IN what was most certainly the longest bowls tournament in living history, a composite side from the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula captured the newest blue ribbon event on the national calendar at the Karingal SkyeDome last Friday night. The rich Skyedome SuperLeague event – originally scheduled for a seven-week season when it kicked off mid-May – suffered from two lockdown interruptions – but reached its climax under the Big Top at Karingal when the Men@Work side outgunned Somerville’s Port Pirates in a hard-fought final – 27 weeks later. Rosebud stars Frank Krslovic, John Sykes and Ben Wales were…
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SOCCER WHEN Aspendale Stingrays effectively sacked senior coach Lee Barber early last month it raised a few eyebrows. Barber was completely blindsided by the move. “I wanted to stay but I got an email from the president saying they wanted to go in a different coaching direction and good luck on your travels sort of thing,” Barber said. “Look the coaches they’ve got there now had the reserves last season so as far as I’m concerned it’s just bullshit. “I didn’t even respond to the email. I just got on with it.” On 9 October Aspendale announced that its senior…
HORSE RACING MATT Laurie has produced yet another winner from the offspring of talented broodmare Glowing Tribute. Having already found success with 10-time winner Master Reset (by Reset) and four-time winner La Bella Costa (by Von Costa de Hero), Laurie saddled up their half-brother That Contageous (by Lonhro) at Mornington last Thursday 18 November. After finishing behind Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Artorius on debut, the strapping son of Lonhro made a winning return to the racetrack after spending almost 10 months off the scene. That Contageous, who stands at approximately 17.3hh and required a barrier extension to compete,…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers, Somerville Eagles, Rosebud and Aspendale Stingrays will all feature new head coaches for the 2022 season. Donn Delaney has replaced Paul Williams at Strikers, Lee Barber is the new head coach at Somerville, Pat Sabatino is back in charge at Rosebud while Gregor Macnab fills the vacancy at Aspendale left by Barber’s switch. Delaney has been at Strikers for most of his coaching career having spent 10 years with the club’s juniors before NPL junior stints at Springvale White Eagles and Langwarrin. He has coached Strikers reserves and takes over from Williams who may have a year…
HORSE RACING MATT Laurie looks to have another talented son of Toronado in his stable. The three-year-old gelding Chartres looked to be struggling in the very heavy conditions at Cranbourne on Saturday 13 November but clicked into gear in the straight to race away and win the three-year-old contest by over three lengths. Mornington-based trainer Matt Laurie said there were worrying signs early with jockey Michael Dee having to urge the gelding along at the rear of the field. “It didn’t look that promising early but he just kept building into it and he was fantastic in the end,” Laurie…
HORSE RACING NOT even an outrageous storm earlier in the week could keep the Balnarring Picnic races from going ahead on Saturday 6 November. Just over 2,500 people attended the clubs first meeting back after lockdown but it couldn’t have gone ahead without the help of more than a dozen people who came to the clubs aid to fix the numerous storm damages days prior. Multiple trees had fallen down around the country track with two breaking through the bar. The shade sail in the betting ring which was only put up the week before had to be repaired and…
HORSE RACING FAMILY, friends and avid racegoers flocked to Mornington racecourse for the first time in 18 months with over 2,000 people attending Sunday’s Peninsula Cup meeting. It was a sign of things returning to normal with COVID restrictions easing and the weather holding up perfectly for one of the club’s biggest meetings. The roar of the crowd was back in full swing and was electric as the final favourite for the day, Confrontational, saluted in the last for local Mornington trainers Jason Warren and Dean Krongold. This year’s Peninsula Cup saw the easing race-favourite Imperial Lad run a game…
HORSE RACING TONY Noonan may not have trained the winner but he got just as much satisfaction out of seeing Tutukaka take out the Listed Geelong Classic on Wednesday 20 October. Tutukaka, who is trained by Noonan’s good friend Tony Pike in New Zealand, has been based at his Mornington stables for the last two months as he prepares for a tilt at the $2million Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m). After having two runs at Flemington, Tutukaka swooped home from the rear of the field to win the Geelong Classic (2200m) by just under a length and was seemingly getting…
MORNINGTON Yacht Club’s James Jackson has won the Youth Sailor of the Year award. Jackson was one of three Mornington sailors to make the shortlist of the Australian Sailing – Victoria Youth Sailor of the Year awards alongside Jack Eickmeyer and Lachie Weber. With crew Harrison Chapman, from Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Jackson won the Victorian 420 State Championships in March, followed by the Australian 420 National Championships on Sydney Harbour in April, again with crew Chapman. This win would have seen the pair selected to represent Australia at the Youth World Championships had Australian been able to send a…
HORSE RACING SHANE Nichols says he couldn’t have Streets of Avalon going any better heading into the Group One Manikato Stakes (1200m) on Friday night. Looking to land his third Group One victory, Streets of Avalon has been off the scene since finishing a length away in the Group Two Feehan Stakes in early September. Mornington-based trainer Shane Nichols said there just hasn’t been a suitable race for the gelding until now. “We could’ve gone to the Moonga Stakes (1400m) but the track was going to be rain affected and that wasn’t ideal for us,” he said. “He’s always gone…
FRANKSTON Dolphins FNC and Cranbourne FC will not be playing MPNFL football in 2022. The two clubs had applied to be admitted into the Mornington Peninsula competition. Cranbourne FC have previously tried to join the MPNFL, but have been unsuccessful. Before a meeting of the 22 MPNFL clubs last month, Cranbourne FC withdrew its application. The clubs took a vote on allowing Frankston Dolphins to enter, but the club did not gain enough votes to secure its place. Although a majority of clubs voted to include the Dolphins in the competition, it did not secure the required 75 per cent…
HORSE RACING MATT Laurie’s Group 1 winning colt Portland Sky has been retired and will head to Widden Stud next year. Laurie, who announced the news on Thursday 7 October, said he felt the now best-performed son of Deep Field wasn’t going to be able to perform at his very best moving forward. “His body just wasn’t going to allow him to showcase what he’s actually capable of, so we had to make the call,” he said. “We got to see a good glimpse of what he can do and if you got one like him every year or two…
HORSE RACING MATT Jenkins is keen to take the next step in his training career and join forces with established trainer David Brideoake before the year’s end. Jenkins, who has worked as the assistant trainer to Brideoake for the past year, is aiming to lodge his trainers license by November before taking on the co-training role at the Mornington-based stable. The 28-year-old said he’s looking forward to commencing his next chapter in racing and overseeing the stable that currently has 44 horses in work. “David’s given me a great opportunity and I’m looking to repay him by bringing everything I…
HORSE RACING CLIFF Brown is looking forward to heading into the $15million The Everest (1200m) as the “unknown” factor. The now Mornington-based trainer secured one of the 12 highly sort after slots in Australia’s richest race with his up-and-coming sprinter The Inferno last Saturday morning. After finishing second in the Group One Moir Stakes (1000m) on the Friday night, Brown’s headline horse was picked up by slot-holder James Harron Bloodstock to compete in the rich sprint. “He’s probably the x-factor horse and the least exposed heading into the race,” Cliff Brown said. The former Singapore star came to Australia with…
HORSE RACING SHANE Nichols is adamant there’s another good race in his star galloper Streets Of Avalon. The ever-consistent gelding finished just off the placegetters in the Group Two Feehan Stakes last start when out to the mile but returns to his favourite track and trip this Saturday at Caulfield. The seven-year-old, who has claimed both of his Group One wins over 1400m at the track, will line up in the Group One Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) for the third time. Nichols said the gelding is going super and just needs to draw a good barrier to be in…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers told Football Victoria last week that they would not compete in the elite junior boys’ NPL competition next year. This leaves the local area with just two junior NPL licence holders, Langwarrin and Mornington. Strikers have contemplated this move for some time as senior vice-president and NPL coordinator Steve Schreck explained. “Probably when our under-16 team left and we had to withdraw from that age group,” he said. “We had the minimum squad number but six players decided they wanted to play elsewhere and that left us with 10 players and you can’t run a team with…
AFL THE 2021 MPNFL and SEWF seasons have been called off. After weeks of inactivity on the field because of COVID-19 restrictions, AFL South East finally made the decision to pull the pin on the season last week. A statement from AFL South East read “following on from [the] announcement to extend the lockdown for Greater Melbourne, it is with much sadness that AFLSE has determined that the remaining games fixtured for season 2021, including all finals, for all AFLSE administered leagues will be cancelled.” “This is an extremely difficult decision and we had continued to hold hope that we…
HORSE RACING MORNINGTON-based trainer Cliff Brown is back training winners in Australia. The 15-time Group 1 winning trainer in Singapore returned to Victoria in May and broke through for his first winner back with Veterok at Pakenham on Friday 27 August. Just a week later and Brown has claimed the Group 2 McEwen Stakes with his Group 1 winning Singapore sprinter, The Inferno (formerly known as Inferno). After racing keenly and trapped wide first-up at Caulfield to finish midfield, The Inferno quickly shot back into form in the 1000m sprint at The Valley to win by a comfortable one-length margin…
SOCCER THE strong bond among Seaford United players has underpinned the club’s promotion push this year. That’s the view of club captain Jeremy Schwellinger. “We’ve got good tactics, we’ve got a good coach but I think what really helps us is the camaraderie amongst the playing group,” he said. “Everyone is friends with everyone so we’re going to play for each other. “There’s no bad blood in this team.” Seaford is very much a Schwellinger family affair with dad Peter head coach and younger brother Mathias joining Jeremy in the senior squad. Although the season is in limbo Seaford United’s…
SOCCER HE’S played football in more countries than perhaps any other player on the peninsula and he has a close connection with the Smashing Pumpkins. His career has seen him parade his skills on pitches in England, Scotland, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and he’s spent much of 2021 showing what he’s capable off with a team that calls Lawton Park home. Life for Sammy Orritt started in Doncaster in Yorkshire 28 years ago. Life for Orritt the footballer started in California at the age of three and the Smashing Pumpkins introduced him to the game and provided…
HORSE RACING DAVID and Coral Feek continued their successful run of late with their handy mare Belsielle claiming another city win on Saturday 21 August. The Feek partnership utilised a freshen up for the speedy ‘pocket rocket’ to find her best at The Valley and bring up the stables third winner from their last six runners. Coming off a four-week break, Belsielle sat at the hind-quarters of the leader and race-favourite Malicorne before taking over on the bend. She dug deep in the last 100m to hold off the swoopers Love Sensation and Don’ttelltheboss to win by half-of-a-length. Mornington-based co-trainer…
OLYMPIC sailors Sam and Will Phillips, and Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan, have returned to Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club after competing in the 49er and 49erFX class races at the Tokyo Olympics. Their races were held on Sagami Bay, about 90 minutes’ drive south west of Tokyo, at Enoshima. “On the water on a clear day you can see Mt Fuji in the distance,” Sam said. “It’s often a welcome reprieve to get out there after the heat of the concrete boat park, although it’s still hot wearing only our Lycra sailing gear.” Sam said the races were typical…
SOCCER MORNINGTON and Frankston Pines are on the verge of securing promotion. In the worst case scenario that Football Victoria calls off the remainder of the 2021 season due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions then both local clubs will be playing in a higher league next season. Last week FV announced an NPL competitions restructure for 2022 increasing NPL2 from 12 to 14 teams which will see Langwarrin contesting a 26-game season. A strong rumour is that A-League clubs will be placed in NPL2 along with promoted clubs from NPL3. It’s unclear what impact this will have throughout lower leagues especially…
HORSE RACING SHANE Nichols could have another promising mare to target the Group Two Stocks Stakes with this Spring. The progressive four-year-old So You Assume handled another rise in grade at Caulfield on Saturday 14 August to land an all-the-way victory in a benchmark 84 contest. The daughter of So You Think has come a long way in a short space of time having begun her preparation in a three-year-old benchmark 64 at the end of May. Now with three city wins from her last four starts, Mornington-based trainer Shane Nichols is contemplating raising the bar to Group class. “We’ve…
BELEURA Junior Football Club is celebrating its first AFLW signing. Under-18 Ash Richards was snapped up by St Kilda with pick 12 in the recent AFLW draft. The Saints had noted her versatility in the midfield and up forward, as well as her athleticism and ability to find the goals. Growing up as an avid Geelong supporter, Richards began at Beleura as a 13-year-old. Her football skills developed further each season, resulting in her being selected in inter-league, V/Line Cup, Dandenong Stingrays and Vic Country squads. This season she co-captained Dandenong Stingrays and, at the end of the girls’ NAB…
SOCCER ETHAN Sanderson has come a long way in the last six years. The distance between Morpeth in England’s northeast and Mount Martha is almost 16,895 kilometres. In 2015 he made that journey as the Sanderson family settled in the Mornington Peninsula and it didn’t take long for the youngster to start playing the sport he’d grown up with. “Before we came here I played for my local club back home mainly as a defensive midfielder,” Sanderson said. “Initially I trained with Mornington then we met someone here on the Mount Martha committee who knew friends of ours back home…
MPNFL – DIVISION ONE FOOTBALL is back after another COVID-19 shutdown. The senior MPNFL season restarted without crowds on Saturday afternoon. Division One leaders Frankston YCW struggled in their return to the field, falling to defeat against Rosebud. Rosebud took the game to the Stonecats right from the first bounce at Olympic Oval. They led by five goals at half time. After an even third term, Rosebud sealed the win with an impressive final quarter. They ended up defeating the ladder leaders by 39 points 17.13 (115) to 11.10 (76). The loss saw Frankston YCW drop down to second. Keegan…
MPNFL – DIVISION TWO LANGWARRIN look unstoppable heading into the end of the 2021 season. The Kangaroos took on Mornington in a clash between first and second on Saturday. What could have been an even matchup between two premiership contenders turned into thrashing, as Langwarrin ran away with an 85 point win. Langwarrin led by four points at quarter time, but really put their foot down in the second quarter. A nine goals to one second term saw Langwarrin move out to an unassailable 54 point lead at the main break. Langwarrin continued to score freely in the second half.…
SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines has been involved in a major squad overhaul as it zeroes in on its first championship success in seven years. Simon Webster and twin brother Scott are believed to have accepted offers from State 3 rival Rowville Eagles while first-choice keeper Aeseli Batikasa expects to be sidelined for the remainder of the season. The knee injury the big Fijian keeper suffered against Brighton has not responded to treatment and he will have an MRI this week. But the news is not all bad for the State 3 leader as head coach Kevin “Squizzy” Taylor has brought in…
SOCCER ALEX Whyte is confident that Peninsula Strikers can finish the season in style. The 22-year-old is back at the club where his career kicked off and can’t wait for a season reboot. “I think we’ve been unlucky in the majority of our games this year,” Whyte said. “We’re just missing that one element that could turn our losses and draws into wins but I’m confident it’ll be coming soon. “We’ve got a lot of quality players and if we ever get back out there we can really finish the season strongly.” The fuse that could ignite the side and…
