WHAT’S ON IN NORTH SYDNEY

North Sydney Community Centre open day coming

By Hannah Wilcox

The North Sydney Community Centre’s highly anticipated Open Day is just around the corner, with an action-packed itinerary running from 10am to 3pm on June 24.

Foodies can treat themselves to the food corner, with freshly brewed tea and coffee the perfect accompaniment to an iconic sausage sizzle. An array of snacks including gluten-free donut and dehydrated fruit slices will be sold by Northside Produce Market regulars Donuts Lower North Shore & Pure Fruit Slice.

To keep the good vibes flowing, entertainment will continue throughout the day. Dare the Magician will bring his magic touch, manipulating cards, performing mind-boggling mental tricks and even including mobile phones into his act.

Live music will accompany the day’s festivities with performances by the centre’s guitar and choir students.

For the little ones, playdough and big Lego blocks will be provided by Explorers Playgroup while those are a little more artistic, the After School Care team will be face painting all day. Plus, a real Fire Truck (sirens and all!) staffed by community firefighters will visit for children and the young at heart to see how our local heroes work.

A community art exhibition, displaying artworks by community centre teachers, will be run with an opportunity to buy a piece if it catches your eye. The centre will also be running a range of free workshops with activities such as yoga, zumba, photography, drumming and meditation.

“North Sydney Community Centre offers a wide range of classes and workshops designed to help people enhance their skills in various areas,” a spokesperson said.

“It is a fantastic place to connect with new people, explore personal interests, and learn new talents. We welcome people of all age groups, ensuring there is something for everyone.”

“The Centre has a strong sense of community and belonging, where everyone feels welcome and valued.”

The classes and workshops are run based on participant feedback, the spokesperson added.

“We value our students' feedback and recommendations, which is why we make it a priority to listen to their input,” they said. “Our commitment is to continuously improve and adapt to ensure our students have the best possible experience at North Sydney Community Centre. It’s always based on our student’s needs & feedback!”

Saturday 24 June, 7:00PM

Pole Icon

Venue: Big Top, Luna Park

Pole Icon is a spectacular annual championship featuring Australia’s best pole dancers.

Saturday 1 July

Canada Day

Winter Wonderland

Venue: Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney

Time to celebrate all things Canadian with $25,000+ in prizes & giveaways including a return trip to Canada. Play free STREET HOCKEY TOURNAMENT or trivia, enjoy Canadian & RnB DJs plus gauge on Caesars, Poutine, Perogies, Wings & more.

Thursday 6 July, 11:00AM

Jonas Jost: The Ultimate Magic Show

Venue: Norths Cammeray

Legendary multi-award-winning magician and illusionist Jonas Jost hits the stage these school holidays. Jonas performs in an action-packed show, featuring hilarious comedy and magic for kids and parents alike.

Saturday 8 July, 8:00PM

Les Divas: An All Male Revue

Venue: Norths Cammeray

Australia’s six-foot something songstress Prada Clutch plays the Goddess of Pop; Cher in her new show set on

Around The Grounds

the Las Vegas Strip featuring an allstar line-up of her most famous friends. The ninety-minute revue includes some of the world’s greatest divas including: Barbara Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Diana Ross & Cher.

Wednesday 12 July, 8:00PM

Hayden Orpheum Comedy Club

Venue: Hayden Orpheum, Cremorne Expertly curated by the World-Famous Comedy Store, and lovingly Presented by the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, this is a match made in heaven with the perfect combo of chuckles, choc-tops, and all-star line-ups!

Rugby League: North Sydney Bears off to a flying start but troubled by a mid-season slump

By James Mullan

As they head into the business end of the NSW Cup rugby league season, the North Sydney Bears are in finals contention but have been experiencing a slight back slide after topping the table for the majority of the season.

However, after a disappointing end to last season with back to back losses in the finals, Norths are looking like one of the top sides in this year’s competition.

The season didn’t start the way the Bears would’ve hoped as they faced defending premiers Penrith in round 1, losing narrowly 18-12. Jesse Marschke scored the first try of the season in that game and has been one of the key players behind Norths’ subsequent success. The five eighth is in his 3rd season at Bear Park after previously playing for the Newtown Jets and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He has registered 79 points so far this season, including a crucial try and 4 goals in a round 2 victory against Canberra for a 18-24 win.

Norths were just getting started as the next game was a 12-20 win over New Zealand which saw second rower Dane Aukafolau bagging a hat trick.

Unfortunately, he has since transferred to the Newcastle Knights. It was Toa Mata’afa the week after scoring a hat trick against his junior club Wests to add to a thrilling 26-36 win at Lidcombe Oval.

Round 5 was an intriguing matchup against their soon to be former NRL feeder club Sydney Roosters. This season is a cooling off year where the Roosters are transitioning to their own NSW Cup team and letting the Bears go. Little brother outplayed their big brother winning 24-14.

Recently, Norths announced that next season they will be the NSW Cup feeder club to the NRL’s Melbourne Storm.

A loss to the Dragons the next week halted the Bears’ momentum, but only temporarily, with the squad bouncing back in their first home game of the season for a huge 40-14 drubbing of Souths. This was followed by a 32-6 win over Newcastle and a narrow escape at Henson Park with a 28-29 win against Newtown thanks to a Marschke field goal.

The Warriors were next up in round 10, but were easily taken care of, 30-12. In this four game stretch,

Bears’ centre Junior Pauga, incredibly, scored a double in every game.

Originally from Otahuhu, New Zealand he debuted for his hometown Warriors in 2016. After three seasons there, he spent two with Wests before joining North Sydney this year and has become a super star.

The centre leads the competition with 14 tries as well as topping line breaks. But if you thought that was impressive, in Norths’ next game, a round 12 match up with the Bulldogs, Pauga went on a scoring spree scoring 4 tries to get the win in a tight 24-22 contest.

Bruising winger Alfred Smalley returned to the line up and scored a double in the Round 13 loss to Parramatta, then bagged a hat trick the next week against his former club Blacktown Sea Eagles. Despite this, and a double from Zac Docker-Clay, Norths lost by a tight 30-36 margin.

Docker-Clay is a journeyman who previously played for Wests, Wentworthville, Penrith, Blacktown and Canterbury. His versatility playmaking, as well as sitting fourth in the league in line engagement (hit ups) and third in offloads, has spearheaded

Norths’ attack.

In Round 15, old friends Newtown visited Bear Park for leg 2 of the Frank Hyde Shield and Bears Legends Day. In front of a massive crowd and club greats such as Gary Larson, Greg Florimo, Mark Graham, Mark Soden and many more, winger William Fakatoumafi scored a hat trick.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough as the Bears fell 20-36, handing the Frank Hyde Shield to Newtown plus knocking the team out of the top 3 for the first time since round 9.

The downward trend continued the next week with many key players missing; they fell short 24-16 to Souths at Coogee Oval. There was a constellation as on aggregate points from the two games played between the clubs this season, the Bears won the inaugural Mario Fenech Cup.

They cannot afford to continue this form slump with New Zealand, Blacktown, Souths and Canberra hot on their heels.

Despite this, the Bears are still in a good position with under 9 games remaining before finals start and the added advantage of having 6 of those games at home.