Issue 814
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Sports News
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 2002 Northern Rivers mixed foursome winners Earl Scurr, Daniel McPhee and Anne Jackson. |
Last Thursday a single stableford event was played with Peter Moller winning the day with 42, on a countback from Craig Lumley and veteran golfer Don McDonald in third place. Gerry Lynch took out the front nine from Claude Gardner, with Serge Casagrande taking out the second nine from Les Leigh, and Lloyd Kelly winning the gross with 1 under par 69.
Last Saturday the April medal was played in three grades, and was an eclectic and Vardon event. The A Grade winner was Justin Lane with 62, winning by 2 from Brett McPherson, with Lloyd Kelly again winning the gross with a par round (70). Stephen Fletcher took out B Grade with 65, winning by a shot from Peter Owens, with Noel Huxtable winning the gross. Ray Evans was the C Grade winner by 4 shots from that consistent young Anthony McLean, with Bill Watts winning the gross (90). Nearest the Pins – second (PFD Services) P Michael; fifth (McCanns Car Sales) N Piccoli; eighth (Hampton and Larsson) C Gardner; 11th (Workers Club) C Gardner; 13th ( M and T Tyres) G Hunter; 16th (Pro) Dick Smith.
Don’t forget to keep Sunday, April 21, free, as there is a big Charity Golf day at Lismore, sponsored by Bunnings Warehouse. The day is for a very worthwhile charity – the Westpac Lifesaver rescue helicopter, with heaps of trophies to be won. The event is a four person ambrose for golfers and non-golfers, with a midday shotgun start, with a BBQ served from 10.30am. The cost for the day is $25 dollars, which includes golf and barbecue. For nominations a sheet is on the board, so nominate now for prime tee slots.
The Ladies played a single stableford event last Wednesday with Rhoda Lampard winning division 1. Janine Martin took out division 2; Dianne Kennedy division 3 and Vianca Dadswell division 4.
This Saturday a single stroke event will be played and will be the second round of club champos and I still think Dean Ferrier will win back to back titles.
Last Wednesday the Ladies played an Irish four Ball, with Shirley Payne, Mary Baker, Beryl Davidson and June Hitchin winning the day.
Last Thursday the veterans played an 18 hole 4BBB stableford event, with Ernie Doman and Tom Durbidge winning the day.
The men played a single stroke last Saturday and it was the first round of the club champos. The overall winner on the day was Grant Pawsey with 61, with Martin Gordon taking out the A grade. The B grade winner was Ron Palmer and Grant Pawsey defeated Geoff Watt in C Grade. The Ladies winner was Jean Pike from Eleanor Tinker.
This Saturday Ballina golfers will travel inland to contest the annual interclub against the Lismorians for the coveted Crandon Shield which Lismore hold! A single stableford event will be played at home for the men and Ladies, with the RSL 4BBB champos round 2, and mixed golf and barbecue in the arvo.
Last Wednesday a single stableford event was played, with consistent David Livingstone taking the honours once more. Welcome back to the winners circle Don Beck, who took out A grade by 1 from Noel Boyce. The B grade victor was Steven Lynch, also by 1 from John Gallagher, with Peter McMillan taking out C grade from Tony Camilleri. Another single stableford was played last Friday with Adam Engel taking the honours from David Shaw and Mick Kellett.
The April medal was played last Saturday with the overall honours going to Peter Craig. The A grade winner was Neil Bullen, winning by a shot from Steven Smith, with Garry Burley winning the B grade from Donald Hurley. The C grade victor was Brian Clarke from Gordon Jarrett. The A grade gross winner was Chris Atkinson with 2 over 74. David Fraser took out B grade and Brian Clarke won C grade. Nearest the Pins – third S Potter; eighth S Cooney; 14th N Purdy; 18th B Bullock.
This Saturday a single stableford event will be played in three grades, with a single stroke Anzac Cup to be played Saturday week.
Last Saturday the April Mug and Putts were conducted, in three grades and was the Skins Qualifying round. The A grade winner was Chris Rose, also taking out the putting comp. Steve McDonough was the B grade victor, while Richard Bryant with his 62 took out C grade fairly easily. Nearest the Pins – 3/12th G Roswell; 6/15th A McGrath; 9/18th B Griffe.
This Saturday a 4BBB stableford event will be played and will be the club qualifying round for the Foxsports and also the qualifying round for the Alex Armstrong Memorial four Ball knockout with 16 pairs to qualify.
There will be a charity golf day next Sunday Windara Nursery.
The April Medal was contested last Saturday with course in excellent condition, with Greg Northfield still on a winning streak, picking up the medal and the B grade trophy with 63, winning by 2 from Peter O’Brien. Tony Shaw also scored very well in the top conditions taking out A grade and winning by 1 over Neil Gillett. C grade scores were a little bit fair dinkum, with young Wade Sweeny winning his grade with 68, winning by a shot from Ian Boag.
Last Thursday Matt McGrath hit the ball fairly well and took out the comp with 42, from Terry Hancock, one point away, with Brian Mellin winning the 11 hole comp.
What's My Linewith Ian Clark
Well, it’s on again. The finger pointing over who is to blame for the depleting fish stocks has arisen again between commercial and recreational fisherman.
This time it is in Queensland and it is over tailor.
There has been, and still is, a long battle going on over whether to ban the commercial netting of tailor.
State Government has imposed caps but the recreational fishing representative body, Sunfish, believe that this will not help with depleting stock numbers.
The Queensland Seafood Industry Association claim that 80% of tailor harvested a year is by recreational anglers.
The association went on to claim that a Sunfish based anglers club caught over one tonne in a session for a prize of a trophy.
It starts to become a recorded message when it comes to the environment.
It is up to us as individuals to change things. As individuals in a club we should be looking at awards for catch and release efforts rather than who catches the most wins.
I feel the commercial sector is putting in the effort to sustain fish stocks. After all, it is their own, and their mates’, livelihood if they do not.
My feeling is the biggest destroyer of fish stocks is pollution and coastal development.
Everyone wants to live on the water. Which is nice.
But with human habitation comes at least some forms of new pollution.
There will always be recreational and commercial fishermen. One day we might put aside our differences and work together for future sustainability.
If the weather stays good for this weekend then the options are unlimited.
Tailor and school jew are along the beaches and the end of the walls.
Better pack the thermos as the best time is at night.
During the day the Richmond has whiting, bream, flathead and small schoolies getting around. The whiting seem to be hanging around Missingham Bridge.
The luderick are also poking about in their usual haunts. Woodburn is still holding some muddies but they might not be all that full at this time of year.
Mud crabs and sandcrabs are in the upper end of the Evans river with jennies and juveniles dominating the numbers.
Bream are along the walls and the tuna are giving the boys a bit of a touch up under the headlands. There have been some big hook ups but apparently not many have been landed.
Outside it is patchy although not many have ventured out so reports are sketchy. Riordans reef seems to be the pick of the spots if it is safe for you to get out there.
That’s all for this week.
Until next week
fun fishing.
University second rower Rob Sheeky uses his head during the Gold Rats 44-38 defeat of Casino last weekend. He was about the only Rat to do so.
Southern Cross University opened their season with a lucky 44-38 win over Casino last weekend.
While the Gold Rats’ work with their boots was pretty impressive their effort with their brains wasn’t so hot.
There are several lessons that even undergraduates shouldn’t need to be taught: don’t argue with the ref; get back 10 metres when the ref’s given the other team a bent arm penalty and don’t get complacent when you’re in front.
There’s only ever been one person in the entire history of rugby who changed a ref’s mind: Nick Farr-Jones in a World Cup pool game in 1991, who reminded the referee of a change in rules (the referee apologised, probably bowed and called the Wallaby captain ‘sir’).
While debate, discussion and questioning of rules are to be encouraged in the classroom on a rugby field they only serve one purpose: to piss the ref off and invite him to rebut the discussion with his whistle.
If needs be the Rats should learn a lesson from Woomera detainees and sew their mouths shut – even if the ref’s decision makes less sense than John Howard’s excuses for the ‘children overboard’ scandal.
Casino showed the bullheadedness that makes them one of the toughest teams in the comp and simply refused to admit the game was lost while the Gold Rats assumed they’d done enough.
The Rats were up 44-21 with 20 minutes left but Casino refused to give in quietly and posted three tries, to earn themselves two bonus points.
With a sort of first and a half grade competition this year bonus points become all the more important.
Byron Bay start their season with a home game against Kyogle.
Expect Luke Sullivan to carve through Kyogle like an Israeli tank through Palestine. Byron should win this one and give Kyogle a fitting welcome to first and a half grade.
Lismore begin footy season with a tough one against Wollongbar-Alstonville at Hill Park.
The Lismore city side has good back rowers in Andrew O’Brien and Cameron Lambert, but they don’t have the size of Wollongbar.
Lismore will struggle in tight forward play against Wollongbar and if Wollongbar manage to dictate the terms of the game then they’ll win.
Lismore halfback Paul Jeffrey, centre Mitch Mowle, and winger Steve Paisley have plenty of pace and skill and if Lismore can get the ball out to them then they should take the game.
Uni should take care of Grafton if they manage to shut up for long enough to play football.
Although Uni will miss the immense talent of Damon O’Loughlin, who just announced he is hanging up the boots, the Gold Rats are certainly not lacking talent this year.
The Rats will probably win and probably take another bonus point – with the partisan crowd at Maurie Ryan field it’s difficult to see Grafton having enough in the tank to knock off the students.
Casino head coastwards to Ballina to see if they can match it with the Seahorses.
The Bulls looked pretty good last weekend but Ballina have won the competition for the past five seasons for a very good reason: they’re a very good team.
Kane Scott showed during the preseason that he’s still got better vision than an eagle with binoculars and with Chad Duensing, Josh Piercy, Jamie Coote and Joel Newton in the side the Seahorses have another strong team.
If Casino play like they did last weekend then they’ll give Ballina a good game but the Seahorses, with the important home advantage, will more than likely make mince meat of the Bulls.
Lennox make their debut in first and a half grade with a trip to Mullum.
The Moonshiners will let Lennox know they’ve made the step up with a welcome about as warm as an Afghani refugee would receive from Phillip Ruddock.
Mullum are easily as tough as the minister for immigration and should beat Lennox easily.
The Summerland Australian Football League was due to start last weekend but all games were cancelled after the surprise exit of Grafton from the competition.
The Tigers have been struggling with the distance they need to travel to play in the SAFL, but the killer blow came with the large increases in affiliation fees due to public liability rises and administration costs.
An offer to return to the North Coast AFL, which is largely a closer venue to Grafton, gave them the opportunity to build on a more positive future for their Junior prospects as travel will become very important to their development.
Stronger support from the NSW/ACT AFL gives the NCAFL the ability to subsidise their affiliation fees to Clubs, which is also a major draw-card for Grafton this year.
A new draw has been formulated based on the SAFL 2000 season when a very good year saw Byron win the first of their last three Premierships. With many factors playing a role in the new draw, all Clubs should be fairly pleased with the outcome, particularly Byron who share their ground with other sports, as their home/away bookings do not change.
The competition will be even stronger in 2002 now that forfeit games may have been eradicated. Most clubs have seen very positive pre-season numbers and all players are keyed up to get the season underway.
At 2pm this Saturday the 2001 undefeated Premiers Byron Magpies will host the Lismore Swans at Shultz Oval Bangalow, while at the same time the Ballina Bombers will be playing at home at Fripp Oval Ballina against the Nimbin Demons.
Returning to four Clubs, the SAFL will continue to see an emphasis on the Junior Development through Auskick, and the options for more local sides to be introduced in the future will be kept open.
Ideal locations for future Clubs could include the areas of Mullumbimby, Brunswick Heads, Ocean Shores, Yamba, Kyogle, Casino, and Murwillumbah.
Huge growth in the interest of the Australian Football game has already seen hundreds of local kids participating in the Auskick program this year which encourages fun and safe learning of the skills of the game and still provides a competitive environment for the older kids.
Lismore and Nimbin had a friendly hitout last weekend and the Swans easily accounted for the Demons in a fun and spirited game.
They won by a big margin (around 100 points) and have thrown down the gauntlet to all clubs, showing that they are going to be a strong contender in 2002.
The second big pre-season win for the Lismore Swans has them already eyeing the silverware. Coach Ronny Meldrum is pleased with the solid result and some extremely accurate goal kicking had full forward Matty Moore booting 8 goals.
Roly Barrett
Friends, from left, Sarah Reynolds, Monique Window and Hanna Johnston are about to explore the sea life at Lennox Head. The girls, from Tyalgum Public School, are pictured during a marine exploration activity at a camp they attended recently at the Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Centre.
North Coast kids looking to have their school holidays jam-packed full of fun activities should contact the NSW Department of Sport and Rec.
The department is organising a week-long holiday camp for eight to 12-year-olds at its Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Centre at Lennox Head.
While at the centre children will be sailing, canoeing and surf skiing on Lake Ainsworth, swimming in the centre’s pool, snorkelling in a protected marine environment, and playing tennis and basketball.
Fun activities are organised for evenings and there’s also art and craft activities.
Program Co-ordinator for the Sport and Rec Centre, Annie Roberts, said participants would have a great time on the camp and enjoy the opportunity to learn exciting skills.
“Kids on a week-long camp are always blown away by the great time they have – exploring and doing new things, and making lots of new friendships. It’s an experience they’ll never forget,” Roberts said.
The camp will be held from April 22-26. The cost is $181.50 and covers all meals, accommodation, supervised activities and use of centre facilities and equipment.
Phone 13 13 02 to enrol.
The first round of Group One rugby league provided quite a few surprises last weekend, not least of which was last year’s champions, Brothers, going down to Grafton Ghosts 38-32.
Expect Brothers to come back with a vengeance this weekend when they head over to Mullumbimby to take on the Giants.
Brothers’ defence was somewhat lacklustre at times last weekend but it’s a safe bet that they’ll have worked on that problem during the week and Mullum should be ready for Brothers usual disciplined performance.
While Mullum did put on a good display against Kyogle last weekend, a wounded Ram is a dangerous one, and they’ll have to pull out all stops to hand out a second defeat to Brothers.
Also surprisingly, Ballina absolutely trounced Lismore Workers, knocking off the Tigers 64-24 after running away with the game in the second half.
Ballina should have a similar result against the Byron Bay Red Devils this Sunday at Red Devil Park.
Byron too ran out of steam in the second half of their game last weekend. After being down 22-20 at the break against South Grafton the Red Devils lost the game 42-20, showing their match fitness needs considerable work.
The South Grafton Rebels are off to the Lower Clarence, where they’ll have a tough contest against the Magpies.
The Lower Clarence Magpies made a dream return to Group One last weekend when they knocked off Casino 36-28.
Casino now have the daunting task of taking on a confident Grafton Ghosts outfit at the Ghosts home ground.
Grafton looked far too good last weekend in their unexpected win over Brothers and should finish the weekend with two from two for the season so far.
Workers Tigers should have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend when they play host to the Kyogle Bush Turkeys at Crozier Oval on Sunday at 2pm.
While the Tigers struggled in the second half against Ballina last weekend they’ll be out to prove themselves against the Turkeys.
Workers should take care of Kyogle without too much difficulty as long as their defence is tighter than it was last weekend.
Members of the public will be given free admission to Lismore Turf Club’s race meeting this Saturday, April 13, when a full race card will feature events with a University-related theme.
The feature race will be the Southern Cross University Cup over a distance of 1300m, while other races include the Graduation Plate, Vice-Chancellor’s Handicap, Southern Cross University Union Maiden Plate and Southern Cross University Alumni Maiden Plate.
With free public admission and the anticipation of a large crowd, likely include up to 800 SCU students and 200 staff, the day looks to be a successful one.
The first event is at 1pm, with the last race, which will be followed by barrier trials, to start at 4pm.
“It’s a great time of year to enjoy the weather, the race-day fashions and the beautifully prepared horses,” prize presenter, Professor Brian Rickard from SCU, said.
“Everyone in the community is invited to attend, especially if they’ve never been to the races before, and we look forward to welcoming you.”
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Antonio Meyer (second from left) is one of several classy new signings uni will field against Italo Stars in the Anzac Cup final. Meyer formerly captained a leading club in the Dutch National Youth League. |
Every picture tells a story; this one sums up the students’ upset loss to Thistles in last week’s opening round. |
Last week’s opening round of Soccer Far North Coast’s 2002 premiership produced some predictable results as several of the big name clubs registered good wins, but also provided a few surprises, setting the stage for more unpredictable match-ups this weekend.
The unexpected can be expected from tomorrow night, when round two kicks off with Lismore Workers home clash against Italo Stars from 8pm, with the remaining five games all set down for Saturday.
Workers began their premiership campaign by squandering a 2-0 lead, before going down 3-2 to an inspired Richmond Rovers, but will be boosted by the return of class midfielder Anthony Alvos.
Stalwarts Jason Toniello and John Wraight are still missing, but the key for the Redmen will be the combination of Alvos with Craig Murphy in central midfield.
If Workers’ new midfield pairing can win the battle against the likes of Stars’ Clint Willoughby and Jeremy Pollard, the Redmen will be in with a chance of being the first side to beat Stars this season.
Stars have already secured a place in the Anzac Cup final after winning all three pool games and then downing Thistles in the semis, before opening their premiership account with a comfortable 4-0 win over South Lismore last week.
But Workers were a bogey side for Stars last year, beating them in the Anzac Cup final and again in the premiership, before a draw in their third encounter.
Stars have since extracted some revenge with a 3-1 win over a depleted Workers in their Anzac Cup pool clash, ending the Redmen’s hopes of defending their Cup title in the process.
Despite the history, Stars’ full strength lineup should prove too strong, especially in attack where in-form strikers Wayne Mortimer and Tim Casagrande are establishing a promising combination that melds Mortimer’s unpredictability and guile with Cassagrande’s raw pace and deceptive ball skills.
Byron Bay and Richmond Rovers should produce an entertaining clash when they meet at the Bay on Saturday from 5pm.
Byron showed all the hallmarks of being set for a big season in last week’s opener , downing Casino 4-0 with just ten men, after midfielder Evan Cooper was sent off ten minutes into the game.
Cooper will be the only player missing from the Rams lineup and with Shaun Packham, Jed Wright and Glen Sheldrick all returning, the only problem for coach Graham Bird is who to drop.
With regulars such as Bruce Morhaus, Aaron Richter-Steers and Jens Walter all in good form, Byron will force Rovers classy outfit to the limits of their ability all over the paddock, in what looms as possibly the best game of the round.
Rovers have no injury or suspension worries and with the Sheridan brothers Tim and Adam in deadly form up front, it’s hard to see a low scoring result.
Rovers coach Noel Field also expects goals.
“There’s nothing between the sides and both love to attack, so I think it’ll boil down to who is better at holding possession to create shots on goal,” he said.
Ballina and Thistles each opened their premiership campaigns with narrow wins last week, leaving both determined to build early momentum with another win in Saturday’s unpredictable looking clash at Ballina’s Saunders Park from 5pm.
The Seahorses are traditionally hard to beat on home turf and will be boosted by the inclusion of Rod Troughton and Steve McAteer who return from suspension, but last week’s best player, sweeper Adam Walo is unavailable.
Thistles have a similar re-shuffle, with two key players returning in Anthony Nind and Simon Witchard, but still have injury clouds over their sweeper, Andrew Hewitt.
Alstonville and Goonellabah were both in the relegation spotlight last year, leaving both sides targeting a win in their encounter at Weston Park on Saturday from 5pm.
Neither side won their opening encounter but both had encouraging results, Villa holding premiers Maclean to a 1-1 draw and Goonellabah narrowly missing out on a point after a late goal gave Ballina a 1-0 win.
Villa will go in as slight favourites, with new signing Joe O’Rouke sure to loom large in their plans after an impressive debut performance in the centre of midfield against the premiers last week.
Southern Cross Uni have been dubbed the “Jekyll and Hyde” of the premiers after moving into the Anzac Cup final with some sensational form, before opening their premiership campaign with a lack lustre 1-0 loss to Thistles.
Uni has the chance to restore its equilibrium at 6pm on Saturday, with an away clash against a South Lismore side beaten 6-1 by the students just a few weeks ago in the Anzac Cup.
The return of dominant stopper Nat Hamilton will add some steel to Uni’s defence and with Ben Finn and Mitch Amidy also back, the students present a huge challenge to a Celtics side not lacking commitment but short on impact players.
Maclean were held to a torrid 1-1 draw against Alstonville in their opener last week, but should collect their first three-pointer in Saturday’s home clash against a struggling Casino at 3pm.
The Bobcats will be strengthened by the inclusion of Beau Paine, James Dillon and sweeper Shane Maycock, but their return will be timely, with Jim Harris, Fraser Robinson and ‘keeper Neil Thomas all unavailable due to rep duties with the NNSW grade 16’s.
Despite the changes Maclean should be too quick and too cohesive for a Cobras outfit with just one goal to their credit after four games.
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Bowled Over
Hooks and Slices
