Bundaberg was strongly represented at the Cycling 2021 CQUniversity Australia Rockhampton Cup on Wheels at Kenrick Tucker Velodrome last week.
There were many outstanding performances, including Sam Davies and two-times defending champion Duncan Allen placing second and third respectively to the home town’s Ray Smith in the feature event, the Rockhampton Cup on Wheels 5 Laps Handicap.
Ray, who started off 135m, just held on to defeat Sam (120m), while Duncan flew home in a massive move after he came off scratch.
Bundaberg young gun 14-year-old Paige Davis, whose father Brad has mixed it with the best over a long career with the club, also did brilliantly to grab third in the Elite Women’s main event, the Capricornia Cup 5 Lap Handicap, in what club president Wayne Morden said “may well be a defining moment in her development, mixing it with the elites including interstate riders”.
Sam was also victorious in the Men’s A Grade 3 Laps Handicap, claimed third in the Combined Men’s Division 2 6 Laps Keirin, and was fourth in all-Bundaberg top-five in the Men’s A Grade 30 Laps Point Score behind Duncan and his brother Austin, Brody Allison, and Brad Davis, and also in a Bundaberg four-peat behind Duncan, Brody, and Austin in the Men’s A Grade 30 Laps Scratch Race.
Duncan, Brody, and Austin also claimed the trifecta in the Men’s A 15 laps Scratch, and Duncan led the field home with Brody third in the Combined Men’s Division 1 6 Laps Keirin.
Brody and Brad also placed fourth and fifth respectively in a high-quality field of 25 in the Combined Men’s 5 Laps Handicap final.
Brad’s sons Hunter and Zander also aimed up at the carnival, including with the duo picking up second and third respectively in the Under-13 boys Division 1 3 Laps Derby, Hunter adding two thirds, in the Under-13 3 Lap Scratch Race, and U-13 boys Wheelrace 3 Laps Handicap, and Zander taking third in the U-13 boys Division 2 3 Laps Derby.
Another Davis, Rhys, whose father Scott achieved much success as a professional rider from 2003-10, was also in the thick of things, including being runner-up in the U-13 boys 3 Laps Handicap, and third in the U-13 boys 2 Laps Handicap.
Another local family also made their presence felt, siblings Harriet, Beatrice, and Ralph Mullins.
Beatrice and Ralph snared the quinella in the Under-9-11 Wheelrace 2 Laps Handicap, while Beatrice clinched third in the U-9-11 1 Lap Handicap, and Harriet took third in the Under-15 Division 2 6 Laps Keirin, with fellow local Charlie Ellem in second position.
Max Clancy was another to stand tall for the team, racking up the Under-15 3 Lap Handicap and 10 Laps Scratch Race double, and securing third in the U-15 Division 1 6 Laps Keirin.
The hard-working Wayne Morden was also on the podium with his third in the Men’s B Grade 20 Laps Point Score, while another tireless club worker Wayne Godfrey savoured silver in the Combined Men’s Division 5 6 Laps Keirin, and Nathan Straume brought home bronze in the Men’s C Grade 20 Laps Scratch Race.
Wayne said the Bundaberg Cycling Club “as always can hold their heads high with their approach and adaptability to the external influencing factors impacting on the weekend’s racing”.
“We featured extremely well across all grades of elite racing for both men and women as well as our ever-growing junior cyclists showing their potential in their divisions,” Wayne said.
“In what was hotly contested racing, I couldn’t be prouder of everyone who attended the Rocky Cup on Wheels. It’s great to see growth in numbers and growth in the development of our cyclists from the novices to the more experienced.”
Football
High-profile club Brisbane City is delighted to announce the signing of young Bundaberg born and bred “starlet” winger Kijah Stephenson for their 2021 National Premier League (NPL) Women’s campaign.
Kijah, who will turn 19 this month and whose parents Tony and Paula still live in Bundaberg, started playing football as a four-year-old with Diggers, and she later joined Brothers-Aston Villa.
She travelled from Bundaberg to Sunshine Coast twice a week to join the Fire in the NPL, before moving to Brisbane at the age of 15 to join the Brisbane Roar Youth set-up where she has played the last three seasons, and was also part of the Queensland Academy of Sport.
In 2020, Kijah was named in the NPL Women’s Team of the Season, and was nominated for Football Queensland’s Young Footballer of the Year award, and she is “very excited” to now join City and be mentored by their NPLW Head Coach Skie Hanifin.
“Under Hano (Hanifin) and at City in 2021, I have clear aspirations to score goals and achieve the targets the club has set,” Kijah said.
Hanifin said it is “huge for us to sign a young talent that every club wants”.
“Whenever she gets the ball you just know something will happen!! At every chance, Kijah will take the player on and go at goal!! That’s rare!!!!,” Hanifin said.
“Benvenuto (Welcome) to the City Famiglia (family) Kijah!”
Golf
Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 VW Scramble event played at the Bundaberg Golf Club, Ashley and Brett Newstead, John Jennings, and Nathan Lutton, with a score of 53.88.
Runners-Up were Bundaberg soccer stars Jason McEwan, Scott Bretag and Shaun Sergiacomi, and surf boat gun and former Bundaberg cricket master blaster Mick Parsons, a mere 0.50 behind them.
Ashley also took the award for nearest the pin on the 14th hole with his 6.63.
It was great to see 136 players competing in the prestigious event.
Meanwhile, excitement is building for the first round of the Burnett Cup next Saturday.
Swimming
Congratulations to Bundaberg Swim Team (BST)’s Ethan Giles, who continued his outstanding form at the Pelican Waters Meet at Caloundra on the weekend, taking out the nine years boys age championship.
The dynamic all-rounder, a son of Marty and Bundaberg basketball legend Kylie Giles, is continuing a family tradition of excellence, won the 50m and 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly and finished second in 50m backstroke and 50m breaststroke.
He was also age champion at Bundaberg’s City of Charm Carnival in November,
The BST will also be well represented at the Hervey Bay Carnival this weekend.
Cricket
Congratulations to Jayden Santacaterina, of the Isis club, who has been chosen in the South Queensland Under-15 team to take on North Queensland in Mackay today.
Jayden has been in fine all-round former not only for his club, but also Wide Bay in the Lord Taverners competition from September-November, and at the Bulls Masters Youth Challenge in Bundaberg last month.
Meanwhile, a place in the Aussie Bundy Big Bash will be up for grabs when joint second-placed teams Betta Heat and Headlands Pies meet in the penultimate round of the competition at Salter Oval tonight.
Heat won by eight wickets when they last met on 13 November, but Pies are fresh from inflicting leaders Searle’s RV Centre Vikings’ first loss of the season last week.
In the Rum City Foods Intra Cup, the unbeaten Waves can wrap up another minor premiership if they can go on their winning ways in their top of the table showdown with Brothers tomorrow, while the winless Hervey Bay will be out to salvage some pride when they host Norths.
Last weekend, former seven-times winner of the Tallon Medal, for Bundaberg Cricket’s Best and Fairest, David Boge, turned back the clock when he scored an unbeaten 100 to spearhead Brothers to a three-run victory over YMCA in a closely fought Division 3 clash.
For David, who retired after the 2015-16 season but has returned in the Aussie Bundy Big Bash over the past three seasons and helps out occasionally for his life-time club, of which he is also the long-serving secretary, it was his first century since 18 October 2014.
Rugby league
It will be a proud moment for Bundaberg league icon and Central Coast Cockatoos coach Corey Tanner when his eldest son, 18-year-old Marcus, plays along-side four of his uncles, Dan, who is captain, Josh and Nick Tanner, and Patrick Tanna, in the 2021 Warba Wangarunya Rugby League Carnival in Rockhampton this weekend.
Corey said the Cockatoos is a “family side”, also including eight other extended family Bundaberg stars, Hayden Priestley, Trent Seeds, Clinton Horne, Tyson Douglas, Dyirun Johnson, Jensen Deamer, Tyson Whaleboat and James Prichard, who provide an exciting mix of youth and experience, with the balance of the side coming from Rockhampton.
He also said it is an Indigenous Reconciliation Carnival, with 18 teams entered, from as far away as Bamaga and Brisbane, and while the draw will not be released until tonight, he said every team would play four preliminary games, leading into the finals on Sunday.
Corey said they have competed at the carnival in three of the past four years, making the final on debut, and reaching the semi-finals the next year.
“We have had some tight misses due for and against, but we have always been there or thereabouts, and our first goal is to try and get back to the final – you don’t know what you are up against until you get there but we have got a very good side and the boys have been training for over a month and are back at club footy training now, and we will have another team run in Rocky on Friday,” Corey said
Corey said everyone can watch their games, with all of them to be Live-streamed on the Central Coast Cockatoos Facebook page.
On the local scene, after the Bundaberg Rugby League cancelled its 2020 season due to Covid, it has released a 15-round draw for the new season, starting at Salter Oval on 27 March, when, in A Grade, Wests will take on 2019 champions Brothers, Waves Tigers will do battle with Hervey Bay Seagulls, and Easts Magpies will go head-to-head with Wallaroos.
Horse racing
Bundaberg trainer Gary Clem was more disappointed in himself than his boom galloper King Klaus after he was beaten into second place in his open company debut at Caloundra on Sunday.
Starting a $2.20 favourite, King Klaus went down by a mere half-length over the 1000m course to Unguarded, which is trained in Brisbane by former Melbourne Cup winning jockey Chris Munce.
“But they ran a very good time, especially on the soft track, 57.53sec, and I may have let myself down by going a bit easy with him since his previous start three weeks ago, and he blew up a bit afterwards,” Gary said.
His record now stands at a hard to fault five wins, three seconds and one third from nine starts, and Gary plans to take him back to Caloundra for another 1000m open handicap next Saturday which will carry a lucrative $75,000 in prizemoney.
Greyhounds
Local trainer Paul Burgess was the only multiple-winner at this week’s Bundaberg meeting, taking out a race-to-race winning double.
Paul was successful with youngster Wildash Avatar, which was a six-length winner as favourite in the Novice Non-Penalty, and New Waves, which recorded just his second win in 18 starts at Thabeban Park in the Masters 5th Grade.
Six other District trainers were also among the winners on the day, Brian Terry, Stephen Bland, Jodie Sarnadsky, Tom Lowe, Phillip Carter, and John White, with Koolboo Supreme, which broke through in the Maiden, Louisiana Flyer in a 5th Grade Heat, Farmor Summers, which made it two wins and two thirds from four starts on the track in the second 5th Grade Heat, Idle High, which got the money at his Bundaberg debut in the third 5th Grade Heat, Fernando Tears, which was a narrow victor in the Free For All, and the consistent Burn Out in in the fourth 5th Grade Heat.
