Sports News

Hook, Line and Sinker with Lindsay Doust

The 'black' fish market

John Ski with his two jewfish, weighing 18kg each, off Flat Rock, Ballina.

Today's photo is a dream of nearly all anglers, to catch two jewfish (Mulloway) this size.

To catch one is a feat but to get two in the one outing is top fishing, particularly when taken from a very difficult place to fish. They were caught on lures from the rocks near Ballina.

Salmon are not all that common up our way. A couple of years ago some nice ones were taken from near Ballina and again this year some nice ones are showing up from Lighthouse Beach and Shelley Rocks. They are a great fighting fish. They need to be bled straight away and eaten fresh. Even then, they are far from my favourite, but they do make nice fish cakes.

The report on the black marketing of fish (recreational anglers selling illegally) has been released. This will always be a tough one to stamp out. The real concern is when a scarce species such as bass in streams are caught, even in their spawning months, and sold.

Until the selling of fish by unlicensed people becomes an environmental offence with an associated level of fines, it will continue. Perhaps anyone caught selling their fish or exceeding their bag limit with the purpose of selling should have their fishing licence cancelled for a year and a hefty fine as well, not just a token few dollars.

The Predicta Fish is proving very popular at only $6.95. New stocks now in store.

Come and try

Who's canoeing at you? Vice president of the Far North Coast Canoe Club, Gary Lee.

The Far North Coast Canoe Club are having their monthly 'Come and Try' day this Sunday, August 8, at Lismore Rowing Club at the old Wharf below Spinks Park. The come and try day is held every second Sunday and experienced trainers are on site to help with strokes, water confidence, and boat control. Bookings are encouraged, as canoes are limited. Phone Gary on 6621 8553. Life jackets provided.

Search for the perfect rower

The North Coast Academy of Sport (NCAS) is searching for athletes that have little or no rowing experience, aged between 13 and 16 years in 2004, who think they might have what it takes be a world-class rower.

If you think you fit the bill, book in and come along to be tested as part of the Talent Search Rowing program held on Sunday, August 22, at the Grafton Rowing Club.

Using the Talent Search model developed by the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the NCAS will run broad-based testing of athletes on the North Coast in the hope of identifying non-rowers that match the desired profile for rowing.

The method uses simple body measurements and basic fitness tests of athletes and matches these against an ideal model of suitability to a particular sport, in this case rowing.

The boys and girls that perform well in the endurance test, and also have the right mix of body measurements, are then considered as possessing some of the raw ingredients that typically make up an elite rower.

Athletes that best match the specific criteria will be offered a carefully designed and monitored coaching and fitness program, which involves training with local coaches at clubs based throughout the North Coast. It is expected that the Talent Search rowers will perform well enough to row competitively in time for the 2005 NSW Championships next February, and a month later at the national championships.

As well as talent searching for new rowers, organisers are also on the look-out for existing junior rowers that have recorded high performances over the past 12 months.

Athletes must register their interest by August 19. For a registration form and information visit www.ncas.org.au or phone 6620 3073.

SAFL round up

Fierce, frenetic play from Peck, Bevan and Bruce helped Lismore Metrobar Swans prevail over Nimbin Demons, by one goal, in a tight encounter at the Nimbin Showground. The final score was Lismore 13-9-87 to Nimbin's 12-9-81.

The Murwillumbah Hawks grabbed second spot with three rounds remaining, defeating Casino Lions 25-22-179 to 5-9-39 at the Murwillumbah Showgrounds. Another large parochial crowd were on hand to witness their team win a hard physical game. The Hawks are coming into form at just the right time of the year and as they have earned the right to host the preliminary final.

A huge injury toll forced the Ballina Bombers to forfeited the other game to Byron Bay.

Tennis futures soar

Wyrallah Road Public School students Bryce Devlin, Katy Patterson, Catherine Stubbs and Daniel Winkler-Maloney, along with coach Andrew Thurgate, caught a plane to Sydney last Tuesday to contest the Victor Kelly Primary School Knockout final against Dubbo South Primary School at the Homebush NSW State Tennis Centre.

In the seven games that they won on their way to Homebush the young squad travelled thousands of kilometres, lording it over 191 other contesting schools. Having won their semi final against Kangaroo Valley 5-3, their hopes were as high as the altitude they soared to Sydney at.

The format for the knockout competition consisted of four singles matches, a boys and girls doubles game and two mixed doubles match ups.

Sadly, although Daniel and state representative Bryce got them off to a good start, the young champions missed out on the title going down 3-5 to last years champions, Dubbo South.

"They were a pleasure to travel with," said coach and teacher Andrew Thurgate. "They really are great kids."

The unfair advantage

Editorial by Laurie Axtens

It is becoming increasingly obvious that the struggle for world records at these Olympics will not be fought on the track or in the stadium between athletes, but in the lab between biochemists.

As the official chemists develop more sophisticated detection techniques, the drug companies counter with drugs that imitate natural human bio-chemistry ever more closely. Soon drugs will imitate the individual competitor's biochemistry so exactly that they will be undetectable. Officials are already expecting our elite sports people to live in fear of testing 24 hours per day, every day of the year. When tests prove futile, will they expect them to live under constant surveillance to ensure they don't indulge?

For all the ludicrous nature of this, we should be grateful for the war on drugs in sport, because it has funneled enormous quantities of money into raising the standard and potency of drugs while lessening the side effects of those drugs; Drugs we use to combat Leukaemia, anemia, osteoporosis, heart disease and muscular dystrophy to name but a few.

In any case, in the search for the elusive 1000th of second, future champions will no longer be determined by biochemical manipulations. Genetics is the science of this age!

Soon we may need tests to determine whether a breaststroke swimmer has had green tree frog genes spliced into their genetic make up. Floor gymnasts might need to be checked for genetic flea stranding in their DNA. The title 'super fish', rather than being a generous appellation, could easily become a stinging condemnation.

Conversely at the local level, how many times have players cried foul because the other team is NOT under the influence of performance 'debilitating' drugs? Why after all should they be the only ones suffering from the throbbing nausea of alcohol poisoning? Why should they be the only ones wandering around worrying why the grass is so beautifully green today?

Originally the modern Olympics were amateur and a furore broke out because some athletes took the unusual step of 'training', which was considered frightfully uncouth and well beyond the pale. Now that the Games are highly professional and winning can mean the difference between millions of glorious sponsorship dollars or a life of relative obscurity, is it any wonder that so many have been tempted?

$1.5 Million Magic - Baseball

The estimated market value of the 28-man Australian AAA Under 19 touring team, which played in Lismore against Far North Coast last week, was 1.5 million, but who's counting. One thing is for sure, it was a real treat for local crowds to watch the very best this country has to offer when it comes to gracious and accommodating glove work, the hurling of the leather and the swinging of the slugger. It might also explain why the locals were put away 7-1 in the first game and 10-0 in the second.

Only Paul Simes and Grant McPherson picked up hits for the locals in the two matches as the Far North Coast players struggled to catch up with the 90 mile per hour pitching.

Australian Academy Manager Neil Barrowcliff passed on his congratulations and thanks to Rex Airlines and Far North Coast Baseball for their work in hosting the tournament. Barrowcliff also signalled his intentions to continue the two game tournament with local players on an annual basis, which is great news!

The two game series was an excellent pre-cursor to the AA Nationals to be held in Lismore in January, however, organisers are working hard to bring the surface back up to standard for the tournament. Whilst planning is on track, the state of the surface remains an issue for the national body, and one that Lismore Council has assured organisers is a matter of priority.

Major League

As Workers aggressive batting line have now surely slugged their way through to the minor premiership, Norths have also out slogged Marist Brothers to assure themselves second in the Far North Coast Major League.

Mark Robb and Steve James helped Norths nab second with three hits each on Friday night and on Saturday, Leon Elliott plundered four hits including a home run. Paul Kenyon and Jason Britt also muscled up in the Saturday game with three hits each, to lord it over the Brethren 7-6 and 14-8 in the double header.

Workers quietly humiliated Easts Redbirds 26-5 on Saturday in what was a completely lopsided contest. In the only bright moment in a season of pure gloom Division Three regular Mark Fischer managed two hits and stole second for the Redbirds but it was a drop in the bucket against the torrential down pour of hits that the Workers line-up produced. Troy Pruess, Dallas Knapp, Josh Daley, and Wayne Devlin all picked up three hits a piece and Scott McClelland bombed over the fence for good measure.

Routed at Rous - Cycling

Robert Lite has proved himself, once again, to be one of the best riders on the North Coast as he set the pace and took the tape in Race 2 of the Northern Rivers Cycling Club Winter Race series last Sunday on the Rous Road Circuit.

The battle for second place was a tighter battle with Josh Breen sneaking past Steve Scotcher at the death for a higher place on the dais. Twenty-eight cyclists joined the fray in the five-lap race around the 11km Rous Road circuit.

In the B Grade event, there were regular 'breakouts' but the field routinely chased these down. The race culminated in a mass sprint where Rod Bailey powered away to take the race by a clear bike length.

Race 2 - Winter Series winners

A Grade - Robert Lite, B Grade - Rod Bailey, C Grade - David Hobson, D Grade - Michael Jones.

Next Event: Family ride this Sunday, August 8.

A 12km ride for children and inexperienced riders on the new Ballina Heights cycleway and a 30km ride for experienced riders. BBQ breakfast after.

Meet at sunrise. Race starts 7am.

Next Race: 40km Road Race at Baggotville Road on Sunday, August 5.

Meet at Dungarubba Rest Area at 6.30am.

For more details visit the website at www.nrcc.org.au .

75th anniversary tournament

Viv Cruckshank, vice president of the Casino Croquet Club makes well considered contact.

Clubs from as far away as Gosford and the Gold Coast will descend on Lismore Croquet Club next week when the club hosts its 75th Anniversary Tournament. Players ranging in expertise from the top of Division One to Division Three will fight it out from this Sunday, August 8, to Saturday, August 14.

Members of the public are more than welcome to come and watch this most intriguing and skillful game on the lawns next to the fire station in the centre of Lismore. The first day, August 8, is a friendly social day and a good time to ask questions of the skilled practitioners about this intricate sport. From then on it will be mallets down and tails up for the contestants. The main competitions will be singles and will start on Monday. Games will then be played daily until Saturday when a barbecue lunch will be held and awards presented.

Soccer FNC

TNR Men's Premier Division

Rovers have pushed past Casino's Cobras at the top of the TNR Premier Division for the second time in a month and Workers have also snuck by the Country lads into second as the battle for minor premiership honours hots up with three rounds remaining. Normally a perusal of the run in would give a fair indication of the outcome of that race but not this year. Workers in theory should be well set as two of their last three will be against competition cellar dwellers Alstonville and Bangalow, but these two teams are locked in a dire dog fight to avoid relegation and each disposed of a highly ranked team last week. Workers' other match is against Casino - it won't be an easy road for them. Rovers still have a game in hand so their chances of taking the minor title are much greater. However, they will have to face last year's premiers, an inform Maclean and Byron Bay, both of whom will be desperate to stay in the top five. Casino is no better placed and will struggle to stave off Byron Bay, Workers and Ballina as August draws to an end.

Intershape Women's Premier Division

Lismore Thistles showed they are not a spent force in the Intershape Premier League when they knocked off a confident Ballina side 1-0. Evergreen Tracy Want was the difference between the two sides producing a fine goal to upset the seasiders.

The pace and skill of youngster Jenna Gollan was too much for Woodburn to handle as Workers proved too strong for the Wolves in their 4-0 win.

Emma Turner's hat trick helped Ballina to make amends on Sunday when they beat local rivals Woodburn 3-1. A fiercely competitive first half had both teams trading strikes on goal with Woodburn going to the break one up on the back of a fine goal to Bonnie Miller.

Goals to Laura Vidmar and Felicity Kerslake for SCU handed the students a much-needed win over the Lennox White Pointers 2-0.

A brace of goals from Rose Argent for Byron Bay allowed the beach-goers a draw against competition high fliers Workers.

Harvey World Travel Lismore Golden Boot standings are also tight at the top with controversy still remaining around one of Tom Guttormsen's goals.

TNR Mens Premier Division

17 T Guttormsen; 16 M Olley; 13 A Bostock; 11 G Neilson; 9 W Mortimer, C Starrett; 8 B Morhaus, T Matthews.

Womens' Intershape First Division

20 R Argent; 18 E Turner; 15 K Gollan, K Parker; 13 T Want; 12 Dunsmore; 11 J Gollan; 10 L Kelly, R McIntosh, T O'Reilly.

Trinity make the last 16

Tamika Morrissey, Trinity's rampaging left half, brushes past her Mullumbimby High marker.

After a titanic struggle Trinity Catholic College defeated Mullumbimby High School 1-0 in the Far North Coast regional final of the state-wide Bill Turner Knockout Trophy in Mullumbimby recently.

Trinity's defenders Sophie Taylor, Kirsten MacMaster and keeper Fallon Campbell, who often ply their trade in the Intershape Womens Premier Division, managed to dodge a few bullets early on and by half time the scores were still locked at nil all.

The second half was equally frustrating for strikers from both teams with Trinity's Kirra Weingarth striking the post on one occasion.

By full time both keepers had managed to keep a clean sheet, despite plenty of creative midfield work and heaps of chances.

In Bill Turner Knockout games the drop off rule rather than a penalty shoot out is used to force a result, with one player dropping out every five minutes.

Ten minutes passed and both sides were down to nine players, with still nothing separating them. Finally, Elsie Brown drew in front of goal for Trinity and unleashed. As the ball buried itself in the back of the net the large travelling support squad from Trinity erupted into song.

In some games neither side deserves to lose but someone had to, that is the nature of knockout competitions, and so Trinity will now move on to play the winner of the Brisbane East and South Coast QLD regional final.

Out of more than 350 teams from Toowoomba to Wangaratta, Trinity Under 15 girls have made the round of 16. A grand achievement.

Pick the code cracker

One of these blokes is not like the others? Harrison Witt, Jo Witt, Barry Williams and John Campbell proudly displaying their Trinity Catholic College pennants, which they received in recognition of their recent footballing exploits.

Unlike his mates Barry Williams has overcome more than a century of code bigotry to represent NSW in both Rugby Union and Rugby League.

Barry, Jo Witt and John Campbell from Trinity Catholic College in Lismore recently travelled to Adelaide as part of the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Under 15 Rugby League team to participate in the national championships.

Barry, however, has also been selected along with Harry Witt from Trinity to represent NSW in the NSW Open Rugby Union team that will play the touring Irish Schoolboys team this weekend. Harry and Barry will then fly to Argentina as part of the NSW Country development touring quad.

Barry has joined a growing trend of players who have become proficient in both codes.

All Hail Lismore Judo

Dane Edwards, Jasmine Parer and Takashi Wattanabe from the Lismore Judo Club (pictured) dominated this year's inter club championships held at Zillmere Police Citizens Youth Club in Brisbane.

Dane fought three matches in the boys Under 25kg division, winning each of his bouts to take the title. This was his first tournament and the quality of his throwing and the strength of his pins was sensational.

Jasmine Parer was in her usual top form, taking first in the girls Under 60kg, and third in the girl's open-weight division.

Takashi Wattanabe was a welcome new addition to the club squad. A strong black-belt fighter Takashi has come over from Japan to study English in Lismore. Takashi blitzed all his opponents with his unstoppable Seoi-nage shoulder-throw to take first place in both the men's Under 85kg division, and in the men's open-weight division.

Lismore Judo Club trains out of Lismore's PCYC and are always keen to welcome new members.

Land of the Giants

Congratulations are in order for the Mullumbimby Giants, who sealed their first ever Minor Premiership in the Westlawn Finance Group One Rugby League.

Latta, Hogan and Godbee have led their team with such great passion and respect that the Giants have become a model for every other team in the competition. For all that, the Hillmen from Mullum will need to be on their mettle when they take on Lower Clarence in the penultimate round. Of all the teams, the Magpies are one that the Giants most fear. This game could well be a preview of a semi final and Latta's team will not want to give away any psychological advantage to the mob from Maclean. The last time the two sides met the Giants put on a display of footy unparalleled in their season to blitz Lower Clarence. Victory for the Mercy brothers and the Magpies could push them into equal second and assure they get a home semi, so they will be out to burst the Mullum bubble.

Bangalow Hotel Far North Coast Rugby Union

Lismore City sealed the Minor Premiership with a 54-12 dismantlement of the Grafton Redmen on Saturday in the FNC Rugby Union. With the minor title decided, the battle for the Major Premiership is looking increasingly like a three horse race as Casino pulverised the third placed SCU Gold Rats 21-0. Universities sparkling backline were never afforded the room to shine, indeed, they were smashed within in an inch of recognition by the raw boned country lads from Casino. The Rats, who have now lost at least seven to injury for the vital game against Ballina this weekend, have no chance of recovery by the semis.

Ballina's set piece and strong rucking produced quick ball for their backs as the Seahorses galloped away from the Pioneers 52-7 last weekend. It's the first run away loss the men from Wollongbar have suffered in some weeks and it will need to be addressed during training as the Pioneers face off against Grafton this weekend to determine this year's wooden spoon.