St Patrick's College Triumphs In Aaron Payne Cup Clash

Schoolboy rugby league heavyweights St Patrick’s College Mackay and Ignatius Park College Townsville have opened their 2023 Aaron Payne Cup campaigns with a first-round epic battle at Leprechaun Park.

Ian Schifilliti’s powerful St Patrick’s line up earned bragging rights when they recorded an impressive 20-12 victory over the Townsville giants in the lead into this year’s Confraternity Rugby League Carnival in Brisbane.

Queensland Schoolboys representative five eighth Jaxon Purdue shone for St Patrick’s along with back rower Jake Bryan, fullback Will Shears and talented hooker Zac Keating.

Flying winger Bailey Anderson grabbed a hat-trick of tries as St Patrick’s thumped Cairns school Trinity Bay State High 42-10 in a second round Cup fixture at Townsville’s Brothers Leagues Club grounds.

Purdue, Shears and rampaging Capricornia representative prop Tyler Shandiman also played strongly.

In the Cowboys Challenge Year 10 series, St Patrick’s have posted stirring 26-6 victories over Ignatius Park and Trinity Bay State High with top performances from Queensland Under 15s forward Sam Anderson, Capricornia rep five eighth and skipper Adam McSherry, Canberra bound forward Mark Morrow, Caleb O’Brien and Hamish Donohoe.

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Under 13 Div 1 played their best game of the season on Saturday with a fantastic display of positive forward play and pressing to get the ball back at every opportunity.

Goals went to Oli, Lockie, and Caleb. Caleb’s second goal from just over half way was an absolute ripper against the run of play and sealed the win.

This 4-0 win was against a Lions side that had previously beaten us.

The U13 prem team took the lead against Wanderers after a sublime pass from Shannon Matthews sent Matthew onto goal and although his shot was well saved, Sam kept the pressure up and was rewarded with the goal.

A well taken penalty by Wanderers evened the score with the game finishing 1-1.

15 Div 1 lost against Wanderers 2-1. Some great passing and movement we just lacked the killer shot on goal. Special thanks to the U13 boys who stepped up to help us out - Cohen, Will, and Matt.

The Paddy's Shenanigans Div 1 and 2 teams faced off against Lions.

Unfortunately, WUFC struggled to create many chances, falling 2-0 behind at the break to scrappy goals. The second half, with the wind behind the team, was a different affair, but the equaliser never came, going down 2-1.

Our Div 1 team faced up to Lions expecting another tough match up.

However, the opposition had a number backing up with many injuries in the squad.

Lions went up 1-0 early on, but WUFC took control, hitting 3 unanswered goals, including a 40-yard screamer from veteran Richard Draper.

A comfortable 6-2 win makes it 4 wins in a row at home.

The Reserve women got some valuable points on the board this week with a 4-2 win over Country.

Kiki opened the scoring early for the ladies and continued to work tirelessly the entire game to put pressure on the Country defence.

Upfront Maddy put away two nice goals to keep Whitsundays in front the entire game and from the middle Steph’s runs paid off with the fourth goal of the game.

The Premier ladies continued to dominate with a 14-0 win over Country.

Despite dominating possession, and having many opportunities, the final touch lacked finesse and they went into half-time break only 4-0 up.

The second half Whitsunday ran away with the game with the attacking group working together to keep the pressure firmly on Country Final tally of scorers was Willow(4), Lena(3),Laura(3),Steph(2),Bre and Eva one each.

Whitsunday Men Ressies were unfortunate to come away without any points against Brothers.

The team started well with Andrew Johnstone scoring a cracker within 5 minutes.

The lads pressed to try rescue the game but ended up losing 4-2 after chasing the game.

It was a different story for the Premier Men against City Brothers.

The lads applied relentless pressure going into the break with a commanding 4-0 lead with another from Sherro and two from Smithy.

The second half saw the team playing the best football they have played all season carving apart a helpless Brothers.

The second half saw Sherro complete his first hat trick for the club and Delors finishing off a phenomenal team goal in fantastic fashion.

The full-time whistle blew with Whitsundays finishing 6-0 winners.

Contributed with thanks to Allan Milostic.

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Luke Swift never an easy man to tackle. Photo supplied

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Last Saturday saw the top of the table Whitsunday Raiders travel to Lions Sports Park Mackay to take on the 6th place Kuttabul Camelboks.

It was going to be a challenging match for the number one placed Raiders side as they were without eight of their regular run-on players due to injury or work commitments. This meant that the Raiders would have to play uncontested scrums, and as a result field one less player meaning it would be 15 against 14 for the full 80 minutes.

Kuttabul are renowned for their physicality and their ability to rise to the occasion, especially at home, which is exactly what they did.

Scoring 5 tries to the Raiders 1 in the first half, leaving the Raiders in the unusual position of being behind 31 - 5 at half time.

Second half saw the true spirit of the Raiders shine through, with an inspirational comeback scoring two tries in the second half and keeping Kuttabul scoreless. Final score Kuttabul 31 Raiders 17.

Best on field for the Raiders were new man David Aspil with 3 points, Tom Humphries with 2 points and Darragh Lynch with 1 point.

Raiders head to Mackay this Saturday in a bid to maintain their Number One position on the ladder, taking on Slade Point at 3.30pm at the Cathy Freeman Oval.

Contributed with thanks to Steve Ward

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For both Year 6 St Catherine’s Catholic College boys, rugby union is in their blood, and making the North Queensland team for rugby union is a dream come true.

Jamar Tabua has been playing rugby, both league and union, since he was 10-years-old, following in the footsteps of his dad.

“My dad just signed me up because he played footy and wanted me to play footy,” Jamar said.

“And I just turned out to be gunfire!”

Cooper Robinson has been playing the sport since he was six, with both his parents avid fans of the sport.

“My dad says, ‘play your own game, don’t worry about anyone else’,” Cooper said.

The boys have been playing together for years, with Cooper getting Jamar into the game initially.

“I started when I was 10,” Jamar said.

“Because he got me into it. We played this carnival together and I was a gun. I got the MVP of the game.”

Both boys have aspirations of making it big in the sport and playing professionally.

Cooper has the short-term goal of making the Far North Queensland Rugby team when he is 14, and Jamar is looking into his future, hoping to make it into the Junior Cowboys.

“I’m going to play my hardest at Ipswich and look out for scouts,” Jamar said.

The boys, with three other boys from St Catherine’s, travelled to Townsville to compete in the trials.

Of the 80 boys at the Townsville NQ trials, Jamar and Cooper are two of 23 who made the team, and will travel to Ipswich later in the year, to compete in the state trials.

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Cooper Robinson and Jamar Tabua qualify for North Queensland Rugby Union. Photo credit: Bronte Hodge

On Wednesday afternoon, Torpedoes who have been consistently training were invited to a special training session.  

During this session, swimmers enjoyed using the new backstroke ledges and the new dive block kickers.  

The coaches would like to commend Declan Dichiera, Jasper Korosec, Lucas Korosec, Koa Harland, Levi Smith, Indi Smith, Roxy Groom, Alex Trefz, Connor Lee, Stevie Lee, Harris Delac, Abi Maher and Evie Doherty.  

On Sunday, a couple of Cannonvale Cannons travelled to Townsville to participate in the Townsville “Club to Club” Ocean Swim.  

Congratulations to Jacob Bell (M12-19) and Nelson Malady (M10 – 11) who both achieved 2nd place in their age groups.  

Jacob swam in the 2km event and swam a time of 28.46.90 and Nelson swam in the 1km event and swam a time of 19.54.37.  

The Cannons would also like to commend Kyle Pevitt-Scott who swam the 2km event in 33.20.50.  Coach Mark Erickson accompanied Raylene Rasmussen through the 2km swim, and they both enjoyed a leisurely Sunday morning pace.  

During the week, the Cannons hosted the Annual General Meeting.

The Cannonvale Cannons are looking forward to hosting their winter carnival this Saturday.

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Jacob Nelson Raylene and Mark at Townsville Strand. Photo supplied

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Last Monday night marked the thrilling conclusion of WTA's Winter Season, as four exhilarating Grand Finals took place.

We extend our thanks to the teams, as well as their families and friends, for supporting our club. With great anticipation, we eagerly await an even grander and more spectacular Grand Final night in the upcoming season.

Mixed A Grade and Mixed Family Grade delivered the tightest contests.

In A Grade Trusty and In the Crear went try for try with the scores locked 5 all deep into the second half until Trusty were able to break the deadlock with 2 late tries.

Similarly in Family Grade no team could gain an ascendancy with scores locked at full time. Escapees/Misfits prevailed in the Drop Off.  Escapees/Misfits 7 Mainlanders 6.

B Grade and C Grade followed a similar path with the winners establishing an early lead that was never threatened.

B Grade Slippery Salmons 5 Ray White 2.

C Grade Fumble This 5 Stingers 1.

WTA extends its thanks to the referees who officiated in the Grand Final. Special thanks to Ian and Bruce experienced referees from the Burdekin Touch Association for helping out.

WTA’s Summer Season will start after the school holidays.

Contributed with thanks to Alita DeBrincat.

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Mixed A Grade Grand Final Winners – Trusty

Slippery Salmons win the B Grade

The team of referees

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Another week is over and its nearly halfway through June already.

The Ladies penants is in full swing and once again we are doing well in all divisions.

Wednesday afternoon Jackpot bowls brilliantly run by Rick and Galea and Merve Stewart saw 22 bowlers chasing the jackpot prize, however it never went off and will Jackpot into next week.

The bar was set high, and it was the team of Nik Fernbach with newcomer Greg and Tony Whitehorn who ran away with the first prize money.

On Friday saw the semi-finals of the Whitsunday Christian College and the improvement in the children has to be seen to be believed and it's going to be another girl’s grand finale.

Saturday and Sunday saw the 23rd running of the June Carnival with 16 teams competing for big cash prizes.

The weekend was also had great sponsors and PRD, Hadlow Racing Team, to name a few.

Fiona Greener was just run off her little feet and with Ray also working tirelessly for the highly successful tournament.

All teams were rewarded with prizes but there can only be one team to win this prestigious event and that belonged to Manny Isgro and his team consisting of Russell Bramich at third, Peter Petersen at second, and Peter Wright at lead.

Congratulations must go to them on their sterling performance.

Amanda Camm was also on hand with great sponsorship for the event.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

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Amanda Camm being presented with her sponsorship appreciation award by Margo Stanley, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the event was highly successful. Photo supplied

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Results of Competition Games:

Club Mixed Pairs: Andrew Peebles, and Helen Jacobsen defeated Sue Fox, and Steve Roome.

Wednesday Social: MaryEllen Pratten, Daryl Tuttle, and Steve Roome defeated Keith Kirk, Allen Williams, and Ross Scanlon.

Peter, Gavin, and Thomson defeated Dave, Jill, and Geoff.

Winners for the afternoon were Bev, Leah, and Ron who defeated Joan, Paula, and Jane.

Sunday Social: Lorraine McArthur, Tracey Roach, and Peter Bruce defeated Eddy Neylon, Mark Rogers, and Gavin Charles.

Daryl Tuttle, and Ron Gould defeated Peter Thomson, and Lee Welsted.

Peter Wilson, Jill Brabon, and Brett Lampard defeated Joan Edwards, Paula Welsted, and Jane Gilbert.

Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards.

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Wednesday Winners, Bev, Ron, and Leah. Photo supplied

This week's early Wednesday morning social bowls were called off due to rain overnight.  

This meant that everyone was keen as mustard for some wonderful bowls on Sunday afternoon.  

Alen Sanderson and Sandy Daffara defeated John Anderson and Barry Zillmann 19 - 12 in a game of 2/4/2 Pairs.  

Lee King, Bruce Uhe and Heather Brown defeated John Burnett, Arthur Griffith and Mike Harrison 18 - 12 in a game of Triples.  

It has been good to follow the progress of our bowlers who are currently away at the Australian Open competing.  

At the time of writing this, the singles sectional play has one more day to be played before moving on to pairs and fours.  

There are some high-quality bowlers who will be showcasing their games and enjoying the variety of opponents.  

We wish our bowlers a wonderful experience over the two weeks of play and that they come back and share the stories of their experiences.

We are back to normal times for this week's social bowls with names in by 1pm please ready for a 1.30pm start.

Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown.

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Fun Friday winners were Alan Connolly and V Palmer who defeated Roger Mumby and Kay Connelly. John Blementer, Ron Hyde and Ann Fitz defeated Simon Keith, Barry H, Frank F, A Huppatz defeated Jan Dawson and B Russo, and R Stitt, J Stamp and L Palmer defeated Greg Lee, G Howie. The jackpot didn’t go off.  

Winners for Sunday afternoon were Gwenda Lydom, Allan Pearson, Bob Russo and Jim Steele defeated Bill Myer, Roger Mymby, Alan Purson and Geoff Danvers. Runners Up Merle Elphinstone, Maureen Hyde and Dot Slater defeated John, Irene and M Willimamson.

Others J Christie, J Healey and S Fuller defeated L Collins, L Knight and K Jewell. C Dunbar, L Scells and M Richie defeated A Kayser, Land K Armstrong. Pam L Danvers Michael defeated Terri Brian B P Tracey, Steve Sanmone, L Nightingale, K Russo, P Howie defeated T Bowen, M Connolly, I Wheeler and R Hyde.

C Bellingham, S Shearing and K Whitton defeated J Hayson, J Walsh and A Rolfe. M Nesbitt, K Sheldon and B Colquhoun defeated S Pearson, J Breakwell and Norm. The jackpot didn’t go off.                                                                       

Contributed with thanks Penny Warren.

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Caption: Sunday’s winners. Photo contributed

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With the winter break coming up after this week’s round of darts, all the guys will be hoping to go into that break with a win to keep the ball rolling.

The action got underway at the Airlie Beach Bowls Club with Hawkeye Rick taking on Seumas Rose.

Both players down at the wrong end of the table but hoping to improve on current form.

The match was even enough throughout with Rick to his credit showing an improvement compared to recent weeks, giving Seumas a run for his money, but experience came into it in the end, with Seumas capable of going up a gear when needed to win the contest 7/4.

Jamie Maher went top of the league briefly when he defeated Kameron Reason in a one-sided affair by 7 legs to nil, but that was quickly cancelled out with Jamie Woods 7/2 victory over Arthur McMinn shortly after.

The round was closed out with a 6 all draw between Gary Robbie and Kameron Reason in Kameron’s second match of the day, where he slotted home a lovely 180 to take a point, and a maximum for his day’s efforts, not bad at all.

We’ll be back in action in a few weeks’ time after a small break, see you then.

The Premier League is proudly sponsored by Mika Airlie, Whitsunday Tattooing Airlie Beach and Master Butchers Whitsunday, thank you for your support.

Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher.

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Wednesday’s competition was a single stroke event sponsored by Bowen Golf Club.  

Ladies’ winner was Wendy Tracey 72 nett, runner up Claire Garrod 73 nett.

Men’s winner Douglas Power 66 nett, runner up Cliff Querro 67 nett.

Saturday's competition was an 18-hole 2 ball ambrose medley sponsored by Tropix Refrigeration.  

Thank you to the Woodward family for their continued support of our club.  

Winners were Daniel Windridge and Andrew Menzies, 2nd James Miller and Xanthe Power, 3rd place Paul Martin and Rhyce Layton.

COMING UP

This Saturday's competition is a single stableford event sponsored by Sporte Leisure.  

Joker is worth $3200.  

Contributed with thanks to Grace Nott.

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Last Tuesday Proserpine hosted the Whitsunday Veterans Golf competition. Eighty Vets attended with visitors from New South Wales and Victoria - a great field.

Fortunately, the weather was kind to us and the course was looking in excellent condition.  

Robyn Whitham won the ladies comp with an impressive score of 39, continuing on her success from Gladstone, with Lyn  Muller 36 and Jenny Hounsell  on 35.  

Gerald Lovell won the men's with 39 also, Robert Thompson from the Penguin Golf Club on 36 and Geoff Harrison on 35.

On 27th June will be our Veterans Open, very generously sponsored by Fishi Island Seafood.

Contributed with thanks to Paula McQuat.

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Robyn Whitham and Gerald Lovell

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A fleet of 14 yachts, with a total crew of 88 locals and visitors took part in last Wednesday’s twilight race conducted by Whitsunday Sailing Club.  

A 12 to 15 knot south easterly breeze and flat water made for a wonderful afternoon on the water.

The start of Division 2 was close, with 4 boats crossing the starting line together, with just a small margin allowing QMS Ponyo (John Galloway) to take the Doyle Sails sponsored best start prize, with Treasure VIII (Rob Davis), Reignition (Charles Wallis) and Bobby’s Girl (Simon Brain) close behind.  

By the first rounding mark, Bobby’s Girl held a slender lead over QMS Ponyo, Reignition and Treasure VIII while Smooth Criminal (Iyas Shaheen) and Twister (Kevin Fogarty) were playing catch-up after a slow start.

The racing at the front remained close, with Bobby’s Girl controlling from the front, crossing the finishing line 30 seconds clear of QMS Ponyo, while Smooth Criminal just got ahead of Reignition for third and fourth places.  

After handicaps were applied, Smooth Criminal took the honours by 2 seconds to Twister, with QMS Ponyo third.  

If the start of Division 2 was close, Division 3 was similar, with newcomer, Domino (Paul Dynes) just centimetres ahead of 4 other boats.

Once again it was Matchless (Terry Stevens) who led around the windward mark, never to be headed.  

This left some very close racing behind, with Shiraz (John Cable) and Domino constantly swapping places, while Rossgo (Greg Hammon) and Masquerade (Tom Vujasinovic) keeping watch.  

In the battle for second, Shiraz took the honours by 20 seconds over Domino.  

On corrected time, Riff Raff (Dan White) headed Lighthorse (Dianne Forster) and Rossgo, with less than a minute separating 3rd to 7th places on corrected time.

Races continue every Wednesday from 4:30pm, with limited crewing positions available.

Contributed with thanks to Ross Chisholm.

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Twilight racing every Wednesday afternoon. Photo supplied

Whitsunday Sea Eagles hit the road to take on North Mackay Saints at Zeolla Park on Saturday with some close clashes in the higher grades.

Sea Eagles Senior Men worked hard in what was an epic battle with reigning premiers North Mackay Saints ending the day 39 – 44 down. Sea Eagles had their chances right until the final few seconds of the game and can take many positives away from the narrow loss. Billy Galpin continues his run of form in the midfield backed by Jake Turner and Brent Downie, while Ryan Lee and Mitchell Healey stood out in the backline. Sea Eagles will look to get back on the winners list this week against Bakers Creek at home.

Sea Eagles Under 17s also took on reigning premiers North Mackay Saints losing 33 – 40 in a match where Sea Eagles saw their share of the ball but could not convert in front of goal. The final term saw Sea Eagles almost 4 goals down however they stuck to the task and pegged it back to a solitary point. Saints managed to kick a late goal to seal the 7 point win in a close one.

Under 14 Sea Eagles met a strong and confident Saints who outplayed with connecting football while Sea Eagles tried hard in the contest playing out the game with a loss 2 – 62.

Sea Eagles Under 12s hit the road for the first time this Season coming up against a full strength Saints side and fighting as hard as they could losing 1 – 30.

This Saturday 17th June sees all five Whitsunday Sea Eagles teams at home to celebrate Family Day with face painting and bounce castle from 10am and water slide from 12pm. Juniors from 9:15am, Seniors from 1:50pm. Come down and enjoy the family fun!

Contributed with thanks to Whitsunday Sea Eagles

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Senior Men’s Team. Photo credit: Cody Fowler

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