Mansfield Courier 260723

SKY HIGH

Goodbye to TARGA

AFTER 13 highly successful years TARGA High Country will not return to Mansfield following the final event held under the current agreement, which ran in February earlier this year.

The event has had its fair share of troubles over the past few years, with COVID postponements and restrictions in the way the event could be run.

Following multiple tragedies at TARGA

Tasmania, a Motorsport Australia safety review of the sport led to a reduced High Country event earlier this year, with the removal of the highly successful and unique to Mansfield Street Stage.

TARGA CEO Mark Perry

BY SAMUEL O’BRIEN sobrien@ nemedia.com.au

expressed great sadness at the changes required to the February 2023 event, which saw a reduced benefit for the Mansfield community.

“TARGA High Country and Mansfield have worked hand-in-hand alongside Mt Buller and Mt Stirling Resort Management since first meeting in 2009 to deliver an international motorsport event in the region, including an iconic and unique street stage in the heart of Mansfield,” he said.

“We have made lifelong friends along the way but the reality of the post-safety

review requirements, combined with increasing costs, means running the Mansfield Street Stage is no longer possible.”

“We also understand Council’s concerns around the street stage.

“The discussion between us was an easy and positive one with agreement that this stage would not be run in the February 2023 event, which was the final event under the current agreement.

“We sincerely thank the Mansfield Shire Council for their loyal support of TARGA for over a decade.”

Mansfield Shire Mayor Cr James Tehan said the past 10 years of TARGA have been fantastic.

“For the past decade Mansfield Shire has worked with TARGA to deliver this event for the benefit of our local businesses and community,” he said.

“Mansfield Shire very much appreciates all the work done by TARGA.”

Concerns were raised earlier this year about the viability of event after the way the Mansfied leg was run meant that the benefits to the town were being diluted.

Local motorsport doyen Brian Dermott said in January this year, “I’m concerned that the economic impact will be greatly reduced; with no recceing, fewer nights and minimal spending

dispersal, there will be a big hole in many businesses February turnover.

“We say either go back to the format of 2014, or let the Australian Tarmac Rally organisation, sanctioned by Winton–based AASA (Australian Auto–sport Alliance) which runs three very successful tarmac rallies in Victoria, take it over.”

He pointed to other incidents at other TARGArun events which were inhibiting the competition in Mansfield.

“Unfortunately Targa High Country has been caught up in the debacle of Targa Tasmania,” said Mr Dermott.

“After running for 28

years with two fatalities in 1996 and 2012, there were suddenly four in 2021 and the first day of 2022.

“Motorsport Australia cancelled all tarmac rallies until various reports were completed forcing Targa to downgrade the High Country event.

“Targa ran safely for many years but as soon as the requirements for a licence and medical and the type of cars accepted were relaxed by CAMS (Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport), becoming simple on line questionnaires and declarations, there were crashes.

■ Continued page 3

MT Buller turned on bluebird conditions and sunshine for the Cattleman’s Cup last week. The top snowboarders from across the country made the pilgrimage to wow the crowds and do battle for the big cheque. Full story in sport.

Hole in maintenance funding

By RYAN MALCOLM

NORTH East politicians have called for additional funding to address a “pothole epidemic” impacting major roads throughout the region in the wake of recent wet weather.

OVENS Valley MP Tim McCurdy recently pointed to a road maintenance budget which has been “slashed” by 45 per cent since 2020, while Benambra MP Bill Tilley called on VicRoads to lower its threshold for compensation to motorists whose vehicles were damaged on major roads.

Regional Roads Victoria crews undertook repair works on potholes in Rowan Street last week, as part of a “repair blitz” expected to take place across the region in the coming weeks.

Department of Transport and Planning Hume regional director Steve Bowmaker said crews had repaired a large number of potholes across Northern Victoria in recent months, while undertaking significant road patching and resurfacing works in the region.

“Safety is always our first priority, which is why our crews regularly monitor and inspect roads across our entire network,” he said.

“Several potholes along Rowan Street, Wangaratta have been repaired by our crews in recent days, with plans for more repairs also underway.”

Mr McCurdy said it appeared potholes were appearing across the North East “faster than ever

before”, and urged locals to contact the State Government to shine a light on the quality of roads in the region in an effort to increase maintenance funding.

Some $2.8b was pledged to road maintenance and renewal across Victoria as part of the 2023/24 state budget to be implemented over the next decade, a figure Mr McCurdy said was falling behind the current demand.

“I encourage locals to stay vigilant on the roads, make sure to drive to the conditions of the road, as not doing so can cost more than just money,” Mr McCurdy said.

“We have seen the road death

toll skyrocket this year, which we need to remember is not just a statistic, but people and their families being impacted.”

VicRoads’ current threshold for property damage caused by its roads sits at $1580, a figure which Mr Tilley believes needs to be reduced, even temporarily, to address the damages incurred by North East motorists.

“Highways and major arterials under the guardianship of the state are failing- potholes are literally everywhere,” he said.

“The damage to vehicles has been extensive, I think these circumstances demand the thresh-

old be reviewed, perhaps even dropped for the time being.

“People are calling, emailing, sending photos – one spent $2800 on repairs, a pensioner had a $561 bill and of course didn’t get to the threshold for compensation, another person had to hire a car after theirs was left undriveable.

“We all live here, we all know it’s been wet but that’s no excuse, it’s been wet before.

“Motorists are suffering blowouts travelling at 100kph, they’re crossing lines to avoid potholes on the crest of a hill – I genuinely fear a serious accident unless we get action.”

Fire brigade and RSL share ANZAC spirit

By LYNN ELDER

THE Mansfield RSL made a personal presentation to the Mansfield Fire Brigade on Friday, July 14, in recognition of the ANZAC Day gunfire breakfast hosts.

Speaking on behalf of the RSL sub-branch, Brigadier David Westphalen conveyed the appreciation of all the members and veterans gathered and that emergency services were always most welcome at the RSL.

Mansfield Fire Brigade Captain Andrew Peachey, who accepted the framed certificate, said the brigade was happy to continue hosting the breakfast following the Mansfield dawn service each year.

UNITED: Mansfield Fire Brigade Captain Andrew Peachey with Mansfield RSL’s Brigadier David Westphalen.

PHOTO: Lynn Elder

ROAD DANGER: Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy believes the state’s road maintenance budget is lagging behind demand, particularly in the North East.

Goodbye to TARGA

■ From page 1

“In response, speed limits and virtual chicanes were introduced but the crashes kept happening.

“Road safety experts know cognitive distraction is their biggest enemy and would say that letting cars capable of 300km/h enter and then restrict them to 200km/h is asking for trouble.

“Better to rediscover the formula of history – properly qualified crews in appropriate vehicles for the chosen roads.”

Earielr this month, TARGA Australia announced that it will suspend all future motorsport-based events until the full ramifications of Motorsport Australia’s review into tarmac rallying can be quantified and assessed.

This means that the 2023 editions of TARGA Tasmania and TARGA Great Barrier Reef have today been cancelled.

TARGA argues the uncertainty and the lengthy review process has seen a record drop in entry numbers.

They added the reduction of the TARGA Tour speed to just 110km/h has seen the withdrawal of over 80 per cent of tour participants in the part of the event which has sustained TARGA’s commercial viability in recent years.

“Our events can only be run with the support of our loyal participants, and on the whole, they are understandably disenchanted with the current landscape, and we completely understand why,” said Mr Perry.

“We have waited and been incredibly patient with the process put in place, however this process has now taken a year longer than similar reviews in the past.

“Competitors have little certainty with what the future looks like for them and are rightly holding off on entering our events.

“While it is another sad day for everyone involved in TARGA, we must now explore every conceivable option available to us to ensure the survival of TARGA and the return of the ultimate tarmac rally, TARGA Tasmania in April 2024.”

Pothole petition launched

By SAMUEL O’BRIEN

LIBERAL member for

Eildon Cindy McLeish has launched a petition to the Victorian State Government after numerous complaints about the state of roads throughout the region.

The petition “draws to the attention of the Legislative Assembly the rapidly deteriorating condition of the highways between Yarra Glen and Mansfield”.

It says, “The Melba Highway, the Goulburn Valley Highway between Yea and Yarck and the Maroondah Highway from Yarck to Mansfield have a significant number of potholes, crumbling shoulders, and broken bitumen, which is jeopardising driver’s safety.

“Drivers are forking out costs for blown tyres, busted rims, and wheel realignment after hitting potholes.”

MP McLeish says the quality

DANGEROUS DRIVING: Locations like where the Melba Highway crosses Dixons Creek have continued to deteriorate, making driving a risky experience on roads in and out of Mansfield according to Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish (pictured).

of Victorian roads have been a problem for many years, with little to no help from the government.

“Just before the election last year the state government said they were doing a roads blitz, it did nothing,” she said.

“The petition forces the government to pay attention to the issue.”

The member for Eildon has also fielded complaints to visitors of her electorate who have travelled through the area and witnessed the state of deterioration the roads are in.

“This doesn’t just impact people that live in the area but also the people from the city coming to visit here,” she said.

“A lot of people from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne travel along these roads when they go on holidays.

“They must have been so appalled by the state of the roads to contact me about them.

“There are also a lot of

trucks that drive along this route and then turn up the Benalla road to head to the Hume Highway.

“It is a major transport corridor for the region.”

MP McLeish argues that more funding should be provided to Regional Roads Victoria to address the ever-increasing volume of issues on state-maintained roads.

“Regional Roads Victoria doesn’t have the money to fix the damage along the highways,” she said.

“Instead, the state government is spending billions of dollars on the suburban rail loop and level crossing removals.

“If our regional roads had the funding of one level crossing removal, it would solve many of these issues.”

The petition can be found on the Parliament of Victoria website and closes on August 30.

LIVE MUSIC

Wednesday: Partly cloudy

Temperature: 0-15

Thursday: Partly cloudy

Temperature: 1-15

Friday: Showers

Temperature: 7-14

Saturday: Showers easing

Temperature: 3-13

Sunday: Showers or two

Temperature: 3-14

Monday: Cloudy

Temperature: 4-15

Tuesday: Possible showers

Temperature: 5-13

Month Total (July 2023) –37.2mm

Month Total (July 2022) –17.2mm

YTD Total – 388.5mm Total (2022) - 977.20mm Total (2021) – 789.9mm

New release from local thrillmaster Gabriel Bergmoser

By EMMA OLIVER

MANSFIELD’S favourite writer, Gabriel Bergmoser is hitting the home-town circuit promoting his newest book The Caretaker with the thriller on the shelves from August 2.

On the back of recently hosting a forum at Winterwords (Beechworth’s annual writers festival), Gabriel will be appearing alongside North East author and fellow crime-writer Margaret Hickey at Ink Bookshop on August 4 to discuss their recently published work.

Gabriel’s ninth book, The Caretaker, is a standalone novel, ‘a menacing, nail-biting, nerveracking psychological thriller’ that is lauded for its ‘propulsive page-turning storytelling’.

A master of the genre, Gabriel has employed a more measured approach in The Caretaker, preferring a slow-burning escalation in tension over the high octane action and violence of his previous novels.

“In all honesty, the book terrified me a little,” said Gabriel.

the book would be received,” said Gabriel.

However, reviews for the new release have been overwhelmingly positive.

of a personal passion project, a non-fiction book on the Hannibal Lecter franchise.

“I’m a hard-core fan of the franchise,” said Gabriel.

“The books, the movies, the television series – I enjoy them all.

“I read Thomas Harris’s novel Red Dragon when I was 13, and it was a formative experience.

“It wasn’t the most suitable reading matter for a 13-year-old, I admit.

“It completely blew my mind at the time.

“I just didn’t realise a book could be like this - that the waters could be so muddied.”

Writing a book on the franchise was driven by his own desire to read a deep-dive analysis into everything Hannibal Lecter.

Unable to find an exploration of the subject, Gabriel realised he needed to write it himself.

Inflow: 4,000 megalitres per day

Release: 12,000 megalitres per day

“It’s a thriller like my other work however it’s quite different from my usual style.

“I really stepped outside my comfort zone.

“Throughout the writing process and then when it was with my editor, I continued to question the quality of the book and whether I had the capability to build tension.”

With a proven ability at delivering strong action novels, The Caretaker allowed Gabriel to flex his writing muscles, polishing his prose and exploring more indepth character development.

The result is a richer, deeper novel steeped in a pervading atmosphere of menace and dread.

“I had no gauge as to how

The resulting affirmation has allowed Gabriel to breathe a huge sigh of relief, alleviating that uncertainty.

Gabriel spent the majority of 2022 concentrating on the novel, with editing and re-writes taking up the first half of 2023.

The Caretaker is a story that Gabriel has carried within him since his high school days.

A childhood spent on Mt Buller has influenced this latest offering, with the thriller set at an isolated ski resort in the off-season.

His firsthand experience of living on the mountain whilst his parents managed the restaurant and bar at The Whitt provided that authentic understanding of a small alpine community and the logistics of a ski resort.

It’s been a long time coming,

Gabriel said of committing The Caretaker to paper.

“I attempted to write this story when I was younger, however I don’t think I had the capability at that point.

“Bit by bit the story has come together, evolving and developing over time,” he said.

“I enjoyed writing it enormously.”

With The Caretaker now in store, Gabriel is concentrating his efforts on two other quite different projects.

There’s an audio book titled The Consequence to be released exclusively under Audible Originals.

A sequel to The Hitchhiker, the critically acclaimed audiobook was an unexpected, commercial success.

The sequel was commissioned on the back of its popularity, with the first draft of the book currently with publishers.

Gabriel has also been channeling his energy into something

A niche film and television publisher in the United States got behind his singular vision and the commissioned work is now close to completion.

It’s been a complete blast to write, Gabriel said of the experience.

Gabriel went to Florence a few months back to inform his research, as the location features significantly in the psychological horror series.

“I spent the time tracing the fictional footsteps of Hannibal Lecter, visiting every place he had been and taking in all that he had seen.

“I thoroughly embraced the entire experience.

“This book is really just a huge expression of my own nerdy fandom,” Gabriel said with a laugh. Gabriel Bergmoser will be at Ink Bookshop on Friday August 4 from 6pm, discussing his latest book The Caretaker and talking about all things writing with fellow author Margaret Hickey.

The Courier is bound by the Standards of Practice of the Australian Press Council.

If you believe the standards may have been breached, you may approach the Courier itself or contact the council by email at info@presscouncil.org.au or by phone on (02) 9261 1930.

CAT AND MOUSE GAME: Set at a fictional alpine resort, The Caretaker is a tense psychological thriller by author Gabriel Begmoser.

Median house prices skyrocket

By HANNAH KENNELLY

QUARTERLY house prices have risen dramatically in regional Victoria, with Mansfield leading the charge. Recent data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria showed quarterly house prices rose 0.6 per cent in regional Victoria to $604,500.

Mansfield recorded the greatest increase of 9.9 per cent to $830,000

Butrealestateagentswarnbuyerstobewaryofthedata gyy

in the June quarter.

However real estate agent and director of District Property Group Mansfield, Jenny Gould, said it was important for buyers not to “jump to conclusions”.

“Mansfield is not a huge market, so a few really big sales can skew the market massively and drag the median price up,” she said.

“From January to June this year, my team and I sold several properties that were over four million dollars and around six properties that were over two million dollars.

“Those high-end sales can really skew the data.”

Ms Gould said there had been more high-end sales in Mansfield the past 12 months than ever before,

but said market was still “reasonably flat”.

“There’s not a lot on the market, so people are being cautious, which is fair,” she said.

Affordability has improved in several of Victoria’s coastal towns, with Ocean Grove houses down 10.6 per cent at $1,050,000 and Inverloch houses down

3.8 per cent at $1,000,000.

However, metropolitan units in middle Melbourne saw the highest quarterly growth, with units in the eastern suburb Mount Waverley climbing almost 25 per cent to $1,245,000.

Metropolitan house price growth was also largely recorded in middle Melbourne.

The eastern suburb of

Bindaree booms: Aged care facility set for significant expansion

By SAMUEL O’BRIEN

PLANS for a 30-room expansion to the Bindaree Residential Aged Care Facility have been approved at the July Mansfield Shire Council meeting, allowing for a significant upgrade to the centre and an expansion of its capabilities.

The plans would involve a staged demolition of parts of the existing complex, including eight existing rooms, to facilitate for a staged building of 38 rooms and new back of house facilities.

The 38 new rooms will include two new bariatric rooms and two new DDA-complaint rooms, bringing Bindaree’s capacity to a total of 72 rooms.

New back of house facilities, including a commercial kitchen and laundry, as well as a maintenance room, storage rooms, waste area, staff lunch room, amenities room and courtyard will also be built to support the expansion.

Access to the back of house facilities will be provided by another driveway to meet Highett Street, allowing for the existing access to serve the reception and residential sections of the facility.

The development is estimated to cost more than $41 million and will also remove six native trees on the site, while expanding Bindaree’s frontage on Highett Street.

Councillors were supportive of the plans during the July meeting, citing the rising population of elderly people in the area and the need to support them with specialised facilities.

“This is a project which is very close to a number of us here; particularly those of us who are getting older,” said Cr Mark Holcombe.

“It is a big problem within our town in terms of facilities we have got and facilities we need in the future.

“The fact that the hospital was able to obtain the funding and it has gotten to this point is a credit to everyone involved.

“It is also really nice to see the design which fits right into what we are about as a council and what our town is about.

“I couldn’t be more supportive of this and I don’t think you will find one objection to what is being proposed within our community.”

Cr Rohan Webb pointed out these plans would also positively impact the local economy, with more jobs and services required to support the expansion long term.

“Not only will this create 30 additional aged care rooms, but the economic benefit to the town

and the people will be great,” he said.

“The job creation and money going to shops and trades will be excellent.”

The plans were approved unanimously by council.

A Victorian Department of Health spokesperson said, “The redevelopment of residential aged care facilities at Mansfield District Hospital will provide a range of features to promote resident independence and dignity, and support complex care needs and mobility, including those living with dementia.

“Construction on the project is expected to get underway mid next year and create more than 180 construction jobs.”

Mulgrave returned to the $1 million median, growing from $970,000 to $1,135,000 with a 17.0 per cent increase.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria President, Andrew Meehan, said stability still prevails across Victoria’s property market “despite macro-economic and policy pressures”, with selling and buying windows opening for participants in both metropolitan and regional. We

mansfieldcourier.com.au

REDEVELOPMENT READY: Bindaree will get a facelift, with a redevloped reception area alongside more rooms, storage and living spaces for residents.

Who is the big bad wolf

BE afraid that VicForests and the powerful and silent money behind the rip-off of our forests might come back to stalk the High Country.

Way back in time forestry was an ethical profession, where foresters were charged with looking after the forests so that they would last forever and always be in good condition.

Profit, at vast cost to the environment, took over from that good stewardship ethos.

The business model that the Victorian Government created with VicForests meant profit effort came before stewardship.

It failed in stewardship, profitability and sustainability.

Royalties were far too low.

Real costs of replanting and nurturing forests weren’t taken into account.

VicForests failed to ensure that rare, vulnerable and endangered species were not at risk from forestry operations.

That fox should never have been put in charge of the henhouse.

Climate change is biting: the uncontrollable wildfires that burnt 4.3 million hectares of Gippsland meant that supplies

of mature timber were spoiled.

Most of the high rainfall hardwood and pine plantation forests in south-eastern Australia (apart from the Glenelg district) were burnt, trashing opportunity for clean woodchip, newsprint and fine paper feedstock.

You can’t have carbon black in paper feedstock.

Not enough plantations were and are being established.

Much more planting can be done on private land.

You can take a trip around Mansfield to see some vast stocks of logs (much of which could be milled into timber planks rather than firewood).

If you want firewood into the future, make a lease agreement with a farmer; grow your own.

If you’re short of firewood now, know that the reason is because you didn’t plant trees years ago; so do it now – and make sure you document it as a timber planting for harvest.

Remember, in the fairy tale about the Big Bad Wolf, it was the forester who came and chopped off the head of the wolf to save Little Red Riding Hood.

Edwin Adamson, Merrijig

Former farm forestry consultant to farmers and the Victorian Government

A wood heating future

IN regard to the article published on July 12th about the logging ban impacting firewood supply.

Firewood is becoming more and more expensive and more difficult to get, most firewood actually comes from QLD and NSW.

In the past Victoria has had a good supply of state forest Messmate available at a fraction of the price of Redgum, but Messmate will no longer be harvested as per Government ban.

Local Firewood collection permits are available from the council and in addition, official firewood collection is also available from designated sites during advertised periods. Furthermore, collecting inferior firewood that was traditionally unsuitable for old fashioned wood heaters: small pieces sometime half rotten it wouldn’t last 5 minutes, but will burn for hours cleanly in a modern wood heater?

As long as the wood is well seasoned and dry the type of wood or overall quality is not important anymore when it comes to burning efficient in a modern wood heater.

Considering the above, wood heating is and will be sustainable long into the future,

LETTERS to the editor must be signed with the full name, address and contact telephone number of the author provided. Letters under 250 words are preferred and we reserve the right to edit letters to fit in with space requirements. Nom de plumes will only be published at the editor’s discretion. Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the Courier.

however, we must burn less wood, we must burn clean, and we must burn efficiently.

Modern wood heaters will do that, modern wood heaters have optional heat storage that will keep heat for as long as possible without the need to smoulder heaters for long periods of time (smouldering results in a dirty inefficient burn).

With rising energy costs wood heating continues to be one of the best, most sustainable and cheapest ways to heat your home.

Modern wood heaters save wood, save money, and save the environment.

There are plenty of fireplaces in homes and businesses located in Adelaide and rural SA.

SA traditionally has little local firewood available, most of it is imported from Queensland, yet efficient modern wood heaters are thriving in SA, the same will remain in Victoria.

Even with logging bans, wood heating has a definite future in Australia, but we must burn less, and combined with pellet heating (pellet heaters use a byproduct of the building industry and run at a near no emissions), we believe our industry is not only strong but will thrive into the future.

Christian Bergmoser, Euro Fireplaces, Mansfield

Email: edit.mcourier@nemedia.com.au.

Fax: (03) 5775 1580

Post: Letters to the Editor Mansfield Courier, 98 High St, Mansfield 3722.

Who let the dogs out?

CommunitycomestogethertofindmissingpetsCihfidii

By HANNAH KENNELLY

AN increasing amount of missing animals have been found wandering the shire, popping up in people’s backyards, local parks and more commonly, the Mansfield and District Community Facebook page.

Posts about wandering dogs, cats, goats and even miniature Shetland ponies have dominated the noticeboard’s discourse over the past few months.

Amelia Bruggy posted on the Facebook page in June after her koolie kelpi Lexi went missing near Killarney Lane.

Within hours, multiple people had commented and shared the post and Lexi was quickly found.

“I was so appreciative of the kind souls that I have never met, and may never meet, who shared my post on the community info page in an effort to get Lexi home,” Amelia said.

Last week, Mansfield resident Daniel Ferguson turned to the Facebook page to seek help for his missing dog Aria.

“Anyone seen this little lady roaming the streets?” he posted alongside a picture of the bulldog.

Fifty-eight people shared Daniel’s post and alerted him to potential sightings of Aria around Mansfield.

Aria was found a day later and returned home safely to a very relieved family.

Daniel said he was blown away by the support his post received.

“It was just amazing to receive so much help from everyone,” he said.

Associate Veterinarian Dr Kasee Muir said staff at Mansfield Veterinary Clinic always instruct people to call Council if they find a wandering animal.

“We really want to discourage people from transporting animals in their own vehicles,” she explained.

“It’s just a matter of safety because you don’t know anything about the animal you have just picked up.

“The best thing you can do is call the authorities.”

Council Compliance Coordinator Michael Richard said reports of wandering animals were the largest category of customer requests received by the Local Laws team each month.

“Typically our Local Laws team receive around 40 customer requests per month,” he said.

“It is a requirement under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 to ensure that pets and other domestic animals are properly kept on your property.

“Ensuring that your pet is both microchipped and registered assists the Local Laws officers to return them home quickly should they

escape and become lost.

“However, it is important for all owners to ensure their yards are secure so animals can’t escape in the first place.”

Mr Richard said higher fines could apply when animals were found wandering at night or if damage or injury occurs to a third party.

“Wandering farm animals may be impounded, and in addition to recovering the costs associated with impoundment, Council may need to take further action against owners of wandering farm animals as they can also pose a risk of injury or damage to road users.”

This year in May, two wandering cows were hit and killed by a vehicle on Euroa–Mansfield Road.

The male driver was uninjured, but his Volkswagen Amok was totaled.

The farm which owned the cattle is now being destocked.

THE State Government has launched the nation’s first Pet Census to help shape the future of animal welfare and ensure pet owners have the support and services they need.

The welfare of animals and wildlife remains a priority for the Labor Government, receiving $18.5 million in the Victorian Budget 2023/24.

This includes $7 million towards the Animal Welfare Fund grants program, recognising the role companion animals play in the lives of Victorians.

Minister for Agriculture Gayle Tierney was at the Australian Animal Protection Society in Keysborough last week to announce the Victorian Pet Census and encouraged all pet owners to get involved.

“The Victorian Pet Census will gather vital

information which will help shape the next generation of pet and animal welfare reforms,” Ms Tierney said.

“The Pet Census is a unique opportunity for pet owners from across the state to share their insights, opinions, and experiences.”

Opened this month, the Pet Census asks Victorians a variety of questions to gather crucial information on pet ownership and the attitudes and experiences of owners.

Pet ownership rates in Australian households have risen from 61 per cent to 69 per cent since the pandemic - making it more important than ever for the Government to establish a better knowledge of pets, their owners and the important community organisations that support them.

Australian Animal

Protection Society CEO Megan Seccull said: “As an organisation that cares for a variety of animal species, as well as cats and dogs, we are looking forward to the Victorian Pet Census closing the current knowledge gap on pet ownership experiences and attitudes.

“This Census data will help us improve our services and provide better quality support to a broader range of pet owners in our community.”

Data received through the Pet Census will form a clearer picture of pet companionship of all kinds across Victoria, so the Government can continue supporting pet owners and improving pet welfare.

The Victorian Pet Census will take 15 minutes to complete, to take part please visit animalwelfare. vic.gov.au.

Mansfield’s Facebook page

PHOTO: Milli, Unsplash

Are we bound for more earthquakes?

By PAM ZIERK-MAHONEY

VICTORIA is one of the most uniformly monitored states in Australia for earthquake activity, growing from a small research project run by the Preston Institute of Technology to a network with statewide earthquake alarm capabilities.

The Seismology Research Centre (SRC) commenced operating a seismograph network for the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) in 1976 around Sugarloaf Reservoir, about 25km northeast of Melbourne.

Soon after, additional instruments were installed for the Rural Water Commission and State Electricity Commission at various locations, and a reservoir triggered seismicity network was installed for MMBW around Thomson Reservoir while Thomson Dam was still under construction.

The aim was to establish a high resolution seismic network capable of accurately locating all earthquakes within the state and provide near real time earthquake alerts to all stakeholders.

That network continues to today and now comprises 23 permanent seismographs and accelerographs located throughout Victoria and beyond.

With a recent spate of small earthquakes being reported, the interest in monitoring the frequency and magnitude of

these ‘quakes’ has increased.

On July 10 Seismology Research Centre reported some 35 earthquakes were detected by the SRC during the previous week.

The largest was an offshore magnitude 2.8 northeast of Bermagui NSW.

Three other magnitude 2.0 earthquakes occurred: an aftershock near Woods Point, one off Cape Jervis SA, and one west of Ivanhoe NSW.

But then a magnitude a 4.7 earthquake was felt across Victoria on June 30, and described as an ‘aftershock’ of the Mansfield earthquake from September 2021.

This earthquake was confirmed by Geoscience Australia which identified the quake striking at 1.32am near Rawson, a small town around 150km east of Melbourne.

More than 9000 people reported feeling the earthquake by 8.30am that same morning.

Channel 9 News interviewed Jonathan Bathgate from Geosciences Australia who said that the aftershocks could go on for up to 10 years but were likely to become less frequent and lower in magnitude as time goes on.

The Woods Point, Magnitude 4.7 earthquake occurred approximately 11 kilometres northeast of Woods Point.

This event was the largest recorded in the region since the magnitude 5.9 earthquake on September 22, 2021, and was felt widely across central

and eastern Victoria including metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong and to the Vic-NSW border.

More than 1500 earthquakes reports have now been recorded in the area since the September 2021 earthquake.

Included are:

July 5 @ 1:26am AEST, Gembrook felt a Magnitude 1.9 earthquake recorded and approximately.

This slightly shallower earthquake at approximately four kilometres depth was felt by many residents in Gembrook, Pakenham and surrounding semi-rural areas.

Closer to home on October 19, 2022 at 9:01am, a Magnitude 3.6 earthquake occurred approximately 10 kilometres northeast of Mansfield.

This earthquake was widely felt throughout Mansfield and surrounding rural areas. and reports to Geoscience Australia were many.

Two small aftershocks were recorded in the hour following this quake.

Last Thursday (July 13) the website of Volcano Discovery reported the latest quakes in or near Melbourne for the previous 24 hours to July 13.

A total of five more quakes were reported, but unconfirmed, across the state.

And the day before that, seven more quakes were reported, again unconfirmed, the closest being near Seymour with up to seven reports being made.

Your Council - Your News mansfield

Council Meetings

The upcoming scheduled Council meeting is Tuesday 15 August 2023 at 5pm and will be held online. Go to the events section on our website for information about how to observe the meeting or contact Customer Service on 5775 8555.

Have Your Say

by 10 August

by 28 July

by 4 August

Work with Us

Full advertisements are available on our website.

Inspection Arborist

Library Services Support Assistant

Kirsten

Notice of Intent to Lease & Licence Land

In accordance with its community engagement policy and under section 115 of the Local Government Act 2020; Council provides notice of intent to enter agreements as follows: for portions of the former Home and Community Care (HACC) building, 31 Highett Street, Mansfield, to three independent parties: Friends of Mansfield Library, St Vincent de Paul, and Gateway Health, each for a period of 2 years with three (3) further terms of 1 year; commencing 1 August 2023 for the permitted use of 42 square metres in the Early Street carpark (located behind Foodworks Mansfield) to Evie Networks for a period of 9 years and 364 days for an electronic vehicle (EV) charging station commencing 9 August 2023.

Companion Animal Desexing Program

Council has received funding through the Victorian State Government Animal Welfare Fund Grants Program to provide free desexing and microchipping for pets owned by vulnerable or disadvantaged families and individuals.

The program is available to Mansfield Shire residents who hold a Pension, Health Care, Commonwealth Seniors Health, Low Income Health Care or Veterans Affairs card, or are referred by a Mansfield Community Pet Package project partner. Funding is also available for one year of Council registration fees to be waived for unregistered pets accepted into the program. To see if you are eligible, or for more information visit or call (03) 5775 8555.

Chief Executive Officer

C59 Amendment

Waste Management Service

Cost Increase

Council are requesting the Minister for Planning prepare and approve an amendment to the Mansfield Planning Scheme without exhibition under Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to remove the Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) from land at Moorey and Walker Street in the Mansfield Township. This amendment will enable the land to be developed for residential purposes.

Rescource Recovery Centre Cost Increases

During the recent budget process, Council assessed the gate charges for the Mansfield Resource Recovery Centre (MRRC), which has resulted in an increase of some fees effective from 1 July 2023. With the CPI currently sitting at 7% and increased costs of managing waste, Council has adjusted rates to reflect a ‘cost recovery’ approach. In addition, MRRC operators work to remove any recoverable items to minimise the costs of disposal to landfill. For further information on specific fee increases please visit

mansfield.vic.gov.au

: Cr James Tehan (Mayor), Cr Steve Rabie (Deputy Mayor), Cr Paul Sladdin, Cr Mark Holcombe, Cr Rohan Webb

Alexander,

CHARTING QUAKES: Seismology Research Centre reports earthquakes across four states on a daily basis.

Funding for community intiatives

By EMMA OLIVER

TWO local community organisations were among 16 Indi groups to share in $150,000 worth of funding under the federal government’s Stronger Communities Programme.

Both the Bonnie Doon Football and Netball Club and the Arts Council of Mansfield were beneficiaries of much needed funding, with the BDFNC purchasing muchneeded equipment and the Arts Council improving infrastructure and facilities at their Crosby’s Lane studio space.

“The BDFNC were thrilled to be successful with the grant application for $10,000 from Helen Haines’ office, through the Strengthening Rural Communities Program,” said Leith Mounsey of the Bonnie Doon Football Club.

“We applied for a portable stage to improve the Bonnie Doon Recreation Hall facilities for better use by the community.

“The recreation hall is hired not just by the BDFNC, but by many community groups and members for a vast array of activities such a private events, live music and entertainment, as well as being an emergency evacuation point for emergency services, air and land interchange point.

“In conjunction with the Bonnie Doon Reference Group and The Mansfield

Shire we look forward to continuing to enhance the facilities to be enjoyed by all.”

The Arts Council of Mansfield were delighted that the Mansfield Arts Collective Studios (MACS) Future Proofing Arts in Mansfield Shire project was selected in round eight of the grants.

President, Gill Bell, said the funding award of $15,000 combined with recent funding from FRRR will see the completion of much-needed upgrading of the MACS facility.

MACS is a creative hub including a gallery, and workshop space, and is home to six permanent studio artists.

“With no heating, cooling, or hot water, and extreme High-Country temperatures the MACS operational hours and the comfort of artists and visitors has been seriously compromised,” said Gill Belle.

Gill added that Arts Mansfield, and the MACS artists are celebrating the windfall by actively planning increased exhibition and workshop opportunities.

The upgrades include a small hot water storage unit, a ceiling in the gallery space to reduce heat/cooling loss, and split systems for heating and cooling.

“Extended space usage and opening hours will build MACS visitor numbers and importantly artist sales and income,” said resident artist Felicity Hayward.

“Future-proofing the facility by delivering comfortable and professional conditions, not only safeguards MACS viability but increases opportunities for the entire community to actively participate in the arts in Mansfield.”

Dr Helen Haines Independent Federal Member for Indi said it was a privilege to see the hard-working community groups across Indi recognised in their efforts.

“From Bethanga and Talgarno right across to Euroa, Bonnie Doon and Yea, groups in Indi are coming up with fabulous initiatives and supporting our communities,” she said.

“So many of these projects are occurring in shared spaces across our communities, in the community halls, shared recreation reserves and our art spaces.

“It is wonderful to know the benefits from this funding will expand right across our communities.”

Some 116 expressions of interest were received for the programme across Indi, with each assessed on their ability to encourage and support participation in local projects, increase community participation and contribute to vibrant and viable communities.

“The number of quality projects we reviewed is a testament of the incredible projects happening right across Indi.”

Affordable housing “out of reach”

By SAMUEL O’BRIEN

MULTIPLE reports last week have revealed that housing is becoming more unattainable in Mansfield, with increased Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) premiums, property taxes and rent affecting both homeowners and renters.

New data from Domain has revealed that house rentals in Mansfield have risen by 18.4 per cent year-on-year, now up 55.9 per cent over the past five years.

Nationally, rent has increased 9.7 per cent, with regional rentals across the country up 4.9 per cent.

Farah Farouque, Director of Community Engagement at Tenants Victoria said people are spending less on other essentials to afford rents.

“We know of people having to skip meals to pay the rent,” she said.

Those building homes have also not caught a break, with the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority recently announced DBI premiums are set to increase by 43 per cent from September 1 2023, making new builds in the state more expensive.

The Housing Industry Association has called on the Victorian Government to scrap an increase in the DBI as the building industry struggles through cost blowouts and supply chain issues.

Keith Ryan, HIA Executive Director Victoria said, “The Victorian Government’s decision

is only about improving the financial performance of the DBI scheme and is premature as the industry waits for the government to announce possible reforms to the scheme.

“This premium increase, which will directly add to the fees and charges paid by home buyers, will not be accompanied by any changes to the insurance benefits.

“This will do nothing to help deliver an increased number of desperately needed new homes.

“Builders want to stay competitive, but they will have little option but to factor the premium rise into the cost of a new dwelling and pass on to home buyers.”

While the Reserve Bank decided to hold interest rates, a new report released by the independent Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office has confirmed Victorians are also paying the highest property taxes in the nation.

Victorians will pay a total of $2120 in property taxes per person across 2023-24, compared with $1646 in New South Wales and $1343 in Queensland.

The PBO analysis also reveals the full impact of the new Rent Tax and COVID Debt Levy announced in the budget, which will drive a spike in total land tax revenue per person from $783 in 2022-23 to $1051 in 2023-24 - an increase of more than 34 per cent in just 12 months.

Leader of the Opposition, John Pesutto, said the Government was continuing to punish

What’s On

renters and first home buyers for increased state debt.

“Victorians are being made to pay the highest taxes in the nation because of the waste and mismanagement of the Government,” Mr Pesutto said.

“Every extra dollar in property taxes adds more pressure on rents and property prices at a time Victorians are already struggling to make ends meet.”

Shadow Minister for Home Ownership and Housing Affordability, Jess Wilson, said renters and first home buyers shouldn’t be the ones to pay.

“Finding an affordable and secure place to call home is already challenging enough, yet instead of easing pressure, the Victorian Government’s property taxes are punishing those who can least afford it,” she said.

“We have a very serious demand and supply housing problem in Victoria, and the government’s answer to this was to expand and increase property taxes in this year’s Budget – only exacerbating the problem and making it harder for Victorians to find a place to call home.”

Mr Pesutto said the combination of factors is making housing unattainable in the state for renters and homeowners.

“With Victoria’s rents already rising at the fastest rate in the nation, higher property taxes will only make a bad situation worse and push secure, affordable housing for many Victorians even further out of reach,” he said.

TOO MUCH TAX: Nationals Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad (pictured) says Victorian property taxes are the highest in the nation.

Car museum up and rolling

By SAMUEL O’BRIEN

CONSTRUCTION of Mansfield Car Museum is set to go ahead after the plans were approved at last week’s Mansfield Shire Council meeting.

The museum is to be located on Dead Horse Lane, with space for 48 cars and a café inside the complex, with allocation for parking for visitors and staff.

The museum and café are proposed to operate seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and could accommodate a total maximum of 30 patrons and three staff at a time.

There will also be the capacity for additional afterhours private functions to be hosted on an ad-hoc basis.

Behind the museum, 10 warehouses will also be built, with access provided through an anti-clockwise loop around the block of land.

Each warehouse will have

a ground floor area of 210 square metres, including a bathroom facility in each and a 60 square metre office above.

Three carparks and a loading zone will also be provided for each warehouse.

The section of Dead Horse Lane which the museum will occupy is set to be upgraded as part of the Heavy Vehicle Alternative Route (HVAR) stage two works later this year.

Engineers have worked with the council to ensure the design will meet the new specifications of the road, including for stormwater drainage and essential services connections.

Five non-exempt native trees will be removed in the construction of the museum and warehouses as well as two existing sheds and used for general industrial storage.

During the July council meeting, it was explained the warehouses would be

WAREHOUSE OPPORTUNITIES: Local businesses will be able to base themselves out of the Dead Horse Lane location as well, providing more flexibility.

built first and the money raised by selling or leasing each one used to fund the construction of the museum.

“The rear warehouses are planned to be built which would then be either sold or leased and that financial component will go towards building the car museum,” said project manager Sam Zito.

“This would allow for the entry fees to go to potential-

HEALTH & Beauty guide

ly a local hospital or something like that to give back to the community.”

Mr Zito said Nick Theodossi, who owns the land and is the brains behind the development, wanted to give back to the community.

“Nick has owned the property for over 40 years,” Mr Zito said.

“He is in his 70s now and is at a point where he would like to concentrate on his legacy and this particular

property and project is part of that legacy.

“It is not just a developer coming in, getting the projecting down pat and buggering off and not considering any net community benefit.

“This project would boost tourism and attract visitors as well as injecting new revenue streams into Mansfield’s local community.

“The establishment of another gathering place could have a knock-on effect to further employment in the area to cater for the additional tourism and potential further interest for other developers to create similar projects in the area.”

Councillors asked for clarification about the timeline of the works and the interaction with the HVAR works and, in the end, were wholly supportive of the plan.

Cr Paul Sladdin pointed out the many benefits both the warehouses and the museum would bring to the region.

“In terms of a tourism attraction, I believe this is a welcome addition to the normal bicycles, horses and sheepdogs we normally see,” he said.

“It certainly adds to the dimension of our tourism offering as well as providing a much-needed base in for the colocation of the many tradespeople that we have within the shire.

“To be collocated in such a complex would be a boost to their local business.”

Cr Rohan Webb was also supportive, complimenting on how well the car museum would fit in with the interests of residents.

“It is a good use of the land,” he said.

“I believe we need more industrial developments like this.

“The car museum is a great tourism draw that does compliment other events that happen within the shire in the car and automotive space.”

A NEW MUSEUM: The car museum will display up to 48 cars, showcasing the automotive history of the region.

Education in Focus

Local students benefit from ski & golf fundraising

By PAM ZIERK-MAHONEY

THE boost to funding the Mansfield Regional schools’ ski and snowboard winter program has made a tremendous difference for local students.

Following on from the recent Adams Ski & Golf Day, founder of the event and principal of Adams Real Estate, Mark Adams said the first event, in 1999 raised about $3000.

“Now look where we are, $38,000 this year was a new record,” he said.

The Adams Ski and Golf day has been growing each year and the donations keep getting bigger.

“When we first started, we were so excited to be raising any money for local schools to help children get into skiing and we all had a great time competing away from the hustle and bustle of the frantic ski seasons.”

Initially the event was intended to help children not in a financial position to go skiing or join a ski program with the school.

As time grew the schools could also use the funds to support the program so the children

could compete in the Victorian Interschool Snowsports program held every August.

The funds can be used towards lift tickets, ski and snowboard hire and group lessons plus other products offered.

Mr Adams explained the program started when Laurie Blampied, local resident and at that time General Manager of Buller Ski Lifts, saw an opportunity to commence a fund-raising program for local Mt Buller and Mansfield businesses to participate in an exciting ski and golf event.

“Along with Michael David and Laurie, our company was brought into the fold and, after a few years we became the new major sponsor and have helped coordinate the event, along with Buller Ski Lifts key management team currently led by General Manager Noel Landry, Sales and Marketing Manager, Roman Pacak and Engagement & BSL Events Coordinator, Kelsey Black,” Mr Adams said.

After a few of commencement Geoff Walker became a teacher at Mansfield Secondary School and thankfully had come on board to

coordinate the use of the funds from the schools point of view.

“It’s been 24 years now that our company has been involved in the event and most of that time, we have been the major sponsor,” Mr Adams said.

“My son Zach Adams has become the auctioneer of the Calcutta event on the Thursday evening where this year we raised the most money ever.

“At the Calcutta dinner we had three-times Olympic Snowboard Cross competitor and former 2021 World Champion Belle Brockhoff talk about her school life while competing on tour,” he said.

“It’s never been a family event, we have some father and sons competing, but most are groups.

“It is wonderful that some kids might get the chance to take part in learning to ski when they may not have that opportunity without the program,” he said.

PRINCIPAL at St Mary’s Primary School, Trish Etcell said the school’s ski program includes children from grades 3 to 6.

“Our year 3/4 students attend two days and our year 5/6 children attend three days,” Ms Etcell said.

“The children participate in two lessons each day either snowboarding or skiing with instructors from Mt Buller.

“The donation we receive from the Adams ski and golf day go towards offsetting the bus cost for our children to attend,” Ms Etcell explained.

The bus to go to Buller and back

2023 Mark Adams Ski & Golf Challenge

for the day is $1320 per day.

“In the past, we have had many students who have benefited from the extra tuition and practice.

“However we have found that the program has also introduced many students to the sport who would have not had the opportunity if it was not offered through the program at school,” Ms Etcell said.

MANSFIELD Steiner School has adapted it’s ski program this year to include overnight trips on Mt Stirling for Class 6 and on Mt Buller (including night skiing) for Years 7 and 8.

School principal, Glenn Hood said “Our primary students from Class 1–4 will continue to enjoy cross-country skiing on Mt Stirling.

“The school views skiing as an important way for our students to engage with the local environment and provides another avenue for them to develop a love for an active, healthy, adventurous life.

“The donation from Adams Ski & Golf day is greatly appreciated.

“It makes it possible for us to offer a more comprehensive ski program for our students.”

Mansfield Secondary College, Mansfield Primary School, Mansfield Steiner School, St Mary’s Primary School, Merrijig Primary School and Jamieson Primary School

would like to acknowledge and say

THANK YOU

for the generosity of the cash and prize sponsors and competitors of the 2023 Mark Adams Ski & Golf Challenge fundraiser. Your support is greatly appreciated.

FORE: Jeremy Butler on the course for the Adams Golf Day.

in Focus

Support for regional students

COUNTRY Universities Centre (CUC) - Ovens Murray continues to support local students’ university and higher education journeys, with 30 students registered in semester one at the Mansfield facility, which is supported by and located within MACE.

The CUC is a free service for any student currently studying a degree or course.

“The CUC is a great option for people who want to study and upskill, but stay in their local community,” said Mark van Bergen, Centre Manager at CUC Ovens Murray.

“If you look at our student demographics, 77 per cent are women who are upskilling or striving for a new qualification, many of them are juggling work and family commitments with their part-time study.

“Online and flexible study options that many universities and institutions now offer, enables people traditionally excluded from higher education greater access to qualifications.

“Nearly half of our registered

CUC IN MANSFIELD: The numbers so far.

students are the first in their family to study and many of them will go on to use those qualifications locally in high need areas like health, education and community services,” said Mark.

“Some of the feedback comments we’ve received outline what the CUC means to some students like, ‘it’s

reassuring to know CUC and its staff are there for me to seek help and is a place for me to focus on my learning,’ and ‘...an hour studying here at CUC, is like the equivalent to two hours study at home’.”

For more information or to register for this free service, visit www.cucovensmurray.edu.au

OPEN-ENDED PLAY: Sophie Weatherhead and Ivy Davies both decided that they wanted to be tigers for the day.

School holiday fun at the Farmhouse

SCHOOL holiday fun at The Farmhouse was a roar-cous affair with tigers aplenty taking to the great outdoors as part of the SKIDS program.

“The children spent the holidays popping corn on the open fire, building cubbies, creating objects using hammers and nails, painting canvases, doing a gnome hunt and playing games,” said Kim Stoney, founder of The Farmhouse.

“Talented local artist, Ayshia Beekman, came to surprise the children with face painting...and suddenly The Farmhouse had lots of tigers in its bushes.

“The children did themselves proud these holidays and certainly thrived by getting a good dose of Vitamin N (Nature).

“It’s what childhood is all about.”

The journey starts here - Steiner Kindergarten

IN 2024 we will be offering a three-yearold program that runs over two days.

This will be a soft beginning for children to then transition into the four-year-old program and beyond that to our prep program.

The Morning Star Steiner Kindergarten program offers a play-based curriculum that fosters the child’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development.

The surroundings are orderly and beautiful, inviting the child to engage in learning in a secure, creative and inspiring environment.

We like to say we are a ‘home away from home’.

In fact, children often refer to the kindergarten room as ‘the house’.

Working with a Steiner pedagogy provides strong foundations for literacy and numeracy, these are developed through verse, song, rhymes, movement and stories.

Our art and craft activities work with both cognitive learning and sensory development.

We use beeswax and clay for modelling, water colours using a ‘wet on wet’ technique for painting, we draw with beeswax crayons, and use natural fibres in our craftwork.

This encourages the development of dexterity and an appreciation of beauty and craftsmanship.

Healthy social relationships are nurtured through a balance of play and structured activities throughout the day.

Children in the Morning Star program learn to share, take turns and listen to one another in group times working with the teachers in a predictable daily rhythm and engaging in practical activities such as cooking and gardening.

Our four-year-old program runs over three days from 8.45am to 3.15pm.

Each day is programmed in a predictable rhythm that the children become familiar with creating a sense of security and belonging in their community.

Each day we bake morning tea with the children using organic and biodynamic grains and produce.

We include a ‘Nature Day’ in our program.

The day is spent outdoors, walking and adventuring, learning basic bush craft, and using nature as our teacher.

We celebrate each season with festivals at the end of each term inviting families to join the festivities creating a warm and welcoming environment that is inclusive and reverent.

MARY’S

Schools analyse new format NAPLAN results

WITH NAPLAN results rolling out across the shire and the nation this July, local schools are using the valuable information to assist students in getting the most out of their schooling.

Mansfield Shire students were among 1.3 million Australian students to have their reading, writing and maths skills assessed in March, two months earlier than previous years as part of sweeping changes for the annual test.

However, despite sitting the test in term one, individual and schoollevel results were only released last week.

For teachers looking to support students in getting the support they need this represents a delayed opportunity to use the data.

In other changes to NAPLAN, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) introduced a simple, clear fourband format for results that has been applied to all reports.

This makes it easier for parents and schools to understand and tailor their approach to learning.

“I think that the new system

of reporting is easier for parents to understand,” said Janessa Burkhardt, assistant principal Mansfield Secondary College. With information sent home to parents last week providing detailed information about what each of the proficiency levels means, Ms Burkhardt said that

reports clearly show how each student is performing in relation to other students around Australia on a national average.

Whilst continuing to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation, results will now

be presented in four proficiency levels.

Exceeding means that the student’s results exceed expectations at the time of testing.

Strong indicates that the student meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.

Developing is indicative of

students working towards expectations at the time of testing. Whereas needing additional support is as the name suggests, with the student not achieving the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing and requires additional assistance.

“A child whose results fall within the ‘developing’ or ‘needs additional support’ categories will not have met proficiency,” said an ACARA spokesperson.

In correspondence sent out from the Mansfield Primary School to parents and carers of students, the school reiterates that though “each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone, it’s also important that students know that one result does not define them - these results are about making sure every student gets the support they need”.

“Teachers use multiple sources of data to make sure they have a clear understanding of every student’s capability,” said MPS assistant principal Dean Bush.

Mansfield Courier will look at the NAPLAN results in more detail in our following editions.

ACROSS

1 Who flew so close to the sun that the wax fastening his artificial wings melted and he fell into the Aegian Sea and drowned (6)

8 To be not fully grown or developed, is to be what (8)

9 Name another term for stupid, senseless talk (6)

10 Which Queen of Great Britain reigned from 1837 to 1901 (8)

11 Name the unit of electric current (6)

12 Which Nevada city is noted for the ease in which a divorce may be obtained (4)

13 What is a strong but illdefined feeling of anxiety (5)

16 Who was the lady friend of Mandrake the magician (5)

19 Name a US frontier figure involved in the gunfight at the OK Corral, Wyatt ... (4)

21 Which term implies self-confidence, poise or assurance (6)

22 To interpret something ambiguous, is to do what (8)

23 What is a sudden irruption (6)

24 What is the curved upper surface of a stationary liquid in a container (8)

25 Newcastle lies at the mouth of which NSW river (6)

DOWN

2 What is earwax also known as (7)

3 Which term describes retrospective surveys (7)

4 Which metal has the highest electrical conductivity (6)

5 What is a drawing, often accompanied by a humorous caption (7)

6 One who deals in furs is called a what (7)

7 Name a series of boat races (7)

13 What is a school for

E-QUATIONS

Letters A to Z have a number value. Some are shown in the right-hand cells. Create remaining values using clues in centre cells.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD QUICK THINK

special instruction (7)

14 What are waiters called (7)

15 Name a violent storm of wind frequently accompanied by rain, snow, or hail (7)

17 Name the movable control surface on the trailing edge of an aircraft wing (7)

18 What, in law, is the possession and use of one’s own land (7)

20 What is an administrative part of a diocese that has its own church (6)

Find the following words in the grid. They may be read in any direction, even diagonally. Some letters are used more than once.

WHICH WORDS

BIYWORD

Build it yourself using the clues and each of the twenty-four letters once only to form ten words: five across and five down. A key word (bold clue) builds on the letter set in the grid.

CLUES:

Antonym: preludes (7)

Baton race (5)

Caffeine-free (5)

Definition (abb) (3)

Devious (3)

In the middle (3)

Marvellous event (7)

Monetary penalties (5)

Stuck in the mud (5) Tree (3)

SOLUTIONS SUDOKU

Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.

WHAT’S ON CALENDAR

Regular Events:

 Circle of Friends meet every second Monday at Invoke from 10:30am12:30pm. Join a group of women for morning tea, a chat and some meditation. Nominal fee to cover costs. Enquiries: Suzy Rideout: 0466 998 811

 CWA Monthly meetings: 4th Wednesday Evening or Sunday afternoon (alternating each month: March –Wed).

 CWA Craft Days: Wednesday‘s 10am and last Thursday evening of the month at 6pm.

 CWA Op shop open: most days from 10am to 2pm.

 Grief and bereavement support group meets on the first Thursday of the month at Bob’s Shed, 82A Malcolm Street. All are welcome on a regular or casual basis and morning tea is provided. Ring 5775 3161 for more information.

 High Country Poets meet at the Mansfield Library on the 3rd Friday of the month at 1:30 pm. Members of the public all welcome to come and listen / or share their poetic ramblings.

 JUSTICE of the Peace Services – Every Thursday, Mansfield Police Station. 10am to 1pm for witnessing and signing of documents.

 Lima South Old Time Dance: At Lima South Hall the second Sunday of each month between 1pm and 5pm. Entry $10. Music provided by The Ramblers. Please bring a plate of afternoon tea to share. All welcome. Contact: 0425868277.

 Mansfield Croquet Club – Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9am till 12 noon, Lord‘s Reserve, Cnr Victoria and Apollo Streets. Playing equipment available, $2 per session.

 Mansfield Multicultural Group – Every second Tuesday of the month at 6pm at MACE.

 Monday Mingle – Every Monday – organised by the Bonnie Doon Community Centre – chat and make new friends – new theme each week. BYO ideas for activities – all ages and abilities

 Mansfield support group for carers and people with special needs – morning coffee, third Tuesday of the month, 9.30am The Witches Brew

 Men‘s Probus meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday for monthly meetings, and then activities/outings are held on the last Wednesday of each month – or as organised.

 Ladies Probus meets every second Monday of each month at Delatite Hotel for meetings and 4th Monday for social or as organised.

 Rotary meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at the Delatite Hotel. 6.30 for a 7pm start.

 Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) meet every fourth Monday of the month at 6pm in the library (rear entrance)

 U3A meetings are held on 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at 10am at the Library.

July

 JULY 27 – 28: Victorian University Championships – Mount Buller. The Championships race events include Giant Slalom, Super G, Skiercross and Boardercross.

 JULY 28: Sing it Once - popup choir: 6 - 8pm - Invoke 50 High Street. Led by Daryl Drayton. $5 cover charge - email invoke50high@gmail.com to book.

 JULY 30: Aequales Chamber Music Quintet: 4 – 5:30pm –Mansfield Performing Arts Centre. Performing Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor Opus 34 and Mozart Piano Concerto No 14 in E Flat K 449 as well as presenting the New Horizons Art and Poetry Awards for students. Tickets support Rural Australians for Refugees: www. trybooking.com/1062229

August

 AUGUST 6: Victorian Interschools Cross Country Championships - Mt Buller. Both individual and relay competitions.

 AUGUST 9: Dying to Know Day: 4 - 6pm - Rosehaven – Bob’s Shed 82A Malcolm Street. Games, trivia

AUGUST 6

Victorian Interschools Cross Country Championships Aequales Chamber Music Quintet

and conversations to increase the Mansfield community’s death literacy. Information on Mansfield’s services that help people plan well for their end of life care. $5 entry, phone 5775 3161 or visit www. trybooking.com/CJUVN

 AUGUST 10 - 11: Chicks who Shred - Mt Buller. Two action packed days full of fun sessions aimed at pushing your skiing further. Aimed towards intermediate and advanced skiers and

boarders who are wanting to push themselves to that next level, have some fun and make some new friends.

 AUGUST 12: Buller SlopestyleMt Buller. A great opportunity to compete in the Snow Australia Athlete Pathway, providing ideal preparation for the Victorian and Australian Interschools, the Australian Junior Series, all the way through to aspiring Olympic athletes.

MANSFIELD ARMCHAIR CINEMA

 AUGUST 13: Buller Big Air - Mt Buller. Show the judges a winning combination of progression, amplitude, style, control and the secret sauce that sets you apart to take home the podium and prizes.

 AUGUST 19: Buller Team Challenge - Mt Buller. A team event allowing groups of three or more skier’s and/or snowboarders representing their company, club, team or family to compete in a highly competitive but friendly environment.

 AUGUST 19: Mansfield Community Deer Forum: 10:15am - 3:30pmMansfield Showgrounds Luncheon Pavilion. BBQ lunch provided. Contact 57791593 or email landcare2@up2us.org.au for more details.

 AUGUST 25: Mansfield Kindergarten Jazz night and Art Auction Fundraiser: 7pm - Mansfield Coffee Merchant. Raising money for the Mansfield Kindergarten. Tickets https:// fundraising165.wixsite.com/ mkjazznight

 AUGUST 26: Mansfield Farmers‘ Market: 8:30am - 1pm – Carpark between the Mansfield Fire Brigade CFA and the Mansfield Hotel.

property of the week

CRAFTSMAN BUILT MASTERPIECE ON 2818 SQM

ARRIVING at this exquisite newly built residence, you’ll know you’ve arrived somewhere very special. Occupying almost 3/4 of an acre and boasting a breathtaking mountainous outlook, its stunning interiors showcase a vast suite of luxurious appointments, artfully combining a mix of timbers and contemporary elegance with high-end comfort in mind. A glorious north-facing living aspect ensures sunshine bathes the living zone, also combining

connection to the outdoors and the feeling of indulgence that washes over you as you imagine yourself sitting with friends out on the covered patio, while celebrating your new home. Additional features; Spacious living area with a statement double lined ceiling

Second living room ideal as a teenage retreat plus a further sewing room or hobby room

Cleverly designed linkway leads to a custombuilt study and internal access to the triple garage

Exceptional master wing is privately placed, luxurious ensuite

walk-in robes, plus each offer a beautifully appointed bathroom

Deluxe kitchen boasts high-end appliances with bespoke custom cabinetry, stone benchtops and chef-envious oven

Enormous butler’s pantry, with additional sink, steam oven, cooktop and plenty of additional bench space

Large doors seamlessly connect indoor/ outdoor living, with a large terrace positioned for ultimate entertaining

Internal home entry is offered via the secure oversized triple garage with auto doors

Double-glazed windows, zoned heating/ cooling, ceiling fans, fully insulated walls & ceilings provide year-round comfort Added features include a powder room, separate mud room, vast laundry and ample storage

Oversized 3 car garage plus 18m x 9m high span shed with separate driveway tucked cleverly away perfect for caravan or boat Expansive landscaping, paving, privacy screening and fully fenced with minimal maintenance in mind

Huge potential as a Luxury holiday rental (estimated holiday rental of $1500 pn) available to view by private inspection or as fully appreciate the workmanship, quality, use wants it sold, come and inspect and make an offer!

Agent Canavan Ray White Mansfield

Phone 5775 2792

Location 7 Lomandra Way, Mansfield

UNDER CONTRACT

23 Bank St, UNDER CONTRACT $620,000 - $670,000

“Toni was amazing to deal withgave us updates throughout the whole process. Answered and explained any and very knowledgeable. Highly recommend Toni for any of your real estate needs - we couldn’t be happier with the results we got!

Thank you!”

Jess and Travis

UNDER CONTRACT

24 Howes Creek-Goughs Bay Rd,

UNDER CONTRACT $580,000 - $620,000

SOLD

67 Highton Lane, UNDER CONTRACT $720,000 - $790,000

SOLD

1 Lomandra Way, SOLD $1,150,000

“Ellie is a very professional agent who went above and beyond to get the right and extremely knowledgeable around what to do and what not to do when selling a property. Ellie’s greatest strength is her ability to focus on the outcome and drive to make it a reality. We will certainly be dealing with Ellie again when we purchase our next regarded team Canavan member. We wish her all the best for the future.”

Kevin

12 Purcell Lane, SOLD $695,000

SOLD

273 Shorts Rd, SOLD $295,000

Laughlin to teach ladies about livestock

A PROGRAM named “Ladies in Livestock”, which will introduce ladies to the practical skills of farming, will begin in August.

Farmer Jackie Laughlin will facilitate the program, which will include a get-together once a month for 10 months in locations throughout North Central and North East Victoria.

Ms Laughlin is a qualified agri-

culture and horticultural teacher who has worked in agriculture for 50 years.

She said there are many reasons participants may choose to attend a farming course specifically for ladies.

“There are a lot of young women in the area that have no experience in farming,” she said.

“And the other reason is there’s

nowhere for them to learn unless they go back to ag college or something like that.

“Also, it’s in an environment where it’s not intimidating with men yelling and pushing and shoving and in the cattle yards or in the sheep yards.

“And we’ve had quite a few older ladies and middle aged ladies that feel that their husbands don’t have

the time to teach them, so they want to learn themselves so they can be of assistance on the farms.

“We’ve got another lady whose husband died and she said, ‘I really want to learn about the farming side of things, I never did’.

“The kids want her to sell the farm, but she doesn’t want to –she wants to learn how to run the farm, not sell it.”

In addition to Ms Laughlin, other experts will contribute to delivering the course, including Gallagher, Vic Ag, Landcare, Cooper’s and All Flex.

Sessions will cover stock tagging and scanning, pasture and crop production, fencing, animal health, plantations and more. For more information, contact Ms Laughlin on 0429 149 173.

Government called to stand up for local producers of prosecco

By ANITA MCPHERSON

NORTH East wine businesses say they need the Federal Government to stand firm on its position, giving Australian businesses the right to continue using the name prosecco for its locally made product.

It’s one of a number of sticking points in Australia’s trade talks with the European Union (EU), which has been laboured over for five years and appears no closer to a resolution, despite Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell’s bolt to Brussels this week in an attempt to finalise an agreement.

The EU wants Australian producers to stop using Geographical Indicators (GI) for Australian-made products they believe belong to Europe, but in the case of prosecco, Italy only changed the name of

Have your say on biosecurity

COMMUNITY and industry feedback is invited on Victoria’s new Biosecurity Strategy to help strengthen the existing system against increased pest and disease risks.

Biosecurity Victoria Executive Director Katherine Clift said widespread input is critical in shaping the strategy to prevent and manage harms to our farms, natural environment and people.

“Victoria’s biosecurity system needs to adapt and change to meet current and future challenges with improved clarity on the role that everyone can play to reduce risk,” Dr Clift said.

“We welcome feedback on Victoria’s new Biosecurity Strategy – a key commitment to strengthening our existing system against increased pests and disease risks.

“It’s crucial this strategy is informed by people from a range of backgrounds and experience – including those who regularly deal with biosecurity risks and benefit from a strong biosecurity system.”

HAVE YOUR SAY: Community and industry feedback is invited on Victoria’s new Biosecurity Strategy to help strengthen the existing system against increased pest and disease risks.

Biosecurity is the actions to prevent and manage the harms caused by pests and diseases, and the impact they have on what we value most.

“Victoria’s biosecurity system has responded strongly to high priority threats in recent years and there are great examples of partnerships across the system,” Dr Clift said.

“The new Victorian Biosecurity Strategy prioritises more widespread collaboration as key to a stronger and more resilient system.”

The draft strategy was developed with people who have a role in biosecurity, including farmers, agriculture industry bodies, supply chain and transport businesses, community and emergency management organisations, Traditional Owners and government agencies.

Community consultation included a series of statewide workshops earlier this year and builds on Victoria’s Biosecurity Statement endorsed by the Victorian Government in 2022.

The strategy has also been shaped with input by Victoria’s Biosecurity Reference Group (BRG), a collective representing industry and community views.

“In our collective pursuit of a secure future for both food and fibre, we must recognise that biosecurity is a shared responsibility,” BRG member and VFF vice president Danyel Cucinotta said.

“We encourage farmers to actively engage in shaping the draft strategy with invaluable insights and collaboration that will fortify our defences, ensuring a resilient and thriving agricultural sector for generations to come.”

the prosecco grape variety to Glera in 2009, then registering prosecco as a GI with the EU, in an effort to secure exclusive rights to the world’s most popular sparkling wine.

The EU wants to prevent Australian producers from using the name prosecco to market their own sparkling wines, made from the same grape variety.

Australia’s prosecco market is booming and, according to Australian Grape and Wine, was worth around $204m at the end of 2021.

With more than half of it coming from the King Valley, it makes it worth more than $100m to the wine industry within the Rural City of Wangaratta, and it is growing each year.

As 95 per cent of Australian prosecco is sold in the Australian domestic market, local producers don’t want to confuse consum-

ers by having to change the name of a product, one they have invested heavily in to build its profile and substantial following.

Wines of the King Valley president Dean CleaveSmith confirmed prosecco accounts for over 40 per cent of all wine production in the King Valley.

He said he would encourage the Federal Government not to budge on the issue of prosecco naming rights, to protect the viability of the King Valley.

“The Australian Government must stand up for the rights of our producers,” he said.

“The Italians, through dubious methods, fabricated the notion that prosecco should be a GI whereas their own department of agriculture records, their export documentation and a large body of scientifically and legally considered material, clearly demon-

strates that prosecco is a grape variety.

“The Australian Government cannot make decisions that condone and perpetuate the Italian misinformation.

“Prosecco along with half a dozen or so other grape varieties which are also at risk, are critical to the future economic viability of the King Valley producers, and an adverse outcome will have significant implications for future of the industry, and in turn, the broader community.”

Minister Farrell says the government “remains strongly committed to the best possible deal for Australian businesses, farmers, workers and the broader community” and that he was prepared to persist, “even if it means the negotiations extend into the second half of this year”.

ALOT AT STAKE: Dean Cleave-Smith (centre) wants the government to stick firm on prosecco. He is pictured last month with fellow King valley vigneron Michael Dal Zotto (left), whose father Otto grew Australia’s first prosecco vintage, and Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism Kevin Hogan.

WinesoftheKingValleywanttoretaintherighttocalllocalproductprosecco gygpp

Hayden to be back on the bike

JAMIESON ON THE LINE

with Carmel Dixon

LOCAL Howqua residents

Sally and Paul Fletcher, parents of BMX champion rider Hayden, were relieved when their injured son Hayden was released from Brisbane Hospital last week. Hayden had an accident during a training session two weeks ago, having won BMX championship trials over the three previous days.

His injuries were severe with soft tissue bruising and rib and scapular breaks. Hayden is looking forward to a complete recovery and hopes to compete in the World BMX Championships in September.

He is flying to France midSeptember and will travel to various events including South America and USA, hoping to compete.

He is a young champion who is determined to fully recover.

Hayden has accepted his sponsor’s offer to attend as an ambassador, but his aim is still to be as a competitor.

Hayden is a member of the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club, and he is grateful for the start the club gave him and the continuous support, that has given him the chance to reach the amazing heights in

his BMX Championship Riding career. We wish him well.

LAST week Jamieson primary school students had a very busy itinerary: social, sporting and project creating with various materials, as well reading and maths.

They had a marvellous day on Friday skiing on Mount Buller with the students from Merrijig.

They all enjoyed the occasion and are happy with

their progress, next Friday weather permitting the students will have another day of skiing on Mount Buller.

The two parents who accompanied the students, mum Kristy Aldridge and school treasurer mum Alicia Lindsay, also enjoyed the occasion and were thanked by the principal Hannah Madin.

The final AFL training day was a great success the students from Jamieson primary school were hosted

by Merrijig primary school; following the training session they played a game of Aussie rules football.

Stars in the making.

Teachers Katlyn DeMonk and Neil Wetmore were on hand and enjoyed the event.

LOCAL Jamieson primary school office manager and local Jamieson resident, grandmother Pauline DeBono attended Grand Parents Day at St Mary’s primary school in Mansfield on Monday. It was a very happy event,

with the children proudly showing their grandparents their work efforts and art projects, meeting the teachers and a fabulous morning tea, following the Mass celebrated by Parish priest Fr George Feliciouz.

Pauline also has grandchildren at Jamieson primary school.

THE balmy weather in Jamieson over the weekend had local hotels, café and general store, busy with visitors and local residents

out enjoying the sunshine and social atmosphere.

The Heavenly Arts and Garden nursery was also open for visiting art lovers and gardeners keeping a steady flow.

MANSFIELD parish priest

Fr George Feliciouz returned recently from a happy family reunion trip to Canada, where he met with aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces.

It was an enjoyable trip covering many cities, where his large family reside.

Father looks rested and well, although the amount of kilometres traversed in the few week’s he was away would take a strong constitution.

Welcome home.

Mass is celebrated in Jamieson, at St John the Apostle church, on the second and fourth Sunday’s of the month.

THE next Jamieson Community Group meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 1 at 7:00pm in the Jamieson Memorial Hall.

There are a number of business matters to be discussed, such as the September Spring Ball, The High Country Halls Music Festival and the proposed Jamieson Autumn Festival.

All exciting events to keep those toes tapping. All welcome.

PERFECT: Kevington family enjoying the sunny afternoon in Jamieson on Sunday. Dad Daniel James, baby Milena, mum Emily Serres and their dog Ceeb under the table, lunching at the Courthouse Hotel.

CAR ADVERTISERS

Private vendors of motor cars advertised for sale must include in their advertisement

PHOTOGRAPHS

FOUND ADVERTISEMENTS

All found advertisements are

PERSONAL ADVERTISERS

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PLANNING PERMIT

The land affected by the application is located at:

2 GREENVALE LANE MANSFIELD VIC 3722

The application is for a permit to:

Use and development of land for a Child Care Centre and Indoor Recreation Facility (Indoor Swimming Pool), and a reduction of Car Parking Spaces

The applicant for the permit is: En Vogue Developments Pty Ltd

The application reference number is: P084/23.

A decision on the application will not be made before: 2 August 2023.

You may look at the application and any documents that support the application at:

The office of the Responsible Authority, Mansfield Shire Council, 33 Highett Street, Mansfield (during office hours) Online at www.mansfield.vic.gov.au/residents/building-andplanning/public-notices

Scan QR code

Any person who may be affected by the granting of the permit may object or make other submissions to the responsible authority. An objection must be made to the responsible authority in writing, include the reasons for the objection and state how the objector would be affected.

The responsible authority must make a copy of every objection available at its office for any person to inspect during office hours free of charge until the end of the period during which an application may be made for review of a decision on the application.

If you object, the responsible authority will tell you its decision.

Kirsten Alexander Chief Executive Officer

Get your names in the RADIO MANSFIELD and MANSFIELD COURIER birthday book.

Win Bertalli’s birthday goodies on Radio Mansfield

99.7 FM’s “Anything Goes” Birthday Wheel Thursdays from 2-4pm

This week’s winner is:

HAMISH KIRLEY

To enter call Radio Mansfield on 5775 2333

PETS & LIVESTOCK

AGISTMENT WANTED

AGISTMENT WANTED

Are You Looking for a Career Change?

We are looking for a Logistics expert with a HC or MC License!

We are an equal opportunity employer. We manufacture and hire a range of transformable buildings which require movement around the country. Covering all capital cities and anywhere in-between. On average it works out to be one or two days driving per week with plenty of time to try your hand at other things on the worksite OR you could build some runs or find some work of your own to fill the quiet time.

On-Job training/mentoring is available. This position could be part time or full time.

We are seeking a Responsible Professional with an ability to interact with a wide range of people and is prepared to be our “Face” when delivering and placing the units. Trade qualifications are highly valued.

Does this sound like you?

Interested and want to know more?

Call us on: 1300 751 369 or 0427 044 676.

Email: Info@crawfab.com.au Or just pop in!

Factory 1/10 Crosby’s Lane, Mansfield Victoria.

Administration Assistant | Accounts Timbertop

Campus

STEWARTS BUS SERVICE

FULL TIME BUS DRIVER

Duties include daily school runs, charter and general duties.

Medium rigid license, Driver Accreditation (DC) and Working with Children are essential.

Immediate start available!

Call Rodney Stewart on 0409 945 606

Or email stewartsbus@bigpond.com

To obtain the Position Description and/or to apply, visit the Employment page on our website: www.ggs.vic.edu.au/employment

ADDITIONS

INTERNET

CHAROLAISANGUS HEIFERS FOR SALE

Excellent high country born 14mth old heifers line weaned, quiet and good with fences. Are in good health, from closed beef herd.

Good condition and body score.

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Looking for agistment for 50 quiet Hereford cows and calves.

Ph. 0427 240 004

HOUSEKEEPER sought for home within 10km of

Classifieds WORK!

Phone: (03) 5723 0101

VTS Wants you!

Vacuum Truck Supplies wants you to work for us!

Is your wife driving you up the wall?

Do you need some pocket money for holidays? Caravan? Pokies? more Beer?

Join our team and we will get you out of the house to preserve the wife’s sanity!

We will pay you money to spend on beer, your old XY ute or even a new wife!

Age is no barrier, over 50, no probs, over 60, no sweat! We value your experience!

We have long-term part-time positions available. These include very simple common sense light duty tasks, right through to machining/assembling/welding/ mechanic-ing if you have the skills. Come to VTS and have a yarn with Adam.

Give us a call on 5775 7300 or 0435 162 326 NOW!

K&M Automotive 4x4 is the leading Emergency Roadside Assistance provider in Mansfield and surrounding areas. We provide roadside care and towing for RACV, emergency services, vehicle manufacturers and motor car clubs.

We are looking for new RACV contractors to join our team.

The job will be providing emergency roadside assistance after hours and weekends, on behalf of the RACV and another programs. You will be provided with a work service vehicle / tow truck as required, work phone and tools, as well as training.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Skills & Experience:

but not essential)

To apply, please send your resume to shannon@kmonsite.com.au or (03) 5775 1605.

70 TODAY!

Mansfield Secondary College is seeking a Singing Teacher for private lessons for an immediate start. Working with up to 7 students one on one, the teacher will provide singing tuition during school hours at Mansfield Secondary College. Students range from Year 7 through to VCE Year 11 and 12.

Expressions of interest, with an accompanying CV should be sent to jane.hampson@education.vic.gov.au

Vacuum Truck Supplies

Kris Zerbst

Happy 70th Birthday. Love Kristy, James, Shane, Erin and all the grandkids Xxxooo.

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2013

Commonwealth Games cancellation leaves local athletes reeling

By HANNAH KENNELLY

REGIONAL Victorian athletes, clubs, and sporting bodies have been “baffled and deeply hurt” by the State Government’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Mansfield Olympian Victoria Mitchell said the cancellation of the games deprives Australian athletes of “competing on their home turf in front of their home crowd”.

The long-distance runner has competed in multiple World Championships, the Olympics, and the Commonwealth Games during her decade long career.

However, despite her impressive international catalogue, Ms Mitchell’s family

and friends have only seen her compete twice.

“My friends and family have only seen me compete at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 and at Gold Coast in 2018,” she said.

“International competitions and travel are expensive, so opportunities for athletes to compete on home soil are rare, but incredibly special.

“There are so many Australian athletes right now who won’t be able to experience that now.”

Ms Mitchell currently works at Mansfield Secondary College and specifically highlighted the impact of the cancellation on young athletes.

“The Commonwealth Games are a really important stepping point for young

athletes wishing to pursue the Olympics,” she said.

“Exposure on an international level is so significant and can be vital for an athletes’ career progression.

“My first Commonwealth Games in Melbourne wasn’t overly successful, but it opened so many doors for me.

“Athletes everywhere, especially young athletes need those early chances.”

Shooting Australia was one of the many sporting bodies who expressed “shock and bitter disappointment” over the announcement.

“An enormous contribution of time and effort went into Shootings’ bid to have our sport reinstated into the Commonwealth Games pro-

gram,” said Shooting Australia Chief Executive Officer Adam Sachs.

“It is extremely unfortunate that this opportunity will now no longer be available to our athletes and our sport.

Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali also highlighted the “time and effort spent in preparation for the games”.

“Disappointed is an understatement,” he said.

“The 2026 Commonwealth Games would have been an amazing economic boost for Greater Shepparton and the surrounding area.

“As a proposed host for Cycling – BMX, Cycling Road Time Trial and a 12-day cultural festival, it was expected that the region would host thousands of visitors from

right across Victoria, interstate and overseas helping support and build our Shepparton and GV tourism brand and support local and new jobs across the visitor economy.

“It was this Commonwealth Games legacy which our region was most excited for, and this is what we will now turn our efforts to.”

Mayor Sali said the State had acknowledged funding allocated for the BMX track would still go ahead.

Despite the promise of continued funding, BMX champion Leigh Egan still felt “blindsided by the cancellation”.

The owner of Shepparton’s Leading-Edge Cycles said the region had been looking forward to the up-

coming games “for months and months”.

“It’s obviously really disappointing for athletes, but also really hard for local business owners,” he said.

“A lot of athletes come to the region prior to the Commonwealth Games to train, so that’s a lot of lost business as well.

“I think I just find the whole situation really hard to comprehend.”

Mr Egan said although he wanted to see athletes compete, he acknowledged there were many “economic and political decisions at play”.

“If it’s not the best thing for our state then so be it,” he said.

“But they should have been on top of it much earlier.”

North East MPs put Games decision on blast

By RYAN MALCOLM

NORTH East MPs have slammed the State Government’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with one labelling the move a “slap in the face to regional Victorians”.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced last Tuesday the 2026 Games, which were scheduled to be hosted at four major regional hubs in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, and Gippsland, would be cancelled amid what he said was a projected cost blowout to at least $6b, after an initial allocation of $2.6b was announced last year.

The figure, which Mr Andrews said had the potential to swell above $7b, was said to be more than twice the forecast economic benefit the Games would bring to the state.

Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy said the decision to cancel the Games in their entirety was a result of “financial mismanagement and incompetence” which had plagued the State Government over the past decade.

He said the state was fast running out of cash.

“This is just another day under Labor, costs skyrocketing overnight, going from $3b to $6b in less than a month,” he said.

“How is it possible for Daniel Andrews and (Minister for Commonwealth

Games Deliver) Jacinta Allan to get their figures so wildly off in such a short space of time?

“Metro-based projects are blowing out by over $30b and still the government pushes on, yet when it comes to spending extra money in the regions – peanuts.

“A brutal budget has led to a budget bungle of colossal degrees.”

While the Games will not go ahead as planned, Mr Andrews announced the regional legacy benefits, such as social housing and tourism, would still benefit from a $2b package earmarked for the regions, which will also see the permanent new and upgraded sporting infrastructure projects planned for the Games completed as planned.

A $60m regional community sport development fund poised to provide aquatic centres, indoor stadiums, lighting upgrades and walking and cycling paths was also announced for regional Victorians, as was a $40m all abilities sport fund to remove barriers to sport for those living with a disability.

“Locals have told us that more places to live and more places to stay across regional Victoria is what really matters – so that’s exactly what we’ll deliver,” he said.

North East-based One Na-

tion upper house MP, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, said the $2b funding package would be better off directed towards healthcare, education, infrastructure and job creation in regional Victoria.

“This decision disregards the opportunity to showcase Victoria internationally and signifies a failure in prioritising the needs of the people,” she said.

“This cancellation highlights the need for responsible financial management and a transparent approach in decision-making.”

Both Mr McCurdy and Ms Tyrrell committed to advocate for increased investment into regional Victoria going forward, with the former stating the current government was doing an “incredibly poor job” of sharing funding equally.

“I have always stood up for regional Victoria, and always called out Labor’s lack of funding,” he said.

“For a government that claims to govern for all, they are doing an incredibly poor job.

“So the question remains, will the premier join us in supporting regional Victoria, or will he continue to kick us to the curb?”

SLAP IN THE FACE: Ovens

Valley MP Tim McCurdy has slammed the State Government’s handling of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Valentino and Georgia win again at Cattleman’s Cup

MT BULLER turned on bluebird conditions and sunshine for the Cattleman’s Cup held last week.

It seemed the move from the village stairset to the upper mountain has pleased the snowboarding gods and they bestowed perfect weather for what has quickly become an unmissable event on the Australian snowboarding calendar.

The top snowboarders from across the country made the pilgrimage to the soaring summit hip jump to pay homage, wow the crowds and to take it up to the best riders as they do battle for the big cheque.

With the weather playing ball on day one, anticipation was high as the Mt Buller Parks team revealed their

specially designed hip jump on Summit.

The bigger, 52 foot hip, with left right and straight landing options, allowed over 50 riders of all ages to boost high above the beautiful Buller back drop as spectators gathered in the sunshine to soak up the action.

With another incredible display of style and amplitude, it was 18-year-old Olympian Valentino Guseli that took out the Hip Hero award for men, scoring a $1500 cash prize. Val left minds blown as he sent backside 540s, frontside 360s and his signature method.

American Freya Hammerlein took out the Hip Hero award for women, showing

impeccable style, technicality and consistency on both sides of the hip and boosting the highest we’ve seen a woman go so far.

In the afternoon, it was race time as competitors as young as seven shifted their focus from height to speed and took on the side by side Race Your Mate course.

It was head to head, winner takes all, with prizes for the fastest mate and plenty of bragging rights on offer.

With another great day of sunshine on day two, the mountain was in beautiful shape for the Cattleman’s inspired Rail Jam set up in a new location up hill from Spurs on Gliders.

More than 40 riders gathered to have a crack at the three option plaza set up

which featured a down-flatdown, down-rail and close out inspired flat-to-drop rail.

Once again it was Valentino Guseli who showed he isn’t just a hip-master, showcasing a super technical approach to the rail set up, spinning multiple ways on and off all three rails and taking out the Rail Ruler Award for $1500.

Competing side by side her twin sister, it was Jindabyne’s Georgia NichollsAustin that took out the Rail Ruler award for women, showing off her incredible style as she nose-pressed through the kink rail, landed perfect frontside and backside boardslides on the center rail and laned a perfect 5050 to 180 out on the flat-todrop rail.

Taking on the rail set up along-side her twin-sister, it was Sophie Nicholls Austin who took out the Strong Talent Award for women, and with casual style and a clinical approach to his riding Burton team rider Josh Vagne scored himself $1000 and the Strong Talent Award for men.

With his incredible display of talent on both the hip and the rail set up, the judges were unanimous in their decision to crown Valentino Guseli Cattleman’s Cup Grand Champion Men for the second year in a row, walking away with another $2000.

It was similar in the women’s category with Georgia Nicholls-Austin dominating

both the rails and the hip set ups.

Georgia took home $2000 and back to back Cattleman’s Cup Grand Champion Women’s trophies.

Results:

Hip Hero Men: Valentino

Guseli: $1500

Hip Hero Women: Freya

Hammerlein: $1500

Rail Ruler Men: Valentino

Guseli: $1500

Rail Ruler Women: Georgia

Nicholls Austin: $1500

Strong Talent Award Men: Josh Vagne: $1000

Strong Talent Award

Women: Sophie Nicholls

Austin: $1000

Grand Champion Men: Valentino Guseli: $2000

Grand Champion Women: Georgia Nicholls Austin: $2000

FLIP: Valentino Guseli (pictured) shows off his talents.

PERFECT CONDITIONS: Mt Buller was clear, allowing all competitors to have a great time.

MEN’S CHAMP: Olympian Valentino Guseli (pictured) took out the overall men’s cup for the second year in a row.

WOMEN’S CHAMP: Jindabyne’s Georgia Nicholls-Austin (pictured) took out her second consecutive Cattleman’s Cup Grand Champion Women’s trophy.

WINNERS: (From left) Josh Vagne, Sophie NichollsAustin, Freya Hammerlein, Georgia NichollsAustin and Valentino Guseli all walked away with a prize.

Perfect conditions for monthly comp

SHOOTING

THE monthly Mansfield Clay Target Club shoot was held in perfect conditions, no wind and clear sky provided a backdrop for some good scores, this was reflected in the excellent turnout of 29 shooters making up six squads compared to the same month last year with only three squads on a rainy day.

Mansfield locals were joined with representatives from Alexandra, Euroa, Yarrawonga, Woods Point, Corowa and Melbourne.

The events for the day included 30 target Double Barrel Cash Divide, 30 Point score Championship and finally a 20 Pair Deauville Doubles.

All events were generously sponsored by Foster Legal.

Shooters went straight into the 30 target Double Barrel event with

Weather improves turnout

BOWLS By LYN

FOOTS

LAST Tuesday the weather was very hit and miss but 16 players played in between the showers to complete a great day of bowls.

WINNERS: Better weather meant a tighter competition, showcasiing the high-calibre skills of shooters in the region.

the following results. AA Grade, Daniel Chinn (Woods Point) and Fred Heinze (Alexandra) both on 29; A Grade, Marty McLachlan (Mansfield) 30; B Grade, Jason Foster (Mansfield) 30; C Grade, Leon Tonks (Euroa) and John Desmond, both on 28.

Shooters returned in ideal conditions for the 30 target Point Score, 2 for second barrel and 3 for a first barrel break.

At the end of this round two shooters were clean on 90 points with a shoot off deciding overall and AA Grade winner as Daniel Chinn 93/93 over Marty McLachlan 92/93.

AA grade second was Fred Heinze 87/90 and A grade runner up Cameron Ford 87/90.

B grade winner was Laurie Poile (Woods Point) 85/90 and Allan Kidd (Mansfield) 84/90.

C grade Tom McGrath (Alexandra) 79/90, and John Desmond 73/90.

The overall lady sash winner was Jo-Anne Ford 87/90

After a hearty lunch of soups and hot dogs provided by Ivy Desmond and Val Kirley shooters were all warmed up for the last event of the day.

Deauville Doubles is shot in teams of two with each team being presented with a simultaneous pair of targets, shooters at the 18 meter mark.

Both targets in each pair must be broken to record a score.

The Championship was a tie between two teams comprising Geoff McLure/Tony Rohrlach and Allan Kidd/Mingo Diaz, with Geoff and Tony taking out first.

Overall a great day was had by all with shooters and club members

participating to ensure a smoothly run competition with everyone chipping in with scoring, refereeing and keeping the fire burning. Special thanks to our generous sponsor, local business Foster Legal.

Club president John Desmond presented prizes to winners and place getters on behalf of the club and sponsors.

Mansfield Clay Target Club hosts competition the third Sunday of each month; the next monthly program will be 10:30am, Sunday, August 20.

The club is very family focused with lunch provided and all junior shoots sponsored by the club with all junior fees waved for all competitions.

Anyone interested in having a look or a try is most welcome just turn up or phone 0490 702 083.

Sunshine the perfect remedy for golf

LADIES GOLF

By LINDA TERRY

THANK goodness the endless rain seems to be taking a break.

Our greens staff have been flat out trying to mow wherever they can as each fairway dries out a little, and the result is so much better.

So, it was no surprise to see a bigger field turn out for Stableford on Wednesday.

NORTH East Bushrangers Basketball (NEBB) is a collaboration between local North East basketball associations with the commitment of “Creating Realistic Pathways for all North East Athletes”

Eleven NEBB junior teams compete in the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) - the highest level junior competition in Victoria.

One NEBB Youth League Men’s (YLM) team competes in the semi-professional Big V competition.

Big V & VJBL consist of teams from both metropolitan and regional Victoria.

The day did start out very foggy and it was a bit of a challenge to see the ball, but it cleared up eventually and the 18 players came in feeling better about their golf – even if the scores still reflected the lack of run.

Sam Bailey played the best to win the day with 28 points, and Linda Terry was runner up with 26 points.

Third went to Marg Knapp, just pipping Sheryl

ROUND RESULTS:

Sargent with 25 points on a countback.

Sheryl, Linda and Marg were also the nearest the pin winners on the 3rd, 16th and 17th respectively.

On Saturday, eight players were treated to stunning sunny weather and there was an instant improvement in scores.

Sheryl Sargent took the win with 31points, Linda Brook runner up with 30

U14 Boys 1 41 def by Altona 1 55

(Top Scorers: Keoni Anderson 18, Sam Lupo 10, Harris Kain 5)

U14 Boys 2 26 def by Keilor 5 47

(Top Scorers: Brock Buckland 7, Cruz McAuliffe 5, Joseph Milton 4)

U14 Girls 1 31 def McKinnon 1 29

(Top Scorers: Ella Mercieca 18, Scarlett Van Schaik 4, Lily Purss 3)

U14 Girls 2 50 def Surfcoast 1 15

(Top Scorers: Kaity Ford 10, Allira Cullinger 10, Ruby Pickles 7Paige Ely 3)

U16 Boys 1 45 def Casey 1 42

(Top Scorers: Cooper Clark 10, Sdashiell Smith 9, Owain Boyle 8)

U16 Boys 2 46 def Ballarat 3 44

(Top Scorers: Sam Kain 16, Seth Graham 8, Mateo Hanley 7)

U16 Girls 1 68 def by Diamond Valley 1 105

(Top Scorers: Molly Moylan 20, Mekenzie Wood 14, Indianna Phillips 9)

U16 Girls 2 51 def Wallan 1 31

(Top Scorers: Sophia Kotzur 15, Lily Moffatt 9, Sienna Sampson 8)

U18 Boys 1 69 def Bulleen 1 54

(Top Scorers: Lochie Harvey 21, Coen Ainsworth 12, Ely Reid 11)

U18 Boys 2 36 def by Diamond Valley 3 56

(Top Scorers: Riley Hutton 11, Cam Cooper 10, Bailey Allen 5)

U18 Girls 38 def by Camberwell 1 42

(Top Scorers: Jess Freeman 14, Milly Evans 7, Elyssa Cole 5)

YLM 117 def by Casey  110

(Top Scorers: Jesse King 48, Sam Gebauer 18, Jordan Birch 15)

points and Sue Parsons 3rd with 27.

Gayle Wells took the nearest the pin on the 3rd.

Not much else to report at this time of the year, although three of our ladies are heading to Cobram for a two-day tournament, so here’s hoping they find good weather, a dry course and some prizes.

We do want to remind everyone though that entries

are now open for the North East District Women’s Championships which will be held at Benalla in the first week of September.

Everyone is encouraged to take part as there are loads of prizes across the board, not just for the elite golfers.

It is always a fun three days and includes dinner and frivolity on the second night.

The winners were Elaine Peterson, Mark Bettany, Mick Hoban and Ross Parsons 2 wins 31pts from Don Diaz, Chris Laws, Steve Wilson and Phil Jensen with I win 20pts. Friday saw a good field of 20 players enjoying the day with the winners of the day being Mark Bettany, Shane O’Brien and Denis Sharpe with 2 wins 32pts from Mike Harrison, Tony Pridham and Alan Hatcher with 2 wins 29pts.

Sunday’s indoor bowls saw a field of 10 of the usual suspects enjoying the afternoon with the winners on the day being Lyn Foots, Anne Wileman and Elva Healy with 3 wins 48pts from Renee Prosser and Belinda Snider 1 win 21pts.

With the sun shining on Sunday, it was fantastic seeing a large number of bowlers out honing their skills in readiness for the upcoming season in the middle of September.

U18 GIRLS TEAM: BACK ROW: Shane Riley (Coach), Gen Cusack, Janaya Pettie, Montanna Burke, Felicity Camplin, Elyssa Cole, Niamh Moylan. FRONT ROW: Elley Donelan, Jess Freeman, Milly Evans

FOGGY BUT NOT BOGGY: The rain might have eased, but the foggy starts still add to the challenge on the golf course.

PHOTO: Linda Terry

ROUND 16

Bonnie Doon successful against tough Benalla sides

O&KFNL NETBALL

UNDER 15S

By Tilly Thornton

Bonnie Doon 35 def

Benalla All Blacks 21

Best on court - sponsored by Garry Evans (Kyabram Greens Estate): Amy Cash Coaches Award - sponsored by David Walsh Gas: Tilly Thornton

THE Doon under 15s had a slow start to the game but as time went, they came home with a good win.

The first five minutes of the game were slow but eventually everything started to flow and work together we got a good lead.

The defenders Bella, Gemma had an amazing game with lots of intercepts.

The mid court Amy, Maya, Sadie and Tayla had good flow down the court and doing spot in passes into the goaler’s.

The goalers Tilly, Keira and Charli had a good game with barely missing a goal and moving around the ring smoothly.

Overall the under 15s had an amazing game and came out with a good win and are ready to vs North Wang next week.

UNDER 17S

Bonnie Doon 38 def

Benalla All Blacks 29

Best on court - sponsored by Garry Evans (Kyabram Greens Estate): Stella Brakels

Coaches Award - sponsored by Mansfield Holiday Letting: Maddie Maher

THE girls hit the ground running on Saturday morning in Benalla.

Everyone was working hard on both ends of the court with the defenders making it hard for Benalla to get ahead.

The attackers were constantly on their feet, moving around to fight for the ball, followed by accurate passes into our shooters.

The girls were very patient today, waiting for the best pass.

The first half was challenging but the girls returned to the court and turned the scores around.

Stella Brakels had an amazing game, working hard in both defence and attack and her work in the ring brought her to be the best on court this week.

Fortunately, after a hard fought game, the girls came home with another win.

Well done girls.

B RESERVE By MADI HEARMON

Bonnie Doon 57 def

Benalla All Blacks 43

Best on court - sponsored by Shell Bonnie Doon: Chrissy Blunt

Coaches Award - sponsored by Alpine Butchery: Madi Hearmon

THE girls travelled to Benalla to take on the Panthers this weekend.

After winning the toss, the two teams started goal for goal.

Ace was running hard in Centre, with Cass and Chrissy working well together off the centre pass.

Michelle worked the ring per-

fectly, even with a very physical opponent.

The Bombers worked hard across the court, with the quarter continuing goal for goal.

Towards the end of the quarter the Bombers were able to take the lead, finishing off 9-11.

The second quarter saw Madi come on in WA.

The girls continued with their defensive pressure, and maintained a lead on the All Blacks.

All the girls worked well across the court to make it hard for Benalla to score, and used every one of our centre passes to our advantage.

The girls went into the half time break leading Benalla 23-27.

Continuing the hard work into the second half, Maddie, Narelle and Zoe worked amazingly together at the defensive end to keep pressure on the Benalla shooters.

Michelle and Chrissy were able to capitalise on the turnovers when the ball came into Doon’s attacking end.

The Bombers extended their lead, finishing the quarter 30-40.

The Bombers worked as a team as they continued their lead into the last quarter.

Ace never stopped running, and combined with Madi in WA, they were able to transition the centre passes into the goal ring were Chrissy and Michelle worked tirelessly to convert the goals.

All across the court, the Bombers were able to play “our game” and after a very physical 60 minutes of play, Doon was able to secure the win.

Well done girls.

OVENS AND KING SENIORS LADDER

B GRADE

By JESS HARRIS

Bonnie Doon 47 def by Benalla All Blacks 53

Best on court: Meagan Doeven Coaches Award - sponsored by Bowser Bean: Jess Harris Players Player - sponsored by Bonnie Doon Pub: Jess Armstrong

WITH only a few games left of the regular season stakes were high in this top of the table clash.

Benalla started the stronger with their first five minutes proving the overall game difference.

The defenders were challenged this week with a short sharp style of play to contend with.

Casey Thompson’s one on one tight defence had them held up for the first half of the game.

Case moved into the centre in the last quarter and again her defensive pressure proved pivotal.

Webby’s constant talk and encouragement on court was amazing.

She never gave up, rebounding strong and driving out of defence with conviction; this was inspiring.

Panky’s speed and great arms over the ball pressure shut down the WA and made it harder for Benalla to get onto the ring.

Her speedy drives out of defence were always there when needed.

Jo led the attacking end, her leadership through constant talk and positivity will hold us

KING VALLEY

in strong stead when we next meet.

Jess (Strongarms) dominated the circle creating plenty of options for the centre court and her goal conversion was on point.

Tara showed the growth she has made throughout the season, not allowing her older more experienced opponent to get into her mindset.

Harry showed leadership on the court and her direction was a real asset to the team.

We have many positives to take out of the game.

We look forward to the challenge of meeting Benalla again in the final series.

A GRADE

By PORTIA KEATCH

Bonnie Doon 68 def

Benalla All Blacks 29

Best on Court - sponsored by Foodworks Mansfield: Erin Brond

Coaches Award - sponsored by Bonnie Doon Pub: Portia Keatch

Fan Favourite: Shannon

Cameron

ON Saturday the A grade girls were ready to come up against Benalla for the second time this year.

Thankfully we were able to play all four quarters with the rain holding off for us.

At the end of the first quarter, we were well and truly up with the score being 9-17.

Throughout the entirety of the game we actually saw no position changes which proved to be working very well.

Anna worked tirelessly mov-

ing around her player, going for the rebounds and forcing the Benalla shooters to take long shots due to her magnificent three feet and hands over the ball.

Our little pocket rocket Erin, although small, was quick on her feet and able to pick off those long, high balls being thrown into their shooters.

Shannon came off the line at every centre pass sticking to her WA and having immediate hands over the ball which gained her intercepts and tips.

Our powerhouse Mia ran out all four quarters in C putting in everything she had to get any loose balls, intercepts and always being on the ring for the shooters to pass to.

Tahlia our WA, made some fast drives onto the ring, enabling her to get in position to pass to our shooters.

Steph worked hard in and outside the ring by helping bring the ball down the court and then doing some great drives in the ring, which either drew the defenders to her or making it easy for her to get the baseline pass.

Portia focused on positioning her body in the right place, so the mid courters knew where to pass the ball and rebounded well.

Overall, our A grade girls had a ripper game with great encouragement especially from the supporters on the sidelines.

In the last quarter we had the challenge of reaching 68 goals which we most definitely did.

The final score saw 68-29; well done girls.

SCOREBOARD RESERVES RESULTS

King Valley .............12.16.88

GOORAMBAT

NETBALL SCORES

A GRADE: Benalla All Blacks 29 def by Bonnie Doon 68; Moyhu 59 def Bright 30; King Valley 56 def Goorambat 54; Tarrawingee 55 def North Wang 20; Whorouly 35 def by Milawa 54

B GRADE: King Valley 36 def by Goorambat 37; Benalla All Blacks 53 def Bonnie Doon 47; Moyhu 39 def Bright 34; Tarrawingee 38 def by North Wang 47; Whorouly 32 def by Milawa 66

B RESERVE: Benalla All Blacks 53 def by Bonnie Doon 57; Moyhu 42 drew with Bright 42; Tarrawingee 43 def North Wang 22; King Valley 28 def Goorambat 16; Whorouly 27 def by Milawa 43

C GRADE: Benalla All Blacks 29 def by Bonnie Doon 38; Moyhu 28 def by Bright 39; Tarrawingee 46 def North Wangaratta 36; King Valley 21 def by Goorambat 54; Whorouly 24 def by Milawa 26

UNDER 15s: Benalla All Blacks 21 def by Bonnie Doon 35; Moyhu 22 def Bright 21; Tarrawingee 11 def by North Wangaratta 23; King Valley 31 def Goorambat 15; Whorouly 27 def Milawa 8

ROUND 17

SATURDAY,JULY29

NORTH WANGARATTA VS BONNIE DOON

BRIGHT VS WHOROULY

MOYHU VS TARRAWINGEE

KING VALLEY VS GRETA MILAWA VS BENALLA

ALL BLACKS

GOORAMBAT - BYE

BENALLA ALL BLACKS 0.1 2.1 4.1 4.1.25

BONNIE DOON 7.4 14.7 20.12 25.18.168

GOALS: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Mitchell Dansey 2, Cody Crawford 1, Brendan Moffatt 1. BONNIE

DOON: Al Bennett 9, Luke Murray 7, Guy Murray 3, Beau Smith 2, Jayjay Curtin 1, Connor Heaslip 1, Matthew Hedin 1, Joel Sanford 1. BEST: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: David Button, Jesse Walker, Cody Crawford, Kyle Collisson, Kaare Glass, Damian Broughton. BONNIE DOON: Al Bennett, Joel Sanford, Luke Murray, Connor Heaslip, Jayjay Curtin, Sean Campitelli.

MOYHU 2.2 5.4 8.4 10.8.68

BRIGHT 2.2 5.2 11.2 14.4.88

GOALS: MOYHU: Jacob Beattie 2, Fraser Landgren 2, Darby West 2, Harrison Grant 1, George Hearn 1, Jared Lea 1, Charlie West 1. BRIGHT: Guy Campbell 5, Cooper Thomason 3, Kieren Jamieson 2, Samuel Dalbosco 1, Riley O’Shea 1, Max Rampling 1, Darcy Sholl 1. BEST: MOYHU: Matthew Thrum, Jett Roberts, Liam Cook, Brady Bartlett, Bailey Zimmermann, Charlie West

BRIGHT: Joe Gray, Nick Howell, Guy Campbell, Darcy Sholl, Kieren Jamieson, Reuben Jamieson.

TARRAWINGEE

1.2 4.3 7.5 8.6.54

NORTH WANG 9.3 16.10 20.12 27.16

GOALS: TARRAWINGEE: Seth Coonan 2, Joshua Smart 2, Joel Cain 1, Will Creed 1, Sam Peters 1, Sam Piper 1. NORTH WANGARATTA: Jack Brown 6, Tyler Nanson 6, Matthew Prestianni 5, Patrick Killen 3, Jhye Devine 2, Adam Enever 2, Tyler Schulze 2, Patrick Kelly

1. BEST: TARRAWINGEE: Sam Piper, Seth Coonan, Will Creed, Jalees Khan, William Styles, Tyler Heywood NORTH WANGARATTA: David Killen, Adam Enever, Matthew Prestianni, Jay Barker, Tyler Schulze, Jack Brown.

WHOROULY 1.1 1.3 6.5 8.5.53

MILAWA 8.4 13.8 15.9 21.11.137

GOALS: WHOROULY: Riley Calvene 2, Simon Chalmers 2, William Allen 1, Oliver Dixon 1, Adam Harris 1, Jake Riley 1. MILAWA: Jamie Allan 7, Sebastian De Napoli 4, Steven Williamson 3, Harry Allan 2, Brent Newton 2, Daniel Bihun 1, Ben Clarke 1, Luke Toohey 1. BEST:

WHOROULY: Riley Calvene, Jacob Penn, Andrew Newton, William Allen, Lachlan Moore, Matthew Vescio. MILAWA: Ben Clarke, Harry Allan, Josh Owen, Jamie Allan, Jarryd Wallace.

Goorambat ...............4.3.27

BEST: KING VALLEY: Josh Brown, Joel Burchall, Alex Tatulaschwili, Beau Dickson, Ayden Hansen, Edward Maclean. GOORAMBAT: Nathan Delaney, Todd Haslam, Todd Wapling, Private player, David Priest, Daniel Hooper. Benalla All Blacks .......5.8.38 Bonnie Doon ..............7.7.49

BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Aaron Horan, Thomas Grimes, Michael Kelly, Joshua Kotvas, Regan Sheehan, Eoghan O Sullivan. BONNIE DOON: Luke Jenkins, Jack Kirley, Shane Polkinghorne, Andrew Marshall, Ryan Markwick, Julian Mahon. Moyhu ......................5.7.37 Bright ......................13.9.87

MOYHU: Anthony Welsh, Will Johnson, Noah Crispin, Liam Semmens, Harry Verdon, Jaden Scobie. BRIGHT: Leon Hughes, Joseph Crawley, Cody Tulloch, will Redden, Jack Dalbosco, Thomas Gray. Tarrawingee ................0.5.5 North Wangaratta .25.18.168

TARRAWINGEE: Ethan Ryan, Kayden Mckelvie, Ryan Hearne, Deacon Cleal, Mitchell Barry, Angus Beck. NORTH WANGARATTA: Luke Brown, Tana Freeman, Kye Williams, Ridge Lepenik, Blake Marlborough, Cameron McCormack. Whorouly ..................4.4.28 Milawa ................15.17.107

WHOROULY: Jed Marek, Ryan Harris, Luke Griffiths, Nathan de Vries, Jon Pethybridge, Maverick Lewis. MILAWA: Tim Leslie, Zachary Wallace, Michael Walker, Dylan C Savage, Daryl Webb, Tim Mortimer.

Much needed win in tight competition

W&DJFL FOOTBALL

By MATT STORER

THE Mansfield Eagles under 17s welcomed the Benalla Bulldogs Sunday on what was a magic day for football.

The boys knew four points were needed to keep their finals dream alive and, with only one win separating first to sixth, there is little room for error.

The boys bounced out of the blocks kicking five first quarter goals.

James Benton led and pre-

sented well, Sam Guppy was dominating in the air and giving opportunities to our marking options up forward.

We lost our way in the second quarter only managing to kick three goals.

Although the boys were 53 points up at half time, they got a real rev up as nothing that we had trained for during the week has been implemented. They had played just up and back footy - something that has cost us games in recent weeks.

The boys were asked to get back to what we want to do, get the games on our terms and somehow try to find some run and carry from behind the footy.

The boys had a really good third quarter with captain Jack Marks typifying how sport should be played.

He is the greatest team mate you would come across with a will to win like no other; he has had an outstanding year and is great to play football beside.

Hayden Desmond went to half back him and his sidekick Trent Berry were beginning our run and carry game, getting it in to Adam and Sam and we started to really build a good lead and set up a great foundation for a last quarter assault.

The midfield group Browning, Craddok and Taylor were given great use from our talls.

Mitch Adams continued to improve we kicked eight in the last to finish with 40 scoring shots, giving us

some needed percentage.

Adam Storer finished a good day off kicking his 10th, Sammy guppy chimed in with half a dozen and the rest shared around in overall a pretty good team effort.

The Mansfield under 17s 23.17 (155) defeated Benalla 1.7 (13).

With things too tight, anything is still on the table from a double chance to missing the finals so we now go into a week bye before tackling the two big Wanga-

MATCH REVIEWS

Eagles fly high against Benalla

■ From back page

“I think our speed on the ball has been really good over the past few games. “That has certainly helped our case.”

Best: Frazer Dale, Ben Christopher, Dirk Koenen, Harry Mahoney, Brett Mahoney.

Goals: Ben Christopher 5, James Herridge 2, Ben Les 2, Lachlan MurphyDale 2, Jack Tomanovits 2, Nathan Buchanan.

The reserves side also defeated the Saints but faced more resistance through the middle two quarters resulting in a tighter score.

Their strong scores in the first half were able to maintain their lead and a final-quarter two goals sealed the deal.

The Mansfield Reserves 13.11 (89) defeated Benalla 8.4 (52).

The win has solidified their firstplace ranking on the GVL ladder and ensures a tight competition as three teams underneath vie for fourth.

Best: Matthew Martin, Colby Croxford-Demasi, Jack Christopher, Thomas Sheahan, Cody-James Turner.

Goals: Jack Christopher 3, Jacob Howes 2, Archie Storer 2, Riley Angel, Jack Byrne, David Holliday, Dylan Lowry, Thomas Sheahan, Cody-James Turner.

The under 18s side won their match against Benalla but failed to maintain consistent scoring throughout the game.

A strong start of 20 points in the first quarter built a healthy lead but Benalla came dangerously close to out-scoring the visitors in the final quarter, with the Eagles winning by two goals.

The Mansfield Eagles under 18 side 8.8 (56) defeated Benalla 6.8 (44).

The team is in the top five on the GVL ladder as finals approach but face some more successful sides in the final few rounds of the competition.

GOULBURN VALLEY SENIORS LADDER

SENIORS SCOREBOARD

BENALLA 1.0

MANSFIELD 4.1 8.4 10.12 15.12.102

ratta teams in Maggie’s and College.

Thanks to all that helped including Frase for umpiring, Jamie for waving the sticks and local legend Chris Laing for running the boundary for the day.

Best: Jack Marks, James Benton, Adam Storer, Samuel Guppy, Mitchell Adams, Astin Browning.

Goals: Adam Storer 10, Samuel Guppy 6, James Benton 4, Harry Craddock, Ethan Pigdon, Nick Taylor.

NETBALL SCORES

A Grade

Tatura 43 def by Rochester 56

Benalla 30 def Mansfield 25

Shepparton 70 def Kyabram 38

Mooroopna 42 def Shepp Utd 18

Shepp Swans 38 def by Echuca 52

Euroa 34 def by Seymour 52 B Grade

Tatura 29 def by Rochester 41

Shepparton 64 def Kyabram 34

Benalla 42 def Mansfield 34

Mooroopna 41 def Shepp Utd 29

Shepp Swans 53 def Echuca 52

Euroa 33 def by Seymour 43 B Reserve

Tatura 29 def by Rochester 47

Benalla 34 def by Mansfield 54

Shepparton 41 def Kyabram 34

Mooroopna 54 def Shepp Utd 43

Shepp Swans 52 def Echuca 44

Euroa 29 def by Seymour 57 17 & Under

Tatura 24 def by Rochester 47

Benalla 37 def by Mansfield 46

Mooroopna 65 def Shepp Utd 33

Shepp Swans 58 def Echuca 38

Shepparton 59 def Kyabram 42

Euroa 17 def by Seymour 58 15 & Under

Tatura 31 def by Rochester 37

Mooroopna 35 def Shepp Utd 21

Shepp Swans 36 def by Echuca 55

Shepparton 66 def Kyabram 33

Euroa 36 def Seymour 25

ROUND 15

SATURDAY, JULY 29

Shepp United vs Shepparton

Seymour vs Mooroopna

Kyabram vs Tatura

Mansfield vs Shepp Swans

Rochester vs Benalla

Echuca vs Euroa

GOALS: BENALLA: Dan Hurley 1, Wade King 1, Jarrad Waite 1. MANSFIELD: Ben Christopher 5, James Herridge 2, Ben Les 2, Lachlan Murphy-Dale 2, Jack Tomanovits 2, Nathan Buchanan 1.

BEST: BENALLA: Fintan Brazil, Jordan Wolff, Nick Mellington, Christopher Welsh, Colby Mathieson.

MANSFIELD: Frazer Dale, Ben Christopher, Dirk Koenen, Harry Mahoney, Brett Mahoney.

SHEPPARTON 4.4

KYABRAM

GOALS: SHEPPARTON: Jhett Cooper 2, Jacob Watts 2, Tyron Baden 1, Mitchell Brett 1, Adam De Cicco 1, Zaydan Leocata 1. KYABRAM: Anthony DePasquale 2, Thomas Holman 2. BEST: SHEPPARTON: Jonty Wardle, Bryce Stephenson, Mitchell Brett, Adam De Cicco, Jacob Watts KYABRAM: Brad Whitford, Nic Denahy, Lachlan Smith, Jason Morgan, Thomas Holman.

EUROA 2.3 4.5 7.8 10.9.69

SEYMOUR 2.3 5.4 12.7 12.10.82

GOALS: EUROA: Jett Trotter 5, Craig Bamford 1, Adam Giobbi 1, Will Hayes 1, Lachlan Hill 1, Cohen Paul 1. SEYMOUR: Joshua Alford 3, Riley Mason 3, Seamus Feery 1, Nathan Fowler 1, Michael Hartley 1, Tayte Lewis 1, Jack Murphy 1, Jack O’Sullivan 1. BEST: EUROA: Ryan Pendlebury, Jacob Gleeson, Will Hayes, Jett Trotter, Jayden Gleeson. SEYMOUR: Jack O’Sullivan, Rory Scopel, Huw Jones, Riley Mason, Joshua Alford.

MOOROOPNA 6.3 13.5 17.6 22.11.143

SHEPP UNITED 1.0 4.4 5.7 8.7.55

GOALS: MOOROOPNA: Jackson Trengove 10, William Bella 2, Keelin Betson 2, Christopher Nield 2, Kydan Atkinson 1, Ben Hicks 1, Jack Johnston 1, Campbell McElhinney 1, Darcy Russell 1, Jed Woods

1. SHEPPARTON UNITED: Lewis Stanton 4, Jayden Magro 2, Liam Serra 2. BEST: MOOROOPNA: Jackson Trengove, Keelin Betson, Bryce Rutherford, Isaac Dowling, Christopher Nield. SHEPPARTON UNITED: Marcus Wattie, Fergus Pinnuck, kyle clarke, Declan Newbound, Brodie Telford.

SHEPP SWANS 4.1 9.4 10.7 11.7.73

6.4 10.4 15.2 21.9.135

GOALS: SHEPPARTON SWANS: Steele Simpson 4, Diesel Batey 1, Zac Clohesy 1, Tyreece Collison 1, Joeve Cooper 1, Mason Pedretti 1, Lucas Rachele 1, Ty Sutherland 1. ECHUCA: Liam Tenace 8, Will Monahan 3, Corbin Anderson 2, Samuel Reid 2, Mitchell Wales 2, Harrison Milburn 1, Kane Morris 1, Callum Parsons 1, William Rohde 1. BEST: SHEPPARTON SWANS: Zac Banch, Joeve Cooper, Ben Gilberto, Diesel Batey, Will Dwyer. ECHUCA: Liam Tenace, Cameron Valentine, Hugh Byrne, Samuel Reid, Matthew Lias.

TATURA 2.2 2.4 5.6 6.8.44

ROCHESTER 0.1 2.5 3.5 4.10.34

GOALS: TATURA: Brodie Meyers 2, Jacob Chessells 1, Xavier Hutchison 1, Aydin Kesici 1, Chris Ryan 1. ROCHESTER: Sean Williams 3, Dylan Cuttriss 1. BEST: TATURA: Ethan Penrith, Daniel Weetra, Billy Cooper, James Nihill, Comanche Walls. ROCHESTER: Hamish Hooppell, Reid Gordon, Bailey Wileman, Sean Williams, Dylan Gordon.

RESERVES RESULTS

Benalla 8 4 52 def by Mansfield

13 11 89

BEST: BENALLA: Jack Doidge, Riley Johnson, Zachary Amarant, Cameron Symes, Thomas Hayes. MANSFIELD: Matthew Martin, Colby Croxford-demasi, Jack Christopher, Thomas Sheahan, Cody-James Turner.

GOALS: BENALLA: Cameron Symes 4, Jack Doidge 3, Jobe Parmansche 1.

MANSFIELD: Jack Christopher 3, Jacob Howes 2, Archie Storer 2, Riley Angel 1, Jack Byrne 1, David Holliday 1, Dylan Lowry 1, Thomas Sheahan 1, Cody-James Turner 1.

UNDER

18s

RESULTS

Benalla 6.8.44 def by Mansfield 8.8.56

BEST:

BENALLA: Cooper Woods, Tyler McGregor, Tom Riley, Zack Liddington, Henry Hill.

MANSFIELD: Hunter Reee, Benjamin Reardon, William Friday, Lachlan Pentony, Dylan Lowry.

GOALS: BENALLA: Max Cullen 2, Jakob Decker 2, Jobe Parmansche 1, Tom Riley 1. MANSFIELD: Oscar Clelland 3, Archie Storer 3, Seth Dean 1, Hunter Reee 1.

TACKLE: Lachie Christopher (pictured) takes down a Benalla opponent.

PHOTO: Paul Martin

Big day for junior Eagles at the nest

JUNIOR FOOTBALL

By MICHAEL BRETHERTON

BOTH under 10s and 12s were fortunate to again play on the Mansfield Recreation Reserve in overcast but fine conditions on Saturday.

The under 12s had the early game and the Blues started the day well, applying themselves at the contest, using the ball and defending strongly as a back six.

Oscar Pigdon was a strong presence down back and the midfield group were working hard both ways led by Mac Watson.

As the game continued the Blues went to another level, Paige Gridley and Billy Turner started hitting the scoreboard but it was the run and carry of Hudson George and the defensive work of Levi Stevenson that was continually working the ball forward for the Blues.

The Blues had a great day

ROUND 14

at the office with best players being Oscar Pigdon, Hudson George, Mac Watson, Levi Stevenson and Billy Turner.

The Eagles also had a strong day out with Sophie Snell putting in a fine performance with many possessions and courageous attacks on the ball.

Ben Gough stood tall and led the way in the ruck and was handy around the ground while Cooper Martin continued his fine form repelling many attacks of the half back line.

Jay Kynnersley ran hard all day and got on the end of some terrific link, kicking to take some strong marks.

The Bombers put in a terrific team effort, sharing the ball around and bringing each other into the play.

Heath Shevlin was terrific on ball, taking the game on and also dashing off half back to set up many forward attacks, often resulting in goals.

Mannix Peck enjoyed a great

day out amassing many possessions and was joined by Tyson Parks who was again courageous.

Jax Heath was busy down forward joined by livewires Hamish Brown and Riley Sutherland.

Axel Anstee was also dangerous up forward, as was Jack Clydesdale who bagged 5 goals for the match.

In the under 10s, the Demons were missing a few players this week and had to rely on players from the other teams that helped the demons play a good brand of footy.

The Demons had the misfortune of our number one ball magnet going down in the first quarter Noah Heaysman with a broken ankle.

The Demons are going to miss you Noah.

Best players for the Demons included Parker Darby, Cody PLace, Jed Robinson and the whole team gelled together for their teammate Noah.

The Hawks were competitive all day with standout performances from Cooper Hoebergen who was everywhere, Cruz Heath who played his standard straight line running game and Koby Gridley who has been a welcome return to the hawks in the last couple of weeks after extensive travel.

With numbers down in other teams, the Eagles had a terrific day out, hitting the scoreboard many times in some impressive passages of play.

Charlie Howie was huge, with many possessions and frequent attacks on goal.

Roy Mercieca was again strong, racking up the possessions and breaking clear with pace while Max Strong took some clutch Marks and was vital down back.

This Sunday the Under 12 Representative side takes on Benalla at 9:30am on the Mansfield Recreation Reserve so come on down and support the Eagles.

MATCH REVIEWS

Mansfield fights hard against Benalla

GVFNL NETBALL

UNDER 17S

By MOLLY JUDGE

Mansfield 46 def

Benalla 37

Best on Court - sponsored by Café 41: Jamie Davis

Coaches Award - sponsored by O’Malleys Pizza: Molly Judge

ON Saturday the under 17s came out eager to secure another win.

In the first quarter they came out strong gaining a good lead.

The defence end was on fire getting many tips and intercepts helping turn the ball over.

The goalers had amazing movement in the ring allowing them to score.

The mid courters fought

hard for every ball and moved it down the court well.

The Eagles played a great game and came away with the win.

B RESERVE By JASPA ROBINSON Mansfield

54 def Benalla 34

Best on Court – sponsored by Luna Bar: Leonie Berry Coaches Award – sponsored by Café 41: Jaspa Robinson

MANSFIELD B Res hit the court with purpose today.

They never looked in doubt - building on their close win against Tatura last week to beat Benalla by a 20 point margin.

They were excited to welcome u15 young guns Annie Thomson in goals and

Jaspa Robinson in defence, attempting to fill the shoes of Bianna Kelly who went down with a season-ending knee injury last week and Caroline Trenfield who is away in the sun.

Annie and Jaspa fitted in seamlessly with the side, lead and encouraged by all the regulars on court, but particularly Leonie Berry, Mich Kain and Grace Evans who were dynamic and directed play with confidence.

Sarah White took on the Saints’ aggressive defenders by finding her own grit and sinking goal after goal.

Cass Dolling was sore today, but drove balls into the goalers accurately and Bella Butterworth supported through the centre.

Mia Ciarma once again helped out from the 17s and contributed with strong defensive pressure, along with the fresh legs and en-

ergy from Bec Adams.

The positive, determined vibe of the whole group set the tone that allowed them to seize this game.

An impressive win for a deserving team.

Look out over the next few weeks - the 2022 grand finalists are flying home.

B GRADE

By LATOYA WARDS

Mansfield 37 def by Benalla 46

Best on Court – sponsored by Joanne Holt: Rebecca Sanderson Coaches Award – sponsored by Alpine Home: Latoya Wards

THE B grade girls went into round 14 against Benalla motivated to leave nothing on the court.

The starting line up was a little different this week as B grade was missing vice captain and GA TeAna Wards from injury in R13, however TeAna was there on the sideline assisting with coaching.

The first quarter saw a new goaling combination with Molly Rekers and Latoya Wards showing Benalla that Mansfield meant business Saturday as they led the first quarter by two goals.

Defenders Rebecca Sanderson and Chloe Judge worked tirelessly shutting down Benalla’s quick goalers.

Half time saw Benalla get the lead by three.

Changes in the third quarter with Mid quarters Alicia Foster, Kara Dolling and Matisse Gardiner saw Mansfield B grade tie with Benalla as all three players displayed speed, skill and versatility moving the ball

down court with ease. The final quarter was goal for goal with Captain Alice Langley directing and generating play in the Eagles attack end.

Sadly Benalla was the team to walk away victoriously.

As disappointing as it is to suffer another loss, the B grade girls should walk away proud at their professionalism and sportsmanship they showed and reflect on how well the team came together to play some quality netball.

A GRADE

Mansfield 25 def by Benalla 30

Best on Court – sponsored by Foodworks: Nelle Cousins Coaches Award – sponsored by Billy Mahoney Electrical: Joey Bailey

PEP TALK: Coach of the Demons Jason Robinson (pictured) with his chargers listening attentively.

JUMP: Sophie Carr-Paterson (pictured) jumps for the ball.

BLOCK: Laura King (pictured) goes to take the ball out of her Benalla opponent’s hands.

CATCH: Laura King (pictured) catches the ball, moving it towards the attacking end of the court. PHOTOS: Paul Martin

SPORT

Tough tennis matches all round

another hard-fought set.

The next sets were tight, but Moglonemby won both, and then took a final one 8-1.

IT was an unusually glorious day for tennis last Monday when Mansfield Black hosted Moglonemby, Euroa welcomed Mansfield Blue, and Terip met Seven Creeks.

Mansfield Red won on forfeit from Benalla who were unable to field a team last minute when illness intervened.

Mansfield Black’s Liza Karras and Jenny Bell took it right up to Moglonemby’s Deb Seach and Marlene Hanrahan in their opener, ultimately unlucky to lose in tiebreak.

Robyn Johnston and Lyn Johnson defeated Rhonda Carpenter and Di Be rgelin 8-3 in

Black’s Bell and Carpenter refused to let the visitors steal the show by winning theirs 8-2 in a lengthy battle.

Moglonemby won 5-42 defeated M Black 1-28 and moved into second spot on the ladder.

Over at Terip, Cindy Hayes, Frances Lawrence, Bec Little and Phoebe McDermid outclassed

Seven Creeks taking every set convincingly.

Rowena Ellis, Kerry Hewlett, Nicola Enright, and Jill Hayes secured 10 games in their contest.

Terip 6-48 defeated Seven Creeks 0-10.

Match of the round was be-

tween Euroa and Blue which included two tiebreakers.

Openers went one each way with Mansfield Blue’s Michelle Pigdon and Karyn Fraser winning the tiebreak set against Euroa’s Sue Vaughan and Lyndall Bigland.

Ros Doxey and Ruth Nolan took theirs 8-4 for the home side.

Pigdon combined strongly with Clare Beecham to win 8-5 while Bigland and Doxey took theirs in another breaker.

The stage was set for a final set showdown and again these were split one each way.

When scores were checked a rare draw was the result.

Euroa drew with Mansfield Blue 3-37. Mansfield Red won on forfeit against Benalla.

2023

Carlton

Geelong

Geelong

PHOTO: Rhonda Carpenter

vs. Carlton

GWS

Brisbane

vs. Sydney Swans

Port

vs. St Kilda

vs. Melbourne

Coast Eagles vs. Nth Melbourne

Collingwood

INDEPENDENT FEDERAL MEMBER FOR INDI helenhaines.org

Western Bulldogs Brisbane Lions Essendon Port Adelaide St Kilda Melbourne North Melbourne Last Week: 7 TOTAL: 103 T 5762 6822 admin@dosserpanels.com.au 90 Bridge St W, Benalla Last Week: 7 TOTAL: 108

Collingwood Geelong

Western Bulldogs

Geelong GWS Giants Brisbane Lions Essendon Port Adelaide St Kilda Melbourne West Coast

Geelong Western Bulldogs Brisbane Lions Essendon Port Adelaide Hawthorn Melbourne West Coast

TIPSTER: Steve (Groucho) Marks

Cindy McLeish MP State Member for Eildon (03) 9730 1066 PO Box 128 Yarra Glen 3775 cindy.mcleish@parliament.vic.gov.au

Last Week: 9 TOTAL: 114

Geelong Western Bulldogs

Brisbane

TIPSTER: Pat (Bull) Smith

3 Chenery St, Mansfield Phone: 5775 1992

Port Adelaide Hawthorn Melbourne West Coast TIPSTER: Sam McDougall McGrath Mansfield 03 5775 2437

Last Week: 6 TOTAL: 108 Last Week: 7 TOTAL: 106

Last

TENNIS

By RHONDA CARPENTER

Wednesday snowsports on the mountain for MSC

By EMMA OLIVER

MANSFIELD Secondary

College students are in an enviable position of being close to Mt Buller, and in 2023 students from year seven to ten once again have the unique opportunity to ski or snowboard every Wednesday during Term 3.

“We have had unprecedented registrations this year and over 120 students have participated each week,” said principal Tim Hall.

“The administration of the program is an enormous effort and is expertly led by our Snowsports Coordinator Abbey McConnell and Chelsea Dean in the School Office.

“We are grateful for the strong support we have from our parent helpers, who are vital to ensure the viability of the program.

“We also acknowledge the continued support of Buller Ski Lifts, and this year Busfleet have joined us to get the students to the mountain and back safely.”

Two from two for Mansfield Yellow

By NICK DUNN

ON Sunday, we doubled up against the Tigers who, after knocking them off last week in Milawa, came to Mansfield for a bit of redemption and a point to prove.

After seeing them last week, we knew they were a really handy outfit, with some real quality on their list, and it was going to be a challenge to back up against them.

The first quarter they came out really hard, kicking the first couple of goals in the blink of an eye.

The concerning part was that the style of footy that we pride ourselves on - the high pressure and high intensity footy - was where they were beating us.

In and around the contest we were struggling to have an impact, but to the guys credit they managed to work themselves into the game and head into the first break down by a goal.

Having Reggie Watts back in the

Home game success for Eagles Blue

W&DJFL FOOTBALL

By CHRIS ANDERSON

AFTER three weeks of tough away games, this week the u14 Blue Eagles returned to their home track, facing off against the Benalla Bulldogs.

The boys have been working hard on bringing each other into the game more and playing a team first style of football, and on Sunday they played one of their best games of the year.

The midfield crew got first use of the football through rucks Jay Hotton and Jimmy Lean, who in turn were able to provided our forwards with plenty of the ball.

Tia Paraone had a terrific game up forward, snagging six goals for the day, and was well supported by Orlando Miller who chipped in for three goals. The backline played some magnificent football, lead by Cruz Purday, Sam Hough, Will Anderson and Harry Sheeran, who repelled the bulldogs forward entries.

Zac Hotton and Bodhi Killeen were excellent on the wing, and the midfield boys of Liam Smith, Toby Gerrans and James Wellborne were in everything.

line up gave us the flexibility to shift Sam Kain out of the ruck in the second to utilize him elsewhere in the second quarter and Reggie was fantastic for us in the ruck.

Our mids really began to gain the ascendancy led by Andy Friday, who has been brilliant every week but this week in particular had the most spectacular game, not only in what he was able to do with the footy in his hands, but how he as our skipper managed to lift the guys around him and sway the momentum back in our favour, and we claimed the lead just before half time.

Our forward line started to get on top in the third quarter, with Xav Maroney proving a handful for the Tigers’ defence.

Pichy Sorn got us going with a huge tackle at half forward and the resulting free kick lead to us slotting a major.

Due to our increased pressure game, and far better structural setup, we managed to extend our lead, however inaccuracy in front of goal

meant we had left the door open. With an 11 point lead at threequarter time, it was essential that, in this must win game for us in terms of our push to qualify for finals, we bring everything in the last quarter to get over the line.

The last quarter saw our pressure and intensity back to the level we want to play at, while the win was secured by our back line. Their composure under pressure and ability to turn the oppositions attacking play into the beginning of our own offensive chains was beautiful to watch.

Ben Baklis showed why he is one of the best defenders in the league, and such a critical part of our side.

Pheobe Guppy, arguably the best team first and selfless player I have ever coached, linked up beautifully with Ben, Noah Langlands and Nick Hoskin, and her desperation at the contest, and her ability to create time and space through her sheppards and her voice allowed our run and carry game off half back to flourish.

Felix Smith was again outstanding.

Whilst we came away with a really important three-goal win, I think more importantly for the guys was the learning that not every game is always going to be on your terms from the outset.

Their ability to adjust their style of footy in game and drag themselves over the line through hard work and determination is something I am really proud of them for, and they too should be.

Mansfield Eagles Yellow 8.12 (60) defeated Tigers JFC 6.6 (42).

Captains’ Choice Awards: Reggie Watts (Mansfield FNC), Thomas Day (Mansfield Hunting and Fishing)

Coaches Award: Andy Friday (Ben Purday Bricklaying)

Best: Friday, Kain, Baklis, Maroney, Hoskin, Robinson, Smith, Dunn, Haslau, Guppy .

Goals: Maroney 3, Kain 2, Turner, Kynnersley, Banks.

The boys had an inaccurate first quarter, kicking two goals nine points, however they steadied as the game went on, kicking four goals two points in the second term.

After the halftime break, Oscar Smyth and Logan Kent were moved up the ground and immediately made a difference, with Oscar kicking a terrific goals from a difficult angle.

Darby McCormack and Sam Kynnersley played some really good high pressure football up forward, and in the end, the boys were just too good for the Bulldogs and ran out comfortable winners.

The u14 Blue Eagles 13.19 (97) defeated Bulldogs 2.2 (14). Coaches Awards: (MFNC) Bodhi Killeen, (O’Malleys Pizza) Logan Kent, (Purday Bricklaying) Oscar Smyth.

Best: Cruz Purday, Tia Paraone, Bodhi Killeen, Liam Smith, James Wellborne, Zac Hotton. Goals: Tia-Tane Paraone 6, Orlando Miller 3, Alex Kipping 2, Liam Smith, Oscar Smyth.

W&DJFL FOOTBALL

BLUEBIRD DAY: MSC students spend Wednesdays on the mountain learning and finessing snowboarding and skiing.

Bonnie Doon on top

O&KFNL FOOTBALL

By SAMUEL O’BRIEN

BONNIE Doon has moved to the top of the Ovens and King seniors ladder after a win against the Benalla All Blacks in Benalla on Saturday.

The Bombers started out strong, scoring 46 points and only letting the home side score one in the first quarter.

Bonnie Doon easily maintained their scoring rate throughout the game while the Panthers struggled to keep up, not even scoring any points in the last quarter of the game.

At the end of the game, Bonnie Doon 25.18 (168) defeated Benalla 4.1 (25).

The win puts the Bombers ahead of Greta, who were on top for much of the season.

Bonnie Doon Coach Ken Murray was happy with the extra points scored.

“The win this week means that we can solidify our top two position over the next few weeks,” he said.

With only three games until the finals, Coach Ken is focussing on maintaining consistency among the ranks.

“It is more tinkering now,” he said.

“We don’t want to change anything too much.

“There is only a month of footy left until finals.

“We are trying to practice a few little things that we are working on and continue to try and solidify everything that been working for us so far.

“It’s more about making sure the way we want to play and our systems that we want to put in place are an automatic response.

“We just want the team to play the way we want to play rather than having to think about it too much.

“The more you can embed what we have been practicing at training into a game means it will place us better come times when we are under a bit of pressure in the contest.

“This weekend was a great chance to work on a couple parts of the game that we feel we can still improve on.

“We take out of the game that we got some good practice on some things on the weekend versus just looking at the four points and a win.”

Best: Al Bennett, Joel Sanford, Luke Murray, Connor Heaslip, Jayjay Curtin, Sean Campitelli.

Goals: Al Bennett 9, Luke Murray 7, Guy Murray 3, Beau Smith 2, Jayjay Curtin, Connor Heaslip, Matthew Hedin, Joel Sanford.

The reserves side won in a much tighter competition, ending the first quarter goal-for-goal against the home side.

The Bombers managed to pull ahead in the second and maintained their lead throughout the game.

The Bonnie Doon Reserves 7.7 (49) defeated Benalla 5.8 (38).

Best: Luke Jenkins, Jack Kirley, Shane Polkinghorne, Andrew Marshall, Ryan Markwick, Julian Mahon.

Goals: Aoidh Doyle 2, Jack Kirley 2, Jordan Arbuthnot, Joe Kelleher, Jed Murray.

Eagles fly high

GVFNL FOOTBALL

By SAMUEL O’BRIEN

MANSFIELD has enjoyed a convincing win against the Benalla Saints away last Saturday, further securing their place in the top six of the GVL ladder as finals approach.

Mansfield showed their dominance early on in the game, with 25 points scored in the first quarter.

The Saints tried to fight back, however Mansfield’s defence continued to hold strong throughout the game, only letting in three goals for the home side.

Mansfield Coach Chad Owens was proud of the

way the team was working together and playing good football.

“The guys played really well as a team,” he said.

“We did a lot of simple things really well.

“We asked for a lot of handball overlap and we got that which was really good.”

In particular, the strong midfield has been a feature for the Eagles.

“It allowed for the forwards to do their thing,” said Coach Chad.

In the second half of the game, Mansfield continued to play consistently, keeping momentum right through to the final siren.

Kicking accuracy was in

fine form for the Eagles.

“It was one of the rare times that we have kicked more goals than points,” said Coach Chad.

“That is probably the best we’ve kicked for a few weeks now.

“It helps to build scoreboard pressure as well.

“We do a lot of good work and sometimes we miss easy shots.

“It is a bit deflating but on the weekend the team went back and kicked those goals.”

In the last quarter, the visiting side showcased its best football, not allowing the Saints to add any points to their final score.

“Everyone was playing for

each other which was really good to see,” said Coach Chad.

The Mansfield Eagles 15.12 (102) defeated the Benalla Saints 3.5 (23).

With only four regularly scheduled games left of the season, Coach Chad is looking towards making sure the Eagles match the top of the competition.

“We are focussing on continuing to gain some momentum and some winning feeling again,” he said.

“We are still working on a few little things offensively.

“It is all starting to come together a bit better over the past couple of weeks.

■ Continued page 36

GOING FOR GOAL: Mansfield pulled off a win against Benalla, further solidifying their chances for a run at the finals.

PHOTO: Paul Martin