Sports News

Hooks and Slices

with Stan Bendall

NRDGA

This Sunday the Lismore Workers Golf Club hosts the annual Northern Rivers Directors Day. It's a single stableford from a shotgun start at 12.30pm, and begins with a sausage sizzle at 11am, then dinner at 6.30pm.

Ballina

The club will be hosting Mullumbimby this Saturday for the 4BBB Webber Shield.

Mitchell Brown took out the Monthly Medal last Saturday. David Cawthorne's consistency paid off with a win in A grade by one from 'Mexican' Athol Dodd. B Grade went to John (JB) Bornholt with Keith Johnson popping up for C Grade.

Wes Penny won A Grade on Sunday with 71, while 66's to Peter Gibson and Chris Cole saw them take out B and C Grades respectively. Chris also won the Monthly Mug, while Bruce Campbell won the Bradman. This Sunday is the qualifying round for the 4BBB championship.

Casino

A single stableford will be played this Saturday. Those playing in the Monthly Medal last Saturday found the conditions very damp, especially in the afternoon. Good scoring was still the order of the day however, with 67's going to John Riggall and Justin Northfield in A Grade with Riggall winning on countback. B Grade saw Andy Shaw victorious, also with a 67. Mark Piccoli won C Grade on countback from John Brereton.

Coraki

A four-person ambrose will be held this Saturday followed by a single stableford in three grades the following Saturday.

Kyogle

This Saturday's event is a club-sponsored single stableford. Last Saturday Ashley Brosnan won the March Monthly Medal A Grade with Damian Everingham again winning B Grade. The club celebrated the Opening of Golf Season last Sunday with a 4BBB. The winners were Rob McNaughton and Reama Perkins from Rob Mortimer and Maureen Galo.

Lismore Workers

A single stroke event will be held in conjunction with a 2BBB this Saturday.

Last Saturday, players struggled against atrociously humid and wet conditions to contest the Monthly Medal. Damian Chambers shot a superb 70 off the stick for a nett 63 and an A grade victory. A fine junior player, Damian has returned to the Lismore club after spending time living in Sydney. Bob McLelland took out the gross with 74. B Grade went to mud runner Darren Cormick with Peter Moller taking out the gross.

The shootout got underway last weekend with players reminded that they must pay their ten dollars prior to the end of this month.

A final mention regarding last weekend's Bradman winner, club captain Ed Bennett. A deserving winner on the day his fourth hole tells the tale. Playing his second shot he donged the ball on the head and it came to rest one metre behind where he started! There will be a crowd following Ed this weekend hoping to catch a glimpse of his latest trick shot.

Mullumbimby

This Saturday, Mullumbimby will be travelling to Ballina for the Webber Shield with the return match set down for March 22.

Woodburn Evans Head

This Saturday's event will be the Treharne and Williams aggregate stableford.

The consistent Merv Cornelius again won the Monthly Medal with B and C grades going to John Levett and Craig Brown respectively. The ladies played a single stroke event that went to Irene Crompton from Jean Pike.

The Bombers Charity Golf Day was held last Sunday with victory going to Rosanne Kinnane, Bill Kinnane, Ross Williams and Corey Flaherty.

Lismore Workers Club v Lismore RSL

The annual challenge shield between the RSL and Workers Club was held last Sunday morning at the Lismore club with Workers coming out on top for the first time in a few years.

Golf junior selected for Challenge

Another notable junior talent is emerging from under the guidance of Peter Jaggle at Lismore Golf Club. Peter's protégés include World number 25, Michelle Ellis, Kane 'Mr '59' Webber, who is currently studying in America on a golf scholarship and Junior state squad member Rhein Gibson.

Emily Gray, 16, playing off three, has just won the girls section of the Junior Classic at Ocean Shores by four strokes. This automatically qualifies her for the Greg Norman Masters on the Sunshine Coast later in the year. She has also just been selected to play for the Northern District Ladies team to play the Gold Coast in the Northern Rivers Interdistrict Shield at Byron Bay on Friday. The return match will be held at Burliegh Heads on March 14.

Hook, Line and Sinker

with Lindsay Doust - Suffolks Sports Store

Mackerel Plentiful for those at Sea

It seems to be the sad story of most weekends that the weather turns to windy. Saturday was not too bad and those who took the opportunity to get to sea or fish the beach early in the weekend would have found the weather quite encouraging. Saturday certainly did produce some nice whiting from the Boundary Creek area and nice bags of blackfish from the south wall at Evans Head. For those who have been getting out to sea, most reports have been of mackerel. Around Evans Head they have been mainly spotties and further north around Byron and Brunswick reports have been of some nice Spaniards, or barries, as they are often called.

I have also had some very interesting reports of soft plastics, particularly squidgies and sliders, being taken by soapie jew, around the rock wall upstream of the Ballina ferry. Some of these fish have been up to 4kg and 5kg, which, when you consider they have been caught on light braided line, and very light rods, make for good sport. This would be comparable to taking a 10lb barramundi and anyone knows that this is one top experience to have.

Last year I was with a group fishing on the Limmen Bight in the Northern Territory. While there we ran into several hundred of similar sized barramundi using this kind of tackle and it was something we would all return to at the first opportunity.

Due to the rough seas last Sunday, the Deep Sea Fishing Club's outing has been postponed until next Sunday. People interested in deep-sea fishing should ring Pat on 6621 3047.

The Richmond Valley Sportfishing Club will have its next outing at Clarrie Hall Dam on the weekend of March 15-16. This will be a bass outing and, as usual, anyone interested in lure and fly fishing can contact the secretary, Bruce, on 6624 8805.

The recent rains have certainly cleaned up the river around Lismore and it is looking the best it has for many months. We're coming into a top bass season in the next few weeks and it should provide for great lure fishing.

Happy fishing

Locals in Surf Film

Laird Hamilton, one of the most respected big wave riders in the world, featuring in the 2003 Quiksilver Australian Surf Film Festival.

Legendary Australian surf film director Tim Bonython is bringing the 2003 Quiksilver Australian Surf Movie Festival to the Byron Bay Community Centre next Tuesday.

Bonython has been touring surf festivals for 22 years and has collected some of the best footage taken in recent years. The main feature is the multi-award winning Strapped, a 25-minute documentary showing the surfers who ride the massive walls of water referred to as mountains by surfers. It also offers an insight into how they ride these waves.

The screening kicks off with a timeless piece of Australian surf film history Mad Wax, one of Quiksilver's first surf videos, featuring Ross Clarke-Jones, Tom Carroll and Gary 'Kong' Elkerton.

The program also includes 'The Quicksilver Crossing', a boat expedition that circumnavigates the planet looking for perfect waves. It features six-time world champion Kelly Slater, the legendary Tom Carroll and Byron's own Danny Wills. There's also a series of shorts from recent wave riding and airshow footage competitions. The airshow also includes a number of the far north coast's leading junior competitors.

Screenings times: Tuesday, March 11, 6pm and 8.30pm, Byron Bay Community Centre.

Table Tennis Elite come to Town

Leading local player Mike Jenkins in action. Mike is a leading contender for the FNC Table Tennis Open, to be held at the Goonellabah RSL Table Tennis Centre this Saturday and Sunday.

The Far North Coast Table Tennis Championships will be held this weekend at the Goonellabah RSL Table Tennis Centre. Players will be competing for over $1,000 in prize money and, in the open divisions, points towards the $1,200 Table Tennis Queensland 2003 Reserve Grand Prix.

Nominations for the championships, which include junior and veterans titles, have come from as far as Brisbane in the north through to Coffs in the south.

The best prospects in the open men include Brisbane's Andy Shih, Serif Bakanay, Anthony Jeffress and Stephen Gao. Organisers are also hoping for a late confirmation from 2002 Men's Open winner, Kiet Tran, from Sydney.

In the ladies division nationally ranked Peri Campbell-Innes, from Wynnum, the 2002 Under 20 winner, looks the strongest prospect. Her sister, Claire, 14, won the Open and Under 14 titles last year but is not making the trip this time due to studies.

Local players are expected to feature prominently in the junior and veteran categories. Wade and Kane Townsend have been showing phenomenal form in the Far North Coast (open-age) club competition and Wade is certainly favoured to add to the Under 12 and Under 14 singles championships that he won last year. In the veterans divisions Werner Borkhart will be looking to add a singles crown to the Over 40, Over 50 and Over 60's championships that he won in 2002.

The Echo is a proud sponsor of the Far North Coast NSW Open Table Tennis Championships. Competition starts at 8.30am on both Saturday and Sunday with the open grades starting at 1.30pm on Saturday.

Wade in Sweep

The second round of the Far North Coast Table Tennis competition last Wednesday saw Cabarita's Wade and Kane Townsend, teamed with Jim Armstrong, defeat the experienced Goonellabah team of Col Gradwell, Mike Jenkins and Graham Bultitude in First Division. The 7-5 was the night's closest encounter. Once again Wade Townsend made it a clean sweep, dropping only one game to Col Gradwell.

In the other First Division match Ballina defeated Byron Bay with an 8-4 win. Best for Byron Bay was Werner Borkhardt winning all 3 of his singles matches.

Second Division saw The Bay team comfortably defeat Southside 8 rubbers to 4. Consistent play in their singles matches saw each player from The Bay win 2 singles matches, whilst Bruce Thomas from Southside won all his 3 singles.

Table Tennis Draw for Wednesday, March 12:

1st Division: Byron Bay v Goonellabah, Cabarita v Lismore, Ballina (Bye).

2nd Division: Northern v Southside, Westend v Simestown, The Bay v Eastside, Griffinville (Bye)

Little A's Back on Track

Lismore Little Athletics Club members Zoe Goodsell-Dundas, Carly Potts, Alex Knight, Sarah Bartrim, Zac Knight, Joshua Larnack, Cory Hughes, Jake Watts and Calvin Hughes after their recent successful trip to the Regional Championships.

The District Interclub Little Athletics meeting cancelled on February 2 will now be held at Riverview Park, Lismore, this Sunday starting at 10am. Competitors will be coming to Lismore from zones across northern NSW and southern Queensland.

Hard Works Pays off for Swim Squad

The countless hours of laps and stroke correction paid off handsomely for a small, but strong, team of swimmers from Alstonville Swimming Club at the NSW Country Championships, held over February 21-23 at the Sydney Aquatic Centre.

The club's overall effort ranked it 13th in regional NSW, with club members winning three gold, one silver and seven bronze medals and claiming a NSW Country record along the way. This effort was underpinned by a stunning 26 personal best times from members of the squad.

Gemma Johnson broke the NSW Country record in the 12 Years 100m freestyle with 1.01.06 secs. Gemma also won gold in the 12 Years 100m butterfly and bronze in 12 Years 200m individual medley. An early achiever, Gemma has shown that she has the basic potential and talent to take the next step up.

The club's other 2003 NSW Country Champion, Lucas Wise, won gold in his favourite race, the 100m freestyle in a PB time of 53.25 secs.

Hannah Gibson was in fine form and highlighted her talent with a silver medal win in the Open 200m breaststroke, bronze in the 100m breaststroke and a 4th place in the 16 Years 200m individual medley.

Amelia Thomson won bronze in her debut 11 Years 100m-backstroke event, reinforcing her potential as an up and coming young swimmer.

Nicci Lawrence, 16 Years, and Kate Johnson, 15 Years, both won bronze medals for their 100m freestyle age events and were very competitive in the Open freestyle and butterfly races. Leading national coaches believe that Nicci has the talent and speed to be competitive at the highest levels.

In a great return to top-level swimming Mat Thomson swam a personal best time in all of his age and Open events. Cavell Brewer-Charles and Huw Darnell were successful in the very competitive 15 Years age group. Cavell achieved top six ranking in both the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle.

Showing the benefits of hard work Huw swam a very fast 25.80 secs in the Open 50m freestyle event.

Ben Pool won two bronzes, in the 100m freestyle and backstroke.

Casino to Host National Title

The Northern Rivers Branch of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia will host the National Lever Action Classic Postal Competition on the weekend of March 15-16, at its Casino range.

There will be upwards of 35 teams, each comprising five shooters, coming together from all over Australia to contest this prestigious national title.

Results of Northern Rivers SSAA events:

Saturday, March 1. Handgun Service Match:

Tony 823- c/f, Des 812- c/f, Bob 790-.22, Norman 782-.22, Paddy 741- c/f, Adrian 637-c/f, Dean 636- c/f, Frank 603- c/f, Kevin 550- c/f, Andrew 393- c/f, Ron 392-.22.

Sunday, March 2. Lever Action Classic:

Jim 275.2, Don C 249.1, Dave 224.1, Adrian 187, Ian 173, Don B 147, Herb 135, Bruce 42.

Results show Christian names only as per club security request.

Calender for March:

Saturday, March 8, SSAA Military Service Rifle. Sunday, March 9, SSAA Pistol Western Action. Tuesday, March 11, SSAA Rimfire Night Shoot (7.30 pm start). Saturday and Sunday, March 15 - 16, SSAA National Lever Action Postal Shoot Classic Calib. Saturday, March 22, SSAA BR30 / Hunter Benchrest (Rimfire only). Sunday, March 23, SSAA General Shoot and Shotgun. Saturday, March 29, SSAA Military Service Rifle. Sunday, March 30, SSAA Pistol Service Match.

Any queries to Don Chesworth - 6628 3979.

Kirra Challenge

Surfing Far North Coast clubs are now preparing for the Gold Coast's largest teams event, the Kirra Teams Challenge, that has now been extended to a three-day competition after receiving so many entries.

The event will start on Friday, March 21, where more than 40 clubs are expected to surf out the event from as far away as South Australia. It is expected that Angourie, Le-Ba, Byron Bay, Cabarita, Kingscliff and Fingal board riders clubs will all field teams for the event.

On the national scene Anthony Walsh from Lennox Head has reached his first final on the Australian Pro-Junior surfing tour. Competing last weekend at the Billabong Avoca Pro Teen on the Central Coast, Walsh won his way through after being the only local rider to make it past the quarter finals of the six-round competition. James Woods, also from Lennox, and series leader Byron's Jarrad Sullivan, were both eliminated in the quarters.

Local surfers have also figured in international competition in the past two weeks. Lennox Head surfer Jock Barnes won his 'round of 96' heat in the $50,000 Hansen Energy Pro in Hawaii, before being eliminated in the following round. A World Qualifying Tour event, the Hansen is held at the Banzai Pipeline on Oahu. Barnes was one of three North Coast surfers at the Pipeline.

Byron's Josh Lewan was eliminated in the first round, while Cabarita's Josh Fuller was eliminated in the 'round of 96'.

The Smile of a Winner

Willis, with his proud owner John Schultz, immediately after winning the State of Origin Jack Russell challenge final at Lismore Greyhound track on Tuesday.

For the second year running Willis, a three-and-a-half year old Jack Russell, has come away from the Lismore greyhound track a winner.

Owned by John Schultz of Casino, Willis won his way through to the feature event on Tuesday and took out the State of Origin challenge final.

When asked about Willis' breeding John preferred to defer, simply saying "Dunno, but I do see the parents around town occasionally." A few jealous owners of rival dogs wouldn't mind knowing the answer, as Willis is obviously a very fast Jack Russell.

A number of dogs had made the journey down from Queensland and the meeting, held in conjunction with traditional greyhound racing, was a huge success.

University Race Day meet attracts Sky Channel

This Saturday's Southern Cross University race day will feature on the pay TV racing network, Sky Channel, in the "Off the Beaten Track" show, which showcases the best of country race meetings.

This Saturday Sky Channel will have cameras roaming around capturing the unique atmosphere of the day and interviewing many of the young racegoers.

The University race day has become one of the major events on the Lismore racing calendar with thousands of students bringing a strong sense of colour and enjoyment to the track.

The news couldn't make Lismore Turf Club Secretary-Manager Michael Timbrell happier, as he strives to maintain industry support for regional Saturday racing.

"Many people stop me in the street and complain that country racing isn't being given a fair go. I agree. This is our chance to make the administrators of NSW Racing sit up and take notice," he said.

"If we can attract a young crowd of 3000 to 4000 people on a Saturday meeting, then maybe we can help the push to boost funding for Saturday meetings and ensure that Saturday racing in the country regains a strong importance in the thinking of racing administrators."

All students and staff of Southern Cross University receive free entry with normal entry prices only $6 adults and $4 concession.

The meeting will also feature tipping competitions, novelty races by university students and a fashion parade.

Norths Weather the Storm

Weather again played havoc with the LJ Hooker League cricket fixtures last weekend. The round had already been reduced to a one-day fixture after rains had completely washed out the previous weekend's play.

Only one match, between Norths Goonellabah RSL and Lennox saw a result, with Norths edging their way into the four on the back of a three wicket win.

The Ballina Bears v Tintenbar East Ballina and Brunswick Byron v Eastern Districts matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Lennox Head were sent in by Norths and were in a strong position at 2-68 when the wheels started to fall off. Steve Lockhart (3-15) and then Brad Walker (4-19) tore the heart out of the Lennox middle and late order batting bundling them out for 118 with three overs to spare. Norths reached their target in exactly the same number of overs thanks to a team contribution which saw six of their batsmen reach double figures. Norths still required 29 runs with only four wickets in hand but reached their target for the loss of only one more wicket.

Southern Districts batsmen were able to get some valuable time in the centre prior to this Sunday's LJ Hooker League One-Day final at Oakes Oval. They were put in to bat by Marist Brothers who were hoping for an early breakthrough. The Marist Brothers hopes of forcing a result were denied by the Southerners, who compiled a respectable 9-159 from their allotted 45 overs.

Brad Lofts (43), Rex Parrish (38) and Richard Nind (28) provided the spine for the Souths innings of 8-133.

Casino Cavaliers went against traditional wisdom by opting to bat on a humid day in which the ball was bound to be receptive to movement through the air. Adam Shields (33) and Michael Kilkeary (32) vied with the extras (33) to provide the top contribution for the team. Alstonville's David Alley found the conditions to his liking, hauling in five of the seven wickets to fall to bowlers for a cost of just twenty runs.

The final round of the competition will pit third and fourth placed Alstonville (40 points) and Norths Goonellabah RSL (38) against each other in a potential cutthroat fixture.

Southern Districts (37), Marist Brothers (35) and Ballina Bears (33) all have aspirations on a finals position with Souths and Ballina meeting in the final round.

LJ Hooker Round 9 draw (final round): Alstonville v Norths RSL (Hill Oval, Alstonville), Ballina Bears v Souths Fripp Oval, Ballina), Eastern Districts v Marist Brothers (Oakes Oval, Lismore), Brunswick Byron v Casino Cavaliers, (Thompson Oval, Brunswick), Tintenbar East Ballina v Lennox Head (Saunders Oval, Ballina).

LJ Hooker League ladder after Round 8. Eastern Districts 58, Tintenbar East Ballina 46, Alstonville 40, Norths Goonellabah RSL 38, Southern Districts 37, Marist Brothers 35, Ballina Bears 33, Casino Cavaliers 23, Brunswick Byron 16, Lennox Head 6.

Tintenbar need to blunt Souths bats in rescheduled one-day final

The final of the LJ Hooker League One Day Series this Sunday will pit Souths against Tintenbar East Ballina. The match, starting at 10am at Oakes Oval, Lismore, was scheduled for a fortnight ago, but was postponed due to rain.

After getting some valuable time in the middle during last week's rain-affected round, the Southerners take a slight advantage into the final. Should Tintenbar be able to blunt the batting strength of Souths top order they should carry the day. Rex Parrish and Michael Nind (notwithstanding last week's duck) have been in consistent form for Souths with the bat, as they showed with their 206 run partnership against Alstonville. It was this partnership, and the speed with which the pair scored, that improved the Souths run rate sufficiently to break a three-way tie with Marist Brothers and Norths Goonellabah RSL to edge into the final.

Tintenbar have legitimate claims on the title however, as they have been the far more consistent team throughout the one and two day fixtures. Not only did they top the one day ladder, they are also running second in the LJ Hooker two day competition with only one round remaining before the finals.

Swans mourn Hawk

On Friday, February 21, the Lismore Swans lost one of their favourite sons, Daniel Hawkins to a tragic car crash near Broken Head. Dan had been a Swan for the two years that he was at University, and had performed many great acts for the Swans both on and off the field.

Dan had a generous heart, which saw him effortlessly give many hours of his time to club, his club mates and friends. A member of the fund raising committee, Dan wore his Swans guernsey with pride. Injuries only allowed him limited appearances but when Dan did play his team mates always walked taller knowing that he was beside them. None of us will ever forget any of the adventures that we had with Dan.

The Lismore Swans would like to send their condolences to Dan's family and to those who where affected by his death. We would like to pass on our best wishes to the other families involved in this tragedy, and hope that a speedy recovery ensues.

Goodbye Huds, you will be sorely missed.

Anzac Cup Starts Festival

Lismore's winter sports season traditionally get underway with the start of the Anzac Cup soccer competition.

Teams are divided into pools of three or four with each pool winner advancing to the final. If a division has three pools the top team in each pool and the next best performed team qualify for a semi-final place.

The Anzac Cup, the first of three annual competitions held by FNC Soccer, kicks off this weekend with a full round of matches in Premier, Open A, Open B and Grade 16.

Cup finalists from last season, Southern Cross University have not entered the Anzac Cup Premier competition this year, opting to concentrate their efforts on the home and away season, starting on April 5. SCU have entered a team in the Open A division, and their place in the Premier Division has gone to Tweed Heads.

The Anzac Cup campaign opens on Friday at 8pm at Weston Park, Goonellabah with a clash between Byron Bay and Lismore Workers. The Open A division curtain raiser between Goonellabah and Richmond Rovers is at 6pm.

The remaining Anzac Cup Premier Division games will be played on Sunday. The match of the round is at Barrow Lane between hosts Italo Stars and Ballina. Stars, the Cup holders, have an improved squad after falling at the final hurdle in last year's Premier League grand final. Ballina will be looking to continue their improving form from last year.

Thistles will host arch-rivals and premiers Rovers, hoping to make amends for the disappointment of missing out on the finals series last year.

Alstonville are an unknown package this season. They have struggled over the past two years, but their young squad has the potential for a vast improvement in both their teamwork and ladder position. Their assignment this Sunday at Crawford Park is the equally mysterious Tweed Heads.

The remaining game sees Maclean meet a seemingly understrength Casino in Grafton. Without picking up some new talent, or having their juniors step up to the mark, it could be a long season for Casino.

Anzac Cup, Premier Division, Round One draw: Friday, 8pm: Byron Bay v Lismore Workers, Weston Park (WP1), Goonellabah. Sunday 4pm: Maclean v Casino, Rushforth Park, Grafton. Sunday, 5pm: Italo Stars v Ballina, Stars, Lismore; Richmond Rovers v Thistles, Thistles (T2), East Lismore; Alstonville v Tweed Heads, Crawford Park (CP1), Alstonville.

Action from the opening round of the 2002 Anzac Cup.

Academy Rugby in Strong Showing

The North Coast Academy of Sport Rugby Union squad performed well in Tamworth for the annual Regional Academy 10s tournament over the weekend.

The Academy squad played five games for four wins without conceding a point. Their only blemish was a 10-0 loss to eventual winners Central Coast.

The North Coast side opened their account with a 12-0 victory over the strong Hunter academy, Harry Witt and Rhys Starr posting tries with Starr also putting over a conversion.

The North Coast proved very competitive against a well-driven and speedy Central Coast outfit. The scores did not reflect the territorial flow of the game, with North Coast unlucky not to cross the line on three occasions.

Against the Illawarra Academy North Coast raced to a 14-0 lead after two tries to AJ Gilbert, then resisted a strong Illawarra comeback with great defence.

The side then took on Northern Inland Academy, again racing to an early lead thanks to two tries to Duncan Chubb and one to Matt Smith. An injury late in the game robbed NCAS enough time to increase their 15-0 lead.

In their final game against a massive Western Academy outfit the NCAS side scored a 12-0 win after the team's standout performer, AJ Gilbert, ran in two tries and Trent Clarke added a conversion.

Beside Gilbert, (pictured, right) NCAS were best served by Duncan Chubb, Harry Witt, Peter France and Aaron Burnett.

The squad has blended brilliantly under the guidance of Tony Montgomery and Scott Edwards and the members are now looking forward to both the Junior Rugby season and representative campaigns ahead.

Use the form below to search through the Northern Rivers Echo Newspaper web site.

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