By CASEY O’CONNOR
IT HAS been an awful week for rugby league. The Parramatta fiasco stole the headlines for all the wrong reasons and across the ditch yet another scandal involving senior NRL players and drugs. Welcome to a day in Todd Greenberg’s life.
After revelations of the indiscretions of several of the Kiwi Internationals, Greenberg announced on Tuesday the proposed sanctions against the Parramatta Eels. While everyone knew something was coming, the alleged level of duplicity by the Eels hierarchy was jaw dropping. Eels fans were left shocked and angry and talk back radio has been inundated with fans expressing their outright anger. That Parramatta allegedly have been in breach of the salary cap by over $3 million in the past four years, and around $570,000 over the cap this season are allegations staggering in their enormity.
And begs the question after the penalties imposed on the Dogs, Warriors and Melbourne Storm in the last decade, “What were they thinking?”
In an environment where winning a premiership is paramount and every success is judged on that basis, there will always be the temptation to push the boundaries. Seems like Parra did not just push the boundaries they bulldozed them. It seems almost ludicrous to equate the magnitude of this deception with Parra’s abysmal record at the bottom of the NRL pond for so many seasons. Hardly seems like they got value for money.
The “who” and the “why” will play out in coming weeks.
Perhaps, this pain will eventuate in some good for all – more scrutiny on player managers; perhaps more accountability from players, more overall transparency.
The one thing we have seen is that the man at the top of the NRL is decisive, across his brief and is going to take no prisoners. That is the only positive to date.
In the meantime, spare a thought for long suffering Eels fans. It is a bitter pill to swallow after finally having a reason to smile about in season 2016. You bet they are going to be unhappy.
Spare a thought also for those front office staff who, no doubt, will be left to deal with a swarm of angry Eels while the boys at the top now work on their own legal cases after being granted a court injunction on Tuesday against their deregistration.
Not really the feel or look of people with the best interests of the club at heart. Funny that in the scheme of things, it seems they haven’t for a while.
– Casey
REPRESENTATIVE ROUND
THIS weekend Hunter Stadium will host the Trans-Tasman Test Rugby League between the Kiwis and Kangaroos. The Jillaroos and Kiwis Ferns will do battle in the curtain-raiser to the Test at Hunter Stadium. Hopefully, all the other issues swirling around the game will not take away from the importance of the representative round.
A Pacific double header featuring Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and PNG will be held at Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium. Adding to the International flavour of a full weekend of representative rugby league, the Junior Kangaroos will again play the Junior Kiwis in the curtain-raiser.
The Trans-Tasman Test is an important match for both teams, in a Four Nations year, and is the Kangaroos first match under new coach Mal Meninga.
Meninga has been cautious in his approach to selection with only a couple of new faces in the line-up. Greg Inglis who has been in awful form for the Bunnies and very obviously carrying an injury or two gets his chance to turn his season around with a big performance in the centres.
Two of the “bad Boys” of league on a few season ago, Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson get their chance in the green and gold since their infamous days at Canberra. Both have been in eye-catching form at club level and have turned not only their football careers but their lives around. It is good to see them rewarded. Many think Cory Oates was stiff to miss selection with Dugan getting the nod, but there is no doubt his time will come.
There has not been much hype over the Trans-Tasman Test, but there is no doubt pulling on the green and gold jersey is a great honour for the players and there is sure to be plenty of support from rugby league fans in the Hunter. The Kiwis have had our measure in recent times, but I’m sticking with the experience of the Kangaroos and expect them to give the Kiwis a walloping.
BUSY WEEKEND ON THE GREENS
ANOTHER long weekend, another busy weekend on the greens and fairways in Stanthorpe. The Friday “Chook Run” saw several players out and about taking the opportunity to hone their skills. Greg Yap began his nine- day golf tour, returning 24 points to win the event and put him in good stead for his vigil.
Kay Webb undoubtedly stole the show in the 4BBB medley stableford on Saturday. In the annual event sponsored by Kilcoy visitors Jeff Ihle and Biz Ihle, Webb shot an Eagle on the 13th hole, recording a massive five points.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to get Webb and her playing partners into the winners circle.
A large contingent of visitors from Kilcoy joined the sponsors and local golfers for a great day of golf. Conditions proved to be perfect for the winning team of W. Pedersen and J. Pedersen who finished with 49 points and are the first team from Kilcoy to take out the event. Flying the local flag and finishing only one point adrift in second place were Graham Tonkin and Max Hunter. A shaky start at the first hole proving costly.
On Sunday, the Central Motors Three Ball Ambrose sponsored by Rob Reeves started on time with a shot gun start and a maximum field. The Kilcoy visitors stuck around for the annual event. Alex Wright, Graham Duncan and Vicki Meloni, teamed up to return a nett score of 56 for their round and take another win back to Kilcoy. The team of O’Brien, Shannon and Favero returned some prestige to the local ranks as they claimed the runner’s-up spot.
On such a busy weekend on the Granite Belt calendar, it was pleasing to see so many locals and visitors enjoying a successful weekend of golf played in perfect conditions.
Following the success of the weekend, the sponsors have indicated that they will be back next year to sponsor their events which is great news for the Stanthorpe golf club and their members. There were several members who volunteered on the weekend to ensure things ran smoothly and the club would like to extend their thanks to those people.
It will be a quieter weekend this week for the May monthly medal and putting competition. It is also the Betty Yap memorial event sponsored by Greg Yap. In Men’s competition it is also the first of four rounds in the club championships in all three divisions, A B and C. The time sheet can be found on the board at the club
CLAY EVENT POPULAR
TWO Rounds of DTL Clays were held on the Inglewood Range on Sunday and approved popular. Tom Donald shot consistently in both rounds. In Round One, he outscored Scott Johns and Trevor Lewis and round two was too strong. A pistol competition was also on the cards, and the winner of that was Jason Lewis who outpointed Iain Bowen and Trevor Lewis picked up another minor placing. Jason Lewis outscored Trevor Lewis in the Clays event but in the Pistol competition the results were reversed.
This Sunday, members line up for Single Action Sunday and Rimfire.
CONSISTENCY WINING FORMULA
PETER Williams sponsored the Trophy at the Wallangarra Golf club on Saturday. Kevin Williams played a consistent round to win the event. Jamie Purcell finished in second place just ahead of John Green. For the first time in a while the names Steve Hampstead and Gary Sutcliffe were not in the winners circle. However, both held pin shots at three and nine respectively. Hampstead and Kevin Williams also claimed an approach shot each.
This Saturday, players will be competing for the May Monthly Medal and Putting competition.
CAMPBELL CARRERA SUCCESS
MATT Campbell’s success in last weekend’s Carrera Cup event at Sydney Motorsport Park has put him 30 points clear in the standings and has fellow drivers and enthusiasts taking notice of his talent. Campbell and driving partner George Emery became the first combination with two Pro AM race wins in one event during the Porsche Carrera Cup. Emery was full of praise for his young partner flagging a bright future for him. The next stop in the Carrera Cup is Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway. Motor enthusiasts in the district will be following Campbell progress with great interest.
47th BATTALION CARNIVAL SUCCESS FOR SUNNY COAST
ROMA and district hosted the 2016 47th Battalion Trophy carnival last weekend. The annual event sees teams from the NRL Central Division area pitted to play a round robin competition. The South West Country side had a successful carnival, finishing at the top of pool B while Toowoomba went down in the Pool A final to the Sunshine Coast team.
Club journeyman Jason Wilmot, playing in the Toowoomba side, earned himself another representative call up when he was named in the Central Division Team at the conclusion of the carnival.
The South West Country side posted wins over Central Highlands and a narrow 20-18 win over Gladstone in the four games they played. South West players will now compete in the 2016 Outback Carnival.
With a return this weekend to TRL fixtures, the Cowboys have a bye while Wattles play Brothers at Glenholme Park on Sunday.
INTERNATIONAL DAY
SATURDAY 7 May is International Croquet Day. Although clubs may not have normally scheduled games, clubs everywhere endeavour to play in this particular day. Members of the Stanthorpe club friends and prospective members are invited along on Saturday morning to the courts to take part in some games of Golf Croquet. The scheduled starting time is 9.45am. This is another opportunity for anyone who could not make the recent Come N Try day and would like to have a closer look at the sport. Members and visitors are asked to contact Elaine Brown on 0401 630 272 to play.
FUTURE OF CITY COUNTRY CLOUDED
THE annual NSWRL City Country game will play out this weekend in Tamworth. While it is great for country districts to host these games, you have to wonder whether the clock is ticking on the concept. Brad Fittler coach of the City side has named 10 debutantes in his side with many NRL club coaches making players unavailable for the clash which has long been nothing more than a spectacle – long gone the pathway to Sate of Origin representation.
Terry Matterson takes the reigns for the Country side.
Country Origin: Jack Wighton, Kane Linnett, Euan Aitken, Jarrod Croker, Isaah Yeo, James Maloney (capt), Jack Bird, Shannon Boyd, Mitch Rein, Jack De Belin, Tyson Frizell, Boyd Cordner, Dale Finucane, Jordan McLean, Paul Vaughan, Tariq Sims, Mitchell Aubusson.
City Origin: Chris Lawrence (capt), Nathan Brown, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Bryce Cartwright, Addin Fonua-Blake, Aaron Gray, Clint Gutherson, Leilani Latu, Kyle Lovett, Josh Mansour, Tyrone Peachey, Nathan Peats, Aidan Sezer, Curtis Sironen, Tom Symonds, Chad Townsend, Jake Trbojevic. Ryan Matterson (18th man).
CLOSE GAMES A HIGHLIGHT
THERE were some wonderful skills showcased this week during the association croquet games as two of the sports most experienced, Pat Schnoor and Margaret Dickenson went head to head in an extremely close game. Both players had some excellent breaks. In a fine display, Pat had one break of eight, one of five and one of three. Her opponent was also strong on the breaks with a six and a four. Pat Schnoor eventually claimed a very narrow win.
In other games, despite scoring eight hoops Jenny Tunbridge was defeated by Carol Verwey. The final score 12-8. Joy Newman’s score of 21 gave her a win over Val Shephard and Grace Howard.
REMY LEONARD PUTTING WOODENBONG ON THE MAP
WOODENBONG youngster Remy Leonard is one step closer to his dream of qualifying for the Archery World Field Championships in Ireland after a record breaking performance in New Zealand recently, and is putting his hometown of Woodenbong on the map.
Leonard travelled to Christchurch as a member of the Australian Archery team to shoot in the Trans-Tasman Challenge.
It was a successful competition for the teenager who added more gold and silver medals and records to his growing tally.
On the opening day of the international competition, Leonard shot well enough to rank first in the men’s division. He followed that up with a solid performance in the mixed team event where he teamed with Alicia Simpson from NSW. The pair finished with the silver medal.
On day two, the individual competitions began. As a result of his ranking, Leonard went straight into the semi-finals and made it to the gold medal round. Despite shooting well earlier in the day, he had to battle strong wind conditions in the final and finished with another silver medal. Day three the final day involved shooting over several distances with the highest score possible 1440. The wind conditions again proved troublesome but Leonard grabbed the gold medal. In doing so, he broke the Trans-Tasman 1440 record with a score of 1390.
The Australian Team went on to win the Trans-Tasman challenge on total points against their Kiwi cousins.
The event is held every two years for young archers under 20. The talented Woodenbong youngster now turns his sights to Melbourne where a successful performance is likely to see him qualify for the World Field Championships.
NEWCOMERS LEARNING THE ROPES
WITH several new players joining the golf croquet group, two first to seven games were played before he break this week to help the newcomers get a feel for the game. Partners were swapped in the second game. The new players are learning quickly, adapting to the game and showing plenty of skills.
In the first game, the experienced team of Bill Golding and Elaine proved too strong for Shirley Page and Marion Castle despite a strong showing from that pair. The final score 7-4. Golding top scored with five hoops.
Val Fancourt paired with newcomer Justin Liddy to defeat Liz Ellway and Judy Lock 7-1. In this game, Val top scored with five hoops.
In the second game, Bill Golding teamed with newcomer Marion Castle and the pair had a 7-4 win over Elaine Brown and Shirley Page. Val Fancourt and Judy Locke had a 7-3 win over Justin Liddy and Liz Ellway.
Following the break, a longer game was played with Val Fancourt drawing to play two balls.
Fancourt outplayed opponents Golding and Page in what was a very close game. The scores 12-11.
In the remaining game, Judy Lock and Liz Ellway defeated Elaine Brown and Justin Liddy. Ellway was in top form, scoring eight hoops in this game now lead the Carrera.
KILLARNEY POST FIRST WIN
THE Killarney Cutters posted their first win in the 2016 season last Saturday when they defeated a vastly improved Stanthorpe/Texas side 44-38 in a close game at Charlie Andrews Oval.
The newly formed Stanthorpe Texas side opened the scoring and held a handy 14-6 lead in the first half. Killarney bounced back to score two converted tries and wrestle the lead from the visitors. As the game ebbed and flowed both sides scored, and at half time the visitors held a four-point lead. Texas player Ian Thompson put the visitors further in front with two tries in the second half. The Cutters were not to be denied and put on four tries in quick succession to notch up their first win of the season. Cutters captain Dion Galloway was named Man of the Match. Galloway led from the front throughout the game and finished with two tries and 12 points off the boot.
In the other BRL game played last weekend, the Inglewood Roosters proved too hot to handle for the home side Wallangarra Rams in a game that finished with a 56-18 win to the visitors. The big win has come at a cost to the Roosters with injuries to several of their key players. Ryan Donovan reinjured his knee and there are doubts about whether he will be back on the paddock again for the Roosters. Other injuries were Brant O’Dea and Luke Willett. After a comprehensive win, the Roosters have a bye this weekend and with a mounting injury tally, the break comes at a good time.
In other games this weekend, Stanthorpe/ Texas host Wallangarra at Reg Saunders Oval while the undefeated Tenterfield Tigers host the Cutters.
