Sports News

Hook, Line and Sinker with Lindsay Doust

Max Sidney landed this very nice sailfish during the trip. The sailfish are targeted in open water and if well hooked are nearly always landed, as they have no interest in heading off into the reef. Our problem was that they were not as plentiful as we had all hoped.

The Rowley Shoals is a coral reef in the Indian Ocean approximately 250km west of Broome (WA). To get there requires one to two days‚ travel via Darwin and then an 18-hour boat trip. When you finally arrive, you have great hopes for a fishing bonanza. It is not only anglers who head out. The main users of this Marine Park are divers.

The fishing for our trip was moderately good. Some nice sailfish were hooked, landed and released, along with other pelagic species, but the best fishing is for the person who likes to throw lures or flies over very shallow coral atolls. It is some of the best lure fishing you could ever experience. Many of the fish are absolute brutes, know every hole in the coral and must have a collection of lures in the tens of thousands! It is almost impossible to get the biggest monsters out of the reef and the tackle used is 50lb braided line, 8kg rods and up to 130lb leader. Close to 100 fish were landed in some sessions and although no count was kept, there is little doubt the lost and broken up would have been more than double that amount.

Long-nose emperor, coral trout (several species), red bass, maori wrasse, spotted trevally, barracouta and the list goes on. An amazing sight is to see in the crystal clear water, sometimes 20 to 30 fish chasing the one lure and even to get on a number of occasions two fish at once on the one lure and not small fish!

The best of the fishing is done with 'surface poppers'. These fish take the lures off the surface with enormous speed and power and head straight back into the reef. If given even a metre of line, your lure is history and often they would peel off 50 metres. There was simply no way of stopping them. The enjoyment was not so much in actually landing and then releasing the fish but in trying to see how long you could hold on before being ambushed.

Locally

The full moon was Thursday night and it should bring good fishing for whiting for two or three days. Try to get yourself some blood worms and use a small hook (say No 8) around Pimlico Island. You need to be there when the tide is running hard and will probably need a large sinker.

Call of the Loon with Laurie Axtens

Use PCs to get kids off their bums

Participation rates in many junior sports have fallen in recent years, although soccer is the notable exception. Many coaches and administrators blame the modern explosion of interest in electronic media and computers for this decline. While it may hold a note of truth, bemoaning the fact does little to address the issue.

One hackneyed old expression, which is useful to trundle out in these cases, is every problem is an opportunity in disguise. Get with the program folks.

Inventive and savvy coaches are already taking full advantage of the power of a laptop to add depth and analysis to their coaching of players. There's reasonably affordable software available that could produce batting charts for kids to help them discover their strengths and weaknesses.

Scoring programs are only the froth at the edge of an ever-growing ocean of possibility for the integration of local junior sport with modern electronic media.

Digital cameras - also quite cheap now - often have a small video feature. The footage could be used to analyse the throwing, hitting and swimming strokes of young protagonists. In fact, any sporting behaviour not performed in a jet-black room in jet-black clothing could be thus recorded for posterity. Computer-savvy trainers could then email the video to the youngster at home along with a few hints.

All this is still just small fry for a truly computer-literate coach.

I envisage a time when the traditional mother's welcome of "How did you go?" will be countered with the reply, "Didn't you watch it? We downloaded it directly onto the net."

If you feel that you'd like to know more about the kids you're teaching, log on and go for a 'google' search as regards your favourite sport. There is a wealth of free and shareware that could make your task easier and pique the interest of your young charges.

Townies v Gownies

Mayor Merv King flicks the coin as Vice Chancellor, Prof Paul Clark, calls. The dignitaries are flanked by teammates Kiera Ninness for Uni and Kim Rowling for Lismore. Uni won the toss. Rumour has it that Kim has a vendetta against professed media tart, Dave Arthur, who will be taking the field for SCU.

Southern Cross University will celebrate 10 years of academic excellence this Sunday, October 31, with a game of cricket against Lismore on Sam Trimble Oval, Bexhill.

In a match up where cricket experience counts for little and media profile much, former Queensland Sheffield Shield great, John McMahon, should prove the difference. McMahon, who humbled the touring English Test team in 1960, will probably spearhead the attack against SCU's top administrators in the match.

Amusements commence with team profiles by each of the coaches at 9.30am. The cricket travesty itself won't start till 10am.

The game promises to be particularly amusing, so if you're keen to sip 'chardy' and nibble on a bit of brie and chuckle as this year's Showgirl, Miranda Saunders, smacks crown prosecutor, Nick Harrison to the mid-wicket boundary or Thomas George (don't wear glasses Thomas - remember Hawkie!) play a straight bat to some curly ones from the academics, this is the game for you.

One Echo journalist, aka your sports editor, might even be convinced to slip a few short ones into executive administrator, Malcolm Marshall (thankfully, not a West Indian paceman), if the price is right.

Bring a picnic hamper and rug and you're welcome to watch the fun. The 30-over per side game begins at 10am.

Cane toad takes home a grand

Byron Bay's Damien Smith jigs up a shot during the annual North Coast Eight-Ball Pool Challenge. Smith is a NSW eight ball pool squad member.

John Wheeler of Brisbane left Lismore with $1000 when he defeated fellow Brisbanite, Bronson Blackmore, in the North Coast Eight-Ball Pool Challenge last Sunday at Goonellabah RSL Club.

The double elimination competition is in its eighth year. Of the local contenders, tournament co-ordinator John Latta finished fourth amid a star studded field. The double elimination structure of the competition allowed Latta a second chance to finish in the places, though it did mean he needed to win twice the amount of matches to make the finals.

Local rowers top championships

Adam Harrison, Hannah Green, Perry Jackman and Louise Hartcher from Trinity Catholic College came second in the Quad at the recent Lower Clarence Rowing Regatta in Maclean.

Hannah also won her novice single and double skulls Under 17 division. Adam Harrison won the Under 17 double skulls and the mixed Under 17 double skulls with Louise Hartcher. Louise also picked up a second in the women's intermediate single skulls.

Below: Flynn Jackman rowed his way to victory in the novice single skulls and shared the doubles skulls Under 17 title with Adam Harrison.

 

Blistering Brethren A drama fall in the third heat by short priced favourite, Wardell League player Stan Kelly, opened the way for Peter Reeves to clinch the 100-metre 'dash for cash' at the Lismore Turf Club's Northern Rivers Sporting Clubs race day. The Sporting Club day offered fun for all, with Kidz Club organising three children's sprints on the race course. In the implausible 'time' of 9.4 seconds, Marist Brothers' winger Peter Reeves cruised to victory over the more favoured Byron Bay speedster, Chris King, in the 100-metre 'dash for cash' at Lismore racecourse on Sunday. Although there is no doubting the times, the distance was most certainly not the full 100 metres. King had run the fastest qualifying time and looked a shoe-in for the major prize but it seems that Reeves had only been foxing as he switched into top gear for the final. Reeves walked away with a cool $500 and the title of the fastest footballer in the region. Whether Kelly, who blamed a hoof hole for the fall, would have given him a run for his money remains a moot point. Marist Brother's Rugby League Club also picked up $200 thanks to the efforts of the Kyogle schoolboy. Reeves is off to Sydney is the near future for pre-season training with the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Leah scores big in the hockey

North Coast Academy of Sport (NCAS) hockey player, Leah Toovey (pictured), from Fairy Hill, was instrumental in helping the NSW Under 15 side take out gold in this year's Australian Women's Hockey National Titles in Brisbane earlier this month.

Leah, a student at Casino High School, was the only athlete from Northern NSW to be included in the 16-member squad.

Playing in her preferred position, in the halves, Leah played in all preliminary round games as NSW dominated the competition, posting a for-against goal score of 30-7.

The halves provide the structure and strength to any team, their work rate needs to be high and their reading of play exceptional. Leah possesses these talents in abundance.

"To be selected in the state team and compete at the highest level was the most exciting thing I have ever done," said an elated Leah.

Leah was quick to thank her two local club teams of Casino Under 17s and Coraki A-grade and her parents, Jan and Laurie, for their support. Leah said that the Academy's head coach, Grahame Baxter, had been very helpful as well, providing her with additional weekly coaching in the lead up to the event.

Leah's immediate goal is to regain selection into the 2004-05 NCAS hockey team, which had its trials last weekend in Grafton.

A star in any competition

Photo courtesy of Sportography.

Todd Gava being presented with the Gary Wilkins Gold Medal by Queensland Lions president, Gary Wilkins.

When Todd Gava left Lismore's Italo Stars to try his luck with Queensland Lions three years ago, much was expected of the young man, but few envisaged that he would become an almost instant success and go on to win the Lions best player award in his first three years running.

The tenacious central defender joins an elite group of just two Lions players who have won the award three times. Todd is just 23 and if he continues to play with the vigour and determination he has shown thus far he could set an unbeatable record, eclipsing Steve Jackson's four awards in the 80s and 90s.

A stunned Gava was presented with the prestigious Gary Wilkins Gold Medal by Wilkins himself at a glitzy presentation night in front of 400 dinner guests at the Lions headquarters in Richlands, Brisbane, last week.

"This is a real shock, I missed six games with an injured knee late in the season and thought I was no chance," Gava said.

The Lions continued their dominance of the XXXX League again this season, winning all three men's and women's divisions, and look strong contenders to enter the revamped National Soccer League next year.

"We set out at the start of the year to deliver results and succeeded, and ultimately we want to get the club onto the national soccer map," Gava said.

At present Todd juggles his full time job as a sports store manager with training and playing commitments, but would relish the chance to go professional.

Getting your toes wet

The Lismore Indoor Swim Team is holding a trivia night this Saturday.

The Duck Creek Mountain adult swim club has started its summer season with training on Monday nights at the Summit indoor pool with coach Ken Malcolm at 7pm.

Ken has lots of new ideas on fitness and stroke correction having recently been part of both Australian and State development camps, and is sure to provide plenty of variety and ideas for both fitness and competitive adult swimmers.

Currently four members of the club - Scott Hahn, Kath Egan, Elspeth Berger and Therese Crollick - are training for the Pan Pacific Games and Queensland Open Water Swim Championships. Both events are being held on the Gold Coast in four weeks time. Another member of the club, Margaret Harding, will be heavily involved in the officiating side, mainly as a referee in the coming months.

The club is having its first meeting shortly to plan for the local Rainbow Region Masters Games next year, where they will be the host club. The club's committee are hoping that the long awaited Lismore pool is up and running by then so that the Masters could be the first major event to be held in the new facility.

Another exciting upcoming event is the Masters swim camp that will be held at the Lennox Head Sport and Recreation Centre in March. Adults from all over South East Queensland and Northern NSW will descend on Lennox for the two and a half days of talks and workshops on stroke correction, nutrition and general fitness. The camp also promises to be plenty of fun and a great opportunity to socialise.

For further information on adult swimming groups in either Lismore or Ballina phone Therese on 6624 2289.

Trivia Night

Lismore Indoor Swim Team will be holding a trivia night at the East Lismore Bowling Club this Saturday, October 30. Each table should hold eight participants at a cost of $5 per head.

The National Bank has recently donated $500 to the club and this will be used to raise even more funds for the burgeoning club.

 

Workers get away to a flyer - Cricket Goonellabah RSL Under 16, Daniel Parshad, puts heaps of energy into a delivery against Workers Gold. However, his action needs to be addressed and he needs to deliver the ball from a more upright position to stop bowling down the leg side. John Avila smashes an overpitched ball over mid-wicket in the opening overs for Workers Club in their match against Norths-Goonellabah. Under 16 Pool B opening batsman, Eddy Nicholson, dispatches a ball over midwicket out on McKenzie Park, North Lismore. After a long and studied innings, Eddy lost his head and was out an over later. Norths-Goonellabah let Workers off the hook when they won the toss and sent the young team in on a pitch full of demons at Nielson Park on Saturday. The soft grassy desk deserved an in-out field, but instead Norths-Goonellabah packed the slips. Consequently, John Avila (29) and Wes Koskela (42) simply hit through the line and over the infield. After 10 overs Workers had raced to 1-49 on a pitch that by all rights was barely playable. Steve Hughes pushed the total to a very defendable 150 with a quick fire 35. When stumps were pulled Norths-Goonellabah had collapsed to 5 for 77. With Nathan Bonamy still to make his way to the centre, the combined Lismore team still looks a good chance. Earlier Bonamy, one of the best all rounders in the district, bowled well, taking 5-77. Supported with more appropriate field settings he might have improved his figures further. Fripp Oval, which was awash earlier in the week, recovered quickly to offer Casino Cavaliers a flat track to knock up 244 against Ballina Bears. Seven of the Cavalier outfit got a start, but only captain Adam Shield converted it into a half century, although he was probably disappointed to fall short of triple figures at 76. Sam Adams followed up his determined 67 in the first match with 4 for 60 as he tore out the Casino middle order. Young Adams must be a chance in the upcoming regional selections. The 163 scratched together by Alstonville at Hill Park last week might prove adequate against Lennox Head. Lennox only managed 120 against a depleted Norths-Goonellabah attack last week as Alstonville will be looking to rebound from last weeks loss to the Bears. The return of Gary Boyd did little to strengthen the red soil soldiers' middle order, although Partridge, Potter, Redmayne, Charter and Mison all made double figures but failed to go on with it. Once again, spin seems to be the key this year with Jordan Waugh snagging 3 for 29 from his 13.5 overs. Tintenbar-East Ballina won the toss and sent Southern Districts in on the rain-effected Nesbitt Park pitch and when Mark Newstead picked up Brad Lofts early on they must have thought the tactic was going to work - at least, until Richard Nind strode to the crease. The veteran has been playing on sodden tracks for over 20 years. He proceeded to plunder anything that was short and hit through the line of the overpitched on his way to a telling 62. South eventually accumulated 161 but not before losing 5 for 30 leaving Brett Crawford with match figures of 5 for 33. In response, Tintenbar lost two early wickets to be 2 for 8 at stumps, with Blok and Bateman sharing the scalps. The return of Bateman to South's bowling line-up could prove decisive. However, now that the Nesbitt Park wicket has dried, it should become reasonably easygoing. Last match there, the teams averaged around 225 per innings, which is not a comfortable statistic for the Premiers. The game between Marist Brothers and Easts was moved from Heaps to Blair Oval due to the poor condition of the Heaps outfield, which is still recovering from a top dressing. This was a great boon for Easts Reserve grade opener Tim Sommerville, who took full advantage of the passive track to be not out 97 at the end of play. Back on Blair, Marist Brother's won the toss and decided to bat. It was a disastrous decision. By the time Craig Hamshaw was stumped by Tom Cooper off Dale Ledger, Marist had slumped to 7-36, losing their top five for a mere 18 as Gregory, Ruttley and McKinnon obliterated the top order on the popping pitch. Only the heroism of Dean Collings (49) and Craig Ferguson (38) got the Brethren into triple figures. Their 138 total shouldn't be too difficult to overhaul, particularly for the likes of Tom Cooper and Bruce Jobson.

The rising suns

Wily striker, Mathew Olley, who played last year for the Suns, backs into a desperate Rhys Evans during the premier division grand final. Evans promises to be vital member of this year's squad.

Soccer FNC's summer youth league team, the North Coast Suns, will play against Rochedale Rovers, Brisbane Force and Slacks Creek in Group A of the three group competition for a place in the knock-out finals in January.

The Suns put in a good showing last year and under the continued tutelage of Paul Foster will be expected to perform well. In addition, the squad should have at their disposal Worker's premier predator, Tom Guttormson, and the Redmen's seemingly winged goalie, Rhys Evans.

The preliminary rounds begin on Saturday, November 6, with the two leading teams from each group and the next two best qualifiers earning a place in the knock-out final series in January. The league culminates in a final match on January 22.

In launching the 2004/2005 competition, Brisbane Mens Soccer general manager Bruce Dinsdale said that the focus of the competition is developing young players who aspire to play at higher levels.

"Last year we set out to provide a quality competition for youth players to play in and compete against other clubs and players that they may not usually get a chance to do so. And that is undoubtedly our aim this year," Bruce said. "It will once again give clubs and coaches the opportunity to see how their future players perform, react under pressure and develop their skills and tactical awareness."

The twelve clubs in this years three groups are:

Group A

Rochedale Rovers, North Coast Suns, Brisbane Force, Slacks Creek

Group B

Peninsula Power, Sunshine Coast Hawks, Queensland Lions, South West Queensland

Group C

North Star, Palm Beach Sharks, Moggill United, Queensland Academy of Sport.

All matches will be played as double headers on Saturdays at 5.30pm and 7.30pm at nominated venues.

Coaches qualifications

Young Central Coast surfer, Rebecca Woods, who has officially qualified for the ASP 2005 World Championship Tour.

Surfing Far North Coast is currently updating its information on surf coaches, their qualifications and training for registration purposes.

Coaches who have recently updated their first aid certificate or surf proficiencies please phone Surfing Far North Coast on 6685 7822.

For those interested in updating their qualifications a level 1 Surf Coaching Course will be run on the Gold Coast on November 13-14. For information phone (07) 5520 1165.