Saturday witnessed Proserpine Whitsunday Rugby Men and Women converging in Moranbah for the MRU ANZAC Round, a day dedicated to honouring the ANZAC spirit. A testament to the unity within the rugby community as all MRU Clubs paid tribute together to the valiant soldiers who served their nations.

A challenge to head so far logistically, with a big thank you to sponsors Whitsunday Transit who transported all teams safely over the hill and back.

Raiders Women set the tone as the 1st game of the day facing Bowen Jennies in an intense encounter that culminated in a hard-fought draw at 17 all. Captain Maddy Spruce commended her team's camaraderie and determination, emphasizing the growth of new players and their contributions to the squad's cohesion.

Bree Mackay's debuted as a Raiders Senior, marked by a stellar try in their subsequent match against Slade Point. Raiders Women showcased but fell short by a narrow margin 10-15. Despite the defeat, Coach Nathan Sainsbury noted the team's steady progress, particularly in defensive strategies and communication and connection on field.

Tries across the 2 games by Maddy Spruce, Deakoda Costello, Lily Sainsbury, Adeline Poid and Bree Mackay, conversion by Shirley Luke. Player Points = 3 Shirley Luke, 2 Jasmin Costello, 1 Lily Sainsbury.

Meanwhile, Raiders Men took on CityBok Barbarians in a spirited clash marked by outstanding displays of sportsmanship as fellow MRU Clubs and players assisted the Barbarians on field. Leading 19-5 at halftime, the Raiders maintained momentum to clinch a convincing 32-10 triumph.

Notable performances included Joel Hoffmann's commanding presence at number 8, playing strong and making great decisions on field, Waikato Nepia-Katipa's influential leadership continuing to play big minutes upfront, and Rhys Ward's defensive prowess in the mid-field. Making their mark in the team were debuts by Harry Moore and Simi Namaralevu.

Joel Hoffmann, Waikato Nepia-Katipa and Rhys Ward crossed in the first half, 2 tries converted by Landy Bezombes. Second half tries by Luke Rae-Howard and Nepia-Katipa bagging his 2nd in the 78th minute. Player Points = 3 Rhys Ward, 2 Simi Namaralevu, 1 Luke Rae-Howard.

Reflecting on the match, Coach Rota acknowledged the challenges faced by some players due to limited training during the week which showed in the game but expressed satisfaction with the team's collective effort in securing the win.

Raiders Men and Women enjoy a well-deserved rest this weekend, as attention shifts to the Mackay Stingers Representative Teams, where numerous Raiders were selected for higher honours in the CQ Championships held at Quarry Hill, Mackay Sat 4 - Mon 7 May.

Looking ahead, the Raiders will resume their campaign facing Mackay Brothers at Leprechaun Park, Mackay on May 11, kick-off 3:30pm.

Contributed with thanks to Karla Houston.

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Hanny Spence Photography - Raiders Women
Hanny Spence Photography - Joel Hoffman

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The Whitsunday Cup is an exciting opportunity for our local Association to welcome Touch Teams from far and wide to join us and “Play Touch In Paradise”.
 
Teams may nominate for five divisions and the Club is pleased with the early responses from throughout the state.
 
Nominations so far:
 
Mixed Open   – seven teams First Prize $2000.00
Aged Mixed   - three teams First Prize $2000
U12 Mixed     - three teams
U14 Mixed     - four teams
U17 Mixed     - five teams
 
Keep up to date at whitsundaytouch.com.au, search “EVENTS”.
 
Round Ten Results
 
Mixed A
In the Crear 5  d  G.E.T. 2
Vipers TBC  d  Raiders A TBC
 
Mixed B
Raiders B 8  d  Stingers 5
Whitmonday Eagles 9  d  Ray White 8
Flame Tree Flames 13  d  Full Boar 2
 
Mixed C
Mighty Mustangs  8 d  Shed N Homes 7
Untouchables 9  d  Bulls 5
 
Mixed Juniors
Hamo Rent  5 d  Raiders Purple  3
Raiders Blue 10  d  Raiders Green 3

Contributed with thanks to Alita De Brincat.

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Results for social play on Tuesday. The jackpot was won in the game between Merle Elphinstone Isobel Wheeler Denise Wallace Linda Smith who defeated Irene Laird Maureen Hyde Albert Bison Penny Warren. Other games Deb Retchless Gail Bison Lyn Danvers Greg Colquhoun drew with Stumpy Adams Sue Shearing Ron Hyde Geoff Danvers.

Competition results: Ladies Triples Robyn Stitt Tiarna Winter Fely Duncan defeated Merle Elphinstone Isobel Wheeler Linda Smith. The final will be played on Saturday 4 May. A Pairs Denise Wallace Penny Warren defeated  Merle Elphinstone Isobel Wheeler with the final being played on Sunday morning resulting in Denise Wallace Penny Warren defeating Robyn Stitt Fely Duncan.

Sunday afternoon winners were Toni Bowen Deb Retchless Ron Hyde defeated Bill Myers Maureen Hyde Alby Vigar, Robyn Stitt Trevor Elton Pat Tracey defeated Judy Elton Merle Elphinstone Penny Warren and Jim Quod Kennedy Whitton defeated Irene Laird Kevin Jewel. The jackpot didn’t go off.

Our Winter Bingo is starting this Friday 3 May at the club at 9.30am sharp and Barefoot bowls is on again on Friday night.   Hope to see you there.

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Contributed with thanks to Penny Warren.

Caption: Ladies A Pairs winners: Penny Warren and Denise Wallace. Photo supplied

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A week of April showers didn’t prevent some exciting bowls being played. 
Starting on Tuesday with Ladda Purdie’s team of Dawn Dowel and Rhonda Lloyd the biggest winners of the day.

Wednesday Jackpot Bowls arranged by Rick Galea and Merve Stewart saw Shane Spann’s team of Billy Gordon picking up his stick like a seasoned performer after losing a leg and terrible injuries but showed just what a champion man he is and with Ladda Purdie they were the biggest winners of the day.

Wednesday night Business House Bowls continued and Friday afternoon 30 Christian College students to see whom will represent their school for the Queensland school championships and have a month of games to decide.

Saturday and Sunday saw the three bowls Men’s triples being played with Manny Isgro’s team of Peter Barrett and Andrew Butler far too superior for the rest of the teams with Manny showing all and sundry why he’s one of the very best bowlers in Queensland with an effortless and awesome display never missing with a fantastic performance for all comers to see.

Sunday afternoon social bowls had a great roll up with Jill Spencer welcoming Chris and Peter Lawson from Broadbeach with new bowlers Greg and Mel Fennell as well as Rob Turner visiting and Josh Sinclair all having an excellent day.

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Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

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Peter Barrett , Manny Isgro and Andrew Butler winning the Men’s 3 bowl triples. Photo supplied

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A singles: Tracey Roach defeated Mary Ellen Pratten.

B singles: Wendy Coles defeated Mary Ellen Pratten.

Fours: Andrew Peebles, Gavin Charles, Tiarna Winters and Steve Roome defeated Robyn Stitt, Daryl Tuttle, Kevin Jewell and Faely Duncan. Gordo, Mark, Crowy and Kev defeated Lee, Andy, Mitch and Jason. 

Sunday Social: R.Rodda and Tracey Roach defeated Keith Kirk and Jane Gilbert. Marion Tuttle, Ron Gould and Gus Munro defeated A.Higgins, Wendy Coles and Lloyd White.  

There was one game of Scroungers: Ray Muir defeated Tracey Roach and Paula Welsted.

Wednesday Social: Ian Thatcher, Daryl Tuttle and Steve Roome defeated B.Neil, Jane Gilbert and D. McDonald. Joan Edwards/ Eddy Neylon, Helen Jacobsen and Gus Munro defeated Gail Bison, Ray Muir and Gavin Charles. P.Bison, Bev Smith/ Lloyd White and Ron Gould defeated Marion Tuttle, Gordo and A. Higgins.

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Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards.

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Photo supplied

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On Wednesday we had 13 players enjoy games of bowls.  Jim Bownds and Heather Brown defeated John Anderson and Mike Harrison 31 -17 in a game of 3 Bowl Pairs.

Alen Sanderson and Peter Lawton defeated Pat Bownds and Sandy Daffaran 30 - 15  in a game of 2-4-2 Pairs.

Arthur Griffith, Barry Zillmann and Bruce Uhe defeated Mary Hedgelong, Barry Zillmann and Philip Brown 28 - 19 in a game of Triples.

On Saturday Morning there was a game of 2 Bowl Triples played.

Sunday's Social bowls was cancelled due to intermittent showers.

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Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown

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Over 2000 sports-lovers are expected to gather at the Whitsunday Sportspark next weekend when the Mackay Cutters play a home game against the Burleigh Bears.

Gates are set to open at 4.00pm and the game will kick-off at 6pm, bar closing at 9pm.

There will be General Admission tickets available for those wishing to find a spot on the grass, or for those looking to maximise their viewing experience, they can purchase a limited amount of VIP tickets.  These will provide exclusive access to the airconditioned club, terrace and grandstand along with a starter pack for food and drinks and numbers are limited.  

Full bar and food service is available throughout the event with everyone welcome to come in and enjoy the exciting sporting atmosphere.

A treat for the whole family, there will also be bouncy castles and face-painting for the children, plus food trucks.

Tickets and further info available from www.mackaycutters.com.au or the Mackay Cutters or Whitsunday Sportspark Facebook pages.

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WHAT: Mackay Cutters Vs Burleigh Bears
WHERE: Whitsunday Sportspark
WHEN: Saturday 11th May from 4.00pm

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We start off this week’s Premier League action with the match between Kameron Reason and Naomi Mitchell. 

Although the 7-1 score line in favour of Kam would suggest total dominance in the tie, there were encouraging signs for Naomi who smashed her highest match average this season by almost 10 points, encouraging signs for the remainder of the year.

That win for Kameron, in which he also scored his highest match average of the season, takes him in to second place on the premier league table.

It was a good day for Dom Friend who had back to back wins, a 7-2 over Art McMinn, which dropped Art down a place to third, and a 7-4 over win over Josh Fraser, which leapfrogged Dom a place above Josh on the table in alphabetical order only, both men’s stats are identical.

Arthur McMinn had the highest checkout of the day with a 94 peg, and that was closely followed by Joe Wilson’s 92 checkout in his 7 nil demolition of Hawkeye Rick. That loss leaving Rick firmly rooted at the foot of the table, but the win keeping Joe aloft at the top.

Last of all Jamie Maher defeated Jayden Lloyd by 7 legs to nil. That win is Jamie’s 3rd in a row now, which sees him steady the ship after a rocky start to the year which seen him lose his first 3 matches. 

Jayden has work to do to pick up his first win of the year, and the assignments are not getting any easier with Joe Wilson coming to town next.

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Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher

2024 Premier League players, L/R, J Fraser, J Lloyd, J Maher, J Wilson, D Friend, A McMinn, K Reason, N Mitchell and H Rick.

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Craig McLean had 40 points to win Tuesday's stableford competition by four shots from Ryan Wilkes with a sub-par round. Elspeth Scotford had 35 points to beat Jacqueline Wall by a shot in the ladies' division. Jacqueline Wall won one pin shot and Ryan Wilkes won two.

Wednesday's ladies' stableford went to Heather Luvis with 33 points; one ahead of Vickie Wallace.

Anzac Day's ambrose event saw Jon Miller and Ryan Wilkes combine to shoot 11 under par for a 59.5 nett to win by half a shot from Fraser Simpson and Lachlan Howard. Over one hundred players competed.

Brad Fleet had 18 points to win Friday's Met run by a shot from Jason Whitney while Brendan Spann won both pin shots.

Luke Nightingale had 41 points to win Saturday's MBW stableford by two shots from his B division runner up Kristian Mulholland and the leading two A division players in Brad Fleet and Rod Wecker. The leading ladies were Tiina Randmae with 35 points and Paula McQuat with 33.

Ryan Wilkes, off a handicap of plus one, shot two under par to cap off a great week of golf and win Sunday's stroke event by a shot from Aaron Prosser with a nett 70. Elise Hodgson had a nett 74 to beat Anna Winterbourn by three shots.

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Contributed with thanks to Proserpine Golf Pro Shop

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This week’s 9-hole stableford saw Cory Belke take first place with 22 points, second with 20 points c/b was Scott Macleod and third place with 20 points was Melinda Macleod. 

Fridays 9-hole stableford saw Tony Spurway first place with 20 c/b, second place with 20 points was Justyn Durbin and third place with 19 points was Glenn Rees. 

Sunday’s 18-hole monthly medal was a great turn out which saw Wayne Singleton take first place with a 47 nett, second place with a 40 nett was Dean Barnard and third place was Brock Brindle with a 49 nett. 

Nearest the pin was Wayne Singleton and Jayden Parata.

This Sunday 5th May with be Par Svs 18-hole competition, tee off at 8.30am – 9.30am.

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Contributed with thanks to Kate Cross.

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Wayne Singleton. Photo supplied

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The whole course was very wet, obviously, particularly, the back 9, and made for a wide variety of scores. 
 
The number of competitors was disappointing but the weather discouraged many of the regular competitors and the intermittent showers didn’t lessen during the day.

However it did make for some spectacularly bright rainbows to please the players and the April MM was completed. 
 
LADIES A GRADE : 
Winner : Elise Hodgson with 74 nett 
Runner-up : Anna Winterbourn with 77 
Longest Drive : Anna Winterbourn 
 
LADIES B GRADE : 
Winner : Joanne Moynihan 
Longest Drive : Joanne Moynihan 
 
MEN’S A GRADE : 
Winner : Andrew Albergo with 76 nett 
Runner-up : Wayne Temby with 77 
Longest Drive : Andrew Albergo  
 
MEN’S B GRADE  
Winner : Ron Jamieson with 76 nett 
Runner-up : Leigh Jones with 83 
Longest Drive : Paul Nicol 
 
NTPs : 
For the ladies : Elise Hodgson, Joanne Moynihan and Anna Winterbourn 
For the men : Nobody got near the pins in the required number of strokes 
 
LEAST PUTTS : Anna Winterbourn for the ladies with 33 putts, a draw for the men with Ron Jamieson and Wayne Temby both having 29 putts. 
  
NAGAs : The honours went to Tiina Randmae and Paul Nicol, a drink courtesy of Aaron and Tracy Watts, proprietors of RADS Whitsunday who provide respite accommodation and disability support services. 
 
NEXT WEEK : The May MM and least putts. Although this will mean 3 consecutive stroke competitions, it will bring WGC back in line with the PGC Sunday fixtures.  
 
Don’t forget to get your names on the timesheet promptly so we can play in a block. 
 
Contributed with thanks to Tiina Randmae.

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Elsie Hodgson, Ron Jamieson, Joanne Moynihan, Anna Winterbourn and Wayne Temby. Photo supplied

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The Whitsunday Brahmans hosted their first home game for the 2024 Season against Wests Tigers. A game which doubled as the Annual Sponsors Day which gave the community the chance to thank the clubs sponsors for their generosity and support.

Unders 20's

After a nervous and rough start in their Round 1 game against South's, the 20's were ready to turn the tables and put on a performance in front of a home crowd for their first home game of the season.

Starting the game a little nervous again, giving away early penalties, their defence from the get-go set the tone all game that they were not going to give up without a fight!

With an early opportunity and some slick ball work through the hands put veteran Luke Handley over for the first try of the day. But with some errors gave Wests an opportunity to put points on as well.

The second half showed errors again on both sides but the "never give in" attitude and their steel in defence, saw them hold Wests scoreless in the second half.

With young debutant, Darcy Milne and his goal kicking ability, on a such a pressure moment in a home crowd, he never let it get to him and slotted from out wide to put Brahmans in front 16-12.

The match ended 16-12 to the Brahmans.

Reserve Grade

With the help of some old players, reserve grade got a team on the paddock this week.

The boys started well with some great defence by all, going into the break 4-4.

They knew what they had to do to control the game.

The second half started with a lot of poor ball security which let Wests get a bit of wind in their sails. The Brahmans still showed some great defence, but the lack of training showed, and the boys lungs blew up.

We definitely have a competitive side and with a bit of fitness we’ll turn the scores around. 

The match ended Whitsunday 4 Wests 34.

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Exciting news for new players and those wanting to refine their skills.

Skills Sessions started this Monday and will continue for another three weeks under the direction of Bernard Woods.

These sessions will highlight the important skills that will suit C Graders, Family Graders and those new to Touch.

Juniors start at 4.45pm, Seniors – 5.15pm at the Sports Park.

And it is FREE.

Round Nine Results - Monday April 22

Mixed A
Raiders A 3  d  G.E.T. Touch 2
Vipers won on forfeit In The Crear

Mixed B
Ray White 7  d  Stingers  3
Raiders B 12  d  Full Boar  2
Flame Tree Flames 6  drew  Whitmonday Eagles  6

Mixed C
Mighty Mustangs 9 d Untouchables 8
Shed N Homes 3 d Bulls  2

Mixed Juniors
Hamo Rent 7 d Raiders Green 5
Raiders Purple TBC Raiders Blue

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Tuesday afternoon saw the annual Alison Holmes Day, which was a huge success .

Third place went to Wendy Pomeroy’s team of Lyn Graham and Bev Taylor, second place went to Joan McGrath with Maureen Barnard and Elaine Kippen .

The winners of the day went to Margo Stanley’s team of Lane Telford and Alison Holmes, whilst Dawn Dowel took home the lucky door prize. 

Wednesday afternoon Jackpot bowls saw Andrew Butler’s team of Lu Rogan and Christine Lawson win.

Wednesday night Corporate Bowls competition commenced with big winners Rock Plumbing beating K Build 17-4.

Other winners were PRD, Battery Warehouse, Hadlow Racing and the Burrows Girls.

Saturday and Sunday saw the men’s B Pairs being played with the final between Noel Crosbie and Andy MCDougall against Mark Mawson with Arthur MCManus. Mark and Arthur were the winners 20-16 in a close game.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

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In the Club Pairs Gus and Ray defeated Kevin and Gordo.

During the Sunday Social: A. Delic, R. Gould, G. Charles defeated B. Neal, J. Gilbert, J. Wright.

K. Kirk, W. Coles, L. White defeated A. Williams, H. Jacobsen, M. Wright.

R. Scanlon, Glen. R, A. Peebles had a drawn game with I. Thatcher, Gordo, L. Welsted.

At the Wednesday Social: D. Tuttle, R. Stitt, G. Charles defeated ME. Pratten, R. Scanlon, K. Jewell.

E. Neylon, H. Jacobsen, S. Roome had a drawn game with P. Wilson, W. Coles, J. Gilbert.

Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards.

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