🏆 Sport

Sports reports: Jervois wins third flag in a row in hard court tennis

Plus a national speedway champion from Callington and the latest in Murray Bridge golf and rifle shooting and Lower Murray bowls.

Contributed

Mar 19, 2024 — 7 min read

This post includes contributions from Heather Richards, Ben Bishop, Derek Vanderzon, Michael Potts and Daniel Irvine.

Competing in this year’s LMHTA grand final are Phil Roberts, Ryan Lee, Anthony Lapinskas, Brendan Lambe, Troy Clasohm, Wayne Schenke, Barrie Gale, Joel McFee and Ally Wendelborn; with Heather Richards, Mitchell and Lachlan Gale, Lily Miegel, Michelle Saye, Anne Hein, Josh Budarick, Paul Hein and Barb Williams. Photo: Supplied by Heather Richards.

Jervois wins third flag in a row in hard court tennis

A crowd of more than 50 players and spectators has enjoyed the Lower Murray Hardcourt Tennis Association grand final, held at Brinkley’s courts on Friday night.

Brinkley played off against Jervois in perfect weather conditions.

Before the match started, respect was paid to three well known residents from nearby local areas who had passed away the week before.

After the four doubles were completed, the match was even at two sets all and 25 games all.

The expectation of a close night of tennis hung in the air.

Jervois broke out of the blocks, winning the next four singles, but to Brinkley’s credit, they hung in the match with two singles wins.

Two tie-breakers were played in the singles, both going to Jervois, so the match result was worthy of a well fought grand final.

Jervois finished off the match by winning the remaining singles, taking out the win 8-63 to 4-58 in a result that could’ve gone either way.

An outstanding night of friendly rivalry, good sportsmanship, and quality matches was enjoyed by all.

Brinkley provided another event with a welcoming, country sport atmosphere among the local tennis community, families, friends, players and supporters.

The famous Brinkley lolly jar lucky squares was won by Joyce Pink.

Nathan Thorne shows off the trophy he won at the national street stock titles in Hamilton, Victoria. Photo: Tanya’s Speedway Photography.

Callington’s Nathan Thorne is a national speedway champion

Callington’s Nathan Thorne has claimed the biggest win of his already glittering career, being crowned the new street stock national champion at the Western Speedway at Hamilton, Victoria on March 10.

The 22-year-old South Australian secured the title in an unconventional front-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Magna, defeating the traditional marques of Holden and Ford.

“We used to run FG Falcons like a lot of other guys, and we thought a Magna would be a great way for my sister to race in street stocks, as she was used to driving front-wheel-drive cars in junior sedans,” Thorne said.

“But after I took it out to give a shake-down at Renmark a couple of years back, I started to see the potential the car had, so I made it my main car and she never ever got to race it.”

Thorne qualified on the fourth row of the grid for the 40-lap final at the nationals, surrounded by a cast of stars, including Mount Gambier’s six-time national champion, Anthony Beare, who started off the front row.

“I dropped back a bit at the start, but I wasn’t nervous because I was pretty confident that we could claw back,” Thorne said.

“After about 15 laps I’d made it to second, and then just followed Anthony for another 15 and kept my eye on the lap counter so I didn’t run out of laps before I made a move.

“Watching him in front, I felt I had a better car in spots of the track, but I didn’t want to let him know that until the last 10 laps, so I made a move on the inside and got past him, and then opened up a gap and was pretty safe till the end.”

With the new Australia #1 sticker applied to the Magna, Thorne headed to Mount Gambier this past Saturday to contest the South Australian Street Stock Title.

More information: Search for Thorne Bros Motorsport on Facebook.

Karoonda reaches Lower Murray bowls grand final

Karoonda have easily dispatched Murray Bridge to book their first ever division one grand final berth in Lower Murray lawn bowls, while Mannum have ended RSL’s campaign at the first hurdle with an emphatic win.

Karoonda won on all three rinks, showing no sign of nerves as they settled quickly to establish a commanding early lead which they steadily built upon in their 69-38 win.

Rowan Zadow, Rohan Tomkinson, Gary Zadow and John Wegner looked on paper to perhaps be the most vulnerable rink for Karoonda, but they were quickly into stride against David Kempe, Ben Traeger, Paul Smart and Tony Gill in their 27-8 win, racing to a 9-1 lead after four ends with two fours already on the board.

They added another four to lead 15-5 at the break despite winning only one more end than their opponents.

Kempe did not score again until the margin had blown out to 19 shots, and was restricted to just singles with eight shots from eight ends won, while Zadow had no such troubles.

Josh Porker, Shaun Wood, Erin O’Malley and Don Loller didn’t have everything their way, but came away with a 22 -15 win over Brian Traeger, Darren McIntosh, Michael Ferris and Andrew Meddle, with the visitors surprising by reversing the roles of McIntosh and Traeger from the minor round.

An eight-shot lead to Porker after seven ends was eroded to just one shot when Traeger picked up a three and a two straight after the break, but Porker broke the momentum for a solid win.

Ian Symonds, Garry Mason, Malcolm McKenzie and Malcolm Waechter were largely untroubled in their 20-15 win over Bruce Attrill, Peter Shilton, Charlie DiSanto and Brian Leckie, with a lead of 10 shots after seven ends.

They held Attrill at arm’s length until the last two ends, when he picked up a few late consolation shots to reduce the final margin to five shots.

Mannum kept their hopes alive for a tilt at the pennant with a 78-50 win over RSL, getting up on all three rinks.

Graham Wakefield, Lynton Jones, Graham Leathers and Gary Odgers made an early statement when they raced out to a 20-2 lead over David Thiele, Karen Kneebone, Allan Wooldridge and David Newell after just nine ends.

Thiele responded by winning the next five, and nine of the final 12, but a five to Wakefield on the 16th rendered the resurgence redundant as he went on to win 28-14 despite losing the ends won count 10-11.

Gavin Pfeiffer, Garry Fowler, John Howe and John McDiamid had a battle in the first half against Noel Kneebone, Ann-Marie Kuchel, Kerri Bolt and Gillian Newell but, after emerging from the break with a two-shot lead, quickly killed off any challenge by adding two, six and two in the next three ends to go 12 ahead.

They then rubbed salt into the wounds with a five on the 17th and a three on the final end for a 28-16 win.

Kneebone had managed to win five of the final 10 ends but saw the margin blow out by a further 10 shots despite this.

A late flurry allowed Terry McDonnell, Tom Towns, Stephen Gregory and Ron Van Tijn complete a clean sweep with a 22-20 win over Jason Sipos, David Graham, Matthew Wynne and Garry Daniel.

Sipos looked to be in control when he steadily built up a six-shot lead going into the 17th end before a three to McDonnell closed the gap, and four on the 20th suddenly had him one shot ahead.

McDonnell finished with a single to clinch the win and complete a disappointing exit for RSL, leaving Mannum to front up against Murray Bridge on Sunday for a place in the grand final against Karoonda.

Isak Rankine and Harley Hall unveil the Adelaide Football Club’s 2024 Indigenous guernsey. Photo: Adelaide Football Club.

Adelaide Crows unveil Indigenous guernsey

Adelaide has launched its 2024 Indigenous guernsey, crafted by forward Izak Rankine, who has worked alongside his cousin, artist Harley Hall, in a celebration of their shared Ngarrindjeri heritage.

Together, the pair have created a powerful and unique guernsey which not only highlights key elements of their culture but also displays Rankine’s journey from growing up in South Australia and moving to the Gold Coast, before returning to Adelaide Oval as a Crow.

The design will be worn by all three of Adelaide’s teams, including AFLW and SANFL, on multiple occasions across the year.

Read more: www.afc.com.au.

Mark Bolton stuns again at Murray Bridge Golf Club

Buoyed by his albatross the previous week, Murray Bridge Golf Club president Mark Bolton has shot a round for the ages in winning Saturday’s par competition.

He hit a 67-off-the-stick plus-five par score, which is one under the card off his handicap of four.

Confused?

Don’t be – it was a brilliant round with lots of pars and birdies and not many missed putts.

When he is on song, there probably isn’t a better player in the club.

It was a lovely day for golf, albeit with a crackle of thunder later in the day, and players mostly cashed in and had a good day.

It will be back to Stableford for everyone this Saturday.

John Cranwell presents the Bruce Moulds Memorial Stool to Richard Braund. Photo: Daniel Irvine.

Richard Braund claims Bruce Moulds Memorial Stool

Murray Bridge Rifle Club has shot its 20th championship round from a distance of 700 metres.

Saturday’s match also contained the Bruce Moulds Memorial Shoot for F-class competitors.

Warm and windy conditions prevailed early, where the winds would drop off suddenly, catching several shooters off guard.

Later in the afternoon, the overcast conditions and a more consistent wind helped some, but members were lucky to avoid a short thunderstorm.

Claiming Bruce Moulds Memorial Stool was Richard Braund, who shot a double possible to finish on 120.11, well clear of second-placed David McDonald on 117.08 and John Cranwell on 116.07.