Sport

On page 15 of North-Central League’s giant-sized grand final “Recorder”, distributed at Boort on Saturday, is a list of 25 people who, since the resumption of football after World War II, have given outstanding service to the development of the game in this part of the State. Among them is Donald’s Frank O’Shea, widely recognized for his coaching of junior teams, and for his newspaper reporting of North-Central football.

The annual Casino RSM Social Fishing Club Carp Muster has been running since 2009. There were about 100 people fishing this weekend, September 16–17 and plenty of carp was caught ... “My kids say its easy fishing for them and they put on a good fight when you hook them”: Casino RSM Social Fishing Club secretary Kristy Martin.

Maldon Cycling Group has just published a book with information about 16 local bike rides ... Peter Strang, one of the team who produced the book said, “There are some great rides around Maldon. Hopefully, this book will help some locals and visitors explore the area by bike”.  

Dre Jackson from Elliott and Duqarn Foster from Tennant Creek were chosen to represent the NT at Australian School Sport Australian Football Championships held in NSW. The cold conditions had all the players making sure their beanies and scarfs were in great use off the field.

The Pony Club Victoria’s Ride to Time final held at Moonee Valley was a huge thrill for the 20 young riders who qualified in trials across the state. They got to gallop on the hallowed turf where the world-famous Cox Plate is run and rubbed shoulders with the elite jockeys Greg Childs and Michelle Payne.

Rossanne Mason is not only a horse lover but an astute business woman as well. She was one of the first to see the expanding interest in dressage ponies and with her own Riding Pony stallion Penmain Posh and the imported Dutch Riding Pony stallion Triple Trees Prince Perfect bred a number of high-quality ponies performing in Australia and New Zealand.

Narrandera's Gary Myers and his son Jake have been chosen to run for the Street Machine of the Year awards with their famous Mustang and they are hoping for your vote ... The GM176/S1CKO Mustang gave Gary his first win in 2001 and it’s seen a few guises since his son Jake took up burnouts in the car, although it's always rocked blown 302 Windsor power.

A recent inquiry into Victoria’s duck hunting had more than 10,500 submissions, a record for a Victorian parliamentary inquiry. Labor chair Ryan Batchelor said Victoria should end recreational native bird hunting on all public and private land from 2024 ... The report did also recommend transforming hunting reserves into state recreation reserves, and excluding non aboriginals, whilst allowing traditional owners to continue to hunt ducks.

Allora P-10 Student Ellie Pidgeon was named the most outstanding Girl Athlete at the Darling Downs Track and Field Championship held in Toowoomba for both junior and secondary aged students. Ellie came first in three events...

Nhill and District Sporting Club hosted a successful Preliminary Final on Sunday, with record numbers through the gates. The crowds at Davis Park on Sunday for the preliminary final were confirmed by the League to be the biggest finals crowd in 2 years bar last year’s Wimmera League Grand Final.

Future Wallabies stars were on show at Yamba over the weekend as the Ngayundi Sports Complex hosted hundreds of children from across the state for the under 12 and 13, 2023 NSW Country Rugby Union Championships ... The Far North Coast under 13 side, coached by the Lower Clarence’s Dane Mitchell, impressed in every one of its four games, scoring more than 100 points while keeping their opposition score to zero.

On Saturday they will play off for North-Central Football League’s highest honour, the 2023 premiership – in both seniors and reserves! And  in case you’re new to North-Central clubs within the Buloke Shire, they’re the Sea Lake-Nandaly Tigers and the Nullawil Maroons.

Jess Liddy. Imogen McDonnell initially took up boxing for her fitness, but her love of the sport has taken her to places she could have never imagined. Originally from Minlaton, McDonnell, a 25-year-old nurse and trackwork rider, began boxing competitively in 2022.

It's easy to go to a big horse event and admire the beauty and talent of the horses, the elegant riders, the enormous size of the fences jumped, but what people should really be looking at and applauding are the volunteers who have made it all possible. These events don’t just happen and unfortunately it is getting harder each year to find the people who are willing to put the time in behind the scenes to ensure the sport we love to participate in and watch continues.

The Interschools Show Jumping series was started in Victoria in 2008 to promote the sport in the school community over courses designed by professionals at safe, purpose-built venues. In 2023, the series celebrated its 15th year with more than 200 schools represented at the three shows.

Over the weekend we had Under 14.5s have an impressive win for the semi-final against Trentham - which sets them up nicely for the next finals clash … The Club encourages its supporters to head over to Princess Park this weekend and support both our junior footballers and netballers. 

On Sunday morning, the local Pistol Club held an Open Day at their range located just outside of town, providing members of the public with the opportunity to try pistol shooting. Members of the club, along with visiting members of Pistol NT from Darwin, were present to assist and teach those who attended.

Lockhart shearer Nicki Guttler has had a very busy 12 months on the NSW Sports Shear Circuit. She has been competing in the senior level against the men in 12 shows, coming first seven times, second two times, third two times and failed to reach the final in one event. All in all she was the top competitor at the end of the circuit by 28 points.

Congratulations to Nhill Coastbusters Sarah White, Meg Hall, Holly Beattie and Emily Gladdis, who took on the challenge of the Coastrek 35 km on Friday at the Fleurieu Peninsula. The team finished the trek in 9 hours and 47 minutes ... Nhill Coast Busters finished as the No 1 team Fundraiser for the 35km event.

Fin Hansen. Seventeen years after receiving a cochlear implant, Bailey McNicholl has discovered his hearing could have been blocked by a flawed hospital system... The faults resulted in the potential under-mapping of implants, meaning devices were incorrectly programmed in up to 208 recipients, including now 23-year-old Bailey.

Berat local and Allora Swim Club member, Maeve Moore, recently competed at the School Sport Australia National Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre as part of the Queensland Swim Team. Maeve made the finals in the 50 breastroke and swam a personal best time of 38.88 to finish fourth place in the country.

Allora swimmer Bailey Harm has returned from the School Sport Australia National Championships in Sydney with a 2023 SSA National Champion title in the 50m Freestyle sprint. Bailey competed in seven events at the Championships, bringing home six national medals.