships.

As well as 'coach-specific' training, the athletes will also receive an education program that covers topics including nutrition, sports medicine, sports psychology and media relations.

Applications for the 2004 Youth Sail, which include the application form to the NCAS sailing program, close on 18 June. Applications forms can be obtained from any North Coast sailing club, or by contacting Hariet Woodrow at nds@midcoast.com.au or by calling 6646 4517.

Baseball secures Nationals, softball gets State - Baseball

News has come through this week that Lismore is to host the Australian AA (under 16) Championship in January next year. The international standard facility at Albert Park will also be the venue for the NSW Softball Championships this weekend.

Held over 11 days the National AA tournament will be contested by eight state and provincial teams, bringing between 500-600 players and team support members to Lismore.

The news has come as a vindication of the Rex Airlines Far North Coast Baseball Association's development program and the strength of baseball in this region.

Upon hearing of the announcement by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF) the Commissioner for Far North Coast Baseball, Geoffrey Baxter said, "The championship is the culmination of many months of hard work for Far North Coast Baseball and will be a huge boost to our region."

Baseball has long been at the leading edge of local sports-related tourism and brings in around $300,000 to the region each year just through its annual Timberjacks Tournaments in July.

Far North Coast Baseball may well have its hands full in January, with negotiations currently underway to bring the Australian Provincial team to Lismore for training prior to the Claxton Shield National Championships in Sydney.

Should the Provincial side chose to train here, we may well see the Queensland State side play Provincial in a number of games during the AA Tournament.

Daley's Double

Workers Club's Josh Daley has continued to produce the goods in the Rex Airlines Major League Baseball League, knocking up another pair of home runs in his sides 16-3 win over Brothers on Saturday.

Daley's hits constituted just a fraction of his team's romp over last year's premiers. Pitcher Troy Pruess blew the Brothers batters from the box, conceding just three hits and fanning 12 batters at the plate.

Meanwhile, from the Worker's batters box, Dallas Knapp was trying to keep pace with Daley, popping his own long ball into the bleachers for a homer that adds to his effort last week. Knapp produced two hits for the afternoon from three at bats, and Daley three from five. Martin Tucker continued his form with two hits, as did Glenn Martin. The remainder of the team picked up a single each.

For Brothers the loss was a blow considering recent results, but was possibility more a reflection of the absence of star pitcher Matt Gahan than a reflection of poor form. Gahan will no doubt return next week, but in the meantime, his absence does leave their pitching ranks thin on the ground.

In the other game of the afternoon, Norths enjoyed an afternoon of batting against the ailing Redbirds in a 20 runs to two demolition.

Redbirds have traditionally started out strong only to fail in the middle innings. After holding Norths to a 4-1 lead going into the fourth they let the Bears romp away with 16 runs over the following three innings. Ouch.

Next weekend see the NSW State softball championships hosted at Albert Park. Major League games will be played on Friday evening from 6.35pm. Norths will try their luck against the unbeaten Workers in an attempt to reduce their lead to one game. Brothers will seek redemption, with the winless Redbirds the subject of their venting for the evening.

Lismore Junior Basketball Teams Head for Finals

With only one round of the Northern Junior League remaining, four of the five Lismore Basketball teams have qualified for the finals, to be held in late July. The fifth, the Under 18 men's team, still have a chance to make it to the deciders.

The Under 18 Women look set to finish in second place, despite losing three of their five games at last weekend's round in Grafton.

The Under 14 women won two of their four games, including an upset victory over arch-rivals Tamworth to secure their finals berth. The Under 12 women survived an exciting one-point win over Gunnedah to stay in the race for a first place finish.

Amy Braithwaite and Charlotte Brierly led the way for the Under 18 women. In the absence of some key players, Erin McKenzie and Ashley Dale stepped up for the Under 14 women. Amy Waddell continued her outstanding season in the Under 12s, and was ably supported by contributions at the offensive and defensive ends from Courtney Hammond, Rebecca Deaker and Grace Amy.

The junior men teams played in Port Macquarie.

The Under 16 Lismore team's shot at first place was dented after they lost their first game of the season against a more committed Tamworth. Tristan Poole returned from injury to provide some much-needed inside presence offensively and contributed with strong rebounding at the defensive end. The Under 18 men continued to improve, scoring a win against Coffs Harbour to keep their finals hopes alive. They will need to win at least two games at the next tournament in Tamworth.

Lismore teams compete in Division Two of the Northern Junior League against teams from the Northern Rivers, Mid-North Coast and Northern Tablelands. The final round of the season is on July 3-4. New players are still welcome to try out for the teams, or to gain experience in training. Players can contact Dean on 0429 302 966.

Cricketers tee-up for their own Ryder Cup

A fortnightly winter cricket competition has been established by the the Lismore and District Cricket Association.

Eight teams have nominated for the season which will get underway on June 5. The round robin competition will be played on the Clifford, McKenzie and Arthur Parks and on Rec 10 with a venue for the grand final to be determined at a later date.

Clubs are finding a combination of old hands and new talent are signing on for the competition, giving the youngsters from the lower grades the chance to rub shoulders and learn a few tricks from players in the higher grades.

Both Souths and Goonellabah RSL have nominated two teams while Easts, Brothers Mallanganee and Workers Club have one.

The structure that the L.D.C.A. organisers have set up for the fortnightly30 over competition is for a midday start with a few compensations for the winter conditions. Matches that get rained out on one weekend will be played the following week. Not to put too fine a point on it, if the rescheduled date gets rained out as well, they'll get the hint on that round and just progress to the next game.

The trophy for the grand final winner is likely to be named after Norm Ryder, the long serving secretary of the LDCA.

City mown down by Bulls - Rugby Union

Casino pulled of a superb 25-15 away-win over the defending premiers, Lismore City, on Saturday to lift them to equal second on the table with Lismore. City currently hold a slightly superior points differential. After scraping into the finals last season the Bulls are looking more like the formidable unit that used to set wrinkles across the brows of opposition forward packs in years gone by.

Wollongbar have possibly had the most disappointing start to the season of all in the top flight. After looking certainties, but failing to reach last season's grand final, they look to have fallen in a hole in 2004. They finally graced the winners list last Saturday with a 21-10 victory over last-placed Grafton.

The closest game of the round was the Ballina-SCU clash at Quays Reserve. The students were coming off a good win against Casino, but were facing a 10-all draw when replacement forward Brad Stamp marked the game indelibly with a match-winning try to give the SCU Gold Rats the game 17-10.

The result is the perfect precedent to Uni's home game against Wollongbar this Saturday. Gold Rats President, Tim Breen is confident of a strong showing from the whole club. "The Rats will be hoping to notch wins in all three grades", Tim enthused. The Under 19's will commence at 12.30pm at Maurie Ryan Oval for the Gold Rats annual sponsors day, one of the club's biggest home-game events of the year.

Lismore will be looking to get things back on track at Ballina while Casino will be hosting bottom-of-the-table Grafton. This presents the perfect opportunity for the Bulls from Casino to take hold of second place in their own right, or even catch SCU at the top should the students falter.

Dean and Hurley take 2004 championships

After several years of close seconds, Brett Dean has finally secured his first Casino Club Championship, and will have his name on the "Keith Strain" Trophy.

Dean recorded rounds of 70, 75, 72, and 73 for a 72 hole total of 290. The fourth and final round of the Kyogle Club Championship saw Paul Hurley lift his third title. His final round score of 75 gave him a four round total of 310 (82,76,77,75).

Honour Roll

Outback Thunda returns - Speedway

Outback Thunda demonstrates its rather unique approach to traffic control.

Being the final meeting of the year, Saturday nights huge program of events will kick off from 6pm. The night will feature the competition debut of the American-developed class - the V8 Late Models. Also on the bill will be the immensely popular monster truck Outback Thunda, a highlight of last years season closer. The culminating night of the season will also feature a fireworks spectacular.

The V8 Late Models will make their Lismore Speedway debut on Saturday by landing smack in the midst of a NSW v Queensland State of Origin match-racing clash.

The 600 horsepower (plus) "wedge" shaped Late Model machines are the natural inheritors of the Grand National sedan, which graced the Lismore clayway 15 years ago.

The popularity of the late model in America, from where the late model originated from, is phenomenal.

Queensland's team captain, Blair Granger, brings to the track experience racing late models in America.

Each team will consist of four cars, with two from each team racing for points in each round. The state with the most points at the end of the night will be declared the overall winner.

Hey guys, the goals are that-away - Soccer FNC

Two of the TNR premier Division games last weekend saw the scoring open with own goals by the home team.

Ballina, playing Workers Club in Lismore on Sunday, were one of the beneficiaries. After getting the first-half bonus Ballina hung on for a well-earned 2-1 victory. Their win was set up by the own-goal by Workers that had more to do with the intense pressure exerted on the goalmouth by Ballina's forwards than any mistake by Workers defence.

The clinching goal was a breathtaking 30 metre shot by Brendan Davis that had more swerve than a Melbourne underground figure talking to the Victorian Police.

Casino also opened their account with an own goal, thanks to Maclean. However, Casino was unable to hold on to their early advantage, allowing Maclean's Jeremy Walters to knock in a late equaliser.

In the derby between Richmond Rovers and Thistles it took a solitary strike by Adam Gray to give Rovers the three points.

A 3-1 victory over Bangalow by Italo Stars has righted the ship again for the premiers after they dropped the points to Casino a week earlier. All three goals were scored by Callan Starrett.

Alstonville's season continues to plumb the depths. Their 8-1 loss to Byron Bay was nothing short of embarrassing for a club that boasts the largest membership of any club on the north coast.

This weekend Byron Bay will be travelling to Casino in a game that promises to be one of the hardest fought of the early season. The Rovers v Stars clash could end up a goal fest if the Rovers strikers find their bearings. Stars also have the capacity to score heavily given half a chance. Bangalow will have to keep their defensive assignments tight if they are going to hold back the steadily improving Maclean, even though Bangalow will be the hosts.

Workers will be looking for an Aussie Rules style 'percentage booster' when they take on Alstonville at Crawford Park. 'Villa don't have a great record at home and they are coming off a seven goal thrashing. There is mocking speculation doing the rounds that the Alstonville scouts are keeping an eye on the form in first division - just so they know what to expect for next season.

Ballina host Thistles in a game that both clubs will be desperate to come home from with full points

Workers women dominate again

Lismore Workers Club unleashed their awesome potential upon a hapless Ballina to win by nine goals to zip. Krystal Gollan found the net twice to extend her lead in the Golden Boot competition with ten goals so far this season. The experience gained with the North Coast Flames over summer is showing through for a number of Workers players, including Krystal, her sister Jenna, Abbey Moss and Kim Wraight.

SCU are having an up and down season and their 2-nil victory over Thistles would have come as a relief for the coaching staff as well as those SCU players who turn up every week.

Byron Bay took the points from their coastal neighbours Lennox Head 4-1.

Fellow newcomer Woodburn also suffered a 4-1 loss, in their case to Richmond Rovers. Last season's Golden Boot winner Katie Parker was again on target netting a brace of goals.

The Friday night games this week pit Byron Bay against Thistles and SCU against Workers. Byron and Workers should come away with the points, with SCU the more likely to cause an upset.

On Sunday Rovers host Lennox Head while Ballina host Woodburn in games that should provide regulation victories for the home sides.

Turkeys lose, but win respect - Rugby League

Sometimes journalists are humbled by the happenings on sporting fields. Such was the case last weekend when Kyogle put on a superb performance against the powerful Marist Brothers outfit. While this correspondent, and most people associated with Group One were anticipating a landslide victory to the reigning premiers, the reality was that Kyogle put in a 'pearler' to restrict brothers to 24 points, while notching up 6 points of their own. Certainly it was a loss, but for those who understand the potential in League for a strong team to blow away a weak team this has to rank with one of the performances of the season. Well done Bush Turkeys. And well done to their under 18's. The Kyogle juniors again impressed, this time with an 18-16 win over the Brethren.

The complaints of coaches and supporters about refereeing decisions come to naught when the final whistle blows. South Grafton won their game against Grafton Ghosts 28-25 after Ghosts had held a 24-6 lead. The Ghosts folk, led by their coach, are reportedly fuming over a refereeing decision that nullified a Ghosts try for a double movement. The score was 25-22 at the time. Instead of looking for the security of the blame-option.

Like Kyogle, Casino has had a poor season to date, and like Kyogle they performed superbly on Sunday, taking Ballina to the limit. Casino eventually lost to the home side 30-32.

The efforts of both Kyogle and Casino RSM mean that their bottom of the table clash this weekend at Queen Elizabeth Park is a lot more attractive than it appeared a week ago.

Mullumbimby will be looking to confirm their solid start to the season with a win over Lower Clarence at the Les Donnelly Field on Saturday night while the other Sunday games will see Brothers host Grafton Ghosts and South Grafton host Byron Bay.

Lions finals hopes brighten - Aussie Rules

The dust flies over Mortimer Oval's covered cricket-pitch area as Ballina Bombers and Lismore Swans players struggled to keep their feet on the loose soil during their clash last Saturday.

The prospect of playing finals football in 2004 is suddenly looming large on the horizon for the Casino Lions. A place in the top four is now a real chance for them after they took their second consecutive victory last Saturday, this time against 2003 grand finalists Nimbin.

The club was formed in late 2002 and played its first competitive game at the start of the 2003 season. Their return for the season was one draw, late in the year.

The club's development has been slow but consistent, establishing a steady rate of improvement that is now bearing fruit. New discoveries and old hands are combining to give this team the look of determination that will eventually bring the club a flag.

New find, Gabe Nagas, from Kyogle, playing in only his third game continues to improve. He was instrumental in the club's maiden victory a week earlier and was again amongst the best players in the Lions 10-21-81 to 7-6-48 win over the Nimbin Demons. Nagas is a cousin of Ken Nagas, the former representative rugby league star. The Lions have the week off due to the split round but will be fully tested on their return as they face the unbeaten premiers, Byron Shire.

Byron accounted for Murwillumbah in a close encounter, showing that the reformed Murwillumbah Hawks will be a tough task on their home turf. Byron's final margin was not a reflection of how close the game was. The Magpies won 13-17-95 to Murwillumbah's 9-12-66.

Ballina got off to a flyer against Lismore at Mortimer Oval, registering seven goals to the Swans two in the first quarter. But they lost their focus after the first break and Lismore came back into the game in perfect conditions. Ballina held on to take the game 14-12-96 to Lismore's 11-14-80.

This week Nimbin will host Ballina while Lismore travel to Murwillumbah to take on the Hawks at the Showgrounds.

Golden Boot

Byron's Adam Bostock has torn up the rankings of the 2004 Northern Rivers Echo/Soccer FNC Men's Premier Division Golden Boot with a four-goal haul against Alstonville. Bostock's four goals moved him into second place behind early leader Thomas Guttormsen of Workers Club who scored one goal in the club's 2-1 loss to Ballina. The Women's First Division saw Workers Krystal Gollan extend her lead with a double against Ballina. Last season's Golden Boot winner, Katie Parker is starting to look ominous after knocking in a double of her own against Woodburn. She could easily add a few more this week against Woodburn.

TNR Premier Division

10 - Thomas Guttormsen (Workers)

9 - Adam Bostock (Byron Bay)

8 - Matthew Olley (Rovers)

Women's' First Division

10 - Krystal Gollan (Workers)

7 - Renee Cowan (Workers)

6 - Rose Argent (Byron)

Lismore hold off RSL

Lismore City got up for a rare win in the sixth round of the Second Division Winter Teams competition at the Goonellabah RSL table tennis centre last Wednesday.

In the opening contest of the night Lismore City narrowly defeated RSL six rubbers to five. Leading the way for City was Geoff Simes, who again played well winning all three of his singles matches.

The second match had Byron Bay matched against Jiggi. This proved to be a fairly lopsided match with Byron easily winning 8-3. Col Phillips won all three of his singles matches for Jiggi but was unable to prevent a heavy defeat. Byron Bay's top performers on the night were Mark Smith and Chris Strybos who both won two of their singles matches.

The final match of the evening was between Goonellabah and East Lismore. The experienced Jim Armstrong stepped in as a substitute for the East Lismore team but was unable to prevent Goonellabah winning 7-4.

2nd Division Table

1st Goonellabah

2nd Byron Bay

3rd Jiggi

4th RSL

5th Lismore City

6th East Lismore