Sports News

Hook, Line and Sinker

United in action

A 13kg dolphin fish caught by Shannon Saye off Evans Head.

Fishing last weekend was a little better with weather being a lot kinder. Boats were able to get outside and target some nice pearl perch, snapper, teraglin and even one sailfish. The river also produced good hauls of whiting of a good size.

The next meeting of the Richmond Valley Anglers Action Group (RVAAG) is next Tuesday, March 8, at the Federal Hotel in Alstonville from 7.30pm. The RVAAG represents the interests of recreational anglers in an area from Lennox Head to Evans Head and west to the ranges. Its purpose is to promote the sport of recreational anglers and take up issues with government, fisheries and councils that have an effect on angling. It is not a fishing club. Although there is a small elected executive to run the affairs all anglers, both club and non-club members, are welcome to the meeting. This organisation has sister groups up and down the coast and is registered and incorporated. Membership is only $2 per person or $20 per club.

To date we've had an interest in the Cape Byron Marine Park, making very careful and detailed submissions. In this, we worked very closely with the Australian Fishing Tackle Association. Other matters have been 4WD access to 7 Mile Beach at Lennox Head, where we were able to get a representative appointed to a committee reviewing this matter. We will continue to monitor any proposals that may come up to do with South Ballina Beach. The RVAAG is also interested in legal negotiations on Native Title claims that affect rivers, estuaries and creeks in our area.

Congratulations to the Ballina and Lismore Deep Sea Fishing Clubs whose agitation has led to big improvements set to be made to the Fisheries Creek ramp in Ballina. At last we'll have a toilet block.

Call of the Loon with Laurie Axtens

Things of brass and wood

The summer sports are coming to their spellbinding conclusion, the preliminary rounds are all but finished and the finals are upon us.

Successful teams and their anointed captains are contemplating the immeasurable glory of having a tiny piece of brass inscribed with their team name and pinned to a slightly larger piece of wood.

Many of us have already gathered all our sympathy, understanding and consideration for others and packed it away in a strong box so it doesn't get in the way of our ruthless and single-minded ambition to win the coveted bits of brass and wood.

All going well my side should be amongst the finals candidates, granted we can post just one more win.

I'm fortunate - the summer sun has already baked off the section of the cerebral cortex responsible for selfless acts and now all I want is to be avenged for the losses we suffered earlier in the year at the hands of these lesser mortals. So I'm not going to wax hypocritical by proclaiming 'may the best team win', or 'the game will be the big winner' - not on your life. If one of those other miserable, half-baked outfits overcomes my glorious, noble and righteous colleagues on the field of youthful dreams they're going to have earned it with their sweat, and possibly with their blood.

When they take that pitiful small piece of cedar to the engravers some time before Easter, I want that shield to be accompanied by an even smaller piece of paper with our name on it. Make no bones. We play to win, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, to choke the metaphoric life out of our opponents.

What's more, this is how it should be, because if by some fluke we should lose, should the fates conspire to deny us the honours we so richly deserve, at least the other team will have the satisfaction of knowing that we gave them no quarter nor asked for one. They will know that they have boiled my blood with indignation, they will know that my hand shake at the end of the game will be stiff and unwavering, that my smile will come through gritted teeth and my offer to shout them all a drink will only be a mean spirited joke.

I want that piece of brass and wood dammit, and God help those who try and stop me.

No trivial affair

Jodie Patterson and her friend Spalding have already booked a table at the basketball trivia night and look how deliriously happy they are.

How many supporters does it take to make a basketball association successful? It's not a trivial question.

Lismore Basketball is holding its first ever trivia night at the Lismore Workers Club this Friday, March 4, from 7pm, and they need supporters to make a go of it.

At the moment they only have five tables of basketball loving trivia buffs and are very keen to triple that number. So they need your help.

There are great prizes from Carlton United Brewery, the Lismore Workers Club, Cummings Retravision, Eastmon Camera House, Lismore Bowl, Honda, Travelscene, Lismore Speedway, Ampol, Menins, the Lismore Turf Club, NORPA, Supreme Clean and the many more.

They have the prizes, now all they need is people who understand there is nothing trivial about trivia nights. Trivia fundraising nights are serious. Very serious fun.

For bookings please phone Jodie Patterson on 0417 462 245 or 6621 6647.

Ladies bowls

With Denise Wallace

The Ballina Bowling Club triples team of Val McKenzie, Maureen Smith and Eryn Brightwell (skip) proved too strong for clubmates Edith Anderson, Shirley Mazzer and Merle Gollan (skip) as they posted 29-14 on the greens at South Lismore Bowling Club earlier this month.

The match was the culmination of the Northern Rivers District Womens Bowls Association (NRDWBA) district triples competition, where 29 teams from 9 district clubs fought out the title.

However, district pairs drew 45 teams from 9 district clubs. In the end, two well known teams - Bev Conroy and Thelma Fredericks (skip) from South Lismore Bowling Club, and Fay Allan and Noelene Hawkes (skip) from Casino RSM Bowling Club - played out the final on February 25 at Lismore Workers Heights Bowling Club. The Conroy and Fredericks combination from South Lismore took the upper hand early on and led all the way through to win 27-15.

Sevens heaven

Byron Bay came away with the $750 purse from the premier division of Soccer Far North Coast's inaugural 7's tournament in Lennox Head over the weekend, beating Italo Stars 3-2.

The Rams' win came in the last moments of the game from the foot of Adam Bostock. Early in the first half Stars had burst away to a 2-nil lead with goals from Wayne Mortimer and Clint Willoughby, but the Lismore men were on the back foot from then on.

Byron dominated the second half as their superior fitness seemed to give them the edge. However, it was a good showing by Stars to reach the final and bodes well for the upcoming season.

In the women's open division, Woodburn Wolves finally accounted for Workers in the sudden death section of the penalty shoot out. At full time the two teams were locked 3-all thanks to a late Workers goal by Sheree Coubrough. The proceeding 10 minutes of extra time could do nothing to separate the teams, though Workers looked more likely to score but couldn't get the better of a couple of goalmouth scrambles.

The shoot out went goal for goal for the first five goals until Woodburn's keeper Carissa Perry dropped on a mistimed strike to capture the title for the Wolves.

In the open men's division the RAAF Hunter Hornets overcame Alstonville to take away the silverware and Lennox Head Liners defeated Byron Hog Squad 5-4 in the over 35s.

Soccer Far North Coast's general manager, Matt Kelso, was over the moon about the tournament.

"It was a great weekend," Matt said. "Excellent weather and the facilities here in Lennox were perfect for the abbreviated version of the game. With 31 teams and 270 odd players involved in the event, it was a huge success," he said. "This event could even grow into a signature event for this region."

A King's memorial

The King, Grenville Anderson, with his legendary motor.

Up to 30 cars are expected to converge on Lismore Speedway this Saturday, March 5, to honour Australia's best ever speedway sedan driver - Grenville Anderson.

Grenville sustained serious head injuries whilst competing in the Canon Cup Super Sedan round at Archerfield Speedway in Brisbane on May 8, 1993, which left him with a diminished quality of life. The crash changed the nation's speedway community forever.

Eleven years later the undisputed 'King' of Australian speedway sedan racing peacefully passed away at Murwillumbah Hospital on May 31, 2004.

Grenville wowed the crowds at many speedways nation wide, including his home stomping ground, Lismore Speedway. Anderson was best known for his amazing and magical highline passes.

A few months after Grenville's death, Lismore Speedway promoter, Greg Coombes, thought it would only be fitting to hold a memorial race in Grenville's memory, at the track that he called home.

Many of Australia's best Super Sedan drivers will take part in this weekend's memorial including Super Sedan pilots Tania Smith, John Leslight, Wayne Randall and Ron Pyne.

Other drivers making the trip are Tasmania's Brad Smith and Jarrod Harper, Victoria's Steve Vaughn and Queenslanders Wayne Brims, Des Korn, Darren Kane and Jaimie McHugh.

The race itself will be conducted over 50 gruelling laps. The race will be supported by the Modified Production Sedans, where about 30 cars are expected to line up for round 4 of the Withcott Seedlings/Smart Salads Modified Production sedan series.

Aussie champ Peter Lack will again make the trip down and join fellow Queenslanders Garry Brown and Steve Jordan, who will do battle with locals including Jason Jolley, Wayne Carter, Steve Downes and Greg Worling.

Landmark landslide

Central North Kookaburras posted a landslide win against the Far North Coast Dolphins 41-3 in the opening round of the Landmark NSW Country Rugby Union Country Championships at Ballina on Saturday.

The Kookaburras asserted their authority from the first scrum, where they put the lighter Dolphins pack under enormous pressure and forced the first of many turnovers.

Dolphins centre Damien McDermid landed a penalty goal for the Dolphins in the eighth minute to level the scores at 3-all, but that was the last point the Far North Coast side managed. From there the Kookaburras went ballistic and by halftime the score was 22-3.

After the break the Dolphins regrouped to control possession and territory for the first 20 minutes. However, in the 23rd minute the Kookaburras once again broke out with a try to centre Luke Urquhart extending their lead to 29-3.

Late tries to No 8 Anthony Kaberry and replacement winger Matt Sanson on fulltime sealed what was really a landslide win.

The teams will meet again on March 19 to determine which team represents the Zone during the Country play-off on March 26 at Aussie Stadium.

FNC Under 20s

Southern Cross University No 8 Henry Vanderglas and Ballina fullback Adam Gordon started the representative season with big games for the FNC Under 20 team, which downed Central North 31-22 on Saturday.

The Dolphins started at pace and had registered three tries to Gordon, Vanderglas and halfback John Mau in the first 15 minutes, before the Kookaburras even managed to reef away position once.

Close to half time the visitors ran in two tries to close the gap to 19-15, while flanker Ryan Graham languished in the sin bin. Graham, with Vanderglas, Chase Magner and replacement Hayden Grissell, provided an outstanding back row for the Dolphins.

The home team took control again in the second half with further tries to Gordon and Vanderglas.

A try to the visitors in injury time to replacement winger Athol Munro narrowed the gap to 31-22.

Get on board

with coach Geoff Baxter

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day? We all know that water is important, but here are some salient statistics.

• 75% of people are chronically dehydrated. This likely applies to half the world drinking carbonated lolly water.
• In 37% of people, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
• Even mild dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
• One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters surveyed in a University of Washington study.
• Lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue.
• Research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
• A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory and lead to difficulty focusing on a computer screen or printed page.
• Drinking five glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, slashes the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and 50% are less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Bears do the rain dance

If you're driving past Fripp Oval on Friday don't be surprised if you see 11 Bears frantically dancing on the field. Have a good look - that's a raindance, because rain looks like the only way the enthusiastic young Ballina team will make the finals.

The only other way is to chance down a massive 277 against the best bowling attack in the competition, Souths. 197 is the highest total the Bears have managed this year. The truth is they have the batting to do it, but do they have the faith in themselves to dare to go there?

Lennox Head will also need to take the dare against Workers Club if they're going to earn a spot in the finals. They have already beaten the maroon men on first innings, however, they need to score quickly and take some tough catches if they want an outright.

If Casino wants to be sure of a place at the business end of the season they will need to outright Marist Brothers. It's really that simple but Craig Ferguson, who managed 53 not out for the Brethren in the first innings, could prove a painful stumbling block. Tintenbar East Ballina should ensure themselves a place in the finals by chasing down Alstonville's 138. At the moment they are 2 for 61 with Phil Dalli and Luke Shay at the wicket. Kingsford Smith is a placid deck at the best of times and The Bar has plenty of batting depth.

The other contender is Norths Goonellabah RSL. They have started well in the run chase against Easts 177 and are 1 for 72 with solid strikers Dan Henderson and Brad Walker at the crease. However, The Hawks' middle order looked decidedly scratchy last game. In that match they lost their last seven batsmen for 30 runs. You do the sums.

No rain on Adam's regatta

Adam Harrison, winner of the National Open Schoolboy Single Scull, in Sydney over the weekend.

Year 10 Trinity Catholic College rower Adam Harrison has upset a brace of more fancied rivals from years 11 and 12 to take out the National Open Schoolboy Single Scull in Sydney over the weekend.

In a championship that was marred by soaring temperatures, a fierce hailstorm and cyclonic winds, Adam turned the tables on a field of older rowers to win the coveted 2000-metre title.

Straight after the win he partnered Flynn Jackman in the year 10 double scull over 1000 metres, however the pair, who were favoured to win the title, came in third by the nearest of a margins, being only 1.7 seconds slower than the winners.

Later in the afternoon Adam, Flynn and Hannah Green boated up in their single sculls to contest their respective year 10 events over 1000 metres. Coaches and parents were quietly confident that the trio would win medals, when cyclonic winds, torrential rain and lightning bought a halt to proceedings. During the storm two double sculls from other schools were snapped in half when the wind picked them up and threw them metres away while students were trying to remove them from the water. Judges and officials abandoned the remainder of the regatta.

Pop up and stand outs

Dodges Flyers' Danial Hampson gives a whole new meaning to pop up as he avoids this pitch during the last round of the Far North Coast Softball Competition on Friday afternoon.

The final results for this year's Softball preliminary competition are:

Division 1 Women: Dodgers Devils 31, Rous Rangers 30, Workers Falcons 24, Woodburn Masters 20.

Men: Dodgers Dinosaurs 32, Dodgers Heroes 26, Workers Buzzards 24, Workers Vultures 21.

Division 2 Women: Casino Ratpack 36, Tintenbar T-birds 32, Goonellabah Lotto 30, Blues Sisters Sistas 29.

Youth: Dodgers Flyers 42, Dodgers Dynamoes 30, Workers Magpies 20, Workers Mighty Ducks 19.

Division 3 Women: Rous Rogues 38, Goonellabah Tigers 35, Workers Wild Turkeys 30, Blues Sisters Divas 29.

Semi finals start this Saturday, March 5, with the grand finals on March 19.

Superfish scoop the pool

Lismore High School superfish (l-r) Alyce Weight, Emma Harris and Alex Hahn are all smiles after scooping the pool at the Richmond zone swimming championship in Maclean recently. The trio will now move on to the North Coast regional championships in Coffs Harbour next Wednesday, March 9.

At her last Richmond zone swimming championships, Alyce Weight won every time she dived into the pool, as did Emma Harris in her very first zone championship

The pair also combined to win in the 50 freestyle relay and in the medley relay.

Alex Hahn also took part in the winning relay teams but didn't manage quite as spotless a record as Alyce and Emma, recording two second places along with her four 15-years title wins in the 100m breaststroke, 100m backstroke, 100m fly and 50m freestyle.

In all, the trio won an extraordinary 15 titles at the championships.

In the open division Alyce won the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke and 50m freestyle in addition to the relays.

Emma started her Lismore High swimming career, with wins in the 12-years division for the 100m and 50m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100m backstroke and 100 fly.

Lismore High's swimming coach, Mark Thompson, was understandably impressed.

"The girls did very well against swimmers from all the local schools; Kyogle, Evans River, Kadina and Alstonville to name a few," he said. "In my opinion all three could make the state trials, but of course it depends on how they swim at Coffs."