POLOCROSSE

CASTERTON Polocrosse Club is celebrating a hugely successful home tournament at the weekend, with two teams crowned winners in their in their respective grades and 10 individual accolades going to the club.

With two tournament wins under their belts this year and after losing a nail-biter against reigning Victorian champions, Sale, on Saturday, the A Grade team lined up against Central Districts in Sunday afternoon’s final.

Undefeated for the weekend and sporting names like national representative Corey Buys and Victorian rep, Elliot Avis, the Districts looked the goods on paper and led the match going into the final chukka, but the local side of Rick Smith, Hamish and Justin Carlin, Matt Bowman, Harry Boyle and Bowes Kelly were far from done.

“We’re a developing side … we’ve got a bit of depth with nine (players) swinging through the A Grade and with the depth of horses we’ve got now, once we’ve got our best six on the park, we’re quite competitive,” Smith said.

“We probably rode out there as underdogs and we trailed all game, but then in the fifth, we were two down and came off level, going into the last … it’s not so much a home ground advantage, but that you want to win at your own carnival and we got the job done.”

The club’s D Grade team joined the winners’ circle, with relative newcomer, Andrew Polderman and seasoned player, Robert Plush, dominating at the goal end with Bailey Carlin, Molly Dennis and Peter and Leah Doherty providing plenty of scoring opportunities.

Local veterans, Darrin Carlin and Tony Astbury, also joined the Victorian Masters Men team in its successful B Grade campaign, taking out the final over Corio.

Smith said the club was overwhelmed by the support of the local community, including its generous tournament sponsors, which had drawn high praise from the visiting teams.

“The feedback from the weekend is that this was that this was the best carnival for a long time … people appreciate that we’re a good grass-roots club that looks after its players from juniors, right through to the seniors and our community support and sponsors, allows us to have the best trophies for the year,” Smith said.

“We had the live band on Saturday night that everyone hung around for and a big crows on the sidelines, all the locals who turned out to watch the games, which really lifts the standard of polocrosse.

“The standard just made for a good weekend … it’s a family event, just like it was 10 years ago.

Casterton will be well-represented at the 2022 Australian Polocrosse Nationals, to be held in Ballarat next weekend, with Hamish, Darrin, Justin and Phoebe Carlin, Harry Boyle and Jess Bowman, all selected to play for Victorian sides.

RESULTS

PLAYER AWARDS

Gringo Award

Most Improved Junior – Alice Smith (Sale)

Judith Astbury Award

Best Junior – Phoebe Carlin (Casterton)

Tom Neylon Award

Best Lady player – Taylor Radford (Victorian Womens)

Best overall player – Harry Boyle (Casterton)

Cricket

Ponds falls short as Blues finish top two

HDCA – A Grade

HAMILTON has surged into the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) semi-finals with a comfortable last round victory against Pigeon Ponds to grab second place on the ladder.

Both teams entered the match knowing that defeat would end their season, but Pigeon Ponds’ home ground suits the Hamilton players, as they haven’t posted a total of less than 257 in the last four seasons at the venue.

Brandon Weatherson won the toss and immediately decided to bat first on the synthetic surface looking to place the home side under pressure from ball one.

Hamilton had 6-198 on the board in the 34th over and the last three Blues wickets added a further 73 runs to carry on with the scoring rate that the top order produced.

Pigeon Ponds would need to score at a tick under a run-a-ball pace and they would need their top order to fire once again if they were to stay in the hunt for a semi-final place after Hamilton posted 9-271.

With a top order that read Simon Close, Peter Staude, Luke Merryfull, Anthony Close and Michael Close, the home side had the players to score the required runs, but it wasn’t to be for the home side, as Hamilton made vital early breakthroughs.

Weatherson chose to open the attack himself along with Daniel Jones and the ploy seemed to cause doubt to settle over the Ponds batsmen, as Simon Close (two), Merryfull (one) and Anthony Close (one) were all back in the pavilion with only 21 runs on the board.

When Peter Staude (21) was caught at the wicket by Jack McCrae and then Hamish Cook added a further scalp in Will Burbury (four), Ponds had slumped to be 5-44 with only Michael Close standing in the way of Hamilton claiming second spot on the ladder.

Close would go on to post a match-high 67, but once again with the fall of his wicket, the home side would lose wickets in a clump to see the final pair at the crease with the board showing 9-132, as Josh Grant and Josh Brown formed the last line of defence.

The pair came together halfway through the 30th over with a mountain to climb if Ponds were to claim an unlikely victory, but they refused to hand their wickets over without a fight.

Once they played themselves in, the runs began to flow as they struck 10 boundaries and three maximums in their 59-ball partnership which produced 82 runs in only 34 minutes.

Weatherson finally turned to Sharrock to break the partnership after his frontline attack couldn’t budge the stubborn tailenders and Brown (32) offered a simple return catch to Sharrock from only his second ball to end the Ponds summer.

Bailey blasts biggest total of season

HAMISH Bailey has posted the highest score in A Grade for the season, as College accounted for the visiting Maroons at College Turf.

Having already secured a finals spot, College looked to grab the William Hewitt Cup as reward for finishing as minor premiers.

Casterton District on the other hand was looking to round out its summer with a second victory for the season and take some bragging rights into winter.

College entered the match without skipper, Charles Murrie and Jason Schmidt from their first picked team and while Murrie will slot back into the top order, it remains to be seen just where/who Schmidt may replace after he made 45 and returned to bowling in B grade on the weekend.

Bailey entered the match after only five balls of the first innings when Jack Austin (zero) was caught by Kaden Humphries, as Rick Killey grabbed the vital early wicket.

From there on it became the Hamish Bailey show, as the veteran number three simply toyed with the Casterton bowlers.

He showed respect to their good balls, but contempt to those that strayed off line, as he accumulated his runs at will.

He watched as his teammates come and go, but he and Heath Schmidt had set up the innings with a 53-run stand for the second wicket that saw College have a foundation of 2-58 from the first 15 overs.

From there though, the batsmen were rewarded for their shots, scoring at better than seven runs per over for the rest of the innings.

The 33 minutes that young Henry Bensch spent in the middle will be some of the most valuable in his development, as he watched on as Bailey went about his innings.

Russell Bennett (33) and Kane Uebergang (39) gave valuable support, but Bailey carried on to post 149-not-out from only 126 balls, finding the boundary 23 times and a further two maximums.

College posted 5-277 to continue its great form with the bat in hand, while Rick Killey and Fletcher Bright were the only multiple wicket takers for the Maroons.

Even with such a total to hunt down Casterton District had a template from which to form their chase with the visitors only having to mimic Bailey and their hosts to find a way of reaching their goal.

Ben Holmes opened the innings along with Michael Jarrad (19) and the pair added 70 for the first wicket before Jarrad fell victim to Ross Milne.

At the drinks break, Casterton had 1-104 on the board and they were still a chance of reaching their target.

Upon resumption though, the run rate all but dried up and with the dismissal of Killey (19), Casterton would collapse to lose 9-63 to be all out for 175.

Only Holmes (71) could be proud of his efforts with the bat, as the batsmen came and went in search of that elusive second victory.

Balzan century secures Maroons top spot

HDCA – C Grade

AN UNBEATEN century from Lionel Balzan saw Casterton District take a convincing win and the minor premiership in the HDCA C Grade competition at the weekend.

The Maroons faced Branxholme, needing a strong performance to finish on top as they headed into the final round tied on points with St Andrew’s.

The Bulls won the toss at Branxholme Recreation Reserve and batted first, as Andrew McFarlane and Peter Millard opened the innings.

Millard was first to fall without scoring, while Jack Henderson was back in the pavilion without scoring also, as the home team was in early trouble at 2-9.

Tristan McMahon combined with McFarlane for a 66-run third-wicket partnership before Mark Penny forced the false stroke to dismiss McMahon for 41.

It triggered another collapse and when the Bulls skipper fell for 45, the home side limped to 116 before the final wicket fell.

Jake Tomkins finished with three wickets.

Balzan’s 107-retired ensured the visitors chased the target successfully, with Chris Hutchins (22) and Penny (31) also contributing to help Casterton District reach 3-227 at stumps.

The dominant performance with bat and ball helped the Maroons finish the round on top of the ladder.

D Grade - Tahara d. Pigeon Ponds

THE Blue Caps are going into finals as the form team after easily accounting for Pigeon Ponds at Johnny Mullagh Reserve.

Ponds batted first after losing the toss and Andrew Colgan’s 20 was the highlight, as Tahara bowled the home side out for 90 inside 34 overs.

A dominant performance with the bat saw the visitors chase the total with ease, reaching 6-125 off 25 overs before the game was called.

D Grade - Forfeits

DARTMOOR forfeited to Casterton District, while Hamilton was unable to put a team together to face Tarrington.

Maroons win easy for grand final berth

HDCA – Under 14

CASTERTON District has won through to the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) Under 14 grand final after the Maroons defeated Grampians in the semi-final at the weekend.

The Maroons had home ground advantage with the game played at Island Park, but it was the Pumas who had the early win, calling the toss correctly and batting first on Saturday morning.

Losing early wickets saw the visitors slump to 3-9, but Louis Lazzari (16), Angus Frost (15) and Taylor Haley (20) were critical in the middle order, but the Maroons bowlers continued to make scoring tough, as the visitors were bowled out for 108.

The home side’s wickets were spread with Arjun Yadav leading the way with three.

Despite Yadav returning to the pavilion without scoring, Connor Stephens (50-retired), Oliver Foster (23) and Jedd Rhook (21-not-out) helped the Maroons to 2-111 and progress through to the decider next weekend.

LITTLE ATHLETICS

PB for Indi

INDI Longhurst created another record at the weekend, smashing 15 seconds off her 400-metre personal best at the Victorian Track & Field Championships.

We can proudly say we had three athletes qualify to represent themselves and our Centre – Indi Longhurst U15 Girls 400m, Jessica Mibus U14 Girls High Jump and Cleo Longhurst U10 Girls High Jump.

This was off the back of their performances at the Regional Championships held in February and is an amazing effort from these young athletes.

Indi was the only one to compete at the championships, however and we can proudly report that she smashed her personal best for the 400 metres by 15 seconds running an impressive 66.80 secs.

This saw her come second place in her timed final, and 12th overall. Congratulations on being your best - thank you (and your family) for taking the opportunity to compete at such an ultimate level representing our centre, our town and yourself so well.

Weekly meeting

THIS week saw 39 athletes compete, recording a total of 50 personal best results from 30 athletes, 15 athletes recording multiple PBs and Vincent Nicholl recording PBs in all his events - a huge effort.

Congratulations to you all on striving to be your best.

This coming Friday is the last program for the season, and we remind all athletes to hand their singlets in at the end of the program.

Our presentation night will be held on Friday, 1 April at our clubrooms, starting at 6pm.

Results

Under 6 Girls: 70m – Amity Rhook, Averie Parsons, Maisie Brown; 100m – Amity Rhook, Averie Parsons, Maisie Brown; Shot Put – Averie Parsons, Amity Rhook, Maisie Brown. Under 6 Boys: 70m – Dougie Harvey, Jimmy Barlow, Louis Vickery; 100m – Dougie Harvey, Louis Vickery, Jimmy Barlow; Shot Put – Dougie Harvey, Louis Vickery, Archie Ferguson. Under 7 Girls: 70m, 100m, Shot Put – Caitlyn Davis. Under 7 Boys: 70m – Jack Carter, Harry James & Sam Wombwell; 100m – Jack Carter, Sam Wombwell, Harry James; Shot Put – Sam Wombwell, Jack Carter, Harry James. Under 8 Girls: 70m – Harriet Vickery, Mila McClure, Pippa Brown; 100m – Harriet Vickery, Mila McClure, Pippa Brown; Long Jump – Harriet Vickery, Milla Mcclure, Joscelyn Beaton; Shot Put – Harriet Vickery, Milla Mcclure, Joscelyn Beaton. Under 8 Boys: 70m, 100m, Long Jump, Shot Put – Vincent Nicholl. Under 9 Girls: 70m – Alinta Margetts, Hannah Davis; 100m – Alinta Margetts, Hannah Davis; 400m – Alinta Margetts, Hannah Davis; Shot Put – Hannah Davis, Alinta Margetts; Long Jump – Alinta Margetts. Under 9 Boys: 70m, 100m, 400m, Shot Put, Long Jump – Henry Wombwell. Under 10 Girls: 70m – Cleo Longhurst, Pinelopi Papadimitriou, Bailey Green & Ruby James; 100m – Cleo Longhurst, Pinelopi Papadimitriou, Ruby James; 400m – Cleo Longhurst, Ruby James, Bailey Green; Discus – Cleo Longhurst, Pinelopi Papadimitriou, Ruby James; Long Jump – Cleo Longhurst, Ruby James, Bailey Green. Under 11 Girls: 70m, 100m, 400m, High Jump, Discus – Stacey Edwards. Under 11 Boys: 70m, 100m, 400m, High Jump, Discus – Brody Davis. Under 12 Boys: 70m, 100m, 400m, High Jump, Discus – Darcy Brown. Under 14 Girls: 70m – Jessica Mibus, Matilda Mason; 100m – Jessica Mibus, Matilda Mason; 400m – Matilda Mason, Jessica Mibus; High Jump – Matilda Mason, Jessica Mibus; Discus – Jessica Mibus, Matilda Mason. Under 14 Boys: 70m, 100m, 400m, High Jump, Discus – Myles Black. Under 15 Girls: 70m – Indi Longhurst, Harriet Kent, Stella Kent; 100m – Indi Longhurst, Stella Kent, Harriet Kent; 400m – Indi Longhurst, Harriet Kent, Stella Kent; Discus – Indi Longhurst, Harriet Kent, Stella Kent; High Jump – Harriet Kent, Indi Longhurst. Under 15 Boys: 70m, 100m, 400m, Discus, High Jump – Samuel Patton. Under 16 Girls: 70m – Madeline Patton, Selena Black; 100m – Madeline Patton, Selena Black; 400m – Madeline Patton, Selena Black; Discus – Madeline Patton, Selena Black; High Jump – Madeline Patton.

TENNIS

Former underdogs hit the courts for tennis finals

WITH preliminary finals complete, the Casterton District Tennis Association grand finals are shaping up to be thrillers.

The A Grade preliminary was won by Konong, defeating Coleraine 30 games to 24: Adam Munro-Karl Dwyer d Cam Robinson-Ella Warnock 6-2, Ashley Lambert-Mitchell Munro lt Sally Armstrong-Hamish Robertson 4-6, A. Munro-A. Lambert d C. Robinson-S. Armstrong 6-4, K. Dwyer-M. Munro d E. Warnock-H. Robertson 6-4, A. Munro-M. Munro lt C. Robinson-H. Robertson 2-6, K. Dwyer-A. Lambert d E. Warnock-S. Armstrong 6-2.

Sandford Red took the win in the B Grade preliminary, defeating Catholic 34 games to 20: Justin Carlin-Tui Matthews lt Shane Kelly-Jake Hausler 4-6, Terry Knight-Jodi-Zylstra d Max Beauglehall-Lorna Beauglehall 6-4, J. Carlin-T. Knight d S. Kelly-M. Beauglehall 6-3, T. Matthews-J. Zylstra d J. Hausler-L. Beauglehall 6-2, J. Carlin-J. Zylstra d S. Kelly-L. Beauglehall 6-4, T. Matthews-T. Knight d J. Hausler-M. Beauglehall 6-1.

Konong will go into the A Grade contest against Carapook as underdogs, but, with wins against teams above them on the ladder, this team has proven itself to be equal to the task and should not be taken lightly.

The B Grade final will be between the two Sandford teams.

White has been the stronger all season, but Red has worked its way up from the bottom of the ladder to earn a shot at the premiership and as they say, anything can happen in the finals.

This year's grand finals will be played at Coleraine tomorrow night from 7pm, followed by a barbecue and presentations to wrap up the season.

GOLF

Layley win on countback

ON WEDNESDAY, 18 players fronted for another stableford round on ever-greening fairways and improving greens.

The scores are also improving with Richard Layley winning on a countback from Roy McCallum with 36 points.

Nearest the Pins were Ken Bibby on the 2^nd, Nev Wombwell on the 13^th and Pat (I never get on the 17^th) Hegarty on the 17^th.

You will be pleased to know the NAGA will resume next week after a break to allow the greens to improve.

Looking forward to seeing Kim back on the course after sending his cart away for a service; we had to find a new pie monitor in his absence.

Wednesday women

THE women played the March Monthly Medal and the first round of qualifying for the ladies’ championships at the Casterton Golf Club last Wednesday.

The winner of the monthly medal was Michele Radford with nett 68.

Results:

Winner – Michele Radford 101 – 33 – 68.

Runner-up – Denise Newell 100 – 31 – 69.

Putting winner – Georgie Bibby with 30 putts.

Nearest the pins: 2^nd, 8^th and 13^th Margaret Martin and 17^th Marion Cowland.

Longest putt 9^th went to Marion Cowland.

The trophies for the Summer season were presented after the day’s play.

Winner of the Jill Crozier Memorial Trophy for the 11-hole competition was Margaret Martin with 12 points.

Runner-up was Marion Cowland with 10 points.

Winner of the 11-hole Putting Trophy was Shirley Koch with 72.

Runner-up was Margaret Martin with 76.

The winner of the Maree Murphy 18-hole Trophy was Margaret Martin with 291.

Runner-up was Marion Cowland with 292.

CROQUET

Close games in busy week

IT WAS a very buoyant group of players that took to the courts on Saturday, after spending a very enjoyable social afternoon in Coleraine on Wednesday.

Having an opportunity to play with different partners all with varying skills keeps us on our toes and allows us all to not take the game too seriously.

We had seven senior players on Saturday and in game one, Jan and Heather played against Joy and Sandra.

A fairly long game took place with Heather and Jan winning a shootout, 7 to 6.

In game two Margaret drew the short straw and had to play with two balls against Lee and Yvonne.

This game resulted with a good win to Margaret, 7 to 4.

In game three, Margaret teamed up with Sandra and had another good win against Lee and Heather, 7 to 1.

Heather must have used up all her energy in game one.

Game four saw Joy playing with two balls narrowly defeating Jan and Yvonne, 7 to 6 in yet another shootout.

All-up, another enjoyable day with some hard fought croquet games taking place.