Sports reports: Stacey Smith named RMNA’s best and fairest for 2024
Plus footballer Oscar Merrett and trainer Garret Lynch win awards, the latest in Murray Bridge table tennis and golf, Murraylands cycle speedway and River Murray football.
This story includes contributions from Heather Richards and Michael Potts. Email your sports reports to peri@murraybridge.news.
Mypolonga’s Stacey Smith has gone back to back as the River Murray Netball Association’s best and fairest player.
The A grade star, formerly Stacey Hein, received the top honour at an awards night at Murray Bridge’s Bridgeport Hotel on Monday, with the Mallee Storm’s Tenille Gray finishing as runner-up.
There was a tie in the A reserves, between Mannum’s Chloe Anderson and Mypo’s Lauren Nolan; and in the B grade, Murray Bridge News’ own Liana Webster took home the trophy as the association’s best and fairest player, representing Mannum.
Southern Mallee had winners in the B reserves and C grade, in Stacey Morzer-Bruyns and Melissa Nuske; while Imperials’ Lucy Harkness was named umpire of the year.
Senior best and fairest award winners are Lauren Nolan, Chloe Anderson, Liana Webster, Stacey Morzer-Bruyns and Melissa Nuske, plus umpire of the year Lucy Harkness. Images: River Murray Netball Association/Facebook.
Junior awards had been given out a week earlier:
- Intermediate one: Amber Weber, Mannum
- Intermediate two: Mia Williams, Imperials and Zoe Harrington, Mypolonga
- Intermediate three: Chloe Saplan, Southern Mallee
- Junior one: Indii Garrett, Imperials
- Junior two: Savannah Downs, Tailem Bend
- Sub-junior one: Ava Paech, Ramblers
- Sub-junior two: Elena Hartman, Coorong
Junior award winners are Amber Weber, Mia Williams, Zoe Harrington, Chloe Saplan, Indii Garrett, Savannah Downs, Ava Paech and Elena Hartman. Images: River Murray Netball Association.
The Suns will have five teams competing in grand finals at Tintinara this Saturday, including the much-anticipated A grade decider against the competition’s other newest team, the Storm.
Either way, it will be the first time an A grade grand final has not been won by Mypolonga or Imperials in at least a decade.
Imps won seven in a row prior to the Tigers’ back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023.
Titans come up big in Murray Bridge table tennis grand final
Meanwhile, in table tennis, the eight teams from the regular season have split into two finals groups of four to make an A grade and B grade finals series, with a grand final played last Tuesday at Murray Bridge Showground.
The two top teams played off in the A grade portion of the grand final, with Turtles finishing as minor premiers.
There were three five-setters and 11 four-set matches on the night, being shared fairly evenly between the two teams.
Out of a 20-match scoresheet, Turtles got to 10 with five matches to play.
Yet Titans came through under pressure, winning the final five singles on offer and taking the final by the barest of margins, 10-39 to 10-38.
The Blue Balls team were without their number two player in both finals due to unforeseen circumstances, which changed the dynamics, but fill-in Stephen Gregory was allowed to take to the tables.
Monteith’s Matt Wilhelm played a blinder to defeat Paul Roberts in the top singles.
The quality of the matches at thethree, four and fivesingles positions was very strong.
A majority of these matches were four- and five-setters.
Shaun Gifford beat Shaun Williams in a five-setter that could have gone either way, and Troy Penhall got family Christmas table bragging rights over his sister-in-law Tamara Attrill in a seesawing five-setter.
Out of the 20-match scoresheet, the Blue Balls team got to nine sets with five matches to play.
But Monteith held their nerve, playing through to win the final five singles matches and take the final 11-37 to 9-33.
Keep an eye on the Murray Bridge table tennis website and Facebook page for info on the upcoming summer series.
Former Rambler junior wins SANFL under-18 medal
Sturt footballer Oscar Merrett has won the 2024 McCallum Tomkins Medal as the fairest and most brilliant performer in the SANFL’s under-18 competition, along with three other players.
In an historic first, Merrett, Glenelg’s Ben Camporeale, South Adelaide’s Phoenix Hargrave and North Adelaide’s Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier each polled 18 votes in the medal count.
Merrett came up in Murray Bridge with the Rambler Football Club.
- Read more: sanfl.com.au.
Garret Lynch named country trainer of the year again
In horse racing, Murray Bridge-based trainer Garret Lynch has been named South Australia’s provincial and country trainer of the year for the third year in a row.
He received the award at the South Australian racing industry’s annual awards at Morphettville on Saturday night.
Lynch had eight wins from 74 starts in country SA during the past racing season, plus one in Adelaide, for total winnings of more than $240,000.
- Read more: racingsa.com.au.
Youngster on the up wins Saturday cup
In golf, rising star Oakley Edwards has lit up the Murray Bridge golf course on Saturday, winning a Stroke competition in scintillating style.
Scoring a stunning nett 62, the soon-to-turn-15-year-old continued his rapid march down the handicaps, now into 22 after beginning off the maximum of 36 here back in April.
He was bred to be a star, with dad Anthony a former club champion and grandpa Graeme a stalwart of many years who has a cupboard full of trophies at home, not to mention grandma Maureen, who is still playing and winning comps.
The pressure is on to perform.
Oakley did have some serious competition, though, with B-grader Wayne Duthie also shooting the lights out with a nett 62; the junior’s slightly better back nine won him the day.
Ryan Anderson won the A grade with a handy nett 67, which included an eagle on the ninth where he took on the shortish dogleg par four.
Getting through the trees to land on the green six feet from the pin, it was easy pickings from there for Anderson to clean out the eagle’s nest.
Ian Fletcher had a top round to win the C grade with a nett 64.
Oakley won the pro comp with his nett 30 back nine, while wily old veteran Brian Smyth caressed his iron off the tee closest to the flag on the 11th to secure the yabby.
Cody Chadwick wins at cycle speedway
Cody Chapman has taken out one of Murraylands Cycle Speedway’s biggest annual events, the Daniel Thompson Memorial Open Championship.
More than 70 riders competed at the event in Murray Bridge on Sunday.
It was Chapman’s third victory at the championship.
The event is held each year to honour the memory of Thompson, a 28-year-old cyclist who had been involved with cycle speedway for most of his life prior to a road accident which claimed his life in 2018.
Cats win through to RMFL grand final
Finally, the Coorong Cats will play in the River Murray Football League decider at Mannum in a week and a half after belting Mypo on the Tigers’ home deck on Saturday.
Mypolonga will play Imps in next Saturday’s A grade prelim at Tintinara.
Coorong 14.19 (103) defeated Mypolonga 5.9 (39)
- Coorong best: James Hargreaves, Clinton Walker, Rory Lehmann, Alexander Stidiford, Daniel Menzel, Brodie Martin
- Mypolonga best: Riley Robinson, Reid Kuller, Corey Jones
Imperials 9.13 (67) defeated Southern Mallee 6.8 (44)
- Southern Mallee best: Josh Smithson, Shilo Dabinett, Declan Gladigau, Rory O’Driscoll, Thomas Keough
- Imperials best: Jack Penfold, Mitchell Lienert, Nathan Daish, Louis De Michele, Jacob Rance, William Crane
