Sport

He’s done it. But for Steve Cansdell, it was never about the personal accolades. On October 14, close to 100 people gathered at Roches Hotel in Grafton to cheer, encourage, and support the former politician and Australian Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion as he set a new world record for the most solid punches landed in one hour on a punching bag by a male over 65 years of age.

Clarence Valley beaches now feature a splash of pink after the Far North Coast Surf Lifesaving Nippers season began and children don their pink rash shirts. Nippers at Yamba is open to children between the ages of six and fourteen, and the surf skills program teaches lifesaving techniques, surf safety, CPR, and rescue experience, while completing fun activities in the surf.

At 3 o’clock the annual speed shear at the Kaniva Show kicked off with 50 entries between intermediate and open ... Some very fast times, under 40 seconds to gain a place in the 6-person final for intermediate and under 30 for the open section with a few legendary shearers making their way to the truck to shear one young merino lamb.

A new bike library will link Orelia Primary School students with unclaimed bikes from WA Police to encourage physical activity. An exciting new bike library concept aims to leave a positive legacy in Kwinana by linking unclaimed or donated bikes with students at Orelia Primary School.

Quill. Who said Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky? It certainly wasn’t for Donald’s Annual P & A Show, which opened its gates on Friday for two days of fun for the whole family ... Of particular interest, and new to the Donald Show was Stewart Bryant’s literally cracking performance.

Michelle Daw. Yorke Peninsula commercial fishers are furious, as they say a new licence structure will increase their fees by more than 400 per cent and could force them out of business.

The Harcourt Pony Club in Central Victoria is not one of the biggest in the state but certainly one of the most innovative and thoughtful. It realises that in addition to teaching children the basics of how to ride and look after their horse, pony club also needs to challenge young minds and be fun.

The Ranch Horse Association of Australia’s first Versatility Ranch Show at Benalla was a success for competitors and enjoyable for spectators ... In ranch riding, riders ran a combination of patterns one and eight, with modified walk/trot patterns for the green rider and equestrians with disabilities (EWD) classes.

Cambooya teen Jordon Fenton-Anderson has had an amazing season in Futsal and Soccer as a goalkeeper. Jordon has just competed at the National Schools Futsal Championships, where she was honoured to Captain the South West 15s to runners-up for the second year in a row. Due to her standout performance at the championships she has just been named on the Australian 16s Futsal team.

Narrandera-born footballer Matthew Flynn has now joined the West Coast Eagles after the completion of his move from Greater Western Sydney. The 26-year-old joins the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent, heading west on a three-year deal after the paperwork was formalised.

The Allora Sports Club President, Kev Harrison reported a fabulous result for 2023 at the club's Annual General Meeting held on Monday evening. At the best attended AGM in almost 10 years, Kev was ecstatic with the performance of all three club activities, namely golf, bowls and social functions.

Shitbox Rally Spring 2023 – Port Douglas, Qld to Adelaide, SA via Birdsville. 500 people in teams of two will leave Port Douglas on  Saturday 14th  October 2023  in the morning. Then after 7 days of driving over 3,000kms on dusty, mostly unsealed roads they will cross the finish line in Adelaide, SA on Friday 20th  October…..however, some cars simply won’t make it.

More than 500 cyclists competed in the Copper Coast Cycling Cup on Saturday and Sunday, October 7-8. Australian Cycling Team won the Elite Men category while Cervelo Ziptrak triumphed in the Elite Women and Villawood in the Category 1 Men.

Alyssa Walker. An empty throne; a kingless crown; a floating title. It’s been a long 35-years for Jim Russell and Sue Hart atop the rocky seat of Mount Wycheproof, but, last Saturday, that reign came to an end. Word spread quickly about the ruler usurped, and, with the crown up for grabs, people flooded into the home of the Demons, sights hungrily set on claiming the title of the next King and Queen of the Mountain.

Many know Dianne Barnes as the successful para dressage rider, but there is so much more to the story. With the Paris Olympics less than a year away, Dianne and her mount Sorena are on a path to compete on the para dressage team, but this is just the latest chapter in a varied and successful riding career.

The Royal Melbourne show has drawn to close after 10 days of competition distinguished by some excellent judging across the Horses in Action program. Without exception, the judges were knowledgeable and fair and placings were well deserved.

The red dust at Barellan is a long way from the sparkling water of a pool but former Olympic swimming champion Shane Gould was taking a keen interest in the sound of a single furrow plough slicing through the clay at the Barellan Good Old Days Festival at the weekend ... She was a keen spectator at the single furrow ploughing completion on Sunday at Barellan, drawing heavy horse and bullock teams.

Who will ever forget the image of the Allora Golf Course voluntary groundsman Hethe Ramus mowing the first fairway by hand back in March 2022 ... Those days will be a distant memory for Hethe with the Golf Club today taking delivery of a brand new Kubota Baroness Gang Mower ...

Call me old fashioned, but I miss the old days when breed day opened Royal Melbourne show, with eight rings around the big arena. The giant Clydesdales were the pride of the show and led every parade, with the supreme champion at the front ... This year, just 35 of Australia’s favourite heavy horses were on show when once there would have been hundreds.

The fact that an El Nino has finally been declared might seem a distant problem to many horse people. While the natural weather pattern originating in the Pacific Ocean does not necessarily lead to drought, parts of the country such as Gippsland and in NSW near Dubbo have been experiencing very dry conditions for some time.

Lachie Neale is unstoppable. Born in Naracoorte, the AFL superstar won his second Brownlow Medal in Brisbane on Monday night. Known as the Lion King of AFL, the Brisbane co-captain has become the 16th player in VFL-AFL history to win the League’s biggest and most prestigious award multiple times.