Sports Reports: Mypolonga go three for three in Murray Towns cricket grand finals

This post includes contributions from Racing SA, Derek Vanderzon and Daniel Irvine.

• Mypolonga go three for three in Murray Towns cricket grand finals
• Tacito, Stupendo win Magic Millions races at Murray Bridge
• Murray Bridge bowlers roll into division one grand final
• Shooters adapt to warm conditions

Mypolonga go three for three in Murray Towns cricket grand finals

Mypolonga has recorded a remarkable hat trick of premierships as the summer of 2022-23 draws to a close.

In Saturday’s grand final of the Murray Towns Cricket Association’s A grade competition, Mypolonga defeated Mannum by four wickets, 6/129 to 128.

The Tigers, playing on home turf at Mypolonga Memorial Oval, won the toss and chose to bowl.

Aaron Zrim led the way as usual by taking 4/11, while Samuel Elliott took 3/15.

Noah Vivian made 34 for the visitors, while Zak Muirhead made 22 and Dwayne Krollig 21.

In chasing down the target, Stephen Mills and Jared Marston scored 37 and 29 with the bat.

Mypolonga’s B-graders also triumphed in their decider, beating Meningie by six wickets; while the C grade surpassed Jervois by five wickets, with Brayden Hein making a century.

Tacito, Stupendo win Magic Millions races at Murray Bridge

In the glamorous Magic Millions racing day at Murray Bridge on Saturday, Jake Toeroek and Tacito won the $202,250 Magic Millions SA two-year-old classic.

The pair were never at risk of being beaten, giving trainers Ben and JD Hayes another win.

Toeroek has now ridden 31 winners in the 2022–23 season.

Kayla Crowther won the Magic Millions three and four-year-old classic with Stupendo, trained by Danny O’Brien.

Crowther took Murray Bridge riding honours on the day, as she also won the opening race on Limited Risk.

Murray Bridge bowlers roll into division one grand final

Murray Bridge have taken the direct route into next Saturday’s Lower Murray Bowling Association grand final with a nine-shot win over minor premier Tailem Bend at Tailem, 66–57.

The class and experience of Bruce Attrill and his rink of Peter Shilton, Haydn Hein and Les Trewren were the main difference, with a 12-shot win over Travis Schenke, Merv Stevens, Kevin McDonald and Stuart Roocke, 28–16.

Paul Smart, Brian Leckie, Michael Ferris and Tony Gill were narrow two-shot winners over Sam Shepherd, David Hoare, Colin Baxter and Matthew Hogan, 21–19.

Duane Edwards, Rob Hales, Brett Reschke and Trevor Koop kept Tailem in the contest with a 22–17 win over Ben and Brian Traeger, Charlie DiSanto and Trevor Pevic.

In the other semi-final, Karoonda belted the higher-ranked Mannum by 55 shots in a remarkably lopsided contest, also played at Tailem Bend.

It was an all-too-familiar capitulation for Mannum, who have suffered several disappointing finals losses in recent years, and the magnitude of this loss will not improve their mood.

The skippers matched up exactly the same as in their most recent match three weeks ago, but the results certainly didn’t: Rowan Zadow, Paul Wegner, Malcolm McKenzie and John Wegner obliterated Graham Wakefield, Garry Fowler, Stephen Gregory and John McDiarmid, 36–9.

Ian Symonds, Peter Jones, Malcolm Waechter and Robin Burdett were almost as dominant in their 20-shot win over Lynton Jones, Ron Van Tijn, Peter Wegener and Graham Leathers, 31–11.

Josh Porker, Shaun Wood, Gary Zadow and Bill Cornish were not quite as  convincing in their 21–13 win over Terry McDonnell, Tom Towns, Kelvin Newman and Trevor Dicker but would no doubt be happy with their eight-shot win.

The Lower Murray Bowls Association grand finals will be contested at Meningie this Saturday, with Murray Bridge hoping to back up last year’s title and repeat their semi-final win over Tailem Bend.

Tailem, however, will be no pushover; any disappointment they experienced in last Saturday’s nine-shot loss would have been short-lived courtesy of their thumping 38-shot win over Karoonda in Sunday’s preliminary final.

Originally scheduled to be played at Mannum, the venue was switched to Meningie due to recent Murray floods; and because of the size of the venue, divisions three and four will begin at 9.30, with divisions one and two to follow.

Once again, Murray Bridge will look to the ageless Bruce Attrill to lead the way – he’s a big-game player who thrives in these games, and his partnership with Peter Shilton will be crucial.

Paul Smart stepped up to fill in for Darren McIntosh on Saturday, and with Macca returning, he will be an asset wherever he plays.

Ben Traeger, Brian Traeger, Charlie DiSanto and Trevor Pevic have been the top-performing rink all season and will look to continue this form.

For Tailem Bend, Sam Shepherd is their main trump card, and he is well backed-up by David Hoare.

Duane Edwards, Robbie Hales, Travis Schenke and Merv Stevens provide plenty of experience. Although Meningie’s greens are probably as good as if not the best in the association, and similar in character to Murray Bridge’s, I lean slightly toward Tailem Bend reversing the semi-final result in a narrow win.

In div 2, it is difficult to go past Jervois as favourites to defeat Murray Bridge after disposing of them by 31 shots on Saturday, albeit with the home ground advantage.

Murray Bridge responded emphatically with  a 36-shot win over RSL, who had easily disposed of Mannum in the semi final, so are certainly still well in contention.

I cannot see the trend of such big margins continuing, but with veterans such as Trevor Mann and Owen Allen in good form, I think Jervois should get the win.

In div 3, Murray Bridge again face Jervois, who they defeated by four shots at Jervois in the semi, mainly due to a standout performance by Maxine Stasinowsky’s rink with a 15-shot win.

On this basis, they would expect to win again on neutral territory, but once again this should be close.

Shooters adapt to warm conditions

Warm conditions greeted shooters from Mount Barker and Murray Bridge Rifle Clubs this past Saturday as they gathered at the Mount Barker Range to complete in the second round of the No. 2 District Rifle Association Championship.

This stage was shot over two ranges of 700 and 600 yards, and as ever, the wind at the Mount Barker Range proved challenging to say the least.

Seemingly not challenged, however, was Andrew Heard, who continued his good club form of late and claimed the stage win in Target Rifle with a possible 50.00 in the first round, backed up by an impressive 49.03 in the second to finish three points clear of second place, Robert Paech.

Daniel Irvine was the best of the B-graders on the day, finishing with a respectable 91.02.

Competition was close in F-Standard, where Richard McInnes’ consistency paid off, as his pair of 57s for 114.07 was enough to hold off Darryl Pink, who was only a single point behind on 113.06.

The F-Standard B-Grade was won by Martin Craig on 103.06.

The F-Open it had the appearance of a one-man-show, with Ryan Yeates the runaway winner by five points from Tim Manning, finishing on 116.08 to 111.05. Further behind were Rob Mitchell, Nicole Edwards and David McDonald.

With Loui Burke wining the day from Mark De Laine, 93.05 to 91.07, Mount Barker’s strong Sporting Field Shooters also faired well, even though the comments in the clubhouse afterwards may indicate that Mark played a part in his own defeat by putting a bullseye onto a neighbouring target!

The next round of the championship is scheduled for May, while next week both clubs return to their regular programs.

Email your sports reports to michael@murraybridge.news or call 0419 827 124.

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