Sports News

Hook, Line and Sinker with Lindsay Doust

Evans Classic entries open

This astonishing fish is a Spanish Mackeral weighing in at 15 kilograms. It was photographed taking in the sunshine on the shores of Fraser Island after accepting a baited invitation from Nimbin angler Dan Lansdown who was fishing just off Fraser Island.

Last week's column may have confused a few folk about the date of the Evans Head Fishing Classic. The confusion stemmed from our sub-editor and was not an error by our fishing columnist and expert, Lindsay Doust. (Sports Editor)

Entry forms for the Evans Head Fishing Classic (9-16 July) are now available from fishing and tackles shops across the region, including Suffolks Sports in Lismore. There are great prizes up for grabs, including a Stessl boat and motor as the main prize. Incredibly, there is also a Tinny to be won each night, with a host of valuable supplementary prizes to be won.

At the end of the week, of course, there are also cash prizes for each of the species winners. A word of praise for the organising committee for ensuring that the biggest prize is for fish that has been weighed-in alive and is able to be released.

The long-weekend produced a few nice fish in various places. I saw one angler take three big jewfish all on his homemade lures. The fish were 13, eight and 24 kilograms respectively. He also lost six other lures to some 'big' fish.

One of the mysteries of the year is the blackfish in Ballina. There will be a day when some nice fish are caught, but the next day, in the same place, it will be a near washout. You can always tell if the fish are off the bite. There are seven or eight top spots with everyone going from place to place trying to locate the blackfish.

It is a great time to get a few specials as the end of the financial year approaches. For example, Suffolks, like most of the other tackle shops in the region have deals on reels, lures, plastics, hooks and more. Keep an eye open for your fishing supply store on the last Sunday of the month, like Lismore they may also be running a major sale.

Look for the colouring competition coming up in The Echo shortly during the school holidays. There will be a great book prize for the best coloured-in snapper.

This weekend will see some great tides late in the afternoon and in the early evening.

Be a winner with The Echo and Bundy

The Bundy Bear has, over the past few years, become the endearing symbol of Australian Rugby Union.

So, to help celebrate the 2004 Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series of Test matches the Northern Rivers Echo and Bundaberg Rum have four fantastic Wallaby supporter packs to give away. Each pack includes a limited edition Wallaby supporter shirt, featuring Bundy, a Bundaberg rum can cooler and a bucket-hat, featuring, of course, the Bundaberg rum logo in the distinctive gold that serves both sponsor and sport.

So, what have you got to do to get yourself decked out in one of these Bundaberg Wallaby supporter kits? Simple, have a look at the photo of the Bundy bear on this page and tell us - "What advice is the Bundy Bear giving this time? ...and to whom?"

Send your entries in to reach the Northern Rivers Echo by no later than 5pm Monday June 29. So make it funny, tragic, ironic or pithy. Just don't make it mundane.

The best entries will be selected and published with the winners contacted by phone.

Entries can be sent in by fax, email, mail or in person to the Northern Rivers Echo, corner Molesworth and Conway Streets, Lismore. Fax: 6622 1791; email: sport@echonews.com; mail: P.O. Box 37, Lismore, NSW, 2480.

Lismore a barren league venue - Rugby League

The action in Group One this weekend will take place at the two extremes of the Group. Byron Bay and Mullumbimby will host Casino RSM and South Grafton respectively. At the southern end of the Group Grafton Ghosts will host Ballina while Marist Brothers will visit Lower Clarence. Since the demise of Workers Club and Second Division club Lismore City there are now regular weekends in Lismore during which there are no senior league games being played. This is a tragic state of affairs for a code that once dominated all others in the region. The last game of Group One league played in Lismore was at the end of May, with the next coming on June 27.

League supporters are looking to the long-term development of South Lismore juniors as the ray of hope on the horizon. In a refreshing change for league the administrators of the club have taken a long-term approach to rebuilding their club. If South can successfully build on their strong start in the junior ranks they should be running a senior team within five to six years.

Lennox run blanket finish

The Lismore District Harriers took to the beach over the long weekend. The event was their annual Lennox Head beach run, one of the more gruelling events on the calendar.

Runners had the choice of a 4 kilometre or 8 kilometre run.

Doug Culley came home first in the 4k run in a time of 17.17, an impressive result in the conditions and on the soft sand. In the longer event there was an outstanding finish with the first three placegetters crossing the line within 27 seconds of each other. Josh McHugh finished first in 27.28, only 13 seconds aheads of John Nicholls (27.41) with David Boutkan another 14 seconds adrift in 27.55.

A number of the Lismore Harriers will be headed up to the Gold Coast for the Gold Coast Marathon on Sunday July 4, to start and finish at the Broadwater Events Parkland, Southport.

The next club event will be at Evans Head on Sunday July 24 from 3.30pm along a composite road/sand course. The race will start at the congregation point near the Evans Head kiosk. New members are welcome to turn up and join at any of the LDH's events.

Also, to help introduce the sport to a wider community the Harriers encourages people who would like to try out distance running (or race walking) to turn up and enter a race without first having to join the club.

Teachers Aths course

Primary school teachers in the Lismore district have until next Wednesday (June 23) to enrol in a track and field professional development course being presented by Athletics NSW.

Team Athletics Track and Field is aimed at helping teachers confidently conduct athletics clinics that focus on maximum participation and fun while learning.

The half-day course will be held at Goonellabah Public School on June 29.

Pre-enrolments are essential.

For further information contact NSW Sport and Rec on 13 13 02 or 02 6687 7168.

Daley's face bitten Breakaways

Top of the ladder Daleys with only one defeat to their names this season face a fast rising Breakaways this Saturday. Breakaways will be looking to make it six this Saturday with the chance to slip into second place.

Current second placed team Daleys tribes face a difficult test against All Saints. Although the Saints from Ballina went down by six to Daleys in the last round they are a much stronger team that the unit that looked old and leg weary last season.

At the bottom of the table Woodlawn should be strong enough to take care of Rous. Rous has been suffering from the loss of key players through injury and appear destined to finish last.

McGovern and Sables snare doubles

Reece McGovern of Coolangatta Tweed Heads won the 2004 NRDGA Championship on the weekend after defeating Ballina's Neil Bullen in a play-off. Both players finished the regulation 36 holes around the Byron Bay course in 149

Reece's effort also gave hi m the Colts crown ahead of Lismore's Rhein Gibson on 153.

The Junior section was taken out by Drew Hannigan (150) from Oscar Koch (155). Taking out the Veteran's title for the second year running was Ballina's Peter Sables.

Byron's Matt Crandell took out the coveted Champion of Champions crown.

Casino's Michele Ellis continues to impress on the USLPGA circuit. Playing in the LPGA Championship, the second major of the year, Michele finished on even par to finish in a tie for 17th place. The winner was Sweden's world No. 1 Anika Sorenstam, who made it two LPGA's on the trot for her seventh major victory.

Headlanders tough outing

Mark Rafter of the recently formed Headlanders Bodyboarding Club in action during last weekend's Teams Challenge held in Port Macquarie.

The Headlanders Bodyboarders Club sent a team of ten to the Teams Challenge held on the beaches of Port Macquarie over the long weekend. The event put the state's newest club up against nine of the strongest bodyboarding clubs in NSW. After holding a place in the top five after the close of the first day's competition. The Headlanders slipped back to finish ninth overall in a close contest.

The best results for the club came from Jason Taylor, Mark Rafter, Chris Clarson and Matt Tyndale, who surfed extremely well during the whole competition.

The club's next event will be held in Ballina on Sunday June 27. prospective members can call Chris Clarson on 0422 776 468 for details.

It's tight at the top - Soccer FNC

Byron Bay has the opportunity this Saturday to continue their rise up the Premier Division ladder. Their catch-up match against Maclean saw them come away with a 4-1 victory. They travel to Lismore to face Rovers, who are coming off a midweek 3-1 victory against lowly Bangalow. Byron's strong midfield and potent striking options are a far cry from Bangalow's, but Byron have a tendency to leak goals, a fatal flaw against Rovers, a team littered with past Golden Boot winners.

Italo Stars will need to be careful against the Maclean Bobcats at Barrow Lane. The Bobcats will be smarting from being taken apart so effectively by Byron's forward line. They have the capacity to run Stars wide across the park and may look for an away draw as a good result.

Casino faces a tough challenge as they try to hold off Italo Stars at the top of the table. They will be hosting Ballina in a twilight game that pits the competition's two best defences against each other. At first glance this one has scoreless draw written all over it, but Casino have recently found the potion that has awoken their sleeping giant, reigning dual Golden Boot winner Wayne Mortimer. Mortimer was slow to start accumulating goals at the start of the season after his move from Stars between the seasons. His recent run of goals shows that his skills are starting to be integrated effectively into the team game plan.

Workers stand ready to benefit if either of the co-leaders slip up. They are only two points from the top of the ladder and should take full toll on their trip to Bangalow.

Alstonville host Thistles in a match that could end up deciding the relegation battle. The two teams are looking at a long run home, and along with Bangalow will be looking to scrape and scrabble for every point they can muster between now and the season's end. A win in this match by either club will go a long way towards guaranteeing a place in the Premier Division next season as only one team will be relegated.

Rovers and Workers face off at Rec 12 at 6pm on Friday night in the Women's Fist Division match of the round. Last year's grand finalists are placed first (Workers) and third (Rovers) with only Byron Bay posing a legitimate threat to their ongoing dominance of the Division.

Byron will face a tough home game against Ballina. Ballina, with three wins and four draws from eight matches have only lost one game for the season, even though they currently lie sixth on the table.

Woodburn are in a similar situation, having lost only one of their nine matches, along with three wins and five draws. Although they travel to Lismore to face SCU on Friday night they should be confident of getting full points. SCU has a very talented list, but they have difficulty getting the best team to turn up each week. The semester break will only make things worse for Uni.

Lennox head will be hosting Thistles at Skennars Head on Sunday morning. Look to Rhonda Campbell to finally stamp some authority into Lennox's First Division adventure. She was phenomenal in front of goal last year in the lower division. Campbell has been putting herself in scoring positions time and again but has been let down by her inexperienced teammates. They need to learn to give her more space to maximise the advantage of having such her in their team.

Students could be stretched for derby

This weekend will pose a serious test for Southern Cross Uni Gold Rats. They host their cross-town rivals and victorious 2003 grand final opponents the Lismore City Greens only two weeks after having been seriously touched up by bottom of the ladder Grafton.

The Uni management are playing up the game based on the intensity of their long-standing rivalry with their derby opponents that dates back to when the Gold Rats were the Teachers College team.

SCU Gold Rats Club President Tim Breen put a classic rugby bent to the rivalry. "The feeling between the two clubs has been there as long as I can remember and well before my time at the Rats I'm sure," said Breen. "I think time has brought a certain camaraderie between us off the field and we can all share a beer socially. On the field, though, it's every man for himself."

Beer or not, the long SCU injury list has been a concern over the past month and they will be tested along the backline by the premiers.

Casino can confirm top place on the ladder with a home game against the Wollongbar-Alstonville Pioneers. Wollongbar have been the singular disappointment of the season, but they have a strong club and will take to this game as an opportunity. Don't be surprised by a Pioneer upset.

Ballina will host a newly-confident Grafton in a fixture that pits two teams with only one win each against each other. Grafton's win was against a severely-injured SCU two weeks ago, while Ballina have also eked out three draws to go with their win. The sea-siders have been desperately unlucky and this is likely to be their starting point for a serious run to the finals.

Lions face biggest test

The Casino Lions face the most important match of it's short life this Saturday. The carrot being dangled in front of Casino, as they prepare for their match against the Murwillumbah Hawks, is a hold on fourth place and a two game break on fifth and sixth places.

The Lions were dealt a severe blow by the reigning premiers, Byron Shire, in the last round before the break for the representative game last weekend. They were coming off a two-win streak, their first two victories as a club, and the Byron team's all-round strength was a good indicator to Casino of the further development that they will need to undertake to become a legitimate power in the league. The club has started to tap into the untapped talent base to the north and west and is well set to take those further steps within a short period of time.

The undefeated Byron Magpies travel to Fripp Oval to take on their most serious rival for 2004 honours, the Ballina Bombers.

Ballina was less than convincing against Lismore when they last played, three weeks ago and the long break may have taken the edge off the team.

Summerland show improvement

After years of being the whipping boys for the North Coast League (based around Coffs Harbour) the signs were for last weekend's Northern Championship match between the two rep. sides at Fripp Oval to be one-sided. But there is a change in the wind that can be detected. For the second year running the Bravehearts pushed the North Coast to the limit, eventually going down 16-10-100 to 13-7-75. The 25-point margin in no way reflects the tightness of the contest. Twice Summerland drew to within a goal of the lead in the desperate final ten minutes.

The North Coast will now no longer lcede the home ground advantage to Summerland in their annual face-off.

Murwillumbah's captain coach Paul McCullogh was the SAFL's best player on the day, enhancing his reputation as the best player in the league. Strong contributions for the home team also came from Nimbin midfielder Blair Patterson and Casino's Seb Steenhuis.

Evans reaches semi finals

Parkes Bowling Club won the final of the NSW Grade Two Pennant competition held at Lismore Heights Bowling Club on Monday morning. The Parkes team overcame Nambucca Heads in the final 57-44.

Local interest in the event came from Evans Head, winners of the NRDBA Grade Two Pennant and subsequently winners of the Zone final. The strong Parkes team, along with Evans Head, were the only teams to make it through the round robin series on Saturday and Sunday (held at both South Lismore and Lismore Heights clubs).

Evans, berthed with the Lismore Heights pools, started the weekend by defeating Dapto Citizens 53-45. They followed this with an afternoon victory over Harbord 66-42.

The third and final round of the round robin series on Sunday morning saw Evans facing Temora. With Harbord and Dapto level on one win apiece and facing each other in the other match it was possible for either team to make it through to the semis if Evans should slip up. As it turned out the Evans Head team simply enhanced their unbeaten record and superior shot margin to be the Section A qualifier for the semis.

They faced Nambucca Heads and were feeling confident of reaching the final. Nambucca had started their Pool games with a 13-shot loss to Rathmines but bounced back with two huge wins over Taren Point (76-40) and East Maitland (72-40).

The Nambucca Heads team was still running hot come Sunday afternoon and comfortably won the confrontation with Evans head 78-46.

In the other semi final Parkes struggled all the way to the end to put away Coogee 57-56 in a game that was almost as intense as the recent Premier League final at Hills in Sydney.

In the final Parkes accounted for Nambucca Heads 57-44.

O/65's singles final today

Brian Honey and Roly Tepper have made it an all-Ballina affair in the final of the NRDBA 65 and Over Singles Championship, to be held today (Thursday) at the Alstonville Bowling Club.

Tepper took the scalp of E Dundas 31-5 in their semi-final while Honey overwhelmed J Day 31-11 in their section.