Six of Wangaratta Bowls Club’s representative men played in various teams in the Bowen Bowls Club Classic, while three ladies attended the Airlie Beach Opening Day, leaving few members for the field on Sunday.

Roger Mumby, Isobel Wheeler, and Geoff Danvers defeated Theresa Willshire and Deb Retchless. And Kennedy Whitton in the first Sunday match, while Merle Elphinstone, Sue Shearing, and Pat Tracey defeated Bill Myers, Irene Laird, and Greg Colquhoun.

Ladies’ nominations have been called for the Wangaratta Bowls Club competition – an opportunity to gain valuable experience in higher grade bowling - and will close Tuesday, February 21.

The club will be holding Opening Day on Sunday, February 26, and games will start at 10.00am on that day and concluding at 12.30pm followed by a light lunch and presentations.

Wangaratta expects visitors from other Bowls clubs across the region. A sign-in sheet will be available at the door.

Contributed with thanks to Penny Warren

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Wangaratta Bowls Club Ladies’ Denise Wallace, Linda Scells, and Penny Warren attended the Airlie Beach Opening Day

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Proserpine Bowls Club’s Sunday bowls had some exceptional bowls in both games of triples.

John Anderson played double lead in the games between the winning team of John, Heather Brown, and Bruce Uhe, and John, Mike Harrison, and Barry Zillmann, 21-20.  

Alen Sanderson, Jim Quod, and Philip Brown defeated Jim Bownds, Pat Bownds, and Sandy Daffara, 22-14, in the other game.

Social Participation Trophy points have started to add up now with Alen Sanderson and Bruce Uhe currently joint leaders on nine, Mike Harrison, Heather Brown, and Barry Zillmann with seven.

The club wishes to remind potential players that nominations are open for all club competitions, closing at the end of this month before the March start.

Summertime hours for bowls continue a few more weeks starting.

Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown

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Bowen Bowls Club hosted a successful iteration of its Classic Weekend last week with 16 teams participating.

First place was taken by the tram of P. Martin, A. Hay, F. Watson, and C. Paine, while second went to Wayne Crowhurst, S. Hamilton, Mitch Wright, and Gus Munro.

G. Delaney, T. Serra, A. Peno, M. Defranciscis were the final place getters in third.

Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards

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Bowen Bowls Club Classic Weekend winners P. Martin, A. Hay, F. Watson, and C. Paine with Abbott Point Operations’ Allen Brown

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Saturday morning Scroungers’ first round at Airlie Beach Bowls was won by John Brown, Nik Fernbach, Rick Galea, and Warren Mills.

Tony Whitehorn again won Group B for the second consecutive week, playing some excellent bowls while he did so.

Sunday afternoon Social Bowls Open Day proudly sponsored by PRD welcomed close to 50 players, including from as far as Wangaratta and Proserpine.

Third place went to the team of Lynn Skeen, Lu Rogan, and Keith Bates at lead performing admirably, losing out to second place getters Betty Whitehorn, Sandra Argo, and Lane Telford.

The big winners were Elaine Kippen’s team of Demika Cuip, Jill Spencer, and Mark Mawson, all with an astonishing performance.

Airlie Beach Bowls Club reminds its members that the School Competition with participation from Proserpine High School, St Catherine’s High School, and Whitsunday Christian College begins this week.

The Men’s A , B and Senior Singles is progressing well, too, with results to be published soon.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson

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Whitsunday Touch Football Association’s new season kicked off on Monday night with 25 teams nominating across its four divisions of Open A, Mixed A, Mixed B and Mixed C Family.

The season will run through to the Grand Finals in June, with the Association committed to encouraging participation and development of women, juniors, and referees.

Limiting teams to maximum of three on field males is hoped to give women, girls, and juniors greater opportunity to develop their skills and promote their enjoyment of the sport.

Players interested in refereeing accreditation should take the opportunity of the Level One Referees Course this Saturday, February 18, at 8.00am – 12.00pm at the Whitsunday Touch Fields.

Round One Results:

Open A

Trusty d Raiders Union

Vipers d Sea Eagles AFL

Mixed A

Ray White Mudcrabs (8) d The Guinea Fowls (6)

In the Crear (12) d G.E.T. Touch (2)

Raiders A (6) d Full Boar (2)

Slippery Salmons (6) d Concrete Feet (5)

Mixed B

Fumble This (8) d Raiders B (1)

Whitsunday Warriors (8) d Stingers (7)

Flametree Flames (12) d On Time (4)

Mixed C (Family)

Untouchables (7) d Escapees (2)

Mainlanders (6) d Raiders Family (4)

Contributed with thanks to Alita DeBrincat

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Ten Cannonvale Cannons swimmers travelled to Brisbane to compete in the 2023 Queensland Sprint Championships last weekend.  

Club coaches Mark Erickson and Ken Crittenden were very impressed with the swimmers and their outstanding efforts, with this being the first state competition for many of the attending Cannons.  

The Whitsunday team achieved a total of 30 personal bests (PB) out of 35 swims.  

Tora Delac, Ruby Harland, Anisa Helou, Ehsan Helou, Isaac Pisanello, Isabella Pisaniello, and Andie Reynolds swam extremely well, achieving personal best times in all their events.  

Ehsan Helou swam a super 50-metre Breaststroke in 34.05 seconds and came eighth in Queensland, qualifying him for the Australian Age Championships for Breaststroke.

Ehsan’s sister, Anisa swam fabulous times: two of her best swims were her 50-metre Freestyle (under 30 sec) and 50-metre Butterfly in 33.29 seconds.  

Don Algie swam two personal bests, as well as finishing in an exceptional time for the 50-metre Breaststroke, 49.52 seconds.  

Charlie Doherty swam a fantastic time of 34.70 seconds in his 50-metre Freestyle, and Thomas Ganter swam two PBs, with one of his best swims being the 50-metre Backstroke in a time of 42.09 seconds.

Isaac Pisaniello, Ruby Harland, and Andie Reynolds swam a “cracking” 50-metre Freestyle, taking over 2.3 seconds off their previous best times.  

Isaac’s sister, Isabella, had a very successful Sunday of racing, shaving close to two seconds off her Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly.

One of Tora Delac’s best swims was her 50-metre Breaststroke which she swam in 41.31 seconds, a 1.68 second PB.  

The club extended its congratulations to all the Cannons who competed at the Qld Sprint Championships.

Contributed with thanks to Raylene Rasmussen

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The Cannonvale Cannons team which competed at the Queensland Sprint Championships last weekend

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With last week a washout in the Proserpine Cricket Association calendar, four eager teams took to the grounds on Saturday on a damp outfield where scoring was hard to come by.

Batting first, the Whitsunday Colts were off to a shaky start as Ben Davis (1/24) and Scott Milne (2/31) made the early breakthroughs.

Michael Pettiford (73 not out) continued his run of good form, holding his bat through the entire innings. He found assistance in Wes Homewood (36) and Charlie Woodhouse (50 not out) as the Colts piled on the runs late in the innings.

Luke Thompson (1/40) was the only other Proserpine Canecutters bowler to add his name to the wickets column as Colts finished on 4/181 after 35 overs.

Canecutters never looked comfortable in response, as the youngsters piled on the pressure with the ball in their hands. Wickets fell at regular intervals as Roy Blain (1/24), Kohan Mau (2/17), Noah Wylie (3/23), Jackson Riley (2/13) and Michael Pettiford (1/16) shared the wickets between them.  

Nine different bowlers were utilised for Colts with the youngsters sharing the workload together to ensure everyone felt part of the game. Liam Davies (66) was the only Canecutters batsman to show any resistance, whilst Ben Davis (12 not out) was the second highest scoring player for Canecutters.

The regular fall of wickets significantly affected the runrate, with Canecutters finishing on 9/130 after 35 overs to hand a convincing 51 run win to the Colts.

In the other game, Warriors batted first against Valleys and as with other match, the runs were hard to come by early. Ricky Parslow had the ball on a string and quickly sent three Warriors batsman back to the sheds. Randal ‘Red’ Porter (33) and Dan Leschke (22) steadied the ship to combine for a 45 run partnership, whilst Josh Large (24) provided some middle order impetus. Youngster Jacob Williams (3/29) was very handy with his off spin.

Machlin Turner (1/10) and Tony Hinschen (1/19) also assisted with the ball, however Ricky led the way returning the ridiculous figures of 5/6 in his 8 overs. Warriors were bundled out for 107, which was still somewhat competitive given the slow outfields.

Despite losing the two early wickets, Valleys were never under any real pressure chasing down the modest total.

Chris Wren grew another leg and bowled with pace that he hasn’t bowled for many seasons, however didn’t get the wickets we deserved returning figures of 1/40. He was assisted by Luke Valmadre (1/23) who was the only other Warriors bowler to add their name to the wickets column.

Fresh off his five wicket haul, Ricky (46 not out) continued his form with the bat despite only being on one leg with a quad injury he picked up bowling. Machlin Turner (47 not out) was the perfect foil to team up with Ricky, with the pair taking down the target at the end of the 17th over. Valleys remain undefeated so far in the 40 over competition.

This Saturday will see all teams receiving a bye as Pink Stumps Day taking centre stage in Bowen.

The Proserpine fixtures will resume on Saturday, February 25.

Any new or returning players can contact Dale Mengel (0410 895 191) or Craig Brown (4945 1983) for further information.

Contributed with thanks to Dale Mengel

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The McDonald’s Mackay Meteorettes recently travelled to the Gold Coast to compete in the Basketball Queensland Under 18 State Championship.

The girls made it to an epic Division 1 Grand Final, finishing second in their pool and defeating the Gold Coast Rollers 63-51 in the semi.

In a decider that went down to the wire, the Meteorettes ultimately went down to the Logan Thunder 73-72.

Monique Bobongie starred, scoring 30 points, with Charli Bliss contributing 22 and Hannah Jensen 12.

Congratulations to Ross, Troy, Kylie and the girls on their massive efforts to secure Silver Medals.

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The Mackay Meteorettes secured silver medals in the Basketball Queensland Under 18 State Championship on the Gold Coast last month. Photo supplied

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There was a solid Mackay representation in the Under 15 Queensland North teams recently competing at the Southern Cross Challenge held in Victoria.

Congrats to the Mackay Basketball junior players who did Mackay proud.

Eden Catip, Isabel Smith, Maggie Thorburn, Skye Vaughn and Lily Mapp all made the girls team while Usai Bickley, Cooper Currie and Treyce Cianter represented the boys.

The Queensland North girls finished 4th with the Queensland North boys coming 8th.

Well done to all involved.

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Eight Mackay players represented Queensland North at the U15 Southern Cross Challenge in Victoria last month. Photos supplied

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Australian Indigenous centre court sensation Ainsley Carey heads a strong St Patrick’s College netball contingent that will represent Mackay at next Monday’s Capricornia trials to be staged at Mackay Basketball Stadium.

The gifted 17-year-old centre/wing attack, who shone for Queensland at the recent National Indigenous Netball Championships on the Gold Coast, is one of the brightest prospects in the State and a product of the Mackay Magpies Netball Club.

Ainsley is one of five St Patrick’s College players in the Mackay District School Sport Netball Senior 16 - 19yrs squad that will push their claims for Capricornia representative selection.

Other St Patrick’s whiz kids to watch include outstanding defenders Mischa Dinsdale and goalkeeper Kacee Ziegeler, centre Lillian Newland and shooter Rebecca Symons.

They’ll be joined by promising Holy Spirit College defenders Elizabeth Lee and Stella Brooks; Whitsunday Anglican College shooters Eden Bagley and Isabel Milful and Mackay State High School shooter Christa Nissen.

The squad will be coached by experienced and respected St Patrick’s College mentor Diana Bailey.

During the trials Mackay will compete against teams from Port Curtis, Central Highlands and Rockhampton.

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ST PATRICK’S players also dominate selections in the Mackay District School Sport Netball 13 - 15yrs Junior squad which includes emerging goalkeeper Shaylah Pershouse and centre court ace Tenille Cotter.

Talented shooters/goal attacks Kiana Dunn and Tahlia Anderson and goal attack/wing attack Lacie Clark will also fly the St Patrick’s flag along with leading coach Christine Newland.

Other players featured include rising Holy Spirit College trio Ava Symons (goal attack/shooter); Mia Slater (wing attack/centre/wing defender) and Alysse Atherton (goal defender/wing defence) and Mackay State High School’s sharp centre court/shooter Rhyanna Ape and impressive goalkeeper Addison Dee.

Exciting prospects Ziegeler, Pershouse and Cotter have been chosen to participate on the Wanderers Australia International Netball tour of England and France in 2024 where they’ll play eight matches against top club, county and representative teams in the United Kingdom.  

The trio helped Mercy College capture the Division 6 Trophy at last year’s Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball (QISSN) tournament after edging out rivals Marist College Emerald 16-15 in a thrilling Grand Final contest.  

Dinsdale was named the competition’s Most Valuable Player after classy performances during the series and caught the eye of Australian Diamonds great Vicki Wilson, who labelled the Mercy school girl “an exceptional talent.”  

The skilful Rebecca Symons was named St Patrick’s Most Valuable Player at the 2022 QISSN event.

By Chris Karas

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St Patrick's College senior netballers Lillian Newland, Mischa Dinsdale, Rebecca Symons, Kacee Ziegeler and Ainsley Carey will represent Mackay Schools at next Monday's Capricornia 16 - 19yrs netball trials

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On the weekend of 11-12 February 2023, Pioneer Dolphins travelled to the big smoke, Brisbane, for an action-packed weekend of competition at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

The fastest in the state battled it out for absolute supremacy in the “sprint” distance of 50m over the four strokes.

Pioneer Swimming Club celebrated a whopping 32 Dolphins having qualified for the event with 16 travelling to compete – Kylie Smith, Jade Bounden, Kailu Bellear, Kingston Baker, Yasmin Seedwell, Ella Bounden, Zahli Herring, Georgie Brand, Alex Moss, Ariah Corrigan, Isabelle Miles, August Baker, Madison Malagueno, Joleigh Strydom, Annaliese Miles and Yvonne Bellear.

Special mentions for highlights over the weekend include Jade Bounden placing 2nd in 18-year Freestyle, 3rd in Breaststroke and 4th in Butterfly; Kylie Smith placing 5th in Open Backstroke and 9th in Butterfly; Madison Malagueno placing 3rd in 10-year freestyle; Alex Moss placing 7th in 11-year breaststroke; and personal bests being achieved by most of our state team.

Igor joined the team on the trip to Brisbane and was one very proud Coach!

Our Dolphins celebrated their phenomenal weekend of swimming at the Brisbane Eat Street before returning to Mackay to start preparation for our next exciting event, NQ Championships to be held in Townsville on 4-5 March.  

Contributed by Tahnie Malagueno

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Pioneer Dolphins travelled to Brisbane for the Queensland Sprint Championships over the weekend

Jade Bounden received medals in breaststroke and freestyle and finalist in fly

Kylie Smith finalist in Butterfly and Backstroke Finals

Madison Malagueno receiving her bronze medal for freestyle

Alex Moss received a finalist ribbon for breaststroke. Photos supplied

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From the warm tropics of northern Queensland to the frosty southern temperatures of the Australian Capital Territory, at the northern tip of the Australian Alps.

That is the future lifestyle for promising St Patrick’s College rugby league forward Mark Morrow after securing a three-year NRL contract with the Canberra Raiders.

The power running forward is bound for the nation’s capital when he completes his schooling in Mackay and has already impressed Raiders officials with his natural athletic prowess, work ethic and skill set while attending a pre-season camp at the club’s headquarters in Braddon.

As the 2023 season moves into full swing, the 15-year-old Morrow is determined to make every post a winner when he trots onto the field for St Patrick’s in the region’s schoolboys competition ranks; club side Mackay Wests Tigers in the Mackay & District Junior League or the Mackay Cutters in the Under 16 Cyril Connell Cup series.

It is undeniably a heavy match schedule but one the super fit Morrow will definitely relish when the first ball is officially kicked off for the new season.

A delighted Mark described his trip to the ACT as “a memorable experience” and a valuable introduction and education on NRL operations.

“I met the Raiders NRL squad at the camp and was over the moon when Kangaroos World Cup star Jack Wighton came over and made me feel welcome,” beamed Mark.

“We had a talk about my rugby league journey to date and Jack passed on tips on how to improve my game,” he added.

The impact forward was part of a squad of 24 top juniors aged between 15 and 18 from across Queensland and NSW invited to trial with the Raiders down south.

Morrow chalks up a 10-year service milestone with his beloved Tigers this season when he lines up for the Under 16 black and golds.

He remembers playing in his first trophy decider for the Tigers back in 2017.

“We lost to the Townsville Western Lions by three tries to one (12-4) in the final of the Gorden Tallis Cup,” Mark recalled.

Mark participated in the Broncos Rugby League Academy from the age of 12 and the Cowboys Academy since turning 14 before linking with the Raiders.

He represented Capricornia at the Queensland School Sports Rugby League State Championships in Under 11s, Under 12s and Under 15s and last year also lined up at the State AFL titles as a defender.

Mark is one of the big guns in a powerful and hungry St Patrick’s Year 10 team that is on the prowl for another Cowboys Challenge Shield title.

Having tasted defeat after the bell in last year’s Challenge Grand Final this Raider in waiting is determined to get his hands on the trophy in 2023.

By Chris Karas

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Emerging St Patrick’s College rugby league forward Mark Morrow will swap the sun and tropics for chilly winters when he takes up a three-year deal with the Canberra Raiders

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Monday - mixed pairs draw was won by Lidia McCarthy and Ray McCarthy. Second draw winners were Vic Gaudian and Peter Miller, and the lucky prize draw was won by Marie Duck and D Evans.

Wednesday - NMBC Ladies Section winners were Lyn Tennant and Isla Comelli. Runners up were Debbie Mackenzie, Gloria Sam and Doris Dodds.

Wednesday was also the semi-final of the ladies club championship 4’s with the final played on Thursday morning. The final winning team players are Marie Bragg, Chris Hall, Michele Stockton, Dorothy (Nuggie) Pratt. Valiant runners up were Donna Gordon, Coral Francis, Deb Mackenzie, Lorna Bowers.

Thursday – Goosies first prize was taken out by Andrew Coates and Shayne Trannore. Second draw winners were Vern Mietzel and Pat Elgey.

Kitty Toucher was not won!

Friday - Mixed pairs best card winners were Col Crocker and Tom Crocker. Winners of the lucky draw were Vern Mietzel and Wayne Mietzel. Runners up were Eric Galletly and Shirley Bartolo.

Saturday - NMBC Men’s section winners were Kenny Dwyer, Shayne Trannore and Ernie Sealy. Runners up Eric Galletly, Asko Helenius and Kenny Lane.

Contributed by Ian Rowan and Suzanne Hazledine

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“A” Grade Fours and NMBC Singles

Club Championship 4’s winners Chris Hall, Marie Bragg, Nuggie Pratt and Michele Stockton

Runners up Lorna Bowers, Deb Mackenzie, Donna Gordon, Coral Francis

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While the Mackay Cutters took to the BB Print Stadium field on Saturday, a few key players were absent after being called into the Cowboys squad for their first Pre-season Challenge match against the Dolphins.

Hooker Kyle Scheider and halfback Adam Cook took to the field in Cairns on Sunday as the Cowboys played out a 22 all draw against the NRL’s freshest franchise.

Winger Laitia Moceidreke and centre Gehamat Shibasaki also played for their contracted club after appearing for the Cutters 18 and five times respectively in 2022.

Moceidreke, who played one NRL game for the Cowboys in 2021 and was the top try scorer for the Cutters in 2022, starred with two tries, including a clutch final-minute four-pointer to guarantee the draw.

The Dolphins were the first to score in the seventh minute followed by Moceidreke opening the Cowboys’ account just four minutes later.

The Cowboys led 18-4 after 32 minutes before the Dolphins made their way back into the game, leading 18-22 with eight minutes to play.

Moceidreke crossed untouched in the final minute to even things up at 22-22.

Schnieder’s consistency in attack and defence was on display, including a pinpoint kick in the 62nd to set up a try that was ultimately disallowed, and Townsville junior Cook got his first taste of the big time, donning the Cowboys jersey for the first time and taking the field with about 30 minutes to go.

“It’s obviously something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid,” Cook said after the game.

“When I got on there, I was just trying to do my role and make sure we completed the sets and I thought we did that.”

Looking to the 2023 Cutters season, Cook said he’s looking forward to a good year.

“We’re looking really good,” he said.

“Commo’s (Coach Michael Comerford) got a good group of boys there ready to go so I'm looking forward to a good season.”

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Cutters’ halfback Adam Cook donned the Cowboys jersey for the first time on Sunday. Photo supplied: North Queensland Cowboys

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Over seventy runners braved the heat wave conditions as they competed in a one, two or three loop course around the beautiful, mostly shaded Gooseponds from the Willis Street dog park carpark.  

The social event was a great start to the formal 2023 season with the first handicap points run on next Sunday morning at Wallmans Rd cul-de-sac, Rural View.  

All runners must register online so that they are immediately eligible for club championship and handicap points towards end of year trophies.  

Also check out the 2023 calendar on the website www.mackayroadrunners.com for weekly events, times and locations.  

Please check regularly in case of any updates or changes to the program.

Many thanks to Mr Colin Meng who has once again generously accepted to be the Mackay Road Runners Club Patron, bringing his reign to over 15 years.  

Col also formally announced the first race of the season with a welcome speech before cutting the ribbon to open the 2023 season.

Thanks to Col and his family for also providing Zooper Doopers for a much needed boost of hydration post-race.  

The continuing temperatures can be fatal; therefore, all runners must ensure they seriously maintain their hydration levels throughout the week as well as on training and race days.

Thanks to Tim Magoffin and Andrew Short for setting up the course for the event, merchandiser Jo Hughes, registrar Julie Whibley and timekeeper Arthur Dick as well as the many helpers assisting in pack-up afterwards.

Contributed by Janelle Tilse

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Over seventy Mackay Road Runners joined Patron Col Meng (standing far left) as he opened the first official run of the 2023 formal program

Jordan Miller enjoyed a lap of the Gooseponds with his kids

L-R Tim Magoffin, Therese Hackney and Alan Zamparutti share a laugh

Birthday boy Stuart Sprott turned 79 on the first run of the season and is going strong too

Toby Rule leads over seventy runners out of the starting chute. Photo credit: Janelle Tilse

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