This season, 2021 Golden Boot winner Nykodah Smith scored less than half the 50 goals he bagged in that campaign, but he saved his best for last, snaring a hat-trick to spearhead Across The Waves to a 7-0 whitewash of Bingera in the Football Queensland Premier League Wide Bay Men’s Grand Final at Martens Oval on Saturday.
Waves led just 2-0 at half-time, and any hope of a Superstripes’ victory were virtually extinguished when the League Champions added two more within a minute early in the second stanza.
With the dam burst, there was no way back for Bingera, and while they never stopped trying, Waves’ defence was uncompromising and goal-keeper Sam Collinson was again simply sensational, and the Blue and Gold juggernaut put the icing on the cake with three more goals in the last 20 minutes, with their other most potent striker Bryce Hibberd also completing a double.
Waves took their season tally in the competition to 101 goals while conceding a mere six, and they lost just one game for the second year in a row.
Ultra-consistent Captain Callum Hillier, who missed last year’s decider through suspension, truly led from the front, but in a galaxy of stars, ruthless tall defender Dylan Leggett, who relished playing together with his two brothers Cory and Luke, was a popular winner of the FQPL WB Men’s Player of the Year award, and Sam Collinson claimed the Golden Gloves for the second year in a row.
Their coach Peter Bock also took out the FQPL WB Men’s Coach of the Year in his first year at the helm after being Assistant Coach to John Brillante the previous few seasons, but despite his outstanding success, he had previously announced that he will be stepping down from the position at the end of this season.
Bingera’s Irish Ace Gary O’Donnell prevented a Waves clean-sweep of awards in the Premier Division when he claimed the Golden Boot with a haul of 23 goals in fixture games after being runner-up to Nykodah 12 months earlier.
Waves will now head to CTM Stadium Brisbane to take on Cairns heavyweights Edge Hill United in a FQPL Champions League Semi-final at 4.30 pm tomorrow.
You can watch the match LIVE and free on FQTV and Facebook.
United Park Eagles (UPE) were chasing a hat-trick of titles in the FQPL WB Women’s Grand Final, and they again played their hearts out, but they were beaten but not bowed as Fraser Flames put the icing on a perfect season record of 18 wins from as many matches with a 5-1 victory in front of their delirious home crowd at Fraser Coast Sports Precinct on Friday night.
Emily McDougall, who had been runner-up to ATW’s Tayla Zielke in the Golden Boot with 24 to Tayla’s 32, was a hat-trick hero for the Flames, but UPE Queensland representative Custodian Ruby Rowlands, who missed the Finals series due to State duties, took out the FQPL Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year.
Waves also triumphed in the FQPL WB Under-23 Men’s Finale, outgunning UPE 4-1 with four individual scorers, and one of their many young guns, Aden Russo among the goals and one of their best in another robust team performance.
They also started the day in style with a 3-2 dispatch of Sunbury Blues in the FQPL WB Under-15 Grand Final.
But Waves fell at the final hurdle in Wide Bay Division 1 Men, with United Warriors snaring an historic 2-1 victory over them.
Netball
Norville State School I, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, and Bargara State School Turtles will carry the local hopes in the Championship Division of the Netball Queensland 2022 Origin Energy Primary Schools Cup at the Bundaberg Superpark in Enid Ethel Drive this weekend.
There are 22 teams spread over three Championship Pools and Norville Sapphires I are in Group A, together with Buddina State School Blue, 2021 Champions Coorparoo SS Gold, Emmanuel College Carrara, Ormiston College Championship, Our Lady of Lourdes Sunnybank, Pacific Lutheran Jewels of Sunshine Coast, and Somerset College Championship of Gold Coast.
St Mary’s are up against AB Paterson College Arundel, Fraser Coast Anglican College A, John Paul College Daisy Hill, Moreton Bay College Jets I, Southern Cross Catholic College Blue of Scarborough, and Wishart State School Blue, in Pool B.
Bargara Turtles will compete in Pool C against Canterbury College Championship of Logan, Coolum SS, Mango Hill SS A, Oxenford SS, St Andrew’s Peregian Springs Year 6, and St Joseph’s Bardon Diamonds.
All teams will play the others in their Pools in round-robins tomorrow at 9am, 9.50am, 10.40am, 11.55am, 1.15pm, 2.05pm, and 2.55pm, before the teams are seeded and placed in graded Divisions for Sunday’s play-offs.
There are also six Rum City schools among the 31 teams across four Pools in the Development Division, St Luke’s Anglican College Blue and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Bundaberg I in Pool A, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Bundaberg II in Pool B, Bundaberg East SS Emeralds and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Bundaberg Year 4 in Pool C, and Norville SS II in Pool D.
They will play under the same format is in the Championship division.
Cricket
Forty-seven-year-old former seven times Tallon Medal for Bundaberg Cricket’s Division 1 Player of the Year and life-time Club Champion David Boge made a spectacular to top grade after retiring from the game six years ago but returning to play part-time along-side his son Oliver in Divisions 2 and 3 in the past three seasons, scoring a signature 98 to spearhead Brothers to victory over East Bundy Magpies in the Rum City Foods Division 1 Premiership first round at Salter Oval on Saturday.
Sent in to bat after a delayed start on a rain-affected pitch, David opened the batting and anchored the innings as wickets fell around him, and he fell agonizingly short of a century, facing 100 balls and dispatching 13 fours, before being the ninth man out, totally dominating in a total of 178.
The Magpies were bundled out for just 84 in reply.
Meanwhile, Jayden Larsen led Waves to a tough three-wicket victory over premiers Norths, smashing an unconquered 59 after Norths had posted a competitive 6-189, thanks mainly to a blazing unbeaten 68 by Jaden Bond.
The two first-round victors arch-rivals Brothers and Waves will meet at Salter Oval at 11am tomorrow, with East up against Norths.
Rugby
Last season’s wooden spooners East Bundaberg Pythons kicked off the new Rugby Bundaberg Bundy Hot Gas Spring Cup season in the best possible way with a 19-9 first-round victory over Turtles Brothers at the Waves Sports Complex on Saturday.
With a new-look teams that included many of the Pacific Islanders who had starred for Easts Magpies in this year’s Bundaberg Rugby League Premiership, including their three try scorers, Josateki Dawai, Sakiusa Dreunimolea, and Josateki Masibalavu, the Pythons strangled the Turtles, also protecting their line, with the only points they conceded being three penalties.
Meanwhile, Reigning champions West Barbarians got the points on a platter when perennial grand finalists Fraser Coast Mariners unfortunately forfeited.
Pythons will host the second round at Jubilee Park tomorrow, taking on Waves Falcons in the Main Game at 6.30pm.
Falcons have recruited well in their 20th anniversary season, and coach and game-breaking Fly-half Tom Akers, who will also share the Captaincy with powerhouse No. 8 Xavier Rodi, is confident they are ready to hit the ground running.
Earlier at 4.30pm, Barbarians, whose home is Jubilee Park, will also be keen to take to the field against Turtles Brothers, who may struggle after naming only 17 players for the game.
Here are all the scores from the weekend:
CRICKET BUNDABERG
RUM CITY FOODS DIVISION 1 PREMIERSHIP
WAVES 7/194 (Jayden Larsen 59no, Luke Owen 39, Adam Pozzebon 32, Kori Pope 25, Michael Penny 2/42, Matthew Parker 2/51) d NORTHS 6/189(cc) (Jaden Bond 68no, Nathan Van Eekeren 36, Shannon Smith 32, Chris Napper 27, Hayden Pope 2/58).
BROTHERS 178 (David Boge 98, River Felstead 3/32, Roy Heath 2/24, Dale Steele 2/28) d EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 84 (Sam Pearson 2/15, Lachlan Heycox 2/15, Jeremy Haaksma 2/22).
RUM CITY FOODS DIVISION 2 PREMIERSHIP
NORTHS 5/133 (John Balaam 55no, David Linwood 2/11) d WAVES 131 (Kyle Stallan 28, Liam Denning 3/18, Andrew Brotto 2/15, Ethan Hamel 2/37).
BROTHERS 6/124(cc) (Greg Chapman 38, Patrick Marshman 27, Bharat Kumarat 3/29) d EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 49 (Chris Carroll 4/6, Nick Clarke 3/8).
RUM CITY FOODS DIVISION 3 PREMIERSHIP
YMCA 7/113 (Russell Baker 31no, Leon Pearson 3/11, Scott Lamond 2/38) d BROTHERS 112 (Clint Mathiesen 26, Richmond Felstead 3/24, Lex Webster 2/8, Russell Baker 2/26).
EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 9/199(cc) (Amandeep Singh 48, Sandeep Singh 38, Ethan Reeves 2/18, Reuben Challacombe 2/29, Marty Ryan 2/41, Tyler De Martin 2/63) d ISIS 158 (Scott Rehbein 28, Scott Willing, Amal Fernandez 2/10, Jatinder Singh 2/17, Rajbir Singh 2/21, Sandeep Singh 2/26).
FOOTBALL WIDE BAY
FQPL WB MEN
Grand final: ATW 7 (Nykodah Smith 3, Bryce Hibberd 2, Brendan Davis, Cory Leggett) d BINGERA 0.
FQPL WB WOMEN
Grand final: FRASER FLAMES 5 (Emily McDougall 3, Kyleigh Christiansen, Madison Fletcher) d UPE 1 (Lili Haster).
FQPL WB U23 MEN
Grand final: ATW 4 (Sam Meyer, Aden Russo, Declan Murphy, Mitchell Aslett) d UPE 1.
FQPL WB U15
Grand final: ATW 3 (Nathan Saffioti, Xavier Ulbl, Bowie Young) d SUNBURY BLUES 2 (Byron Griffiths, Talyn Muchow).
WB DIVISION 1 MEN
Grand final: UNITED WARRIORS 2 d ATW 1.
RUGBY BUNDABERG
BUNDY HOT GAS SPRING CUP
Round 1:
EAST BUNDABERG PYTHONS 19 (Josateki Dawai, Sakiusa Dreunimolea, Josateki Masibalavu Tries; Tyson Douglas, Viliame Nadruku conversions) d TURTLES BROTHERS 9 (Dylan Harradine-Hall 3 penalties).
WEST BARBARIANS d FRASER COAST MARINERS ON FORFEIT.
