This week saw the half way mark for the 2015 Forbes Touch season tick over, and the pressure is on all teams in all divisions to be at the top of the ladder come the Finals series.
In the last couple of weeks the standard of play has dramatically increased and all teams deserve to be at the top of their respective divisions. The semi-finals will take place on Monday 7 December, with the Grand Finals being held on Thursday 10 December.
A Grade 18-Hole Scratch Winner: John Betland 69. A Grade 18-Hole Handicap R/up: Kim Herbert 70. A Grade 18-Hole Stableford R/up: Neil McMillan 36. B Grade 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Ted Morgan 85. B Grade 18-Hole Scratch R/up: Paul Pymont 87 on count back. B Grade 18- Hole Handicap R/up: Andrew Cogswell 73. B Grade 18-Hole Stableford R/up: Scott Kirkman 33 on count back. C Grade 18-Hole Handicap Winner: Gerard Everson 75. C Grade 18-Hole Handicap R/ up: Geoff Drane 76. C Grade 18-Hole Stableford R/up: James McLuckie 32. Ladies 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Robyn Hammond 87. Ladies 18-Hole Scratch R/ up: Julie Hurkett 92 on count back. Ladies 18-Hole Handicap R/up: Jill Cripps 72. Ladies 18-Hole Stableford Winner: Brianna Duncan 37. Ladies 18-Hole Stableford R/up: Judy Hodge 35.
Junior 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Lee Grierson 79. Junior 18-Hole Handicap Winner: Jordan Brett 76. Veterans 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Richard Nixon 81.Veterans 18-Hole Handicap Winner: Ted Morgan 71.
Best Scratch score by a Visitor – Peter Kirwan 75.
And now the NTP’s, played on all par-3’s. Ladies 1st – Kathy Collitts. Ladies 3rd – Denise Squires. Ladies 9th – Libby Godden. Ladies 18th – Judy Hodge. Mens 1st – John Zannes. Mens 9th – Adrian Acheson.
The Minor pairs between Ray “Monty” Montgomery & Johnny Kennedy verses Peter Corliss & Viv Russell was played last Saturday. What a torrid battle it was. Monty and John ended up with a 25:19 win. MIXED
PAIRS AND TRIPLES: notes by Leisa Burton.
We had one game of mixed Pairs on Saturday, Anne Walker and Don Craft played Lindy Cannon and Jarrod Andrews. Lindy and Jarrod had a comfortable 22-8 win. On Sunday Leisa Burton, Wayne Burton and Anne Walker played Graham Rutherford, Ric Stewart and Alison Cutcliffe. Reggie’s team won by two shots 20-18 in a close fought game. Although they led all the way, the spectators were on the edge of their seats during the game. Thank you
to those who watched and showed fantastic interest in the mixed games.
Last Wednesday was another interesting day on the green. Gunna Williams and Johnny Gorton were a couple of points ahead all the way, ending up with a 14:9 win from Scott McKellar and Barry Wright. In the other game Dale Barker led for Alf Davies with Rob Priest as skip. Dale and Alf were on fire to take a 20:9 win from Peter Greenhalgh,
Ray Dunstan and Peter Mackay.
Rooster played his first game of singles on Thursday and at one stage was leading Scott McKellar 14:5. Scott ended up winning the match by 22:17. On Sunday morning the competition continued in ideal conditions. Results for the
morning saw Don Hodson defeat Brian Joliffe. The marker was Ray Drabsch. John Kennedy defeated Rodney Howarth their marker was John Stringer. Cliff Nelson defeated Debbie Brown and their marker was John Bentick.
There were three games of triples. Pat Hodson, John Baass and Alan Phillips defeated John Dietrich, Tony Bratton and Les Cannon. Next door was John Lasker, Kevin Hodge and Mitch Hodge who defeated Warren Hodge, Glenn Ruge and Barry Anderson. Finally John Williams, Grant Lambert and Russell Hodge defeated Scott McKellar, Kerry Smith and Alan Smith. It was good competition as there were five players with resting touchers. They were Warrick Neville, Don Hodson, John Lasker, John Baass and Kerry Smith.
The winners for the day were Don Hodson and Ray Drabsch. The runners up were Warrick Neville, Glen Ruge and Barry Anderson. As this Sunday is President’s Day it would help if your Buck Bentick matches could be played during the week.
The weekend weather was excellent and so was the form of local star John Betland, who won this year’s Nissan Classic. The weekend kicked off with a social comp on Friday, set up to give any visitors attending the Forbes Nissan Classic a chance to iron out any travelling soreness. A 4BBB competition followed on Saturday with the Classic Stroke event on Sunday.
Saturday’s 4BBB field of 142 Men, Ladies and Juniors travelled from all over NSW to participate in a Stableford and Scratch format. In the Men’s section the 4BBB Scratch winners were Peter Dawson/Shane Sallaway with 40 Scratch points. They won on count back from Danny Acret/Denis Day, both from Penrith. The Stableford winners were Anthony Davies/Brent Miller with 46 points, on count back from Warwick Judge/ John Findlay (Manly).
The Ladies results were similarly close. The Scratch winners were Julie Hurkett/ Kerry Stirling with 22 points from Fran Smith/ Sharon Grierson on 22. The Stableford winners were C Duncan/B Duncan with 48, ahead of runners-up S Crosby/J Petith (Nelson Bay). The ball sweep across the field went to 43 Stableford points. The receivers were: 48 –
C Duncan/B Duncan, 46 – A Davies/B Miller, W Judge/J Finlay, 45 – R Nixon/N Duncan, J Tuovinen/M Sedger (Cabramatta), A Borger/R Borger, B McCrone/D Guymer (Temora), 44- P Dawson/S Sallaway, M Collitts/D Sly, 43 – D Acret/D Day on count back.
Sunday was the big day for the Forbes Nissan Classic. The field was 165 players with many more additions from Saturday’s field. Saturday 21 November is the 18-hole Stroke ‘Medal of Medallists’. There is a list in the Pro Shop of those contending for the title, so check there or contact Andrew Dukes to affirm if you are ‘in’. Sunday 22 November is the Stableford Medley, alongside the St Lawrence Ambrose group.
On Saturday 31st October eighteen “elite” swimmers, from the Forbes Diggers Swimming Club, made their way to Gosford to represent Forbes in the annual Four Ways meet with Nelsons Bay, Cobar and, of course host club, Gosford.
Diggers Swimming Clubs began after World War I. The races were handicapped to allow all returned soldiers to compete and the handicap was determined by the injuries or permanent disabilities of each competitor. The Forbes club was started by returned soldier Thomas E Drane whose descendants have maintained the tradition and are still integral members of the club today. Originally the weekly event was for men only but now is a family affair. The 30m & 50m events are still handicapped and swimmers must swim as close as possible to their nominated time.
The Four Way Swim commenced as the Five Way Swim until the unfortunate closure of the Malibar Club recently. The meet was an opportunity for the men who had served together to keep in contact and maintain the special bonds they had formed during the war.
Although it has developed into a social occasion it is still a time to remember and pay respect to the men and women who made great sacrifices for the freedoms we enjoy today.
The Forbes swimmers competed well with Harry Hayes bringing home the bacon with a win in the 50m Open scratch event with a time of 30.16 along with Mick Prior swimming 0.06 outside of his time for the 30m event. The 10 man 50m relay saw the Forbes team claim 3rd swimming 3.03 faster than their nominated time. Forbes were announced as the hosts for the 2016 Meeting and look forward to welcoming visitors and their guests to Forbes in October next year.
Forbes Diggers meet every Sunday morning at the town pool with events commencing at 10.00am and people of all ages are welcome to attend. The committee are now preparing for the community Australia Day Swim followed by the Western District AIF Carnival and, their major community charity fundraiser, the Pup Cup Family Day on the 28th February.
On Saturday the golfers vied for the Monthly Medals. The A-grade winner was Todd Callaghan, with 76 scratch and 70 nett. Runner-up was Dan Bayley with nett 72. The B-grade (32) winner was Peter Barnes with a 67 nett. Runner-up was John Zannes with a 68. The C-grade (20) winner was Stuart French with a respectable 70 nett. Runnerup
on count back was Bruce Chandler, also with a 70.
On Sunday a field of 18 players, plus a junior, contested the regular Stableford Medley. Ron Hurst played the best he has in a long time to score 39 points, which included a par on the 16th. Runner-up was Dave Mylecharane with 37 points.
The NTP’s went to: 9th – R Morris; 18th – E Coombs.
The ball sweep went to 35 points and included: 36 – D Rhodes, 35 – R Morris.
The Vets Golf was a 12-hole event played at Parkes on 5th November. The winner was Geoff Collitts (F) with 24
points. Close behind was Max Haley (F) with 23 points. And the Encouraging Award went to Rick Glover (P).
The NTP’s were: 4th – A-grade P Bishop (P), B-grade ‘nil’; 11th – A-grade J Davies (P), B-grade ‘nil’. The ball sweep went down to 20 points, being distributed to Parkes – R Hamilton, P Harris, L Sunderland, R Bell, S Bell, R Luyts, and to Forbes – G Coles. The Mick Miller Shield (best six scores) went to Parkes with 126 points against Forbes 122.
The Ping Golf Equipment Demonstration day will be held on Tuesday 17 November. See Daniel to book a spot to try the gear any time between 3 and 6 pm. The 2015 Presentation Night will be held at the Sportsman’s and Golfie Hotel on 21 November, following the day’s play.
The Forbes Junior Cricket Committee took time from their busy schedules to thank their local sponsors at a cheque presentation at the Forbes Services Memorial Club late last week.
The Forbes Services Club presented the committee with a cheque as major sponsor for the junior competition. Club manager, David Fitzgerald, was pleased to be supporting the community organisation and sees it as an opportunity to promote Sun Safety through the purchase of wide brim hats and long sleeve shirts. David was also happy to see junior cricket back on track in Forbes and was glad that the club was able to assist.
Along with the major sponsor, representatives of teams sponsors were also present including, Nathan Murphy from Gunn’s Menswear, Matt Hazell from Hazell & Field Chartered Accounts, Selwyn Bale from Bernardi’s Marketplace and Ian Bown from Sportspower. Sportspower have also donated two cricket bats which will be used at a Trivia Night hosted by both Junior and Senior Cricket later in the season.
Committee spokesperson, Wayne O’Neill, expressed his gratitude for the generous support of local businesses and commended the hard working committee on their efforts over the past three years. Three years ago junior cricket in both Forbes and Parkes was in real danger of folding until Tim Mackay took on the role of President. He formed
a partnership with Parkes junior cricket which has been very successful with registrations tripling during this period of time.
Forbes Golf Club stalwart Beryl Roberts has been honoured with life membership of the Lachlan Valley Men’s Golf Association. While it is a first for Beryl it is also a first in New South Wales, as no other lady across the state has received this honour.
Beryl Roberts is all golf. She was club champion in 1989, received life membership to the local club in 2007, has served as Ladies and overall Club Captain, served on the board of the Forbes Golf Club. Today she is involved with Lachlan Valley Vets and is secretary/treasurer of the $5000 Frank Spice Nissan Classic.
The Nissan Classic on November 14, 15 is sure to keep Beryl busy. The major event has already attracted close to 180 players for both the fourball on Saturday and the individual Stroke competition the following day.
“Naturally we are expecting a full field of over 200 with close to one week before a ball is hit,” classic chairman Randal Grayson said this week. “Prior to the classic itself this year we have two additions a welcome
competition on Friday then on Saturday evening after the fourball we will be conducting a Calcutta involving the top 24 players on handicap.”
“These will be drawn into pairs with the combined best nett scores declared the winner. We feel this will only add to what many tell us is one of the best major tournaments in the country.” “While we already have good numbers
there are a few vacancies. I suggest you contact the Pro Shop on 6851 1554 now to get into the draw.”
“Before the rain this week the course was the best it has been for decades, so with the showers this week it will only get better,” Randal said.
MINOR PAIRS There were two Minor Pairs matches played this week and the next is the final. Bobby Grant and John Kennedy played well to score a 25:12 win from John Williams and Grant Lambert. Billy Adams and John Bentick also must have played well to end up 24:13 in front of Cliffy Nelson and Elwyn Pavey.
WEDNESDAY AT ONE Fred Vogelsang and Alf Davies had a 20:10 win against Col Breaden and Ray Dunstan.
Both Ray and Alf had their first turn at being skip. Peter Greenhalgh and Rob Priest managed to take an 18:17 win from Ken Rodwell and John Gorton. Next door Cliff Nelson and Ray Drabsch were doing battle against John Baass and Don Drabsch.
THURSDAY ARVO The winning draw went to Robert Spackman and Scott Kelly who had a 21:18 win over Graham Ruge and Merv Langfield well done gents. The runners up draw went to Peter Tisdell and Elwyn Pavey who had a lucky 23:18 win over Wayne Moon and Lyall Strudwick. Clem Hodges and Grant Lambert scored a 30:18 win over The Rooster and Peter Hocking. Cliffy Nelson and Glen Kearney were too good with a 25:19 win over Billy Adams and Darryl Griffiths. Then Ernie Egan & John Kennedy had a 26 all draw when they played John Mraz and Graham West.
SUNDAY MORNING BOWLS (By Ron Gooder) The four good bowlers on Sunday were John Stringer, Fred Vogelsang, Peter Corliss and Col Breaden. The winners draw went to Brian Joliffe and Dale Barker, a bowler from Bourke; they defeated Barry Anderson and Alison Cutcliffe. In the other matches Rodney Howarth & Russell Hodge defeated Col Breaden & Alan Smith. Peter Corliss & Fred Vogelsang defeated John Cutler & Scott McKellar by one shot. Peter Tisdell & Les Cannon defeated John Lasker & John Stringer. The Bakehouse Event leaders are Brian
Joliffe and Dale Baker on 15 points. They are followed closely by Rodney Howarth and Russell Hodge on 14 points.
Lachlan Dragons were well represented on Chifley Dam at Bathurst on Sunday October 18 to compete in the Bathurst Bicentenary Dragon Boat Challenge. The club was represented in the Mixed and Women’s divisions and combined with Bathurst in the Men’s 10 event.
Our paddlers, drummer and sweeps faced very trying and exhausting conditions on the day with the wind blowing hard and the water being extremely choppy. Everyone on the boat experienced conditions not seen before, but a busy days racing went ahead with only the last round of heats being called off.
Lachlan Dragons Mixed and Men’s 10 had good times in their heats and made the finals, with the Men’s 10’s securing
silver and the Mixed team bringing home bronze. The Women’s team first heat did not go to plan, with the boat needing to be stopped twice during the 200 metre race.
In their second heat the Women paddled well, but it was not enough to place them in the final. The club will now focus its training on the Orange Regatta to be held mid-November on Lake Canobolas. Team coach Michael Ryan said that the race times from Bathurst show that the work all paddlers are putting in at training, was reflected in the
great results.
Club President Bill Thomas said all members are now very keen to put their paddling skills to the test in Orange next
month. We will be training Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings to hone our skills and increase our endurance Bill said. Before the Lachlan Dragons head to Orange Regatta, they will be on Lake Forbes during the River Arts Festival. The boats will be out on Saturday during the day and evening. Anyone interested in paddling will be able to ‘come and try’ at the festival.