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Surf’s up for local Groms
Local league teams pick up good wins
Crystal Cylinders
The Mullumbimby Giants sealed a knife-edge, onepoint victory over Marist Brothers in the Northern Rivers Rural Rugby League when Brett Kelly kicked a field goal from roughly 20 metres out to give them a 23–22 win. The game was a close tussle and was locked at 16–16 at half time. Try scorers for the giants included Sio Alefosio, Jerry Byers, Dwayne Moseley, and Jason McGrady. Darcy Earl completed the scoring with three conversions. The Mullumbimby reserves went down 22–8 and the Ladies League Touch team also lost 22–6. It was Mullum first grade’s fifth win for the season and they sit in ninth place on the ladder. There are just three rounds of the regular season
There were plenty of great results for local junior surfers up at the Billabong Occy Grom Comp held in great surf at Duranbah Beach last week. Lennox Head’s Juniper Harper and Ocea Curtis finished in second and third respectively in the 12-girls division. Coorabell’s Duke Wrencher finished in equal third in the 14-boys and Lennox Head’s Dembe Ryan finished in equal fifth. The Occy was followed by the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open that started last Friday at Lennox Beach. Some of the world’s best grommet surfers have returned to Lennox Head to compete in one of the premier junior events on the calendar, now in its seventh year. It features one of the strongest surfer lineups across the age groups of 12–16-year-olds along with a
Duke Wrencher thrived at Duranbah last week at the Occy Grom Comp. Photo Ben Stagg/Surfing Queensland WSL-rated men’s and women’s pro-junior competition. Perfectly clean conditions and some nicely shaped waves kicked off the event with local favourites Duke Wrencher, Touma Cameron, Dembe Ryan, Harry O’Brien, Keenan Crisp, Nyxie Ryan,
Ocea Curtis, and Juniper Harper all progressing through the first round. The event has attracted surfers from ten different countries and the five-day event wraps up with the finals today, Wednesday July 17. (More results next week.)
Lomath Oval was thicker than Pauline Hanson’s political advisers and ready to kill any ball hit into it faster than Dr Neitsche with a new client. Suffo batted first and Owen (19) and Ben (21) hoisted the first sixes of the series, but a couple of run outs and wickets to Guy, Chelsea Pete, and fabulous Phil the skipper pegged them back. After the break the Swingers struggled, apart from Hughsey (20), as Hamish and Drew took scalps and Bruce (3/1) trashed the tail with three wickets in four balls to
end the innings on a moderate 107. The reply got off to a shaky start as the top order didn’t quite know what to make of Benno and Sam’s (2/10) floaters and Chi’s fearless fizzing legspin. Joffrey landed a few telling blows but wickets continued to tumble like prime-ministerial spills. Bucko (31 n/o) kept his cool and he and Bruce (17) brought home the spoils with two wickets in hand. The next mission for the Left-Armers will be to stare down last year’s champs the Geckos.
A Mullumbimby Giants defence (yellow) readies for a Marist brothers charger. Photo Christine Butcher to play.
Devils make it three The Byron Bay Red Devils travelled away to take on Casino at Queen Elizabeth Park and continued their recent winning form collecting a 28–12 win. In a good team effort Mitchell Krause, Daniel Gibson, Ben Webber, Lachlan
Kennedy, and Guy Hines all scored and Andrew Battese converted four. The win is the third on the trot for the Red Devils and keeps them in fifth position on the ladder, only one point behind Tweed Coast and Casino, who are both on 20 points. Ballina are on top with 26 points followed by Murwillumbah on 24.
Rams score a 6–0 win in top-ofLeft-Armers wrestle for Shand Cup the-table contest Story & pics by dogwhistle
Brian Mollet After weeks of watching cricket on the box while the miserable weather had its way the clouds finally parted and the world cup of social cricket competitions, the Nick Shand memorial series, finally got underway last Sunday. The Suffolk Swingers dragged themselves away from the point breaks to convoy across the highway and take on the Left-Armers, an unholy new alliance between Left Bank and Main Arm. The famous turf at
Sherril wins singles at Brunswick Sherril Pearce has won the 2019 Open Singles of the Brunswick Heads Women’s Bowling Club. Sherril took on last year’s winner Kerry Dexter, who started off well and earned a strong lead before losing her concentration. ‘I lost the plot,’ she said. Sherril didn’t miss the opportunity and fought back to win the game by five points, in what was ‘a great and exciting game,’ Kerry said. The Open Pairs finals at the club have commenced.
2019 open singles finalist at Brunswick Heads Womens Bowling Club Sherril (left) and Kerry (right). Photo supplied
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Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash between pointscore leaders Lismore Thistles and the Byron Bay Services Club Rams turned out to be a surprisingly one-sided affair. Inclement weather closed the Thistles’ homeground so the matches were switched to the Byron Bay Memorial Rec Grounds. The Rams Reserves again set the tone, with a convincing 2–0 win over their Lismore counterparts moving them up the ladder. The Premier Division Rams then delivered a comprehensive drubbing to the competition leaders. Thistles had no answers for Byron’s slick, fast-paced combinations and could not break James Tomlinson’s solid backline. With the Rams dominating from the outset, Lisandro Luaces took the first instalment of his hat-trick thirteen minutes into the contest. Four minutes later Ben Ahern carved through Lismore midfield to deliver a sharp cross to Jono Pierce, who drove towards goal and a perfect finish to take Byron’s lead to 2–0. Brought down in the box at the 27-minute mark, Luaces made short work of his penalty, extending the lead to 3–0.
The Thistles could not find a way through James Tomlinson’s defence at the back. A perfectly weighted through ball from Alby Kay put Luaces on course for an almost leisurely jog to the Lismore goal. A deft chip over the keeper made it 4–0 at half time. Despite dialling back the intensity a little in the second half, the Rams continued to press the Thistles’ goal. A cross from Pirran Stephens set off a melee in the Thistles’ box that was decisively finished by Diego Vasquez to take Byron’s fifth.
With ten minutes left on the clock Diego Vasquez sent another ball wide to Jono Pierce, who again attacked the goal to seal the Rams’ win at 6–0. The victory puts the Rams back on top of the table with a game in hand over secondplaced Thistles. This Saturday, the Rams host Alstonville at the Rec Grounds and hope to extend their lead into the final rounds of the competition. Reserves kick off at 1pm.
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