Praise for Pope victory

LIAM Pope is the Australian Feather Weight title champion after defeating Olympian Nestor Bolum in Revesby, Sydney, on the weekend.

Coach Steve Pitt, from Hinterland Boxing, said it was Pope’s most commanding fight to date.

Pope won on points - 96-93, 94-96, 97-92 - despite knocking Bolum down late in the final and 10th round with just seconds remaining.

Steve said Pope showed a lot of heart when it mattered the most during the torrid bout.

“He held his shape, he knew what he had to do, he didn’t get caught up in the brawl, he just maintained his composure, stayed behind his jab and kept collecting points,” Steve said.

“He was ecstatic when he found out he won.

“He lost a title against Erik Sokolov last year and since then he’s faced a lot of adversities, had to undergo surgery and other things…

“To get this win, it was more than the belt, more than the fight, it was just a really good personal achievement for him and I’m just so proud of him, and it’s the best win I’ve had as a coach.”

Steve said Pope had a longer preparation period for this fight, training

“He stayed active and stayed fit and it paid off,” Steve said.

“He wasn’t even blowing hard at all, he could have gone a bit harder a bit earlier, but he just unleashed on Nestor in the 10th round,” he said.

“Nestor is an Olympian, he’s had 200 amateur fights, he’s a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, so he has a lot of experience and power, but Liam’s conditioning and will was just too strong.” several times a week, we got time to work on some things we’ve needed to work on which has been great,” she said.

“We always training towards a race so to have a little break between competition, it gets you fired up to get ready for the next one, we’ve been training hard so it’ll be great getting back into racing.”

The following weekend Kylie and Lene swam at the Brisbane Southside Masters swim meet, where Lene raced against Susie O’Neill who broke the 50m butterfly 50-54 world record after being absent from the pool since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“Lene broke a Danish record in the 50m butterfly, a national record in the 25m butterfly, as well as placing first in her age group for the 25m and 50m Butterfly and 50m and 100m freestyle,” Kylie said.

“I achieved some new PBs at the swim meet, came first in my age group for the 25m freestyle and 25m breaststroke, and placed second in the 25m backstroke and 25m butterfly.”

Liam will go straight back into training, but all eyes now turn to Hinterland Boxing stablemates Dana Coolwell and Tyler Blizzard who have key fight on July 15 at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane.

Stinging the local competition

SEBASTIAN Goulton is a young superstar in the local rugby union scene, and has been selected in the South Queensland team after playing for the Sunshine Coast Stingrays.

Goulton was selected in the Sunshine Coast Stingrays representative team to play in the South Queensland Championships in May this year.

He was also picked ot play in the under 16’s South Queensland team in the Queensland Country Rugby Union Championships, and the team took out the win on July 2.

His mum, Sandra Goulton, said she was incredibly proud of his son for being selected to play in several representative teams this year.

“I think we were in shock I’m not going to lie, we were super proud that he just got into the Sunshine Coast Stingrays team,” she said.

“We thought that was awesome to get to that level, super proud of him and it drives a new level of confidence and passion in him.”

He has played since he was six-years-old, however due to a lack of players to make up a team, he stopped playing for the Maleny Bushrangers in 2019, and joined Brothers Sunshine Coast in 2022.

Sandra said since rejoining a rugby union club, Sebastian has gained a new found confidence in his new position as a front rower and is excelling in the sport.

“He’s been bullied for a lot of his life, so for this to happen has been a huge highlight for him, and he’s on the spectrum so he’s always found it really hard to fit in,” she said.

“He is super excited and he is just a different person, to see this new inner confidence since being picked for these representative teams is fantastic.

“When he’s playing, there’s something that comes over him being in the front row, and he has no fear, he loves to build on his new skills and being around really nice, likeminded people.”

Swamp

Just For Laughs

“I’m afraid for the calendar. Its days are numbered.”

“My wife said I should do lunges to stay in shape. That would be a big step forward.”

“Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?” “In case they get a hole in one!”

“Singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth. Then it’s a soap opera.”

“What do a tick and the Eiffel Tower have in common?”

“They’re both Paris sites.”

“What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?” “Sofishticated.”

“How do you follow Will Smith in the snow?” “You follow the fresh prints.”

“I thought the dryer was shrinking my clothes. Turns out it was the refrigerator all along.”

“How does dry skin affect you at work?” “You don’t have any elbow grease to put into it.”

“Dear Math, grow up and solve your own problems.”

For The Kids

“What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?” “Supplies!”

“Have you heard about the chocolate record player? It sounds pretty sweet.”

“What did the ocean say to the beach?” “Nothing, it just waved.”

“Why do seagulls fly over the ocean?” “Because if they flew over the bay, we’d call them bagels.”

“I only know 25 letters of the alphabet. I don’t know y.”

“How does the moon cut his hair?” “Eclipse it.”

“What did one wall say to the other?” “I’ll meet you at the corner.”

“What did the zero say to the eight?” “That belt looks good on you.”

“A skeleton walks into a bar and says, ‘Hey, bartender. I’ll have one beer and a mop.’”

“Where do fruits go on vacation?” “Pear-is!”

Weekly Crossword

88

Bulldogs

‘Pip the PollieS’

points

= Sharks Eels Rabbitohs Storm Cowboys Warriors Tigers Roosters

OVERALL POSITION

2023 NRL FOOTY TIPPING COMP

ROUND 19