Mackay swimmer Meg Harris has swept up silver in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Meg finished second in the Women’s 50m freestyle on Monday with a time of 24.32 seconds.

She finished as part of an all-Australian podium, with Shayna Jack taking bronze and Emma McKeon taking gold to become the most prolific athlete in Commonwealth Games history.

Meg also swam as part of the Australian Mixed 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay team that won a gold medal last weekend.

Meg will add the medals to her collection already consisting of Olympic gold and Olympic bronze medals.

Meg Harris has won silver in Birmingham. Photo credit: Delly Carr - Sports Photographer

Meg was a Nipper with the Eimeo Surf Lifesaving Club

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When Mercy College Mackay teacher Dee Meigan helped resurrect the school’s Mountain Bike Club last term, little did she anticipate the wave of success that would follow the batch of young riders.

Some 15 students answered her call to re-form the Club back in June and have made an immediate impact – clinching the overall Schools Championship Team Trophy at the Rocky Trail Mountain Bike Schools competition at Rowallen Park in Farleigh.

A combined Mercy College/St Patrick’s College team competed in the event on the last day of Term 2 and came away with a swag of medals including individual gold in the Junior Year 7/8 Girls and Intermediate Year 9/10 Boys and Girls categories.

Leading the way was exciting 15-year-old prospect Kristen Rowlands, who won the Year 9/10 Intermediate Girls title in courageous style against a strong field of riders.

Mountain bike riding is in Rowlands’ veins and the Year 10 starlet jumped at the chance to re-join the Club after competing on various tracks during her early years at Mercy College.

“Kristen was the first student to join our newly formed Club and what a dynamo she has proved to be on a mountain bike,” said PE teacher Dee, who has assembled an impressive squad.

“To win three individual titles plus the overall Schools Championship at our first meet is a tremendous feat”, she declared.

“It was an exciting day for our school with five students placing on the podium,” Dee added.

Other individual Mercy College winners were Kate Jones-Trifelly (Junior Year 7-8 Girls) and Edward Spicer (Intermediate Year 9-10 Boys) with silver medals to John Trifelly (Intermediate Year 9-10 Boys) and St Patrick’s rider Lockie Bourke (Senior Year 11/12 Boys).

The talented Rowlands, who has been riding mountain bikes competitively for five years, is an esteemed member of the Mackay & District (MAD) Mountain Bike Club where she has performed with distinction.

Kristen showed her class to take out the Paluma Push Marathon Juniors event and has now set her sights on the National Schools Mountain Bike Riding Championships to be staged at Nerang on the Gold Coast in September.

Other Mercy College riders that helped bring home the Rocky Trail Team Trophy were Kai Nicholson, Jackson McPherson, Pat Arbuthnot, Cooper Doyle, Liam Anderson, Jack Hurley, Charles Christensen, Louis Cauchi , Decklan Logan and Riley Meigan.

By Chris Karas

Mercy College Mountain Bike Club riders that won the Schools Championship Team Trophy at the Rocky Trail Mountain Bike Riding competition at Rowallen Park. Photos: Supplied

Mackay mountain bike riding champion Kristen Rowlands starred at the recent Rocky Trail competition– winning gold for Mercy College in the Intermediate Year 9-10 Girls event and Schools Championship Team Trophy

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North Mackay Bowls Club (Goosies) held the ladies Champion of Champions fours district finals. North Mackay faced Marian in the final.

With a close and tense final, it went down to the wire with North Mackay winners from a valiant Marian team by 1 point.

The week prior, Lydia McCarthy won the B Singles District Championships played at Marian in challenging windy conditions.

North Mackay celebrated success in this year’s pennants. Its ladies pennant teams, divisions 1, 3 and 4 and the men’s pennant team division 2, were all winners in this year’s district competitions.

The club celebrated with a joint dinner at Goosies Sport and Recreation Club. Ladies president Lorraine Silman welcomed and thanked all players who attended and for playing in this year’s competition. Mick Mackenzie and Ron Bowers also thanked all players in response.

Contributed by Suzanne Hazledine

Champion of Champion fours winning team: Lydia McCarthy, Jean Schmidtke, Maryanne Bartolo and Anne Peet

Champion of Champion fours runners-up: Marian ladies: Laurel Morrow (sub for Jean Kay), Fay Erickson, Gwen Harburger, Joan Vickers

Lydia McCarthy, Winner of the ‘B’ Singles District Championships

North Mackay Bowls Club celebrates success in the pennants competition with a celebration at Goosies

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Several club championship competitions were also played over the weekend with the men’s A pairs final won by Ian McDonald and Peter Delaney who substituted for Neal Blucher due to sickness.

Monday mixed pairs draw winners were Peter Cowley and Rob Hall followed by Alan Brown and Kees Struik. Greens vouchers won by Brenda Trannore and Lyn Maguire.

Wednesday ladies’ day winners were Brenda Trannore, Margaret Goldston and Ann Smith, with Jean Comelli, S. Gilbert and Dot Wise in second spot.

Thursday mixed pairs was taken out by Brian Perrin and partner, with Cheryl Corbett and Isla Comelli runners up. Greens vouchers went to visitors, Sally and Peter Hogden.

Friday mixed pairs was won by Ron Bowers and Doug Geddings. Draw winners were Donna Gordon and Bert Hobbs, with second place taken out by Vic Gaudion and partner.

Saturday men’s day winners were Tom Atkins, Peter Delaney and Peter Madden.

Contributed by Tony Allsop

A happy group of ladies before play on Monday

Men’s A pairs finalists, Ian McDonald, Clive Wales, Peter Delaney filling in for Neil Blucher, and Wayne Trannore. Ian McDonald and Neal Blucher won the title, with Peter Delaney filling in for Neal

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AFL fans can look forward to cheering on top level teams in Mackay for another four years.

Mackay Regional Council is renewing its partnership with the Gold Coast Suns until 2026, it was announced at council’s ordinary meeting last week.

Gold Coast SUNS Chief Executive Mark Evans said the club was thrilled to continue to bring an AFLW match to Mackay for the next four years and was excited for the upcoming fixture at Great Barrier Reef Arena on Saturday, September 17.

“We’ve been really pleased with our ability to drive awareness, tourism and business outcomes for Mackay through our partnership,” Evans said.

“We’ve made Mackay our second home for our AFLW team and have had great support from the region every time we visit.”

Since the partnership began in 2019, the Mackay region has hosted three AFLW matches and countless youth development opportunities such as AFLW talent identification, investment in Mackay’s Suns Academy for both male and female pathways, coaching sessions and school appearances.

The partnership has allowed council to generate exclusive national brand exposure through signage and branding across both AFL and AFLW, as well the opportunity to promote council’s Mackay Waterfront and Hooked on Mackay initiatives through televised coverage and digital channels.

Investment attraction has been another important objective of the partnership, which has led to the announcement of Kool Beanz SUNS Harrup Park, a new early learning childcare facility that will be located near Harrup Park.

This new development was secured as a direct result of the partnership and the introductions that were made between Gold Coast Suns corporate partners and Harrup Park.

Mayor Greg Williamson said council was excited to continue this relationship for another four years.

“As part of the new agreement, we will continue to host an annual AFLW match at Harrup Park’s Great Barrier Reef Arena,” he said.

“These events are invaluable in terms of improving the liveability and livelihood of our region and the games always attract a great crowd of local supporters.”

In addition to annual matches, the Suns have committed to hosting a number of AFLW community camps, athlete and coach scholarship programs and junior pathways programs.

“We have had several local success stories come from these programs,” Mayor Williamson said.

“Lauren Bella, Emma Pittman, Wallis Randell and Alana Gee all started their careers in the sport in Mackay and have gone on to play for the Gold Coast Suns AFLW team.

“We are confident that the continuation of this partnership will only help to inspire more young people to pursue their dreams of a career in AFL.”

Mayor Greg Williamson and Chief Commercial Officer at Gold Coast SUNS, Simon Fitzgibbon are excited to renew the partnership

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Local Mackay Rifle Club junior, Kylah Norris has been selected to represent the district at the North Queensland Pennants Team shoot, on August 6 and 7 in Townsville.

The grade 10 student has been hand-picked from the best shooters of four local clubs to join a team of four other shooters to go head-to-head with teams from Townsville and Cairns.

Kylah regularly shoots at the Mackay Mt Vince Rifle Range alongside her dad, Terry Norris. Terry is also included in the Mackay district team and will shoot alongside Kylah in Townsville.

Terry coaches her each Sunday at the local club shoot and has noted the sharp acceleration in Kylah’s skills and confidence over the last 6 months.

“She has a natural ability to read the wind, perfect trigger control and shot routine that sets her apart from more experienced shooters,” Terry said.

Other senior club shooters have also been impressed with Kylah’s control and processes as well as her natural ability which made her an attractive choice to join the Mackay team.

Kylah normally shoots in the sporter/hunter class at the club, which covers any standard off the shelf hunting rifle, but will be sharing her dad's more powerful target rifle for the competition. With the countdown on, Kylah has her final preparations underway and will send a few hundred rounds down range over the coming days to sharpen her skills.

The North Queensland Pennants competition is shot over two days at distances of 600, 800 and 900 metres. The team with the highest aggregate score after the two days of competition will be crowned the North Queensland team champions. In the past, the Cairns club have proven to be a force to be reckoned with, but Mackay is hoping that with the addition of new young talent they might pip the experience of the other district teams.

Kylah Norris regularly shoots up to 1000 metres with her factory rifles. Photos: Supplied

Kylah and her dad Terry practising at Mt Vince rifle range in Mackay

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Whitsunday Sea Eagles teams made the trek to Mackay Magpies to take on the locals with some fantastic results for the day.

Whitsunday Sea Eagles Senior Men hit the ground running with midfield of Max Mackay, Jacob Healey, Aaron Thompson and Brent Downie combining to move the ball forward allowing for five Sea Eagles goals in the first term. The second quarter saw further pressure on Magpies with a strong defence led by Toby Cox and Adam McKelvie. Magpies came out hard in the second half as expected with both sides playing great footy and keeping each other to lower scores. Magpies had the advantage of the breeze in the final term however Sea Eagles back six dug in allowing only 1 goal through to come away 81–35 winners.

In another hard round for the undermanned Sea Eagles Senior Women’s side the Magpies were simply too good on the day with Sea Eagles running out 73 points down at the final siren.

Sea Eagles Under 17s put in another solid effort against the Magpies with an 86–48 win. With Sea Eagles playing on both sides in a show of ultimate sportsmanship the opposition numbers and score were both improved.

Sea Eagles Under 14s put together their best team effort for the season against Mackay Magpies to see a 69–9 win. A quick start saw Sea Eagles six goals up to Magpies zip in the first quarter with the trend continuing throughout the game.

A chilly start didn’t stop the Under 12 Sea Eagles coming out strong against the Magpies to take a convincing win 62 – 3. Sea Eagles adopted the strategy of playing advantage catching the opposition off guard and creating scoring opportunities.

Support Sea Eagles at home this week with your support to yet again take on North Mackay Saints. We look forward to Under 17s Saints rematch at 11:40am shaping up a great battle. Juniors from 9am, Seniors from 1:15pm.

Contributed with thanks to Whitsunday Sea Eagles

U17s Aniel Walsh

U17s Bailey Wishart

Images: Cody Fowler

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Round 17 of the Mackay Rugby Union season saw the Mama Africa Raiders host Brothers Mackay at their home grounds in Jubilee Pocket.

The game was also a family day for the club’s supporters and families to bring the kids down to get their face painted or dive into the jumping castle, all while enjoying the rugby fraternity.

The Raiders and Mackay Brothers traditionally have a good, solid tussle across the paddock and the Raiders found themselves deep in their own half from the first kick.

Brothers had the stiff breeze behind them and were holding the home boys in their own half for the first couple of minutes until outside centre Enalaki Faataape broke the defensive line, ran forty and off loaded to winger Jack Briskey for the first five pointer of the game.

Fullback Aden Spence followed six minutes later with a forty-metre solo effort, stepping through the defence and running away to place the ball under the posts.

10 minutes in and the Mama Africa Raiders were 12-0 up.

Brothers were making the Raiders fight for ball security and ruck possession throughout the game and at half time the Raiders were 29-7 leaders.

With the second-half breeze at their backs, the Mama Africa Raiders continued to control the game and ran out eventual winners 48-14.

Try scorers for the Raiders were Jack Briskey (2), Aden Spence, Kainoa Close-Houston(2), Nathan Williams, Enalaki faataape and Dylan Hoffmann. Niall Clancy kicked 4 conversions

Coach Andre Houston said after the game that the boys are “building well towards the business end of the season producing some quality tries, tough defence and working well together.”

“They are definitely looking forward to next weekend’s game against Bowen,” he said.

The home game for Bowen will be the third and final game in the inaugural Eclipse Financial Management cup played between these two sides in conjunction with the regular MRU season.

Player points of the day went to pro forward Shanun ‘Hank’ Naske 1pt, outside centre Enalaki ‘Lucky’ Faataape 2pts and fullback Aden Spence 3pts

Contributed with thanks to Craig Spence

Raiders took on Brothers at home, cruising to a Round 17 victory after an early tussle

Brothers hadn’t made it an easy first half, packing on the pressure, but Raiders never lost their heads

The home side maintained their lead for the entirety, despite Brothers best efforts

Images: Hanny Spence

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Saturday’s competition was the Men’s August monthly medal, with winner Greg Carlyon 64 nett, runner up on a countback Craig Van Veen 66 nett.  

Pin shots to Jeremy Chrzanowski, Michael Henrich, John Storrie.  John Storrie also had an OBP and won the carwash voucher.

On Sunday it was the ladies’ turn for the Monthly medal: winner June Kirk 66 nett, runner up Margaret Need 69 nett.  

Pin shots to Robyn Slade, Grace Nott, Kim Bennion and June Kirk. Thank you to Bowen Meat Supply for your continued support of our club.

This weekend’s competition is the ladies’ A, B and C Grade Club championships sponsored by Brent Stocker Electrical.

A single stableford for Men and visitors will also be played on Saturday.  

Don’t forget to check the clubs Facebook page for this week’s dinner menu.  Takeaways still available.  

Please call the club on 4785 1206 if you wish to book a table or place a takeaway order.  Joker draw is $3600 this week.

Contributed with thanks to Grace Nott

Ladies’ Monthly Medal runner up Marg Need, and third place getter Kim Bennion

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With the week’s rapidly running out, every match seems to have an extra sense of importance to it.

It was business as usual for both the top two players, with Jamie Woods defeating Gary Robbie 7/0, and Jamie Maher defeating Aaron Paull 7/2.

That defeat for Gary means that he will now struggle to make the top eight this year, and instead maybe draw his attention to playing in the Hetlock Cup finals series.

The Hetlock Cup is a finals series between the players occupying 9 to 12 place on the ladder and named after Australia’s World Cup Hero’s, Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock.

Aaron Paull is still hanging onto his top 8 place curtesy of leg difference over Kameron Reason who had a 7/0 loss to Dom Friend and a 6/6 draw with Seumas Rose.

As well as the 7 nil win, Dom friend managed a 6/6 draw in arguably the match of the round with Joe Wilson. That draw means that there’s a sliver of light between Joe and the top two players Jamie Woods and Jamie Maher.

Lorraine Woods had a tough day at the office suffering two 7 nil losses, one to Alan Green, and another to Seumas Rose, leaving Lorraine staring the Wooden Spoon in the face. Great wins for both Alan and Seumas, solidifying their top 8 positions.

The Premier League is sponsored by Mika Airlie and Whitsunday Tattooing.

1. J Woods 26pts 2. J Maher 26pts 3. J Wilson 23pts 4. A Peel 20pts 5. D Friend 19pts 6. A Green 17pts 7. S Rose 14pts 8. A Paull 12pts 9. K Reason 12pts 10. G Robbie 7pts 11. N O’Hara 5pts 12. J Lloyd 4pts 13. R Gallichan 3pts 14. L Woods 2pts

Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher

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Winter is nearly over but our paradise home has been colder than most can remember, however the bowlers are certainly warming up .

Tuesday saw Airlie Beach Bowls Club skipper Tony Whitehorn reign supreme with John Trembath at lead and Alan Pershouse returning to his top form, beating all comers.

A special mention to Noel Crosbie, Rick Galea, and Greg Pepyat from Bright, Victoria. Rick also won the prestigious Health Hub award.

Wednesday afternoon social bowls saw Greg Pepyat with his brother Mark and Ken McAllister - another visitor - sound winners on the day, with Mike Jacometti winning the Health Hub award.

Wednesday night business house bowls saw the introduction of two new teams: The Blockheads and Splash Of Colour.

Newcomers Matt Plain and Matt Francis showed their superior skills and any of the eight teams can win; John Brown has organised a very even competition.

Thursday the Saint Catherine’s school team was finalised with Corey Stroud and Harry Craig representing the region.

The school competition will be completed soon with Margo Stanley making the final arrangements.

Saturday morning saw the Bowls Premier League being played to see which two teams would go to the semi-finals in Rockhampton in September.

It was the team of of Manny Isgro with Warren Mills and Luke Kinnear winning their division and John Matterson with Alan Pershouse and Mark Mawson winning their division, congratulations must go to both teams.

Sunday afternoon saw Tony Whitehorn again steering Bill Gordon and the John Brown, winning the prize closely followed by John Sutcliffe from Howrah Bowls Club, Hobart Tasmania, with Mark Mawson. Lyn Graham won the Health Hub Award

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson

John Matterson, John Fielding, Tim Taylor, and Shane Spann representing our club in Mackay

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Although we are still in the middle of our winter sport season, last week we saw the keenest of our young cricketers roll their arms over.

Proserpine Cricket is excited to announce its first full season of pre-season High Performance being run in Proserpine by Tom McFarlene from Mackay Whitsunday Cricket.

The boys participate in these sessions every Monday afternoon, whereas previously the club’s elite players have had to travel to Mackay for these sessions.

Last week also saw school cricket programs ramp up.

Proserpine District school trials were held for U12 school boys who will now train for a couple of weeks before the Whitsunday Trials on August 4.

In high school, Round One of the Street Smart T20 comp took place, with Bowen State High victorious playing against St Catherine's in the senior comp, while Proserpine State High went straight through to the next round, unopposed.  

Bowen and Proserpine will now travel to Mackay to take on the winners of their zones on August 8.

The girls will have a free, preseason girl-only program starting on August 22 and culminating in a girls gala day in the school holidays.

The Proserpine Junior Cricket Association’s Annual General Meeting was held on July 24, with a great turn out of members.

The AGM reflected on the club’s successful previous season and saw the farewell of outgoing members.

Shane Knight, after holding the President position for five years and being an active and integral part of the Club, resigned from his position.  

The meeting also saw the voting in of the new committee for the 2022-23 season welcoming Mark Valmadre (President), Michael Hope (Vice President), Dannielle Green (Secretary), and Jess Hope (Treasurer).

The Club thanks the previous committee, coaches and volunteers for their hard work throughout last season

Contributed with thanks to Mel Dwyer and Danni Green

St Catherine's and Bowen State High Whitsunday Cricket Trials

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Over the weekend, Jacob Bell and his coach, Mark Erickson travelled to Townsville to compete in the Magnetic Island to Townsville eight-kilometre swim.  

Jacob swam the Magnetic Island to Townsville swim last year in perfect conditions and was keen to attempt the swim again.  

However, this year the conditions were tough going – cooler water, one-metre swell, and windy.  Jacob and Mark never gave in and kept swimming through the choppy conditions.  

They were both very relieved to finish the race.  Jacob swam the distance in two hours and seven minutes and Mark swam two hours thirty minutes.

Jacob was fifth out of the water, third male and third in his 14–17-year age group, while Mark came second in the wetsuit category.  

Congratulations, Jacob and Mark!  The two swimmers would like to thank their support paddlers, Andrew Bell and Raylene Rasmussen.  

This week, Swimming Australia have announced the Australian Junior Excellence Awards.  Australian Junior Excellence (JX) program recognises performances of swimmers aged 9–13 to encourage and inspire the next generation of competitive swimmers.

Within the JX program, junior swimmers strive to achieve gold, silver, bronze, or blue standard times when they compete throughout the season.  

The Cannons would like to commend the following swimmers:  

BLUE TIER:  Isabella and Isaac Pisaniello, Nathan and Daniel Saunders, Jai Dennison, Rohan, Scarlett and Rory Gascoyne, Thomas Ganter, Matilda Nicholes, Charlie Doherty, Abi Maher, Tiana Bell, Taj Murray and Ruby Harland.

BRONZE TIER:  Lochlan Jamieson, Ehsan Helou, Lukas Trevaskis, Don Algie,

SILVER TIER:  Tora Delac, Remy Hedges, Oliver Bond and Nelson Malady

GOLD TIER:  Anisa Helou and Austin Edwards-Bland

Contributed with thanks to Raylene Rasmussen

Jacob Bell finished in third place for his age group at the Townsville eight-kilometre ocean swim

The Magnetic Island to Townsville swim sees hundreds of competitors take to the water, flanked by safety boats and support crews each year

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It was a home kick-off for two Whitsunday Brahman’s sides over the weekend, as both the Reserve grade and the A grade took on a travelling pair of Carltons Devils’ teams.

It was a hard lot for the Reserves who were beaten in an absolute blowout, with much to mention in Reserve Grade.

The game ended with Brahmans copping a hiding from the Reserve Grade ladder leaders.

A Grade Coach Ricky Bourke’s side faired much better in what he said was a “typical gutsy performance”.

“Having the lead early in the second half, we just didn't have the numbers to keep going all game and ran out of steam late,” he said.

“The effort across the last month from both As and 20s shows why this club is in a great place moving forward, and I look forward to seeing where that goes.”

The under-strength Brahmans side took on second placed Carltons in a very physical encounter where they stuck it to them for 80 per cent of the game - at times even leading.

Despite Carlton’s being reduced to 12 players for the second half, Brahmans were unable to maintain lead in the latter stages.

An outstanding game by Adam Crear in the middle with penetrating runs and some bruising defence, with the game finishing 14-30.

All teams have a bye this weekend, but the following round will see the Brahmans travel to Moranbah in the final round of the competition.

It is a must win game for the A Grade with Reserve Grade out of finals contention and under 20s securing their spot in the finals already.

The home side were eager to show their mettle against second placed Carltons, but ran out of steam in the second half

Their first home match of the season was well supported, with a $5000 dollar raffle as part of the Brahmans Bullsh*t Bingo

There were special fans in attendance, including a pup decked out in a jersey

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Saturday saw the Mama Africa Raiders head down the highway again to take on the Mackay City Redmen for the first time this season at their home grounds of Quarry Hill.

This was going to be the big unknown game of the season, being round 3 of 3 and the first time the two teams have met this year.

Mackay Cities always bring the big men up the middle as well as the set piece, but the Raiders had prepared well during the week and were ready for the physical stuff.

The breeze as usual was quite strong blowing directly down the ground. Playing the first half into it, the Mama Africa Raiders advanced down the field and managed to put fullback Aden Spence in for the first try, five minutes into the game, aptly converted by Niall Clancy.

A little bit of ill discipline saw the Raiders put over a penalty at the 12-minute mark and then another break in plan saw scrum half Connor Spence go over for the second try.

The Cities Redmen were by no means going to let this game get away from them and 5 minutes later put themselves over for a converted try, Raiders up by 15-7. The Raiders were not going to let this become a trend of we score they score but, only three minutes later Raiders number 8, Matarae Tuaroa was across the line for the Raiders third.

Mama Africa Raiders were going into contact with zest, did not take a backward step from the Redmen big boys and defended like they were possessed.

This could be seen by the waning energy from the Redmen and the tenacity of the men in green and despite having four of the team now on the bench with injuries, the mighty Mama Africa Raiders ran out eventual winners by 44-7.

Game 17 of the season will see the mighty men in green take on Brothers at home in Jubilee Pocket.

Come down for a 3.30 kick off and cheer on the Mama Africa Raiders as this will be their second last home game of the regular season.

The Mama Africa Raiders still currently hold down the top spot but the Bowen Mudcrabs are biting at their heels.

Players who stood out against the Mackay City Redmen were Chad Stocking 1 pt, Matarae Tuaroa 2pts and Jack Briskey 3pts.

Contributed with thanks to Craig Spence

The Raiders are flying high, claiming another win against their opponents last weekend

Regardless of who the Whitsunday side face, they’re coming out the victors in another year of exceptional performances

Raiders were jubilant having absolutely smashed the Redmen

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