Sports Archives - Forbes Phoenix

Celebrating The Official Opening Of The New Spooner Oval Grandstand

August 20, 2026 by Roxane Manley

Spooner Oval has been at the heart of the Forbes community for generations.

When it officially opened in 1939, it was regarded as one of the finest sporting facilities in country NSW. Nearly 90 years later, Forbes is proud to continue that legacy with the opening of the new Magpies Stand.

Forbes Shire Council, in partnership with Forbes Magpies Rugby League Club celebrated the official opening of the Spooner Oval Grandstand on Sunday 9 August 2026 at 12.45pm.

On the day we welcomed local champions, representative players, families and supporters to celebrate this exciting new chapter in the history of sport in Forbes.

The new grandstand provides seating for more than 500 people and ensures Spooner Oval remains one of the region’s great sporting and community gathering places.

A big thank you to The Hon. Ron Hoenig MP and Mr Phil Donato for joining us to officially open the Magpies Stand on the final home game of the regular season. Ron Hoenig MP and Member for Orange Phil Donato MP unveiled the plaque, between the end of the junior games and start of Reserve Grade game.

The project was funded by the Australian Government through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program and the NSW Government through the Stronger Country Communities Fund and Regional Sport Facility Fund.

Here’s to many more games, celebrations and memories at Spooner Oval.

Hockey Star Daisy Rice To Represent Australian U15s All Schools Merit Team

August 13, 2026 by Roxane Manley

Parkes girl and Red Bend Catholic College student, Daisy Rice comes from a family of hockey players, who first started playing hockey at just four years of age. It explains her rise to selection in the Australian U15s All Schools Merit Team.

Daisy was first selected in the Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) Hockey Team and then trialled in Newcastle and made the NSW All Schools team. NSW All Schools provides opportunities for secondary students from the Catholic, Government and Independent sectors to participate in representative sport at the national level.

Daisy Rice recently represented the NSW All Schools team at the School Sports Australia Games 2026 in Melbourne and made it to the final of the U15 All Schools Championship, going down in a shoot out with the QLD team.

Daisy said “My NSW team lost to Queensland in the Grand Final, through the game we fought hard scoring the first goal in the first quarter but Queensland equalised in the end of the third quarter, the game ended 1-1 and we went into shootouts going down 3-1.”

It was while representing NSW under 15s All Schools, where Daisy was one of 15 girls selected to be in the U15s All Australian hockey team. This is Daisy’s first time being selected in an Australian team.

Growing up with two older brothers means Daisy has always been competitive.

She started playing junior hockey in Parkes, playing on Saturday mornings and moving to playing senior hockey in year 7 for Crows Hockey Club. In 2025 Daisy played for the Parkes United Premier League team in the Central West Premier League competition and this year she is playing for Goulburn in the Canberra Capital League.

“I actually love the sport of hockey, it is fun and requires skill, fitness and strategy,” said Daisy.

Vashti Williams Aims To Throw Javelin At Olympic Level

July 30, 2026 by Roxane Manley

Fourteen year old Vashti Williams from Trundle is a rising star in the sport of Javelin. Vashti has been throwing the javelin since before she could even walk through the school gates, spending her afternoons learning and training alongside her three older siblings.

Although athletics and sports has been a part of Vashti’s life from such a young age, it wasn’t until she was thirteen that she actually started to see herself as a good javelin thrower.

“At around thirteen, everything changed; those childhood goals suddenly shifted into reality. By the time I was at an age to compete in javelin, I already had over seven years of training, understanding rules and techniques of the sport.

“Parkes Little Athletics opened up totally new opportunities and competitions that I was able to compete at and work my way from the bottom of my age group when I began, to now being one of the top throwers in my age group at competitions,” said Vashti.

Vashti has recently competed at some major competitions, representing NSW on the national stage in April and then competing at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, representing Australia where she won a Bronze Medal in the Women’s U16 Javelin.

“I honestly never thought I would see myself throwing a javelin at places like Perth, Brisbane and definitely not Darwin! My debut on the National stage in Perth last year (2025) was the hardest experience out of the three. Being my first National competition, I didn’t know what to expect.”

After throwing over a 2m pb, Vashti was proud to come home with a bronze medal.

When competing at Nationals in Brisbane this year Vashti said, “I did what I could on that day and reflected on what I could have done to change my outcome and then put that into practice preparing for Darwin, where I received a bronze medal.”

“The Oceania Championships were by far my favourite competition to this day. Just the atmosphere and the encouragement from everyone around in all the events was such a great feeling,” said Vashti.

At every competition Vashti sets herself a standard that she tries to meet, it is never to beat someone else, it is only to better herself.

“My long-term goal will always be to represent Australia at the Olympics. My future goal for this year is to consistently be throwing over 40 metres and continue to better myself in all areas of my throwing technique and to keep positive.”

Most weeks Vashti trains after school on four days at a local oval and participates in weekend sports. Coming up in September Vashti hopes to compete in the CHS State competition, followed by All Schools at the end of September. Little Athletics will then begin and most weekends of November she will have an athletics carnival, which will prepare her for the Country Championships, Little Athletics Regionals/State and then shortly after the Nationals.

Good Fun In Short Course Event

July 30, 2026 by Short Putt

On Saturday 25 July, 79 Forbes and visiting golfers had a different perspective on how to play some holes when the inaugural Short Course event was played.

The clubbing changed from their normal approach and the greens were quite slick, leading some interesting results.

The Winner of the Inaugural Short Course Championship was Caleb Hanrahan with 71 Scratch. Runner-up was Cam McMillan with 72 Scratch.

In the Handicap format the Div-1 Winner Alf Davies with 73 nett. He needed to warm up on the front-9 before putting a very good back-9 together. Runner-up was Scott Kirkman who missed out on count back. He had a better scratch score but had fewer handicap shots to play with.

The Div-2 Winner was Glenn Kitson with 71 nett. He played a steady game but did not make best use of the shorter holes.

Runner-up was Mat Duff with 73 nett. He also played steadily and did make good use of the shorter holes.

The ball sweep went to 78 nett on count back. NTPs went to: 9th Peter Dawson, 18th Wayne O’Niell with only Pete converting for 2’s. The Super Pin went to Brad Ashton (180 cm) who also converted for his ‘2’.

The comp on Saturday 1 August is the Monthly Medal sponsored by Bernardis Marketplace. There will be the usual Stableford Medley on Sunday but of better interest is the Trundle Open.

Keen to support other local clubs? Great event for keen mixed golfers at Condobolin Golf Club on the 9 August or to Cowra Golf Club on the 8-9 August. Information on how to enter https://www.facebook.comforbesgolfcourse

By Short Putt

Casey Miles Representing Australia At The World Masters Hockey World Cup

July 23, 2026 by Roxane Manley

Parkes woman Casey Miles is currently overseas competing in the World Masters Hockey World Cup (WMHWC), which is the premier international tournament for Masters hockey, bringing together teams from countries across the globe. This year’s tournament is being held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from 22 July to 1 August 2026 and Casey will be representing Australia in the Women’s 35+ team.

Casey, who has played hockey for 34 years, was selected for the WMHWC following the Australian Masters Championships which were held in Hobart back in October 2025. Players are selected based on their performances at state and national championships.

This is Casey’ second time representing Australia at World Cup level, and she says, “It’s a huge honour and a dream come true. My first World Cup/International Masters Championship was in Capetown South Africa 2024. It was the result of many years of dedication, training and support from my family, friends, team mates and coaches.”

Casey said “it’s every little girl hockey player’s dream to play in the Netherlands. I’m still pinching myself that I get to play the elite, proudly wearing the green and gold. I hope to play the Dutch on their home soil at some point it would truly be an honour.”

Casey’s team will be competing at the Scheidam complex, she said, “We kick off our campaign on 23 July against the USA. Followed by New Zealand, France then Belgium before crossing over based on results. Ultimately looking for a spot in the Gold medal match on 1 August.”

Parkes has a great representation going to this World Cup, along side Casey, Denise Gersbach will be competing for the over 50s, and Maureen Massey will compete in the over over 70s.

For those keen to watch, games will be live streamed through World Masters Hockey website: https://www.worldmastershockey.tv/en/home

Henry Smashes The Competition And Earns State Selection

July 9, 2026 by Roxane Manley

Parkes Squash star Henry Kross recently competed at the NSWCHS Squash Championships. NSWCHS Squash is open to all public school students in NSW. It involves playing as a team for your region, before you split into either Opens or Under 15’s for an individual championship. The top 5 finishers in each division make the NSW team.

As a team Henry played for Western, where Western claimed a Silver medal. In the individual championship, it was his first year up in Open’s and Henry has taken out the win in that division.

“I have played under 15’s for the last four years (year 7 – 10) and managed to win three out of four in that competition. All four World Juniors were meant to compete, but one pulled out the week prior, so the competition is really strong,” said Henry.

Henry will now compete as part of the State team later in the year. “This will be my first year competing in Opens, after playing Under 15’s for NSW from year 7-10. Last year I competed in Cairns at the NSW CHS and was lucky enough to make the Australian All Schools, which I hope to do again this year in Opens.”

“I’ve been working really hard as I have State Champs in Bega this coming weekend, and fly out to World’s in Canada next week and so far my preparation has been really good. I want to make a career out of Squash, so training to keep getting to the next level motivates me,” said Henry.

Henry thanks Parkes High for their support and sponsors Dunlop and Grip X, Parkes Athletic and Parkes Squash, and everyone who has helped with his fundraising, it all counts and makes it possible.

Jade Page Best Of Medal Winners

July 9, 2026 by Short Putt

On Saturday 4 July, 72 Forbes and visiting golfers found the course conditions difficult.

However, Jade Page did well to produce the lowest score of the Medal winners.

The A-Grade was won by Jade Page with 70 nett built on the back of a flawless par front-9.

Runner-up was Harry Callaghan with 74 nett where his back-9 let him down.

The B-Grade needed a count back to decide the winner, going to Allan Rees with a 72 nett. His was a steady round with no blow-out holes.

Runner-up on count back was Matt Walton (72 nett) who did very well on the front-9 but struggled to find his rhythm on the back-9.

The C-Grade also needed a count back for the voucher prize with Henry Nash and Brett Slack-Smith finishing on 74 nett.

The ball sweep went to 77 nett. NTPs went to: 9th H Callaghan, 18th D Burton, with only Harry converting for a ‘2’. The Super Pin went to Jack Dobell (78 cm) who missed his ‘2’.

The comp on Saturday 11 July is an Individual Stroke sponsored by the B&M Tooth.

Stableford Medley on Sunday.

By Short Putt

Men’s Foursomes Tightly Contested

July 2, 2026 by Short Putt

On Saturday the field of 52 Forbes golfers contested the Men’s Foursomes Championships, a 2 day event proudly sponsored by FINDEX (Forbes). The pairing of Caleb Hanrahan and Archie Quirk dominated the event, winning both the Scratch (152) and Handicap (148 nett) Championship and defending their 2025 Scratch Championship.

Runners up in both were John Betland and Andrew Dukes who were two shots behind in both events.

The Day 1 Handicap was won by D Page and A Grierson (73 nett) but they faltered badly on Day 2.

The Day 1 Handicap runners-up were T Howe and S Betland (73.5 nett) but they also faltered on Day 2.

The ball sweeps were: day 1, 78 nett and day 2, 78.5 nett. NTPs were shared across the field but the excitement was with the 3rd hole super pin. Day 1 was won by S Kirkman (890 cm), while day 2 was won by C Hanrahan (257 cm).The competition coming up on Saturday 4 July is the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Walkers Ag-n-Vet. Sunday will be a Stableford Medley.

By Short Putt

Forbes Croquet Report

July 2, 2026 by Elvy Quirk

Wayne Denyer, Helen Lupis, Evelyn Mahlo and Irene Riley enjoy their game of croquet.

On Saturday 20 June Aussie croquet was played with only a small number in attendance, however those members who participated enjoyed the morning. A total of 18 games were played on the day with winners of all three games being Kevin Wenning, Noel Jolliffe, John Browne, Fay Picker and David West. Well done to those players.

On Tuesday 23 June Golf croquet was played with 36 members in attendance. It was a very foggy morning when setting up, however all cleared later and it was indeed quite a lovely morning even though it was cooler.

Winners of all three games on the day were Darryl Burley, Elvy Quirk, Noel Jolliffe and Fay Picker. Congratulations to those players. A total of 26 games were played in total.

Our croquet lawns are looking good at the moment with the cooler weather and the constant falls of rain.

The game of croquet has been played since the 1800 when it was played in Ancient Egypt (played with a stick and a wooden ball) and at that time didn’t have a name. Later played across England and Europe when it was given a name. It is now played all over the world and has become a very popular sport. It is suitable for all age groups. It is a game of skill, hand and eye co-ordination, gentle exercise and a great social activity.

If you are interested in giving croquet a try, everyone of all ages and all abilities is welcome, come and join our group, Forbes Croquet Club members meet every Tuesday and Saturday for a game. Enquiries can be made by calling 0428 540 272.

By Elvy Quirk, President

Forbes Golfers In The Wet

June 25, 2026 by By Short Putt

Despite a very wet course the field of 44 Forbes golfers managed to produce some good scores. Dale Page took out the Div-1 with a 74 nett. He finally had his irons working but they did not produce the goods until the back-9.

Runner-up, on count back, with 76 nett was Phil Wells who matched Dale for scores on each half. But he chided himself after carding an ‘8’ on the 9th hole.

The Div-2 was won by Cody Banks with 71 nett. He also needed 9-holes to warm up, but after that played very well until the last.

Runner-up was Steve Rogers with 72 nett.

The ball sweep went to 78 nett on count back. NTPs went to: 9th N Duncan, 18th P Dawson with neither converting for a ‘2’. The Super Pin went to Glen Hooper (282 cm) who also missed his ‘2’.The comp on Sat 27 June is the 1st Round of the Men’s Foursomes Championships, with the second round to be played on Sunday. Thanks to FINDEX (Forbes) for their sponsorship. Sunday may have a Stableford Medley later in the afternoon.

By Short Putt

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