SPORTSNEWS

with Chris Karas

Tigers Life Members Reunion

BALMAIN rugby league stalwarts took a trip down memory lane at the annual Tigers Life Members luncheon held recently at Balmain Leagues Club.

Pictured standing l to r are Balmain Junior League life members Jeff Aplitt, John Doyle, Paul Wheelhouse, Maurie O’Brien, Lyn Phillis, Bob Carroll, Ray ‘Whimpey’ Gerrie, Bob Barnett, Bob Siemsen, Tony Bietola, Bill Burke, Brian Coleman, John Stanton, Martin Ritter; front TWT Sports Editor Chris Karas, Bob Henderson, Jim Fitzgibbon and Ken Stapleton.

The Tigers will hold their 2008 Centenary Awards Night this Saturday at Balmain Leagues Club from 6pm.

TWT on-the-spot PHOTO.

NSW Blues cap for top bat Moore

EMERGING Sydney batsman Justin Moore has been rewarded for excellence with selection in a powerful NSW U/19 representative cricket squad.

Moore, who has burst onto the Sydney first grade cricket scene this season with a flurry of runs, is part of the 14-man Blues outfit that will compete at the National U/19 Championships in Newcastle from December 8-19.

The Central Coast teenager has been a revelation for the Tigers at the top of the batting order - scoring a stylish 77 runs on debut in a recent clash with Fairfield-Liverpool.

It was during that match that Moore shared a third wicket partnership of 127 with experienced Sydney skipper Jon Moss, who top scored with a superb knock of 133.

State selectors have rewarded Moore for his stand out performances in the top grade with a Junior Blues cap.

Promising 17 year old quick Josh Hazlewood - who made his first class debut for the Speedblitz Blues against the touring NewZealand side last week - has also been named in the Blues’ U/19 squad.

Hazlewood returned the figures of 2-53 off 18 overs and 2-23 off 11.1 overs to help NSW record a rousing six wicket victory over the Kiwis at the SCG.

The full NSW U/19 squad is: David Miller (Sydney University) captain; Blake Fitzgerald (Souths) vice captain; Tim Armstrong (Eastern Suburbs); Adam Coyte (Campbelltown-Camden); Luke Doran (Fairfield-Liverpool); Rob Edwards (Gordon); Josh Hazlewood (Central North); Nick Maddinson (Sutherland); Max McNamara (Penrith); Justin Moore (Sydney); Kurt Roughley (Blacktown); Mitchell Starc (Western Suburbs); Michael Stretton (Parramatta); Adam Zampa (Warilla).

MEANWHILE Sydney will be pushing for a win this Saturday after the opening day of their clash with Campbelltown-Camden was abandoned due to a heavy pitch.

Double delight for Green and Olsen

ALL rounders Matt Green and Chris Olsen demonstrated their prowess with bat and ball to engineer limited overs victories for their respective clubs in the Gladesville Cricket Association last weekend.

The talented Green top scored with 69 for Gladesville RSL Green in an A Grade clash with Ryde-Hunters Hill - then grabbed 4-14 to secure an emphatic win.

Green was supported by team-mate Matt Austin, who compiled an impressive 52. Olsen hit 69 and snared 4-33 for Leichhardt Bowling Club in their B Grade win over Concord RSL.

Other players to impress were Greg Holst (94 not out), Mick Franklin (75 not out), Patel (74), Aaron Beetson (72), David Campbell (64), Rob Thomas (64) and Dan Brown (51).

A GRADE: (Round 5) NSW Tamils Brown 5-206 (S Patel 74, P Siva 39, A Singh 27, D Sethuram 22no, J Patel 14no, Sanjay Bhat 2-29, Zeeshan Shah 2-40, Jithin Kesavan 1-27) d Indefatigables/Breakfast Point 165 (Mike Naranayan 39, Z Shah 27, J Kesavan 22no, A Senthilkumaran 3-18, P Siva 2-12, S Patel 2-33, M Siva 1-12, S Alury 1-16, A Maheswaran 1-17);
Gladesville RSL Green 6-186 (Matt Green 69, Matt Austin 52, C Jones 19no, M Mason 15, D Felton 10no) d Ryde-Hunters Hill (3) 8-101 (M Green 4-14, Mick Snowden 1-8, T Byrne 1-9, Chris Sewell 1-16); Balmain Old Boys 1-98 (M Franklin 75no, B Delaney 12) d Holy Cross Crusaders 94 (Richard Lucas 23, Adam Neville 4-26, J Kermode 3-13, M Franklin 2-3, L Vonsont 1-14); Gladesville RSL Gold (bye).

B GRADE: (Round 5) Balmain B 4-104 (Paul Dwyer 40, Geordie Hawkins 31) d Shanachies 101 (Sean Barry 4-26, G Hawkins 2-9, Tom Russell 1-0, Sam Baker 1-17, Blake Hamilton 1-23); Leichhardt Bowling Club 4-190 (Aaron Beetson 72, Chris Olsen 69, Adam Golder 2-25) d Concord RSL 7-186 (Dan Brown 51, Roland Stanmore 43, Phil McLeod 43, C Olsen 4-33); Drummoyne Rats 7-230 (D Campbell 64, R Thomas 64) d Ryde-Hunters Hill (2) 8-149; Callan Park 6-107 (D Parsons 3-16, J Cavallaro 27no) d Gladesville Indoor (Ran Krishnan 28no, G Unsworth 3-19);

C GRADE: (Round 5) Bayview Tavern 4-165 (G Holst 94no, R DeJager 28, H Ready 19, K Khoo 10, Kevin Smith 1-11, A Colquhoun 1-24, B Skinner 1-31, Tony Clews 1-33) d Silent Warriors 162 (D Smith 56, C Martin 46, K Smith 22, T Clews 11, K Khoo 3-41, R DeJager 2-19); Leprous Goats 111 (Z Mohammed 22, Frank Guidaci 4-10, Andrew Welsh 2-18, Danny John 2-29) d Ryde-Hunters Hill 86 (P Parbury 3-10, Slem Lemarquad 3-15);

NSW Tamils Green v Gypsies (no result); Balmain (bye).

Soccer youth in Cup final

Epping Boys’ talented soccer squad that reached the final of the FFA Schools National Championship; Louise Brierty (co-coach) Blake Cameron, Kye Mclean, Chris Hatfield, Felix Cho, Alistair Gormly, Justin Park, Dylan Whitlock, Mick Hoban (Sports Coordinator) and Ms Robbie Ashhurst (co-coach).

WHILE some teenage boys were sleeping in until midday during the holidays, seven Epping Boys High students from Years 8 and 9 were rising early to be at school by 6.30am to travel to Penrith for the Football Federation Australia Schools National Championship.

On the opening day the Epping Boys team played four successive games without a break and chalked up wins over Taree (13-2), Newcastle (15-2), Hills Sports (6-3) as well as a loss to St Pauls (5-4).

Despite another early start on day two the Epping unit defeated St Marks (15-1) and Victoria (4-2).

Sports Co-ordinator Mick Hoban stated that Epping Boys had a starting team of five with two reserves.

“But as the matches progressed each boy lifted his game to such a degree that they could be interchanged throughout the match with no obvious difference in the skill level,” said Mr Hoban.

“It was great to see these boys demonstrate such good team spirit and ability to work together.”

Epping defeated Hills 2-1 in extra time in a semi final but were beaten 6-4 by St Paul’s in the national final.

Both coaches were proud of their team’s efforts during the two day competition and agreed that the boys were fine sporting ambassadors for their school and family.

Big day for two fine sports

LOCAL sports identity Rick Stewart wed his sweetheart Janelle Kennedy recently at a ceremony at the Waterview Convention Centre Homebush.

They are pictured with Rick’s son Jake who was best man and daughter Jenna (matron of honour) and Janelle’s son Damien Kennedy who gave his mum away. Rick, a versatile athlete, was an accomplished cricketer and soccer player with the Gladesville Ravens, Gladesville RSL, Holy Cross and North Ryde clubs and a leading State Cup touch football representative with Ryde Eastwood Association. He is the son of Judy and the late Gordon Stewart of Gladesville. Janelle, a talented netballer with the Bellbirds and Ravens, is the daughter of Judy and the late Myles Kennedy (a prominent Balmain Junior League executive officer) of Gladesville. A reception for 70 guests was held at Bel Parco Restaurant. Jake, 17, is a promising cricketer with Sydney Tigers while Damien, a powerhouse utility, has achieved success with Holy Cross in the cricket and rugby league arena. Rick and Janelle have settled in West Ryde.

Tigers 2008 Awards Night

BALMAIN Football Club in conjunction with Balmain Junior League will conduct the 2008 Annual Awards Night this Saturday in Balmain Leagues Club auditorium from 6pm.

Tigers’ personality Ron Ryan will MC the event which concludes at 8pm when a buffet dinner will be served.

Guests are encouraged to stay and enjoy the dinner and watch the rugby league World Cup Final between Australia v New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in a relaxing atmosphere among friends.

Officials will present various trophies to the Balmain-Ryde Eastwood State Cup team and the Tigers’ U/16 Harold Matthews Cup and U/18 S.G Ball Cup junior representative squads.

These include Best & Fairest; Best Back; Best Forward; Players’ Player and Coaches Award.

BJL clubs will nominate their respective Volunteer of the Year recipients while the Balmain District Volunteer of the Year will receive the George Thompson Memorial Trophy.

Eight volunteers will also receive Centenary of Rugby League Volunteers Appreciation of Service Medals - a joint initiative of the ARL and NRL.

Other awards include: George Thompson Scholarship Award; John Kelly Quiet Achiever Award; Rookie of the Year Award; Ryde Eastwood Rising Star; Kevin O’Keefe Club Person Award; Scott Gale Leading Try Scorer and Keith Barnes Leading Try Scorer.
Balmain Junior League will present their respective Junior Club Championship and Senior Club Championship trophies and various Player of the Year awards that include the John Stapleton Trophy (A Grade), George Piper Trophy (U/21), Don Graham Trophy (U/19), Bill Ballard Trophy (U/18), Jan Carroll Trophy (U/17) and Jack King Trophy (U/16).

Mitch in fine form

PROMISING North Ryde RSL all rounder Mitchell Baldwin has hit a purple patch of form in the Northern District Junior Cricket Association U/14 competition.

Mitchell, the son of former Balmain first grade paceman Mark Baldwin, underlined his potential with scores of 53 and 66 and figures of 3-12 in recent weeks to steer North Ryde to wins over West Ryde Rovers and Dundas United.

Other North Ryde players to shine were Matthew Estwick (65 not out) and 3-6; Liam Giblin (51), Harry Tonkin (3-9) and the emerging Jason Stanton who snared 3-9 and two catches in an encouraging performance against Dundas.

U/9: North Ryde RSL 90 (Billy Flynn 20, Hamish Nicol 15, Robert Smith 15) d Concord RSL Grey 75 (Rochan Shitale 3-6, R Smith 2-8, Shannon Condon 2-10).

U/14: North Ryde RSL 9 dec 256 ( Mitchell Baldwin 53, Liam Giblin 51, Matthew Estwick 21, Brad Denlow 19, Chris Mather 16, Jason Stanton 13) d West Ryde Rovers 88 (M Estwick 3-6, M Baldwin 3-12, Ang Dhaliwal 2-5, B Denlow 2-8); North Ryde RSL 5 dec 255 ( M Baldwin 66, M Estwick 65no, Daanish Faiz 39, A Dhaliwal 29) d Dundas United 100 (J Stanton 3-9, Harry Tonkin 3-9, D Faiz 2-3, C Mather 1-9, B Denlow 1-21).

Ryde Eastwood Touch Football

SUPER LEAGUE: Vikings 7 The Blues 4; Attractive Blinds 1 Gladesville Sporties 0; Putney Titans 6 Ken Morrow 4; Ryan Wilks 8 Epping Rams 1; Ross Patten 4 Midas Touch 3; TROY 6 Raven Electrical 2; Holy Cross Old Boys (bye).

PREMIER LEAGUE: Putney Pirates 6 Vintage Nads 3; Hawks 7 Moonies 3; The Tahs 7 Balmain Tigers 1; Boronia Park Framing 3 Go Fitness 2; Tee Cees 5 Col’s Body Shop 3; Page 96 4 Wooden Spoons 1; Palmer’s Glass 7 Damo’s Dodgers 3; Ryan Wilks 4 Ray White 3; Fosters & Putney Hasbeens (byes).

MIXED: Ross Patten 10 All Sorts 3; The Other Mob 10 Drugstore Cowboys 0; Genuine Limitations 5 The Bubbathletes 0; Southern Cross Switchboards 7 Custom Building 6; Glen Smith Plumbing 9 Try Nations 1; Page 96 2 Constant Fluff 1; VP (bye).

WOMEN: Attractive Blinds 18 Demon Dusters 1; Touchdowns 10 Wanted 1; Hott Stuff 5 Ken Morrow 0; Attractive Shutters 8 Palmer’s Glass 0.

JUNIORS: U/10A: Lime 5 Purple 1; Emerald 11 Maroon 2; Royal 5 Yellow 1; Orange 8 Gold 1; U/10B: Aqua 10 Pink 2; Hot Pink 4 Bottle Green 2; Turquoise 3 Red 1; Azure (bye); U/12: Royal 4 Maroon 2; Azure 7 Purple 1; Aqua 5 Yellow 0; Red 4 Gold 0; Orange (bye); 12-14 Girls: Hot Pink 4 Orange 0; Emerald 1 Hot Pink 97 0; Lime 8 Purple 97 1; Pink 2 Lime 97 0; Turquoise 6 Emerald 97 1; U/14: Surf 3 Sky 2; Azure 5 Aqua 1; Yellow 8 Gold 2; Red 8 Maroon 1; U/16: Lime 7 Maroon 0; Royal 3 Red 2; Hot Pink 6 Orange 5; Aqua 3 Gold 2; Emerald (bye).

Macquarie No 3 Pennant champs

RYDE City Women bowlers - winners of Macquarie District No 3 Pennant - Hyacinth Tumminello, Joan Steel, Jan McClure, President Jan Vinton, Macquarie District President Jan Harris, Marguerite Burkett, Unelma Mere and Brenda Paterson receiving the Number 3 Pennant. Absent: Irene Piasevoli.

Crusaders Barefoot Bowls

HOLY Cross Crusaders Cricket Club conducted a successful Family Barefoot Bowls Day at Ryde Ex Services Bowling Club greens last Sunday.

Pictured kneeling are the triumphant Presidents foursome of Clauvis Zarrour, Chris Mace, Kevin Turner and Fred Reader who defeated Irish Broncos team of Tesse Gilmour, Rob White, Dee Flanagan and Graham Flanagan (standing) 3-0 in the final. TWT on-the-spot PHOTO.

Ryde-Hunters Hill Pirates Cricket

U/8: Concord RSL Black Hawks 2-41 (Jessica Willathgamuwa 1-1, Joshua Willathgamuwa 1-2, Shoryu Zaman-das 1-4) d Ryde-Hunters Hill Blackpearls 6-34 (Hailey Vogrig 13, Shoryu Zaman-das 9, Jessica Willathgamuwa 6); RHH Blackbeards 4-45 (Kieran Haris 12, Jesse Provan 11, Lachlan Harper-Ross 9) d Holy Cross Gold 8 (Angus Bell 2-2, Chris Mietze 1-1, Will Pogonoski 1-2); RHH Jack Sparrows 5-39 (Tim Hawken 9, Tanveer Singh 7, Joshua Foley 6) d Holy Cross Maroon 5-32 (Joe Firmagen 2-8, T Hawken 1-6, T Singh 1-6); RHH Jolly Rogers 5-46 (Lachlan Brooks 13, Jack Abraham 8, Aaron Chater 7) d Concord RSL Red Dragons 4-27 (Owen Turner 2-2, Max Harrison 1-1, J Abraham 1-1); Balmain Sabre Tigers 7-53 (Tim Roser 2-3, Hugh Simpson 1-0, Daniel Bonaventura 1-7, Hayden Kennedy 1-7) d RHH Royals 5-44 (T Roser 8, Matt Voss 5, H Kennedy 5); U/9: RHH Buccaneers 7-125 (Connor Blaxall 22, Liam Scott 18, Louis Mossman 17) d Concord Vampires 81 (L Mossman 2-4, Myles Kuah 2-13, L Scott 2-20); RHH Royals 5-140 (James Harrison 22, Chris Rooke 16, Adam Nisbett 16) d RHH Mariners 112 (Ben Beatty 2-12, Josh McGuinness 1-16, A Nisbett 1-16); U/10: Five Dock RSL 97 (Darcy Searl 1-6, Oliver Bourke 1-11, Liam Storan 1-17) d RHH Mariners 74 (Joey Skelly 15, D Searl 12, Isaac Lewis 11); RHH Jack Sparrows 0-25 (Max McKay 18no, Jack Parkinson 3no) d Leichhardt Wanderers 9-24 (Matt Rudge 3-2, Oliver Stevens 2-3, Ben Leotta 1-0); RHH Jolly Rogers 70 (Isaac Bloomfield 9, Joe Hansen 7, Alex Dunlop 6) d Balmain Sabre Tiger Cubs 67 (J Hansen 2-4, Henry Pascoe 1-3, Alex Kennedy 1-4, Lachlan Stephen 1-4); RHH Swashbucklers 2-145 (Alex Halliday 26 ret, Billy Dodds 26 ret, Rajan Chahal 21 ret) d North Ryde RSL Blue 49 (Jason Kerr 2-2, Nishan Gill-Misson 2-4, Callum Paterson 2-6, Gabe Doran-Jones 2-6); U/11: RHH Blackbeards 2-70 (Roshan Kander 21no, Jack James 17, Josh Kerr 10) d North Ryde RSL 7-69 (Joseph Ingui 2-3, Nikhil Jain 1-1, R Kander 1-2); Balmain Sabre Tigers 6-89 (I Lewis 2-4, Harry Kemp 2-5, D Searl 2-10) d RHH Mariners 79 (Will Dyson 16, L Storan 10, I Lewis 10); U/13: RHH Pirates 117 (Doug Paish 35, Anthony Meagher 18, Dean Ussher 12no) & 6-34 d Epping YMCA 107 (D Paish 3-11, Sam Hansen 2-13, Dylan Kirkman 2-24).

Elevens Flying at Hunters Hill

Declan Rohr and Alex Paton on Decoy take an early lead.

THE FLYING 11 fleet at Hunters Hill Sailing Club is enjoying an action packed resurgence.

With 15 top class boats - its largest and strongest fleet in many years -as well as two senior entrants, the class is alive with exciting racing and plenty of spray off the water.

The early favourites were Paul Miller and Thomas Smith in Just Do It, a fast boat formerly owned by Olympian, Nathan Outeridge.

Miller is a senior entrant and winner of previous club championships at Hunters Hill. His decision to join the Flying 11 fleet was motivated by the potential of close racing, a prediction that’s playing out so far.

The Flying 11 is a light-weight racing dinghy normally sailed by a teenage skipper and crew. The class is renowned for it high performance and suitability to a wide range of wind conditions. Its versatility is underlined by the ability for heavier skippers to be competitive by using a younger and lighter crew.

After dominating early point score races, Just Do It has been beaten to the line in both Club Championship races by Declan Rohr and Alex Paton in Decoy.

Last week’s club championship race saw Decoy sprint out to a big lead over Adam Bloomfield and Xavier Winston-Smith in Adrenalin. But in the second half of the race, Bloomfield steadily pegged back the leading boat. The final work was heart in the mount stuff with a stiff opposing current adding to the suspense. In the end Decoy prevailed by just 7 seconds after one hour and 35 minutes of racing.

Miller emerged from the water having finished forth to find his boat name had been changed to “Gramps” on the race registration sheet.

Both skippers were unavailable for comment.

Moore grabs series lead

FORMER 16ft Skiff Club Champion Bruce Moore (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu) made a stunning return to form winning the third heat of the Club Championship last Saturday.

In one of the closest finishes seen at the club, Moore won with four seconds to spare from Brett Pollitt (Bentons Real Estate).
This was a good reward for Moore who struggled the previous race with gear breakage.

He now leads the Club Championship after three races.

Third position and handicap winner went to the fast improving Sandor Tornai (Port Jackson Marine).

The TS16 Division was again won by Justine Tornai (Charlie Brown) who is proving the form competitor this year.

It capped a good sailing weekend for Justine and her husband Sandor. Second place went to the reliable Eric Partland (Uncle Roy).

And it was good to see Club Stalwart John Gilliard (Triple G Cruising ) sail into third place.

Handicap section was won by Robert Speedey (DC).

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