HomeSportWaves building for softball grand final blitz

Waves building for softball grand final blitz

Waves Schooners
Stalwart David Field hits out for Waves Schooners in a recent Coral Coast/Hervey Bay Softball A Grade Men’s match. Schooners will be one of Waves’ six teams in the grand final at Brothers Sports Complex tomorrow.

Waves and Terrors are the best represented clubs in the Coral Coast/Hervey Bay Softball grand finals at Brothers Sports Complex, each with six teams involved across the nine divisions.

Waves will chase the blue riband A Grade Ladies and Men’s double after being minor premiers in both and progressing directly to the deciders after the wash-out of the semi-finals a fortnight ago.

In A Grade Ladies at 3pm, their Tsunamis side will take on two-times defending champions Brothers United Firesticks after beating them 8-3 in the last game of the regular season to claim the minor title, while in A Grade Men at the same time, their Schooners will slug it out with Terrors, who were awarded the title last year after the wash-out of the grand finals and have come from third place on the ladder.

Waves’ other grand finalists are Torpedoes (Under-14) and Waveriders (U16), both against Terrors at 10.30am and 12.30pm respectively, Breakers (B2 Ladies) against Bargara Bandits at 8.30am, and Tidal Waves (B1 Ladies) against Brothers United Inferno at 11.30am.

Brothers United Sparks will oppose Terrors in U12 at 8.30am, with Bargara also represented by their Bulls against Terrors in B men at 10.30am, and West Cougars to hit the diamond against Terrors Yellow at 8.30am.

Good luck to all teams.

CRICKET

After beating Norths last Saturday to seal second place on the Bundaberg Rum City Foods Division 1 Premiership ladder, T20 champions East Bundy Magpies will attempt to book a grand final berth in just their second season when the two sides meet again in the semi-final at Salter Oval at 2.30pm tomorrow.

The Magpies were minor premiers in Division 3, and they will line up against fourth placed YMCA in their semi-finals at 1pm, when second placed Waves are opposed to No. 3 Norths.
Another good semi duel is expected on Sunday in Division 2 at 9am between No. 2 Norths and third seeds Brothers.

Junior grand finals will also be played at 8am, with YMCA/Norths Marauders to fly the local flag against Maryborough in Junior Cricket 3 Under-16, the unbeaten Waves to aim up against North Bundy Power in JC3 U14, and Brothers and YMCA to square off in JC2 U14.

AFL

The high-flying Across The Waves Eagles will be favoured to go on their winning ways at home against Bay Power in their AFL Wide Bay Takalvans Senior Women’s Premiership fourth round showdown with Bay Power at Frank Coulthard Oval tomorrow at 3pm.

Meanwhile, cross-town rivals Brothers Bulldogs will be chasing their first victory in three years when they hit the road to meet fellow battlers Maryborough at Bear Park, while it should be a battle royale when four-times defending champions Hervey Bay Bombers host top of the table Gympie Cats at N E McLean Oval.

FOOTBALL

Bingera will start their centenary season by hosting a Football Queensland Premier League Wide Bay Men’s blockbuster against reigning champions and arch-rivals Across The Waves at their Queen Street Grounds at 6pm tomorrow.

There are just two other Bundaberg teams in the FQPLWBM’s competition, United Park Eagles (UPE), who will venture to Maryborough to take on Granville, and SC Corinthians, who have the bye.

In the all-Fraser Coast games, Fraser Flames will do battle with Doon Villa, and Sunbury Blues will suit up against Kawungan Sandy Straits Jets.

The same nine clubs will also feature in the FQPL Wide Bay Under-23s Men’s grade, with the draw the same as the Premier Men’s, and hosts Bingera and Waves are set for battle at 4pm.

Two matches will be played tonight in the FQPL Wide Bay Women’s division, with Diggers taking on Bingera at Martens Oval at 8.30pm, and Tinana clashing with Sunbury Blues in Maryborough.

NETBALL

Waves Gold will not start their quest for a hat-trick of Bundaberg Netball Warren Family Homes Division 1 Premiership titles until next Saturday after drawing the first-round bye tomorrow.

In tomorrow’s two Division 1 showpieces, beaten grand finalists Brothers Hurricanes will bib up against Alloway Blue at the Super Park at 7.30pm, after Natives Aim Hearing Magpies take flight against Waves Blue at 6pm.

HOCKEY

The first of two trial rounds of Bundaberg Hockey will take place at Hinkler Park this weekend, starting tonight with a Division 2 Women’s match.

Arrows/Athletics will play Waves Cities in all divisions, and Cities’ Division 1 Men and Women, who claimed the premiership double last year, will show where they are at for their titles defences tomorrow at 6pm and 7.20pm respectively.

Raiders/Rovers are pitted against All Blacks with their Division 1 Men at 3.20pm and Women at 4.40pm.

HORSE RACING

Horse racing
Dukatti races to victory at the last Bundaberg meeting on 29th January. He is a likely favourite in the Rum City Foods Benchmark 45 Handicap at tomorrow’s Catholic Schools Race Day.

Apprentice Alisha Donald could dominate tomorrow’s Catholic Schools Race Day at Thabeban Park, with four outstanding winning chances among her full book of rides on the bumper seven-race program, Done It Again (Smiling Wide Orthodontics Benchmark 65 Handicap), I Am Fearless (Bob Gallagher Memorial Class B Handicap), Craiglea Bandit (Higgins Coating QTIS Maiden Plate), and Dukatti (Rum City Foods Benchmark 45).

But champion Bundaberg trainer Darryl Gardiner looks set to claim another trifecta in the Charltons Lawyers Open Handicap with his stable star Wrecking Ball, Crisscross and Dolci.

Wrecking Ball’s Jockey Kelly Gates will also ride Darryl’s Shenzi which is also a chance in the Benchmark 55, but Fudginit, which won 2 races in Armidale in September and October and will be making her debut for trainer Mary Hassam with 2020-21 Bundaberg Jockeys Premiership winning apprentice Rebecca Wilson in the saddle, looks the one to beat in that event despite having her first start since 30th November.

Mary and Kelly will also team up with another outstanding chance in the Waves Sports Club Class B in Kilkenny Dazzler, which won a Thangool Maiden on 28th February, but an interesting runner in that event is Terre Di Baccio, a son of Melbourne Cup winning sire Fiorente, which should also be thereabouts.

GREYHOUNDS

Takura trainer David Plummer continued his recent domination of Bundaberg chasing, taking out another treble at this week’s meeting at Thabeban Park.

He was successful with champion Fogelberg ($1.75), which notched his ninth straight victory on the track in the Free For All, taking his record to 25 wins, 6 seconds and 5 thirds from 47 starts, his litter brother Little Ripper ($1.30), which outclassed his rivals in a heat of the rich Bundaberg Wildcard, and rising star Garfunkel ($2.40), which completed a hat-trick of wins in the East End Hotel 5th Grade.

Wayne Watts, of Elliott, took out the other Wildcard Heat with outsider long-shot All Genres ($18), with rank-outsider Boston Sox ($51) the runner-up.

John Catton, of Greenbank, chalked up a double, getting the money with Busted Axel (Mixed 4th/5th Grade) and Lucky Hero (Masters 5th Grade).

Bundaberg trainer Paul Burgess was also among the winners with Floyd’s Fury on track debut in the TAB Maiden.

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