Hosts Bundaberg will be strongly represented at the 2021 Volleyball Queensland Country Championships this weekend, with three teams in Division 1 Men’s, and one in Division 2 Women, with all expected to acquit themselves well.
Games will be played at the Bundaberg Multiplex, Shalom College and Bundaberg Christian College, with 43 teams competing on a full day’s program tomorrow, starting at 8am and running through to around 9.20pm, and action resuming at 8am Sunday and concluding with the Divisions 1 and 2 Men’s Gold Medal matches at the Multiplex at 2.40pm.
Shalom College will be the venue for the Women’s Gold matches, with Division 2 at noon, and Division 1 at 1.30pm.
The local men’s teams, Bundaberg, Bundaberg – Do It For Millhouse, and Schooners, a junior team, are in Pools A, B and C respectively.
Do It For Millhouse is a vastly experienced team under the leadership of Jason Simpson and including former Australian Academy of Sport and National Junior representative Alistair Hill, and Scott MacPherson, brothers Kelvin and Lincoln Steinberger, Tom Olive, and Rod Moore, who have all also excelled at state and national levels throughout their career.
Koby Lister is captain of the younger Bundaberg team, which is also loaded with class, while the inspirational Sandi Cooper is the captain/coach for the Bundy Women’s team, which contains a perfect blend of youth and experience.
The Schooners team has a roster of rising superstars, and while they are short on experience at senior representative level, it will be a great learning experience for them, and their youthful brilliance will hold them in good stead.
Teams
Bundaberg: Koby Lister, Jordan Riemer, Nicholas Lindsay, Yoshihito Tamashiro, Viliami Molisi, Matthew Brain, James Crook, Stephen Perchard.
Bundaberg – Do It For Millhouse: Jason Simpson ©, Alistair Hill, Scott MacPherson, Kelvin Steinberger, Lincoln Steinberger, Tom Olive, Rod Moore.
Bundaberg Schooners: Jaeger Marris, William McRae, Brandon Prendergast, Elian Calderon, Joseph Richards, Tumeli Naco, Patrick McMahon.
Bundy Women: Sandi Cooper, Olivia Ferguson, Gytha Lobley, Sally Gardiner, Emma Frawley, Bridget Naumann, Morgan Engstrom, Hannah Glass.
Spectators are welcome. For the draw, go to https://www.vq.org.au/competitions/qld-country-championships/
Cricket
The stakes will be high when first-round double-headers winners Takalvans Taipans and Headlands Pies cross swords in the Aussie Bundy Big Bash at 6.30pm at Salter Oval tonight.
The Taipans defeated Betta Heat in a hard-fought match, while Brendan Handley led the Pies to a nine-wicket thrashing of Searle’s RV Centre Vikings with an unbeaten 54.
Centuries reigned in Bundaberg Cricket last weekend, starting with the Juniors on Saturday morning, where in Under-16, opener Kori Pope scored a superb unbeaten 148 for Waves against Isis, and Ned Jenner notched an unconquered 122 for YMCA/Norths Marauders against Maryborough.
In Junior Cricket 2, Beau Donnison was also on fire with an unbeaten 120 for Norths SEI Strikers against Brothers.
On Saturday afternoon in the last round of the Tallon-Giles Division 3 T30 Trophy, captain Shaun Pinney led from the front with an unbeaten 130 and opener Jade Hyde notched 104 as the unbeaten Norths proved too strong for Isis.
Meanwhile, East Bundy Magpies booked a place in the final with Will Barritt producing a dynamic double of 103 and 3-26 to spearhead them to a big win over YMCA.
Shaun doubled it up with 5-36 in the Rum City Foods Division 2 Premiership against Brothers on Sunday, while team-mate Josh Winen also sparkled, carrying his bat for an unbeaten 102.
In the second round of the Wide Bay Junior Championships, captain Tahj Coates chalked up a superb 134 while Nicholas Delacy compiled 101 not out for Bundaberg as they thrashed Fraser Coast by 269 runs in under-14, while another team-mate Travis Kapernick was also outstanding with the ball with 4-12.
There will be no Bundaberg Senior fixtures this weekend, with the finals of the Tallon-Giles Trophy to be contested in all three Divisions, with Divisions 2 and 3 T30 deciders both starting at 1pm, and the Division 1 T20 showpiece at 6pm.
The Magpies will contest all three finals, against Norths in Divisions 1 and 3, and Waves in Division 2.
In Division 1, they will be determined to go one better after their heart-breaking last-ball loss to Waves in last year’s T20 finale.
Rugby
Last week’s winners Waves Falcons and Turtles Brothers will both be looking to build some momentum when they meet in the sixth round of the Rugby Bundaberg Elders Insurance Spring Cup at The Waves Sports Complex tomorrow at 6pm.
Both teams are a bit light on numbers for the clash, but second placed Turtles will be favoured after beating Waves 15-8 in the season opener on 18th September and really hitting their straps in a season defining 22-17 victory over West Barbarians last Saturday when inspirational player/coach Brendon McKeown named crafty Scrum-half Tom Watson, substitute Tim Sparey and Fly-half James Tairawhiti were their best.
Their two Queensland Country Heelers stars Josh Saua and Alex McClymont were both among their scorers in their come-from-behind win.
After their first win of the season, Falcons player/coach Tommy Akers, who is fresh from a hat-trick of tries against East Bundaberg Pythons 17-10, will also have his troops pumped to build on the performance.
Meanwhile, the win-less Pythons face a monumental task when they travel to Hervey Bay to lock horns with the unbeaten Fraser Coast Mariners.
Softball
All Coral Coast/Hervey Bay Associations League games tomorrow will be played at Brothers Sports Club, with A Grade Ladies featuring a Local Derby top-of-the-table fourth round shoot-out between unbeaten arch-rivals Brothers United Firesticks and Waves Tsunamis at 2.20pm.
Bargara Bullets will then do battle with Terrors at 4.10pm.
In A Grade Men’s, the struggling Brothers United Heat will need to improve if they are to turn the tables on Maryborough West at 12.30pm after losing to them in the season opener.
At the same time on Diamond 2, Waves Schooners will be expected to go on their winning ways against Misfits.
Horse racing
Champion Bundaberg trainer Darryl Gardiner claimed the quinella in the Benchmark 65 Handicap in Gladstone on Saturday, with favourite Dolci winning from Crisscross.
The duo will be among his three starters in the Country Stampede Qualifier Open Handicap, the feature event on the bumper Bundaberg Melbourne Cup Day Meeting at Thabeban Park.
Greyhounds
Unencumbered made it 10 wins and 8 minor placings from 32 starts for Bundaberg trainer Lorraine Isles with a gutsy victory in the Best 8 event at this week’s meeting at Thabeban Park.
Three other District trainers were also among the winners on the day, Louise Cameron, with Midnight Cambla in the 5th Grade Pathway Non-Penalty, Phillip Carter with Sceptre, which snapped a 12-race losing streak in the Masters 5th Grade, and Garry Cluse with Slick Mac in a 5th Grade
