Gippsland Times Tuesday 23 July 2024

Ultra effort

Offshorewindsite secured

THE German energy giant RWE has been granted a feasibility licence from the Australian government to develop an offshore wind farm close to the Kent Group islands in the Bass Strait, off the Gippsland coast.

active in the country for 10 years and operates one of Australia’s largest solar farms.

"By securing exclusive seabed rightsinthe BassStrait off Gippsland, we are now entering the Australian offshore wind market and will bring our more than 20 yearsofexperience in this field," said Mr Utermöhlen.

This area is Australia’s first designatedoffshore wind zone. This licence approval grants RWE, akey global player in renewable energy, an exclusive seven-year seabed righttodevelop the Kent Offshore Wind Farm project. The approval also allows RWE to apply for a commerciallicencetobuild and operate the wind farm for up to 40 years.

Thelease area awarded to RWE has the potential to host awind farm with up to two gigawatts (2GW) of capacity, enough to power at full capacity up to 1.6 million Australian homes with green electricity.

The site is about 67 kilometres off the coast and hasaverage waterdepths of 59 metres. The wind farm is expected to become operational in the first half of the 2030s, subject to the timing of the planning andapprovals process, secured offtake as well as grid connection.

RWE Offshore Wind Chief Executive, Sven Utermöhlen, said Australia was avery attractive growth market for renewable energy. RWE has been

"With the Kent project, we will work on developing one of the first offshore wind farms off the Australian coast. This is in line with our strategy to grow our renewables portfolio in Australia and the wider APAC (Asia-Pacific) region.”

The next step for RWE in the further development of this early-stage project is to carry out studies to help determine the project design and to submit applications for planning permission. RWE will also engage with keystakeholders,First Nationsgroups and other communities. Another key milestone in the project’s development at alater stage is to secure an offtake agreement.

RWE is oneofthe world’s largest offshorewind companies, with amore than 20-yeartrack record of developing, building, and operating offshore wind projects efficiently. The company currently operates 19 offshore wind farms.

New offshore windfarmswith atotal capacity of more than 4GW are currently underconstructioninEurope and further offshore projects are under development worldwide. RWE wants to grow its global offshore wind capacity from 3.3GW today to 10GW in 2030. The RWE Group has been in Australia since 2013. In 2018 it began construction of one of the country’s largest solar farms -the 249-megawattLimondale Solar Farm in New South Wales and has been operating it ever since.

In 2023, RWE’s eight-hourlithium-ionBattery Energy Storage System (BESS)was the only successful project in New South Wales’ first long duration storage long-term energy serviceagreements tenderprocess, to deliverand operate Australia’s first eight-hour battery. Constructiononthe battery project, which will be located adjacent to the existing Limondale SolarFarm, will begin later this year.

RWE plans to invest about$6billion by 2030 to develop up to 3GW of onshore wind, solar and battery projects across the country.

RWE is based in Melbourneand has ateam of almost 70 employees in the country, supported by the global RWE team.

Compost expansion backed

THE state government is supporting amajor expansionatGippsland Regional Organics that aims to increase the facility's capacity to recycle organic material into compost.

The $12.2 million project to upgrade Gippsland Water’s waste treatment andcomposting facility received acombined $4.8 million in funding through the stategovernment’s Circular Economy OrganicsSectorTransformationFundand the federal government’sFood Waste for Healthy Soils Fund.

Upgrades include the constructionofnew composting hardstands that will boost Gippsland Regional Organics’ processing capacity from 180,000 to 250,000 tonnes, with expansion works to enable the facility to recyclemore organic materials while boosting its compost manufacturing capabilities.

In amedia release, the government said this project will help cut emissions by diverting additional

organic waste from landfill, supporting Victoria’s progresstowards the target of diverting 80 percent of all waste away from landfill by 2030 as part of a$515million investment to transform the state’s waste and recycling system.

Member for Eastern Victoria, Tom McIntosh on Friday (July 19) toured the construction site at Dutson Downs with Gippsland Water Managing Director, Sarah Cumming, members of the project team, and Gippsland Regional Organics staff.

“DutsonDowns is an incredibleexample of being smart with waste and keeping water bills down. It's great we can do all thiswhile creating jobs and driving down emissions,” he said.

“This projectnearlydoubles the volume of organic waste beingturned into valuable product for agriculture and construction.”

The government says Gippsland Regional Organics expansion project has already created 33 jobs as part of the construction process, with

eight new positions to be created at the facility once works are completed.

“Projects like this are crucial for the development of athrivingcirculareconomyand acleaner, greener Victoria," Ministerfor Water, Harriet Shing said.

The expansionisontrack to be completed by December this year.

Managing Director Gippsland Water, Sarah Cumming said:“We’re working to combat the impacts of climate change on our operations and infrastructure. This expansionwill boost our ability to support the government’semissions and recycling targets.”

“We’re passionate about providing people with job opportunities on their doorstep, by expanding Gippsland RegionalOrganicswe’llbeabletooffer more local opportunities."

CLOSING DOWN SALE

Toongabbie investigation

DETECTIVES from the Armed Crime Squad are investigatingafirearms incident in Toongabbie on July 14.

Officershave been told a65-year-old man was shot during an altercationwithan unknown person outside aresidence on King Street just after 11pm.

The unknown person fled the scene, while the man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Victoria Police told the Gippsland Times on Friday (July 19) there were no further updates, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the incident,with information or CCTV/dash cam footage is askedtocontactcrime Stopperson1800 333000,orsubmit areport at: crimestoppers.com.au

TomMcIntosh (centre) with Managing Director GippslandWater,Sarah Cumming(thirdfromleft), with otherstaff.

Photo: Contributed

LASTTuesday's Wellington Shire Council meeting began with no apologies and ran for 26 minutes before it moved into closed session.

The meeting was officially declared closed at 5.28pm.

General Assembly recap

THE Deputy Mayor, Coastal Ward Councillor Gayle Maher, recapped the 2024 Australian Local GovernmentRegional Forum and theNational General Assembly of Local Government (NGA) held in Canberra over the first week in July.

The councillor attended the gathering alongside Wellington Shire Mayor, Ian Bye, the chief executive, David Morcom, and about 1200 other local government leaders from around Australia.

Cr Maher highlightedsome of the talking points,

Council Beat

including the “stark reality” that more than 50 per centofcouncils arenot raising enough revenue from their own sources to meet operating costs.

She said it was “alarming” that this puts access to services in communities at risk.

Cr Maher said delegates couldgive feedback on issues in their regions about issues regarding housing and community infrastructure, emergency management, roadsand transport and energy transition.

Another talking point highlighted that future challenges within the next 10 yearsfor councils includeskill shortages, affordable housing, and how population growth will affect theregions. Building trust withcommunities was heraldedas“integral” at the NGA.

“Discussions about Wellington Shire’s experience in the renewable energy space also tookplace,

more information, email enquiries@wellington.vic.gov.au or contact Wellington Shire Council’sSustainabilityEducation Officer, Sharon Ray on 1300 366 244.

confirming our leadership in this area,” Cr Maher said.

She said the chance for Cr Bye to meet with the Minister for Energy, Chris Bowen,was “invaluable”, to which the mayor agreed. He said invitations to MembersofParliament to come to Gippsland to seewhat the region needs were extended.

Land use report

COUNCIL regularly reviews the strategic land use planning work and last week the quarterly update for April to June was received by council.

Community responses to adraft proposal for 78 residential lotswith an averagelot size of 1100m2 in Heyfield are being reviewed.

The area near LicolaRoadwas identified as an area fit for residential growth. The land was rezoned10years agotoallow for standard residential development.

Some of the current strategic planning work includes the WestSaleand Wurruk IndustrialLand Supply Strategy. This document provides reports on cultural heritage, vegetation, drainage, traffic and more. The reports have been completed and the next stage will involve preparing adevelopment plan. This should be completed before the end of the year.

The implementation of the Renewable Energy Impact andReadiness Studywas also included. The purpose of this report is to determine if towns in the south of the Shire are ready to service and support new renewable energy projects.

State government funding support has recently been obtained to undertake an initialdrainage assessment of potential growth areas in Yarram as the first stage of investigation, with drainage assessment work now underway.

Planning decisions

ATOTAL of 45 planning decisionwere madein May.

In Sale, apermitwas issued for the use and development of landfor amedical centre on Foster Street. Other permits were issued for subdivisions, houseconstruction, and an outbuilding, across towns including Glenmaggie, Port Albert, Yarram and Briagolong.

Acknowledgements

MAYOR Bye acknowledged the official opening of theStratford Recreation Reserve pavilionatthe JA Boyd Reserveheld on July 12. Council had already updated the change rooms, which included the female changeroomsand umpire’s rooms, but the main social area, first built in 1967, had not been updated until now.

The JA Boyd Recreation Reserve is named after John Boyd’s father. Mr Boyd spoke at the event of

with Erika Allen

his father and the pride they have in the Recreation Reserve beingnamed after their family.CrBye said it was veryfitting that Mr Boyd’sgrandson recently held his 21st birthday at the venue, some 57 years after John had held his 21st at the same venueinthe year the social area was established. MayorBye thanked the FederalLaborSenator, Lisa Darmanin, for travelling from Melbourne to represent the federal government at the event and acknowledged funding assistance obtained from the federal government for the upgrade. MayorBye also acknowledged the flagraising ceremony that the Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation organised as part of NAIDOC week. He said it was afantasticevent which he attended on July 8. Atrophy was awarded to Wellington Shire Councilas‘the Organisationofthe Year’, which Mayor Bye said was areal credit to the relationships and partnerships thathad been fostered.

Public questions

DURINGthe meeting,anemail was receivedfrom David Woodhouse from Maffrarelatingtothe adoption of amendments to the Maffra Structure Plan and translating it into the Wellington Shire Council Planning Scheme.

The chief executive, David Morcom, saidthe questions were circulated to councillors and that Mr Woodhousewould receivearesponse within 10 days.

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Photo: File

AV calling for safety and respect

AMBULANCE Victoria (AV) is urging Victorians to treat our paramedics and call takers with respect when they see them at an emergency incident or in the community.

AV employees and clinicians work hard to provide the best possible assistance and care to our communities, and yet they continue to be exposed to occupational violence and abuse.

There have been 105 reported incidents resulting in injury from July 2023 to March 2024, which include:

 Aparamedic was grabbed and punched in the face by apatient they were treating;

 Aparamedic suffered adislocation after a patient became aggressive;

 Paramedics harassed and followed by a man outside of aMelbourne hospital, who was threatening to assault them; and,

 Additionally, people are often exposed to

situations involving verbal assault, swearing and name calling. This escalating behaviour can result in paramedics pausing their treatment or withdrawing from the scene or terminating acall.

AV’s Executive Director RegionalOperations, Danielle North said violence against paramedics was never OK.

“We do not accept this behaviour as part of the job. We know emergency situations can be stressful for people, but thisisnoexcusetobehaveaggressively towards paramedics,” she said.

“We are aware of several serious occupational violence incidents recently across the state and it is timely that we remind the community again that violence againstparamedics,first responders andcalltakers is never OK.

“Ourtop priority is the safety of ourparamedics and first responders, and they have our full

support to leave an incident if they ever feel unsafe. Assaulting or berating aparamedic will not help them do their job any quicker.”

For paramedics to provide quick and effective treatment, they need asafeenvironment to work in. Paramedics are fully supported by AV in reporting their experience with police.

Injuring an emergency worker in Victoria is aCategory1offence and carries amandatory minimum six-month jail sentence.

For more informationonthe impactofoccupational violence on paramedics and how the public canhelp, visit: ambulance.vic.gov.au/campaigns/ respect-our-paramedics

Howyou can help create asafeenvironment for paramedics:

 Be respectful towards everyone involved in an incident or over the phone;

 Put your safety first -ifthere is violence or aggression present at ascene, stay well back and don’t do anything to escalate the situation;

 Advise the Triple Zero (000) call taker if anyone is demonstrating aggressive or violent behaviour. They can arrange for police to attend;  Follow paramedics’ instructions. If itissafe to do so, ask agitated family or friends toclear the area, and;

 Offer assistance by letting paramedics know that you are available tohelp.

 MAINLY Music has started for Term 3and the next session will be held in the Geoff Webster Centre, opposite Maffra Primary School, on Thursday, August 1. There will not be asession this Thursday, July 25.

The Mainly Music team look forward to seeing everyone and welcoming new parents and pre-school children.

MainlyMusic begins at 9.30am each Thursday morning duringterm. The cost is $4 per family. Fruit for the children and morning tea for the parents and carers will be served after the session.

 NEED help to tackle technology?

Maffra Neighbourhood House is running ashort course, ideal for those who want to gain confidence using avariety of programs that are found in the workplace.

Tuesday evenings for eight weeks from Tuesday,July 30, 6.30pm until 8.30pm. Full fee for eligible learners is $50. To book call 0422 335 155.

Afree scams and online safety workshop featuring tips and tricks for staying safe online will be held on Wednesday, July 31, beginning at 1pm.

Call Maffra Neighbourhood House on 0422 335 155 to book aspot.

Dargo adomainfor deer hunting

Stefan Bradley

THE number of deer harvested in Victoria rose by 11 per centtoabout 137,090last year, according to theGameManagement Authority.

Theauthority's 2023 deer harvest reportshowed that the new total was 11 per cent higher than the estimated123,400 deer harvested in 2022 and a59 per cent increase on the long-term average (86,400).

The most popular hunting areas were around the towns of Mansfield,Licola, Omeo, Warragul and Dargo. The highest number of deer harvested were around the towns of Mansfield, Licola,Dargo, Omeo and Benalla.

Sambar deer were the most harvested species with an estimated harvest of 106,500 deer, of which 53 per cent were female. FallowDeerwere the second most harvested species, with an estimated harvest of 27,500 deer, of which 59 per cent were female.

Barry Howlett, who is based in Warragul, is the SSAA (Sporting Shooters Association of Australia) Victoriacommunications managerand has also hunted deer for more than 30 years. He says that Licola had “really good track access” for deer hunters.

“You can get in somewhere for aday trip and go for ahunt. Licola also has got that higher altitude, open country and good deer numbers," he said.

“Dargo is quitesimilar. It’sfar enough away that you can have areally remote sort of wilderness experience, but it’s also quite accessible. You can get avehicle within acouple of kilometres where you’re going to find deer, which is very handy.

“This is especially importantwith sambar… which are really large animals.”

Stratford resident, Vietnam veteran and deer hunter, John Bryant, said sambar deer were the “premier” game animal in Australia.

“We don’t shoot every deer because now you’ve got digital phones,cameras and head cams, we take great delight in just filming the deer in its natural habitat,” he said.

Mr Bryant saidheand his crew of hunters usually go to Dargo.

“We mainly hunt Dargo, we’vebeen hunting that

area for probably more than 30 years,” he said.

“I think deer hunters are adifferent breed. We do it for the camaraderie. We hunt hard. We can read the signs and can just tell exactly where the deer are.

“We like the bush. Dargo is definitely hilly and we have the river. I’ll swim in the river after every hunt. Doesn’t matter what time of the year it is. You don’t have to shoot deer to have fun."

Mr Howlettsaidthat the Gippsland areas highlighted as popular in this report -Warragul, Dargo, Omeo and Licola-all hadclose to the ideal number of deer, and great access via road.

In an increasingly more urbanised society, Mr Howlett said hunting was growing in popularity because “people need to experience something”.

“Huntinggives youa way to truly interactwith nature. These active outdoor activities become more and more important to people," he said.

“There’s alot more hunters out there and alot more hunting, which is fantastic.”

Thenumber of licenced recreational deer hunters in 2023 was52,321, an increase of 3.6 per cent from 2022 (50,478).

Of the 52,321 licensed deer hunters, 60 per cent actively hunted in 2023. On average, active deer hunters harvestedanestimated 4.3 deer over 10.5 days.

The GMA Research Principal, Dr Jason Flesch, said the research was based on information gathered fromrandomlyselectedlicenced deer hunters who voluntarily participated in the phone surveys.

“Throughout 2023, approximately 2400 licenced deer hunters were surveyed about their hunting activity including how manydeer were harvested, where hunting occurred, hunting methods used, and the species of deer harvested," he said.

“This research helps build astronger understanding of deer harvest trends and hunting activity in Victoria.”

Thereport is produced annually by the GMA in collaboration with the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research.

For afull copy of the estimates of the 2023deer harvest report, visit: gma.vic.gov.au

Twomoreyearsoffunding for local development project

THE Heyfield Community Resource Centre has received a$486,940grant from the state government's forestry transition program to continue its current local development project for the next twoyears.

The Community Development Fundgrant will enable the Heyfield Community Resource Centre to take the lead on the work started by WellingtonShire Councilaspart of the Local Development Strategy program.

The funding willsupport the Heyfield Community Resource Centre to become the centre of several innovation working groups, providing arange of services from meeting and event facilitation, grant writing assistance, project managementthrough to community engagement activities.

Thisalsoincludes the implementation of plans developed through the Local Development Strategyfor health and active ageing initiatives, the visitor economy and agriculture.

The Heyfield CommunityResource Centre has been an integral part of the Heyfield community since 1988, providing adiverse range of activities and services.Itispartofthe statewide Neighborhood Housenetwork andishometo programs such as Kids House childcare, the

Men’s Shed and Learn Local adult education.

Wellington Shire Council partnered with the state government to deliverthe first phase of the Local Development Strategy, and received afurther $90,000 grant for the Heyfield Manufacturing Cluster masterplanfrom the Community Development Fund.

Wellington Shire Mayor, Ian Bye, said the council was excited for the Heyfield Community Resource Centre to lead this important project.

"This change allows the local community to take charge and address their ownneeds and goals,”hesaid.

The Heyfield CommunityResource Centre coordinator, Caroline Trevorrow,saidthe centre was proud to lead the next steps of the Future of Heyfield project.

"The funding will ensure that the ideas sparked within the working groups will be supported and implemented for the benefit of the local community and economy,” she said.

Member for Easter Victoria, Harriet Shing said, the grant meant the important work started by council can continue as the Heyfield Centre takes the lead on these projects.

For more information visit: deeca.vic.gov.au/ forestry

Stratfordlocal,John Bryant enjoys deer hunting in Dargo.

Photo: Stefan Bradley

Huntingstatistics have been released by Game Management Authority. Image: Game Management Victoria

Dr Greg Steele

Dr Reeha Nandha

Ladies’ Night providing the goods

StefanBradley

THERE'S ultra awesome news to hear for the Sale Hospital and its patients.

Last Friday, East Sale Community Hub (ESCH) & Roulette Cinema presented acheque for $15,308.63 to the Newborn Intensive Care Foundation (NICF) for the purchase of an ultrasound machine for the Sale Hospital Maternity Unit.

The money came from aLadies’ Night event that took place at the Roulette Cinema in East Sale on Saturday, May 11, as detailed in the Gippsland Times (28/05/24).The nightwas themed aroundthe Mean Girls film reboot, with about 160 attendees dressing up for ascreening of the film.

Held since 2021 by the ESCH, the eventhas served as an important connection for RAAF members and their families,but also to support agood cause.

The localSalecommunity and surrounds donated prize packs that had over $12,000 total value, and through araffle,$15,308.63was raised on the night

President East Sale Community Hub, Sally Habersberger said it was important for proceeds from these events to stay local.

“The Ladies’ Nights have been so successful because people know that whatever money they put into it, it benefits their community,” she said.

NICF is thepassionproject of PeterCursley and his late wife Susan, who started the foundation 30 years ago, after their baby Hanna sadly died

after only 36 hours after being born at Canberra Hospital. Since then, the Foundationhas raised around $8 million worth of equipmentfor Canberra Moving into Sale, Mr Cursley has continued his work in advocating for both the Sale Hospital and Bairnsdale Hospital, having recently delivered 10 sofabedsfor Sale Hospitaltoallow partners to stay over in maternity when their babies are born.

Mr Cursley was absent from the presentation at the maternity ward of the Sale Hospital, but Ms Habersberger read out amessage on his behalf.

“I am absolutelydelighted that the East Sale Community Hub has again supported us in helping to make Sale Hospital’s MaternityUnitand Special Care Nursery the best it can be. Your support helps us fund medical equipment that makes giving birth

much safer for mums and reduces the chance of complications for babies,” Mr Cursley wrote.

“One hundred per cent of the funds donated will be used for the above, that is, no money comes out of donations for administration. Iknowthe effort you all put intofundraising and that effort is so very much appreciated.

The John Leslie Foundation has agreed to donate half of the required funds neededfor the ultrasound. According to Mr Cursley, thanks forthe foundation and the proceeds from the Ladies’ Night, there is enough funds to purchase the machine.

Kim Costin (Nurse Unit Manager, Women & Children's Unit, CGHS) said it will be “amazing” for the obstetricians working on the ward to have access to the ultrasound.

From left: RN/Student midwives, Holly Garth andEmily Jorgensen, with Kim Costin and Mandy PusmucansatSaleHospital.

Photos: StefanBradley

From left: Dr Abraham Oommen (paediatrician), MandyPusmucans (Director of Nursing and acting ChiefExecutive, Women’s &Children’s Unit, CGHS), Kim Costin (Nurse Unit Manager, Women &Children’s Unit,CGHS), AlyshaWalker (Vice-PresidentEastSale Community Hub), Amanda Wong (Coordinator East Sale Community Hub), SallyHabersberger (President East Sale Community Hub), Wing Commander Peter Ferris (RAAF Base East Sale, SeniorADF Officer) and Flight Lieutenant Justine Ferris

FireWiseprogram helping reducerisks

MAFFRA and Districts Landcare Network (MDLN) is inviting interested persons across Wellington Shire and surrounding areas to aseries of workshops to learn how using local Indigenous native plantsinyour garden designs can reduce the potential fire risk.

Secretary of LakesEntranceCommunity Landcare group and creator of the Green Fire Walls website and pamphlets, Angelique Stefanatos said: “The Fire Wise program is helping communities buildresilience,providing knowledge andskills to lessen the fire risk in ruralareas, while also improving the local environment with additional trees for shelter, wildlife habitatand landhealth.”

At the workshops participants can learn how plantingchoices can improve the fire resistance of yourgarden or other planting areas, suchasaround schools and other community infrastructure.

President of Avon Landcare Group Stratford, Beth Ripper said: “Attending one of the Fire Wise workshops sessions will help people identify what and wheretoplant to improve the fire resistance of their garden or property, plus gaining the benefit of creating amore drought tolerant garden. Some sessions will include participantsgetting some hands-on experience by helping plant out an area at the workshop site”.

Workshops will be held across the local area withthe first event already heldsuccessfully at

Meerlieu Hall on Sunday, July 7. There will be further workshops in Stratford, Sale and Heyfield in the coming months. The Stratford workshop on July 28 will be on Sandhill Rd, near the entrance of theFlora and Fauna Reserve; and aSaleworkshop on August 17 at Nakunbalook Environmental and CulturalEducation Centre at 10am-11am; HeyfielddateTBC.Further workshopdetailswill be publicised on the Maffra andDistricts Landcare Network website and various Landcare newsletters and social media.

The Fire Wise project is funded by Foundation for National Parks &Wildlife, receiving grant money from the federal government through the Preparing Australian Communities local stream.

Maffraand Districts LandcareNetworkFire Wiseprojectco-ordinator, Van Ong said: “Wewould like to invite peopletovisit theMDLNwebsite mdln.com.au as we have many resources available to help people make Firewise planting choices”.

“Inparticular,The Lakes Entrancecommunity Landcare has created some wonderful videos on their website.”

The EastGippsland Lakes EntranceCommunity Landcare website can also be accessed at: lakesentrancelandcare.com.au

For more informationortoregister for newsletter, contact: firewise@mdln.com.au

50 yearsofvolunteering

MARIEDavis of Maffra was presented with her 50 year service pin by Sheryl Carstein, Gippsland Central Council President of St Vincent de Paul, this month.

Marie first became involved with St Vincent de Paulwhen herfather helped found the localMaffra Conference of St Vincent de Paul, 50 years ago.

Marie has been aloyal volunteer ever since and has given of her time tirelessly to help others. Her effortsonbehalfofMaffra Conference of St Vincent de Paul have been greatly appreciated over the years and her fellow volunteers enthusiastically congratulated her on reaching this milestone.

Maffra Conference of St Vincent de Paul is unique

in that it is run entirely by volunteers who support many people withinthe community through funds raised at its massive sale on the first Saturday of each month.

Thissalewould notbepossible without the generous donation of awide variety of goods, including books,furniture and clothing from the local community. It is recyclingatits finest!

Beth Ripper at Meerlieu Reserve,aMeerlieu FireWise planting demonstration site

Photo: Contributed

Gippsland Central Council President of St Vincent de Paul (right),presents Sheryl Carstein her pin for 50 years of service.

Photo: Contributed

One of the state’s best at Gippy Grammar

GIPPSLAND Grammar student, Zara Clydesdale has been namedasone of the state’sbest.

Last Wednesday night,Zara, acurrentYear 12 student, received a2023 Premier’s VCE Award for excellence in media, which means she was one of the top five students out of themore than3600who studiedMedia in Victoria last year. Zaracompleted the Year 12 (Unit 3and 4) subject when she was in Year 11.

Zaraisthe seventh Gippsland Grammar student to win aPremier’s Award in in the past 11 years, alongsidesix formerFurnishing students

Gippsland Grammar’s HeadofEnglish and Media teacher, Zoe Hilliar,saidshe was incredibly proud of Zara’s achievement.

“It’s every teacher’s dream to see astudent succeed likethis,” Ms Helliar said.

“And of course Isaw just how hard Zara worked so Ished alittle tear when Isaw her study score.” Zara’s media study scorewas 50, which is the highestpossible markfor asubject. Astudyscore is based on thecombinedresults from both school assessments and examinations and it shows how each studentperformed in thatsubject relative to allother students doingthat samesubject.

Zara said she was “shocked” when she realised she hadachieved atop score.

“I didn’t understand what Iwas seeingwhenthe email came through,”Zara admitted.

“I had to email it to my mum anddad to askifI was seeing it correctly.”

Ms Helliar said Zara was anaturallytalented studentbut stressed it takes more than justnatural talent to achieve aperfect study scoreand a Premier’s Award.

“Zara put in hours of discipline and drive,” Ms Helliar said.

“Shealways got her work in early and was always workingahead. She practiced on every practiceexam available to her and even went back to previous study designs and then she would re-do her answers to seeifshe couldget ahigher score.

“From my observationsZaraalways setout to do well, shemadeitclear thatshe wanted to do well and was focused on her result all year. She was consistent.”

Zara said she lovedthe creative design side of the Media subject, but at the start of the year she “didn’t love thewords”

“Words just aren’t my strong suit,” Zara admitted. “So Idecided Ijust hadtore-learn that skill so it wouldn’tbemyweak point anymore. Ilooked at old exams andkept re-writing my responses until Igot full marks.”

That dedication has paid off with Zara being offered aconditional offer to study Design at the Victoria UniversityofWellington in NewZealand next year.

Unit 3and 4Media students are required to submit aschool-assessed media narrative, for which Zara created adigital magazine titled ‘MOXiE’, a magazine “made for girlsbygirls”. Zara edited, designed, wrote, photographed and illustrated the 36-page magazine, which featured articles on fashion, sexism, feminism, stereotypes, and identity. Zara is acreative force at Gippsland Grammar

and is an example of astudent whoembraces every opportunityafforded to her.

Earlier this year Zara partnered with fellow GippslandGrammar Year 12 student Tali Oates to co-editalongside14others the‘Youth Takeover’ edition of local quarterly magazine Gippslandia

As part of Gippsland Grammar’s Centenary celebrations, Zara’s illustrationofOld Scholar Hugh Williams was featured in the school’s Centenary children’s book Wheelbarrow’s Birthday,and Zara recently performed on stage for the Garnsey Campus House CulturalFestival.

Last year Zarawas awarded a‘Swannie Award’ by the Debaters Association of Victoria for achieving the highest average speaker score in the Berwick region’sB-Grade debating competitions.

Gippsland Grammar's Principal, Michele Wakeham, joined Zara, herfather JoshClydesdale and Ms Helliar at the prestigious Melbourne ceremony, and said she was thrilledfor Zara’s achievement.

“This wonderful recognitionisatestament to Zara’sexceptional talent, hard work, and creativity,” Mrs Wakehamsaid.

“And we congratulateher wholeheartedly. Ialso want to acknowledge the dedication and support of our staff, whohaveplayed acrucial role in guiding and nurturingher journey to success. This award is a reflection of the collaborative effort and commitment to excellence that our staff and students continuously demonstrate.”

Gippsland Grammar’s Head of Englishand Mediateacher ,Zoe Hilliar withstudent,Zara Clydesdale. Photos: Contributed

The cover of Zara’sMedia assessment,a digital magazine titled ‘MOXiE’.

Gippsland GrammarYear 12 student ZaraClydesdale with Media teacher Zoe Helliar,Principal MicheleWakeham(second from left) andfather Josh Clydesdaleatthe VCEPremier’sAwards ceremony in MelbourneonJuly 17

Lynn to appeal murder conviction

Erika Allen

GREGORY Stuart Lynn will appeal his murder conviction,his lawyer toldthe Supreme Court last week

Lynn’s defence lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, said his client maintainsheisinnocent in the death of Carol Clay.

Mr Dann said the defence had a“number of concerns”about the trial’s conclusion buthad to respect the jury’s verdicts and the sentencing process. Nonetheless,hesaid: “We’re not convinced beyond reasonable doubt in respect of the guilty verdict.” Lynn faced aVictorian Supreme Court trial, where in June, ajury foundLynn guilty of murdering Ms Clay in the VictorianHigh Countryfour years ago. He was not found guilty of murdering her companion, Russell Hill.

“He maintains that he’s never killed any person at any time at any place,anywhere, ever,” Mr Dann said on Friday.

During the trial, Lynn claimed the two retirees wereaccidentally killed following adispute involving Mr Hill’s drone that took place at the remote Bucks Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley.

He claimed that Ms Clay was killed when agun he and Mr Hill were fighting over fired accidentally, striking her in the head.

He said Mr Hillsubsequently approached him with aknifeand died by falling on the blade as the pair wrestledtothe ground.

Prosecutors, however, argued Mr Hill was killed first, and Lynn murdered Ms Clay because she witnessed it.

Mr Dann on Friday said it is “wrong” if any jury member came to aguiltyverdict on the basis Ms Clay was killed if she was awitness to Mr Hill’s death.

Relatingtothis, he also criticised the prosecution foracting“unfairly” becauseLynn did not have the opportunitytorespondtothe crown’s argument during the trial.

“When there’s two sides in acontest …and one side breaks the rules 20 to 25 times, we say it’s beyond argument that one side’s acted unfairly,” he said.

Thedefence said media stories about Lynn since theverdict had “poisoned the well of justice” to the point that apotential re-trial could not occur in the distant future.

He said reporting has been “flooded with inadmissible material, what the jury didn’t hear, unsubstantiated allegations… gossip”.

Mr Dann addressed Lynn’s welfare, saying his client was attacked in prison during the trial and has “now been named as atargetfor other prisoners”.

He said Lynn had spent the last stages of the trial in isolation for his protection.

Lynn will be remanded in custody until the presentencing hearing on September 12. Victim impact statements will be read at the pre-sentencing hearing.

Discussions moved to the potential situation that Lynn could be sentenced before an appeal takes place.

The defence are considering if it shouldmake an application to ‘stay’ Lynn’s sentence. If this

application is approved, the court can delayacourt order until after an appeal, the court order being Lynn’s sentence.

BothMrDann andJustice Michael Croucher recognised this kind of application is only granted in extreme and unusual cases.

“That is an extremely rare application to even make and evenmore rare to be granted,”MrDann said.

Justice Croucher said granting such an application in amurder trial would be “like me winning the Stawell Gift… in my prime”.

Gregory Lynn’s lawyer,Dermot Dann KC said last Fridaythathis client maintains he told “zerolies” in apolice interview heardby the jury during the trial. Thatinterview was conducted at Sale police station. Photos: File

In March 2020, Russell Hill and Carol Clay went camping in the Victorian High Country,but they never returned. Last month, GregoryLynn (pictured below) wasfound guiltyofmurdering Ms Clay but acquitted of murdering Mr Hill.

Partying like it’s the 90’swithThe Sharp

THE Sharp are back!

Original members Charlie Rooke (Vocals Guitar) and Piet Collins (Drums) have reformed with help from Scott Owen(DoubleBass, The LivingEnd) and Louie Lee Fetrin (Vocals,The Party Boyz).

They are bringing back to life their early 90’s hits including: 'ScratchMyBack','TrainofThought', 'AloneLike Me', 'Talking Sly','Yeah IWantYou'.

The Sharp are known for their energetic performances and million dollar riffs.After exploding onto the scenewith their 1993 debut album This Is The Sharp they pulled up stumpsonlytwo yearslater to much surpriseofthe entireindustry.

They have enjoyed an undergroundfollowing ever sinceand have been begged many times to come out of retirement to perform oncemore. This is where the power of The Bundy community came into play. After threeyears of talks and negotiations they decidedtoget back together to celebrate30years sincethere debutalbum.Off the back of this show they are launching anationwide tour and hope to reconnectwiththeir loyalfollowingagainand makenew friends.

Once experienced,alwayspreferred.

Support is Things of Stone and Wood front man, GregArnold,bringinghis oneman showtomake thisatruly unforgettable event

If youare travelling fromout of town, check out ourwebsite for accommodationoptions at liveatthebundy.com.au/stay

They are also running abus which can bring you to the venue and take youhomefor $10 cash Reach out with your pick up address, contact phone

Burn the Floor to hit The Wedge

GET Ready to Burn the Floor! Dance enthusiasts, prepare to be dazzled! Theinternationally acclaimed dance sensation, Burn the Floor,is bringing its electrifying tour to The Wedge soon, on Wednesday, August 28.

This extraordinary production features aline-up of star dancers currentlylightingupthe screen on Dancing With The Stars,including Lilly Cornish, Jorja Freeman, Gustavo Viglio, Lyu Matsuda, and Ash Leigh Hunter.

Addingtothe magic, we'll be graced by the incredible vocalsofPhil Burton from Human Nature. Burn the Floor has takenthe world by storm with performances on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre, multiple stints on the West End, and shows in over 180 cities across 30 countries.

With six toursofChina, eleven tours of Japan, and standout performances at iconic venues like the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Royal Albert Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and the Sydney Opera House, this Aussie-owned show continues to captivate audiences worldwide.

Director, Peta Roby sets avery high bar: “I look to cross the emotional boundary, for our dancers to find the courage and open their hearts to their audience. Having Phil with us thistour is extraordinary.Hehas abeautifulenergy, is fearless with adeep passion for his Art and aleading light in the Australian world of Entertainment...He also has afew moves!”

HeadtoThe Wedgewebsite for more information.

Ventriloquism in Stratford

‘VARIETY style’ entertainer and comedy ventriloquist, CJ, will appear at the Courthouse Theatre in Stratford on Saturday, August 3, with doors opening 6.30pm for a7pm show.

CJ has toured throughout Australia with his unique blend of comedy, ventriloquism, and music -racking up thousands of shows along the way and gaining recognition not only in Australia but worldwide. Look Who’s Talking! is an entertaining one-man show. It’s aimed at adults; however, the whole family can come alongbecauseCJ’smaterial is 100 per cent clean.

The performance features various puppet characters and old-school ventriloquism, with afresh modern twist. Comical puppet routines are fused alongside audience participation, with engaging storytelling from CJ’s early experiences in the gritty working men’s club circuit in his native home, the north of England. Tales are told of life on the road as amusical entertainer, as well as stories of life at sea, working aboard luxury cruise liners. Tickets are priced at $25, and $20 for concessions and are available at: stratfordcourthouse.com.au

number and how many people, then apick-up timeisorganised BYO Drinks, tickets are $45: trybooking.com/ events/landing/1207291

The Sharp will perform Live at the Bundy on Saturday, July 27

Photo: Contributed

Check out Burn the Floor on Wednesday, August 28 at 7.30pm.

Photo: Contributed

CJ is bringing his oneman showtothe Stratford Courthouse Theatrenextmonth.

Photo: Contributed

ONE POINTERS

1. What year did the Sydney

2. Who is Bruce Wayne’sbutler?

3. What is the word for illegal alcohol?

4. What accent does Shrek have? TWOPOINTERS

5. What are Pac Man’senemies?

6. What grows in apaddy field?

7. What monument can you see from space?

8. Who is the purple Ninja Turtle?

THREE POINTER

9. What is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet?

10. Jacob and Wilhelm were the first names of what literarybrothers?

11. Which Australian played James Bond?

12. Which Australian TV presenter is also arace car driver?

FOUR POINTER

13. What famous artists was considered asuspect in the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa?

14. What is the most common atom in the universe? FIVE POINTER

15. Which city was first ever to host the Olympic Games twice?

Howtoplay...

Using the 9letters in the grid, howmany wordsoffour letters or morecan you list? The centreletter must be included and each lettermay be used onlyonce No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural wordsending in ‘s’.

of Giza; 8: Donatello; 9: Delta; 10: The Brothers Grimm; 11: George Lazenby; 12: Grant Denyer; 13: Pablo Picasso; 14: Hydrogen; 15: Paris

TQuality home in quietlocation

HIS house consists three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large lounge, anorth facing sitting/formal dining room, and afamily room.

The kitchen has been renovated and includes electric cooktop, electric oven and dishwasher and cupboard space.

The living area overlooks the backyard and outdoor undercover entertainment area.

The home has been freshly painted internally with the carpeted areas having also been updated. All seasons are covered with ducted gas heating and reverse cycle air-conditioning, agents say

Externally there is adouble carport adjoining the 6m x7mshed which has concrete floor and power.The block measures approximately one quarter of an acre.

Agents say this property would suit the investor or young family and is priced to sell. Inspection is by appointment.

Briefdetails fdetails

Property: Brickveneerhomein quietlocation.

Address: 171 McAdam Street, Maffra.

Bed: Three; Bath: Two.

Price: $525,000.

Agent: Pat Weatherley (0412 435 644) or Brett Lanigan (0427 517 577), Gippsland Real Estate.

Convenienceand charm at Saleproperty

LOCATED in aconvenient area of Sale, 190 Dawson Street presents asolid brick home.

Prospective buyers will see the front façade behind privatefencing with an automatic gate.

Upon entering, there is aliving and dining area characterized by timber cathedral ceilings and new laminate flooring. Heating is provided by awood heater,complemented by asplit system and ceiling fanfor yearround comfort, agents say The kitchen features bench space, storage options including abuilt-in pantry,ensuring functionality for cooking and storage needs. There are four bedrooms in total, with the master bedroom positioned at the front of the home. It includes awalk-in robe and an ensuite. Twoofthe three remaining bedroom feature built-in robes.

The central main bathroom includes a vanity,bath, and shower.There's also a separate toilet an adjacent laundry which offers additional storage. Outside, the property features ayardwith established trees and gardens. An undercover entertaining area allows for outdoor gatherings regardless of the weather,agents say.There are also two garden sheds. Acarport with aremote panel lift door is located alongside the home, providing space for two cars or one car and extra outdoor entertaining space. The propertyfeatures a 2kWsolar system featuring 10 panels. Within walking distance to schools, shops, and sporting facilities, and just a fewminutes' drive from the hospital and medical services, agents say this home offers an opportunity for familiesseeking a home in aconvenient location.

Fully functional dairy farm in Heyfield

THIS property features ahouse and dairy farm in the Macalister Irrigation District.

The main homestead has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Agents say asecondresidence is ideal for the manager and/or staffneeded to run this productive dairy farm. The weatherboard home has four bedrooms and one bathroom. The land features amix of riverflats running alongside the Thompson River and high country with flood irrigation out of the Macalister Irrigation District channel. Features of the farm include approximately 589 acres on 11 titles, 679 MG high water reliability,329 MG lowwater reliability, Herringbone Dairy,28aside swing over,500 cowyardwithnew holding yards, race, crush and loading ramp, 15,000 litre Packovat, new 46 tone pallet silo, and sheds for calves, machinery and hay

There

Modern living on massiveblock

AGENTS are welcoming prospective buyers to 81 Killeen Street, Stratford -anenergy-efficient, modern family home set on a4200 sqm block.

The property is set back from the road and is ashort walk from the shops and services of Stratford.

The front entry is protected by averanda, which doubles as an outdoor entertaining area, agents say.Its northerly aspect enhances the heating efficiency of the home during winter

Agents say amain feature of this property is its energy efficiency.The home has a 27-panel solar power 5kW system, which provides ahigh rebate and significantly reduces energy costs. This system is combined with the home's five-star energy rating.

Inside, open-plan living features the kitchen and dining area and the living area with natural light. The kitchen features an island bench, appliances, and awalk-in pantry

There is high polished concrete flooring throughout the home. To ensure comfort throughout the year,the home features Nobo electric heaters, areverse cycle air conditioner,and ceiling fans.

The master suite has anortherly aspect and awalk-in robe. It also includes an ensuite

with atoilet, shower,and vanity.The second bedroom or study is at the other end of the house, and there is another third bedroom with direct access to the main bathroom. This property also features shedding, including athree-bay lockable garage with power and abarn-style shed that features concrete flooring, power, amezzanine for storage, a workshop area, and room to accommodate acouple of vehicles. There is abungalow area within the shed with its own ensuite.

Briefdetails

Timber harvestingcessation“wrong”

ThefollowingistakenfromMemberforEastern Victoria, Melina Bath’s SecondReading speech during debate on the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Repeal Bill 2024 which abolished VicForests and removedthe legal framework that previouslymadecommercial logging possible in Victoria’sstate forests.

THISisa sad day, adark dayinVictoria’s history. Thisisadisasterofa bill.

Thisgovernment, theformerpremier andthe currentpremier, have abandoned regional Victoria. They have wilfullyneglected to listen to the science. They have listened to the chirpy ideologues and inner-cityelites whowanttosee asustainable and world-class industryclosed

On the day the then-Premier, Daniel Andrews was choosingthe beautiful, high-quality hardwood manufactured in Heyfield from world-class ash timber for our$42 million expansion of this Parliament -hewas choosingthat because it is the best in the world -hesignedthe death knell forthis industry.Itisanabomination,and they should all be ashamed of themselves.

Killing off Victoria’s sustainablenativeindustry is economically, environmentally, socially and morally wrong. Iwould like to pay homage to and thank the industry, the industry workers, the townsand the various people and entities associated Over my time in this place, Ihave met some wonderful people in regional Victoria, not only in regional Victoria but in metropolitan Melbourne, who are partofthe supply chain forour native timber industry.

Iwould like to thank the haulage and harvest operators, the contractors and the sole traders, who are doing it so tough at the moment because the government is not honouring acommitment to fully pay them out as required and is putting blocks in the road. Iwould like to thank so much the machineryworkers and those employed by the VicForests contractors. Ialsowant to thank and pay homagetothe civil contractors whoare not associated with VicForests.

So many of those do an amazing job, and some have moved between department contracts and VicForests contracts over the past 20 years as well. Iwanttopay homage to them.

When the fires are burning and for various reasons havenot beenabletobeput out, they drive towards those fires, putting their own life in peril to protect our regional communities and towns.

Iwant to particularly thank the mill owners -and there have been many in the time, their workers and their administrations. Ithank them for their ingenuity, for their integrity and for their grit and hard work on the floor -for value-adding this beautiful hardwood timber product which adorns our homes, our offices, our culturalcentres, our GovHubs, our schools, our libraries and indeed the $42 million offices that we inhabit when we are here. To all of those, Ithank them so much for their ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Iwant to thank, in particular, the engineers as well. Ithank the registered trainingorganisations. Ihave spoken with so many training officers who

upskill and educatehaulage and harvest operators, who provide that safety.

AndIthank theTAFE teachers. Iknow many of them have been so frustrated with third-party litigation.

Ialsothank the seed collectors and boy, haven’t they done it tough at the end of this, because the governmenthas not been recognising them for their services.

Iwant to thankthe VicForests staff, the biodiversity experts,the forest scientists, the surveyors, the assessors, the forest managers and the regenerators. Ialsothank Monique Dawson for giving adamn.

Whenthe courts have saidtoVicForests ‘How high?’, they have attempted in many and various ways to perform those tasks: Lidar data, forest surveys, middle-of-the-night and heat sensor surveys, and it goes on.

On occasion, VicForests has been in an uncomfortable position. They are not universally loved by the contractors, but they have been pulled and pushed and abandoned by this government.

Twenty years ago, Steve Bracks in actual fact introduced VicForests, and like timber workersin our community, Ithink that VicForestshas been collateral damage for the elites and the egos that inhabit this place.

As Isaidearlier,ithas been apassion of mine for all of my time in here to espouse and share the importanceofthis industryand thescience behind it.

In one of my first days in this place,when Federation Room was operational, there was a buzz in that place, and the minister then was Jaala Pulford. There was abuzz of forestry people.The room was full, and the future looked bright. Well, weren’t we conned indeed.

We know that there have been improvements over the time for harvest practices. We know that in the past it was always evolving to better serve biodiversity and better serve outcomes, conservation and protection of zones. We have got special protection zones and we have got buffer zones.

Therehavebeen five ministers in my time of the ag department of this government. It seems like a hot potato that nobody wants. All of the National Party would relish it, and Iamsuremanyofthe Liberals would relish being the minister for ag. There are various things. Let us look at this: 94 per cent of the public land estate is not available for timber harvesting -94per centofroughly eight million hectares is excluded from harvest.

In the last few years, around 3000 trees per hectare were harvested every year and regrown. These are the facts: four in 10,000 trees are harvested and regrown. The national state of the forests 2018 report stated that there was a95per cent success rate for VicForests for Victorianforest regeneration. There was a95per cent successrate for that regeneration.We also know that there is no such thing as deforestation.

What Idoalsoknow is that the wilderness groups -these Wilderness Society groups -peddle this misinformation about it. Indeed, when we asked, in the decline of ecosystems inquiry, how many programs the Wilderness Society has to regenerate,

create habitat, plant trees, guess what, there were no programs. So, whilst they are all about shutting downindustry and shutting downcommunityand notbeingenvironmentally understanding, they do not plant trees themselves.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is not agood neighbour, and we know that manyofthose fireshave established in parkland and the like and moved through-and the people in Sarsfield definitely know that.

Ialsowant to pay homage to the late Kevin Tolhurst, who was passionate about bushfire mitigation and public access but also about active management of our forests.

Dr Michelle Freeman from ForestryAustralia is an eminent scientist, and we need to listen to her words and not the chirpy few scientists gone into ideology.Rob de Fegely, Professor Rod Keenan, Vic Jurskis, David Packham, Carlie Porteous, Steph Kerr, Tim Lester -the list goes on.

Iwant to quote something from Rod Carter. Dja Dja Wurrung man Rod Carter talks about forest gardening:

“I believeinforest gardening. We needtoactively manage the bush, and this government is hellbent on sterilising it and turning it into abushfire habitat.”

Thank you very much to all of those people -and more that Ihave not mentioned.

This government has enabled court litigation Time and time again in this place the Nationals and the Liberals havespokenabout closing the loopholes in the timber code of practice.

Therewas aprecautionary principle in thetimber code, and indeed the former Premier stood in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee and said, ‘We’ve had advice. We’ve had legal advice to say that we can’tshut downthis loophole’ -this timber code of practice loophole.’ Well, he refused to then document and share where that advice

had come from. He refused to show that because, Ibelieve, it does not actually exist, and he was making that up. We also see thatthe government is pandering to those environment groups, such as MyEnvironment. MyEnvironment lost acase against VicForests. They lost that case, and MyEnvironment had costs awarded against them -$1.2million. They should have paid it. The government did not force them to pay it. It is now out to $2 million in interest costs, and the government has turned ablind eye. This is not beingresponsible,and this is not being fair. On one hand you have VicForests suffering these lawsuitstoshutitdown,and then you go around saying that indeed it is not profitable. Well, it is not profitable because you are hamstringing it all the way.

Let me speak about bushfires. Iwaded my way through, as did members in the Liberal Party, the decline in ecosystems inquiry, and the greatest threats to those vulnerable species are bushfires, pests and weeds. Let me say it again: bushfires, pestsand weeds.

Again, we need to have asustainable principle around forest management. If you are going to cut out the people who understand that bush and who overtimeverygently takecoupes and replant them, then you are going to have an impact. But not only that, you are taking away the capacity of this industry.

Yes, some of them are going into DEECA, but clearly not all of them, and clearly those workers who live and work in the towns in our regions are not going to be there. Many of them -and Ican give you quotes and examples -are going interstate and far away.

-Timberbiz

Farmersinvited to ‘Take a Wellbeing Break’ workshops

ASERIES of wellbeing workshops targeting farming communitiesisbeing delivered as part of Agriculture Victoria’sFarm Business Resilience program, with the first to be held in Dimboola.

Agriculture Victoria's Statewide Agriculture Recovery Manager,TessMcDougall, said the ‘TakeaWellbeing Break’ workshops aimed to support social connection and collaboration in farming communities.

"The workshops will provide occasions to support farmers, farming families and rural communities withmentalhealth, wellbeing and self-care," she said.

The National Farmer Wellbeing Report conducted by the National Farmers Federation in 2023 found that burnout and exhaustion are commonly reported in the farming community, withalmostthree quarters of farmers experiencing burnout of somekind in the past five years.

Mrs McDougallsaidfarmers had faced aseries of challenging eventsover recent years, with the current dry seasonal conditions in some regions just the latest one to confront them.

The workshops will be facilitated by Cynthia Mahoney, an experienced facilitator and coach with abackground in Agricultural Science. She says the workshops are designed to be fun and practical.

"They will bring farmers together to provide

them withwellbeing tools and information, connect them and share ideas, and identify practical strategies they can immediately implement to positively impacttheir well-being," Ms Mahoneysaid.

"People often associate wellbeingwiththe serious topic of mental health and expect another workshop full of the same stuff. It is a weighty subject, and Ihave created something thatismeanttobefun while also providing an opportunity for participants to talk about wellbeing in aserious way while they are doing it,"

The first of the workshops will be held at Dimboola on Wednesday,August 7from 6pm to 8pm and is supportedbyWimmera WomenConnect, BirchipCropping Group, Hindmarsh Shire and Wimmera Southern Mallee Development.

Other workshops are beingplanned for Gippsland,South-West Victoria,and Northern Victoria, with details to be made available on Trybookingand the Agriculture Victoria website.

The workshopsare funded by the Farm Business Resilience Program, which is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future DroughtFund and the Victorian Government’sFuture Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund.

TRUCKS GOING WEEKLY

Fedsurvey on local plantations

PhilipHopkins

COMMUNITY attitudes towards commercial forest plantations in Gippsland are the subject of asurvey being undertaken by Federation University in Churchill.

The teamofresearchers from Federation University’s Gippsland campus consists of ProfessorThomasBaumgartl, Prof Wendy Wright,Associate Prof JessReeves and Dr Gideon Otchere, and McGill University (Canada), Prof Gordon Hickey.

This is an independent research project undertakenbyexperienced researchers with local knowledge, which aims to help inform industry practice.

The project is funded by the National Institute for Forest Product Innovation (NIFPI) in partnership with HVP Plantations.

The survey looks at factors thatinfluence perceptions of plantation forestry, and perceived benefits and disadvantages of plantations.

Currently the plantation industry and

state and federal governmentare investing to increase the supply of Australian-grown plantation timber. The Gippsland Plantations Investment Program (GPIP) is an example.

Resultsfrom the survey will be widely available and are intended to help land managers and plantation companiesbetter understand the views of community stakeholders.

Under GPIP, in 2022HVP Plantations entered into a$120million agreement with the state government to increase the Victorian plantation forestry estate.

This was part of the government’s policy to close the native forest industry and replace it with plantations.

The $120 million includes agovernment commitment to contribute to the acquisition of privatelandsinGippslandfor the sole purpose of establishing new softwood (radiata pine) forestry plantations.

HVP Plantationswill also contribute asimilar amounttoacquire the lands, preparethe sites and plant and care for the trees, making atotal investment of $240 million.

The program is expected to provide big economic benefits to the region and will increase domestic supply of softwood timber.

The GPIP requires HVP to establish about 14,450 hectares of new radiata pine softwood plantations over the next 10 years. The land, most in Gippsland, is expectedtobebought between 2022 and 2029.

GPIP requires that the land be bought over a large geographic area and not be concentrated in just afew local government areas.

There are restrictions on acquisitions in the Macalister Irrigation District.

The landwillconsist of acombination of freehold land, which will be owned by HVP, leasehold land and farm forestry.

The emphasis will be on less productive farmland,asitdoes not make commercial sense to acquire agricultural land for timber production.

GPIP calculates that 14,450ha will result in 16 million more trees plantedoverthe 10-year period -aneight per cent increase to HVP’s total plantation estate in Victoria and about

Protecting livestock from cold weather

WITH awinter blast forecast for easternVictoria, reducing the impacts of cold weather on cattle is essential to both animal production and welfare, saysthe Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).

During cold weather, the energy requirements of acow can increase by up to 20 per cent, with lighter cows being more affected than thosein adequate condition.

Agriculture Victoria's livestock industry development officer, Nick Linden, said the impact of cold weather, particularly when combinedwith wet and windy conditions and low pasture availability, can severely affect cows that are already low in body condition.

"Itisimportant to keep an eye on the forecast weather conditions and if possible, move cattle intoshelteredpaddocks or thosewithwindbreaks.

Thiswill reduce the impactsofchill by keeping animals out of the wind and give abetter return on supplementary feeding," Mr Linden said.

"Poorer condition cowshave ahigher maintenance requirement through winter as they have to work harder to stay warm.

“Separating the lightercondition cows will enable producers to better manage these in-need cows with aspecific feed and supplement plan and reduce competition for feed.

"Lighter cows will suffer more from cold stress than fatter cows -fat is an excellent sourceof insulation as well as being an important energy reserve. We really need to look out for the lighter cows."

Lighter cows canalsoresult in weaker calves beingborn in the spring,poor joining rates for autumn calvers or cow mortality.

Mr Linden said hungry cows can be cold cows and cattle will eat more in cold weather to generate body heat.

Roughages likehay are broken downbymicrobial action, and this process generates heat. In addition to roughage, it’s important to keep an eye on the protein and energy levels of the diet.

"While consuming roughages will help the cattle

to stay warm, it is important to ensure adequate protein in the diet to feed the rumen bacteria.

"Without the rumen bacteria being well fed, cattle will struggle to consume the roughages needed to generate heat and stay productive.

"Managinglightercondition cowsseparately, using sheltered areas of the farm, knowing the energy and protein of the supplements being fed and monitoring fat scores of stock through winter are all important ways to minimise theimpacts of cold weather on your stock, especially for animals in lightercondition as aresult of the late autumn break experienced in manypartsofthe state."

Cows eatmoreinwintertokeep warm. Digesting roughages likehay generates heat.

Photo: iStock

Victorian councils prepare for upcoming fireseason

ATOTAL of 45 councilsacross Victoria will receive up to $85,000 each to reduce roadside weeds and prepare forthe upcoming fire season under the state government’s Roadside Weeds and Pests program.

Rural roadsides can provideabreedingground for harmful weeds and pests and this funding allows councils to implement control measures that prevent their spread. Thegovernmentsays the funding will assist councils with arange of activities along their rural roadsides,including treating and preventing blackberry, boxthorn and serrated tussock weeds, as well as managing rabbit populations.

Local Government Victoria and Agriculture Victoria aim to work closely with local councils

to ensure plans to tackle weeds and pests are tailored to their local area.

Weeds and pests cost the Victorian economy more than $900 million each year. Invasive plant and animal species threaten native biodiversity, can have aserious negative impact on agriculturalproduction,and contributeto the spread of fires.

Since 2017, the government has invested more than $22 million to help councils manage municipalrural roadsides, protectingVictoria’s native biodiversity and reducing fire risk.

More information on theRoadside Weeds and PestsProgram can be found at: localgovernment.vic.gov.au/funding-programs

a15per cent increase to Gippsland’s total. All trees planted will be sourced from HVP’s Gelliondale Nursery in Gippsland.

The researchers would like one member of each household over the age of 18 years to fill in the survey.

The survey should only take about 15-20 minutes to complete.

For each completed survey,the research team will donate $5 to either Greening Australia or the Country Fire Authority (CFA) -people can choose -uptoamaximum of $2500.

Surveys should be completed by the middle of August.

The link for peopletocomplete the survey is: bit.ly/4by9Ctz

FIREWISE PLANTING WORKSHOPS

BULLS

FOR HIRE/SALE Angus, Limousin, Jersey, Hereford and Friesian, very quiet. 0447 331 762.

HORSES WANTED

Hosted by Maffra & Districts Landcare Network Sun, 28 July

Sandhill Rd, Stratford (meet near entrance of Sandhill Rd, Flora & Fauna Reserve) 10.30am-12.30pm Come join us for a talk,

PLASTERER

Online ClearingSale

A/C RPimm, The Heartvia Sale Starting Thursday25thJuly2024 9:00am Finishing Saturday 27thJuly2024 12:00pm

Machinery andfarmequipment:

Kingcatride on lawn mower, Coxride on lawn mower, Caterpillar D336 engine Massey Ferguson seed drill,Vintage engine,Mercedes Benz 709truck,RangeRover P76 4.4ltr, Firefightingunit, CaterpillarD336engine,NissanPatrolwagon,3ltr Auto,Ronaldson tippettengines x2,Caterpillarservice manuals, Old engines, Piston pump,Truck accessories, Caravan, Offsetdiscs,Tines/scarrifer, 3PL setofdiscs, Hay trailer,Stock crate, Spiked land basher,Towablewirespinner,Wirespinner,3PL pipe layer, Hydrolic augur drivehead, Rapidspray trailer with boom,Clarkeforklift

Tools &Equipment

Air compressor,Toolboxes, Pallet of shovels &hammers,Truck mountedcrane, Spraytanks &spray pump,Toolboxes &crates, Ramps, Harrows& wheels, Vintage cement mixer,Corncrusher,Workshop press 20 tone,Assortedtools,Inverter &2 batteries, BanSaw &bench, Petrol generators x2,3xwelders& accessories, Bearings, Blockpulleys, Assorted nuts &bolts,Drumpumps &greaseguns, Jumper leads&cables, Cables &tow balls,Chains& Dshackle,Electricwinch,Gantrywith 2x endless chainhoist, Fire hoses, sprinklers &fittings, CaterpillarOrings, hoses &gaskets, Caterpillartools,Lathe,Pressurewashers, Hydrolic pumps/rams,Water pumps, Throttle &Stopcables, wire, Roller mill

Sundries: Pine posts,Sheep yard panels &race,Solid gates, Firehearth, Scrapsteel,Castiron wheels, Pallet of bearings, shafts &saw blades, windows, Kingsrooftop camper Drums& funnels, Poly fittings, Snatch straps & assortedropes, Pallet of belts, Tarp,Box of tarps, Campinggear, 20ltr

Expressionsofinterest areinvitedfromsuitably qualified persons interestedinbecominganindependent member of Council’sAudit& Risk Committee. Twovacancieswill exist on theCommittee, commencing in October 2024 andFebruary2025 foraperiod up to 3years To submityour interest please download an Expression of Interest brief from ourwebsite (www.wellington.vic. gov.au).

Expressions of interest marked “Audit &RiskCommittee Member”will be accepted via email at sheryls@ wellington.vic.gov.aunolater than 2pm Tuesday 6 August 2024

Formoreinformation contact Sheryl Saynor on (03) 5142 3151.

ACCOUNTANT/BOOKKEEPER

Due to continued growth, we are seeking an experienced Accountant/Bookkeeper to join our friendly and efficient team.

The successful applicant should possess the following skills:

● Previous experience in preparation of Income Tax returns for individuals and small business.

● Previous experience in BAS preparation for small business clients.

● Previous experience in payroll processing.

● Working knowledge of Reckon, Quickbooks, MYOB, Excel, Word, Xero

The role is offered on apermanent part time or casual basis and an attractive salary is on offer.

Please forward your resume along with aletter of application to: kellie@pundandassociates.com.au.

Applications close on Friday 9th August 2024.

Fitter and Turner /Valve Technician

Measurement Plus is actively seeking aFitter and Turner /Valve Technician to join their successful service team based in Wurruk.

The position will be workshop based, with the potential to work at various site locations and offshore upon completion of aprobationary period and all necessary training requirements.

We are looking for aself-starter, who can work well on their own, and also be part of ateam on larger, more complex jobs. The successful applicant will need to undergo apreemployment medical and must commit to supporting and complying with the company's quality and safety policies.

Experience in the repair and servicing of energy sector or process industry valving and associated equipment will be well regarded, with competitive rates available for the suitable candidate.

Please send aCVand cover letter to j.martens @measurement-plus.com.au

Expression of Interest

Board Directors

Gippsland Primary Health Network is lookingfor new Board directors; people who will be committed to meetingthe health needs of our diverse region.

The investment in our work has neverbeen more important so we need people who arecommunityfocused andnot afraid to bring newideas to the table.

Ourvision is fora measurably healthier Gippsland. Every day, we work hard to achievethis. Thehealth needs of ourregional community, especially vulnerablepeople and those at risk of the pooresthealth outcomes,dependonit.

We areunashamedly outcomes-focused.Weare atightknitorganisationwith acultureofsuccess,madepossible through ourresolvetoworkasateam. It takesinnovative and creativepeople to ensure we provide theright services at the right time; services that make adifference Youwillhelpusidentify newopportunities,coordinate andsupport healthservicesand commissionnew services. Ourboarddirectors are also responsible forensuring governance andoversight of Gippsland PHN’slegal and financial accountability andstatutory requirements, as well as compliance with funding deed requirements.

We needdiversity of governance knowledge,expertise and experience. This maybeinsome of the following areas:

•Experience in legal, risk and compliance.

•ITand cybersecurity.

•Diverse backgrounds.

We are seekingone elected Director andtwo appointed Directors to join us in November 2024.Ifyou believe you are up forthe challenge to helpusachieve our vision, you are encouragedtoapply.

Successfulcandidates willberequired to undergo backgroundchecks including criminal history checks,and also have aDirector ID.

HOWTOAPPLY

Reviewonline information and completedocuments available at: gphn.org.au/about-us/eoi-board-directors/ Formoreinformationpleasecontact Amanda Proposch (CompanySecretary) by emailat company.secretary@gphn.org.au or by phoneon 0447 223 919

Situations Vacant

•Doyou want to work with ateamofdedicatedprofessionals, whoare keen andeager to journeywithyoung people to helpthemachieve their dreams?

•Would youliketoliveand work in thebeautiful East Gippsland area? YouchooseTreescape or Seascape,withthe financial hubofBairnsdale at thecentre.

•Would youliketohelpdrive thenextstage of developmentfor Nagle Collegeinits journeytobecomingabeaconofCatholiceducation?

If so,comeand be apartofour passionate, experienced,and dedicated staff in developing contemporary andinnovatedlearningenvironments.

Join ouramazing, welcomingstudents andhaveyourcontribution appreciated

DeputyPrincipal Staff Wellbeing & Development

DeputyPrincipal Learning &Teaching

AssistantPrincipal CatholicIdentityand Mission

Further details aboutthese positionscan be found on ourwebsite www.nagle.vic.edu.au

Applicationpacks canberequested by emailing principalpa@nagle.vic.edu.au

NagleCollege

editor

We areseeking aperson with arecord of achievementasa journalist,who is enthusiastic, well organised and has a commitment to community newspaper values.

This person must posses akeennews sense and the abilitytoengage our readers across print,online and social media.

The successful applicant will be responsible for leading an effective editorial team.

Ademonstrated ability in these areas will be highly regarded.

This position is based in Sale.

Excellent working conditions and salary package available

Please send your detailed resume to bseymour@lvexpress.com.au by Wednesday 31 July,2024.

Apprentice MechanicalFitter

Areyou fascinated abouthow things areput togetheroreverwondered howdifferent machines work? Do you findyourself spending time in the shed, pullingthings apart to see how they work? If you have anatural eye for detail and aregood with your hands, becominga Mechanical FitterApprentice could be for you.

Based at LoyYang BPower Station, Victoria’s newest and most efficient coal-fired power station, you will work with an experienced and passionate team of people committed to helping youlearn.

BITS

THE BEST

No HECS-HELPdebt

We will actually pay you to learn!

Placements with other employers to broaden your experience, enhance your trade skills and develop valuable networks

Transferrable skillsrequired for asuccessfulenergytransiton and applicable to arange of industries

Host specific -four-day week, additional training (e.g. forklift,EWP,welding,and hydraulics) perks

WHO SHOULD

APPLY?

We’relooking for motivated applicants who have agenuine interest in starting a trade career within the mechanical engineering industry.

Requirements:

Good communication skills

Reliability and Punctuality

Excellent mechanicalaptitude

Good safety awareness

Forfurther information or to apply use the QR codeinthisadvertisement or visit https://go.programmed.com.au/job/details/62758.

Applicants must submit a resume and cover letter explaining why you think you would be the idealMechanical Fitter Apprentice.

Applications closeThursday, 22 August 2024

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

Deaths

Birthdays

BROBERG, Frances Ann (Ann), nee Saunders. 24/3/38 -19/7/24 86 years. Passed peacefully at Monash Medical Centre, Clayton. Loving and devoted wife of Kevin (dec.). Much loved mother of Stephanie, Meg, Gavan, Bernadette and Frances (dec.). Mother-in-law to Geoff. Together again with Dad and Fran. Rest in peace, dear mum X0

DAVIDSON (nee Short) Florence Jean 'Jean' 19.4.35 -17.6.24

Loving wife of Norman (dec.) for 68 years. Loved Mum of Susan, Bill, and Geoff.

Forever in our Hearts Now with Dad.

Thank you to Respect Wattleglen /Freemasons for their care over the last 6years.

Loving Mum of Susan and mother-in-law of Jack. Grandmother of Hayley and Daniel, Rowan and Emma.LovingGreat Grandmother of Harry, Jack, Max, Cooper, and Stella. Your work is done now Mum, you have done enough for us. Time to rest with Dad now. Will miss you heaps, but always remembered with love. Love you XX

MANN Mary, (Parlicki)

Our friendship was forged in high school, you were mum to my darling god son Anthony, bridesmaid to me and me to you, we had an enduring loving friendship that stood the test of time and distance. I will miss our catch ups in Sale and our 'long' long distance phone calls Iwill miss you. Rest well my dear Mary, Peace is finally yours. Fly with the angels, your friend always Wendy. 'Jack says hello'

MCKIMMIE Mark Neville 16/7/1952 20/7/2024

Son of Robert and Margret (both deceased).

Much Loved Husband of Jan. Step Father to Toni Copeland and Loved FathertoDanielle (deceased). Father-in-law to Daniel and Emma Tassie. Adored Pa of Jett, Brock and Max Copeland. Seth, Beau, Zara Tassie. Always in our Hearts Never Forgotten

MCLENNAN, Chris John. Mr Mac was known by many as ateacher he shared his knowledge to so many, to me he was a good friend. Acherished com pan io nf ro m beginning till journey's end. John Stefanetti.

MCKIMMIE. For funeral arrangements for Mr Mark Neville McKimmie please check website listed below or contact:

In Memoriam

JENKINSON, Harold (Harry). One year ago, you slipped away, But you are still beside me everyday. Forever loved and remembered. Your loving daughter Leanne and son-in-law Nick and family.

JENKINSON, Harold Robert. (Harry) 11/3-1933 -23/7/2023

One year ago, my heart was broken into amillion pieces and emptiness is left inside of me. My darling Harry, if only we could turn back time with all the beautiful memories of our life together. Ithink of you every day my darling, you are now at peace with our beautiful boy Micheal. You are forever loved, your loving wife of 70 years, Leonore xx.

MILLER, Greory Allan. 4/11/1960 -23-7-2023

GREENWOOD, Robert (Bob) 11/7/1933 -13/7/2024

Lyn, Julie, Kevin, Pauline and extended families would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone for your love and support with the passing of Bob. To Brad and the team at Letts, our sincere thanks. To the staff at Wattleglen, you were exceptional in your care, compassion and kindness to Bob. We would like to especially thank his mate Wayne. We are grateful for your outstanding dedication to Bob. Please accept this as our personal thanks.

MCLENNAN, Chris. So sad to lose our cruise buddy and dear friend. We will never forget all the laughter we shared with the four of us together. RIP Heather and Derek Taylor.

MORALEE Lloyd 24-9-1957 -19-7-2024

Peacefully at Wattleglen Hostel Sale.

ELECTRICAL APPRENTICE

Areyou alogical thinker with good diagnostic ability? Do you enjoy mathsand technical tasks?Ifyou have anatural eye fordetail and an interest in electrical circuits and networks, becoming an Electrical Apprentice could be for you!

Based at LoyYang BPower Station, Victoria’s newest and most efficient coal-fired power station, you will workwith an experienced andpassionate team of people committed to helping you learn

THE BEST BITS

No HECS-HELP debt

We will actually pay you to learn!

Placements with other employers to broaden your experience, enhance your trade skills anddevelop valuable networks

Transferrable skills required for asuccessful energy transition and applicable to arange of industries

Opportunity to obtain aCertificate IIIinInstrumentation and Control (UEE31220) upon completion of your electrical training

Host specific –four-day week, additional training (e.g., forklift,EWP), perks

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

We’relooking formotivated applicants who have agenuine interest in starting a trade career within the electrical industry.

Requirements:

Good communication skills

Reliabilityand Punctuality

Systematic problem solving

Good mathematical skills

Goodsafety awareness

Forfurther information or to apply use the QR code in this advertisement or visit https://go.programmed.com.au/job/details/62759.

Applicants must submita resume and cover letter explaining why you think you would be the ideal Electrical Apprentice.

Applications closeThursday, 22 August 2024

Dearest Mum of Bill, mother-in-law of Gabby. Grandmother of Adam and Jenny, Nicky and Jim my. Grea t Grandmother of Billie, Macy, and Isaac. Mum, you are now finally ready to do God's washing and ironing as you told me everytime Iwent to visit you. Thank you mum for all you did for me and my family. Your struggles are now finally over, and you are able to be reunited with Dad and other loved ones who have gone before.

Loving mother of Geoff, mother-in-law of Michelle.

Loved Nan of Jessica and David, Christie and Brad, Jono and Bre. Loved Nana Jean of Sophie, Lach ie, Camero n (Ronnie), Posy, and Maisie. Thank you for your love and caring ways to all our family. Rest in Peace Love you.

DAVID SON "JEAN"

FLORENCE. (Nee Short)

Loved sister of Noel, sister-in-law of Marjorie (dec), dear aunty of Leonnie, Annette and Mark and families. Sleep peacefully Jean.

DAVIDSON, "JEAN" FLORENCE. (Nee Short)

Loved son of Norman and Una (both dec.). Dearly loved brother of Suellen, Craig (dec.), Janine, Catherine (dec.) Gillian and Rosalind. Devoted uncle and great uncle.

Agentle soul at peace

Our sincere thanks to Alan, Susie, Peter and Maurie for their incredible support and friendship

SIM, Merbym George. Passed away peacefully at Cobram, formally of Valencia creek. loving brother of Dorothy and bud (dec.) and knight. Much love uncle of Donald, Mark, Colin and there families. Atrue gentleman

Dearly loved sister of Fay, sister-in-law of Eric (dec), fond aunty of Margaret, Max (dec), Shirley and Robert and families. Treasured memories. Funerals

BROBERG, (nee Saunders)

For funeral arrangements for Mrs Frances Ann Broberg, please check our website or phone:

It has been ayear to the day since you left us. Not aday goes by that you're not in our hearts. The year has been filled with heartache and tears, yet the memory's that we shared will always be with me. Loved by your four children, 3grandchildren and great grandchildren. Iwill always love you, Tracey.

Bereavement Thanks •

DREW, Allan Andrews. 12/02/45 -26/06/24 Linda and families wish to extend there sincere thank you to all who sent cards, and messages, and flowers, and attended Allan's funeral. Aspecial thank you to Brad Semmens and his team.

Funeral Directors •

LOUGHEED, John

Dearly loved friend. Now in God's care. Rosie, Kathleen and Barbara.

LOUGHEED, John

William 25/12/1946 -17/07/2024

Loving husband of Kate. Passed suddenly at home. Words cannot describe John's loss.

LOUGHEED, John. Kate Lougheed and family, Banjo, Barbara and Kathleen. John was avery good friend of ours. He really liked the Essendon football club. He loved taking about football, and things in general Denis and Janeane Robertson.

DAVIDSON (nee Short)

The funeral service for Mrs Florence 'Jean' Davidson will be held at St. Andrew's Uniting Church, Jones Street, Stratford at 1pm on Thursday July 25, 2024, followed by burial at the Stratford Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cancer Council.

(size 1column x6cm)

Sale successatMoe meeting

TomHayes

MOE Racing Club hosted amarathonday at its meetingonFriday, July 12, which witnessedlocal success throughout the day. Sale and districttrainerswerewell represented, and performed admirably.

Beginning as earlyas10.45am,horses were hitting the trackwhich was rated aHeavy 10 throughout the meet.

 THE first local win of the day came from the Race 4Able Mechanical Maiden Plate, ran over 1600m, which featured five locally trained horses.

In what was potentially the surprise package of the day, Limerick Lady for Kelvin Southey -who has stables based in Mornington, Seymour and Sale -miraculously won while paying $51.

The four-year-old mare began the race from the front of the field and was largely expected to drop off the pace as it came to an end.

But nonetheless, she ledpast the 400m mark and onto the straight, with three horses all storming home for the win: Norma’s Fleet for Sale’s Kerry Farrugia,Miss Tramell for Alex Rae (who owns astable in Sale), and Dougal Mckeen.

As the finish linefast approached, it appeared more and more likelythatLimerickLadywould hold onto her first race win from four races, doing so by just under threelengths.

Norma’s Fleet came homeinsecond,withMiss Tramell aneck shy in third to close out a1-2-3 for Sale.

After neverplacing in her career, Limerick Lady wasfinally on the board, doing so on the heaviest of tracks.

Also in thefield were two Ben O’Farrell(who has stables in Geelong, Innisfail, Mannerin and Sale)horses, with Spring Bean claiming ninth, and Raise The Note coming 11th.

 JUST two races later there was more success from alocal standpoint, with Zilzie Lad for Moe’s Peter Gelagotis, who claimed another winner in the Race 6Ezy Clean Carwash Handicap (2050m).

Gelagotis had two winners in Sale just the week prior, and only addedtoitonceagainthrough Zilzie Lad.

Named as the favourite by quite some margin, it was always going to be hard to write off the four-year-old gelding,despite the competition that presented itself.

It was atwo-horsebattle between ZilzieLad and Master Right throughout the race, with Zilzie Lad holding an early lead, before being challenged as they began to turn onto the straight by Master Right.

As they met on the straight, Zlizie Lad fought back hard to regain the lead,but it wasn't without little challengefrom Master Right. But Master Right couldn't overcome Zilzie Lad who stormed home on the inside to win by just over alength,claiming the second win of his 14-race career. His first win came back in Werribee, almost ayear ago, on aHeavy 8-rated track.

Locally, Tolerance for Rae came seventh, while

Ideelistic for Mark and Levi Kavanagh (who own stables in Moe) -who was heavily backed -came 10th after adisastrous run in.

 IT took until the final race of the day to find the final local winner, when Grey Ghost for Sale’s Shawn Mathrick held off the field to win the Race 10 Ladbrokes Moe Cup Friday 18th October Handicap (1200m).

Leading for the entire race, Grey Ghostlooked comfortable on the heavy track, but soon found himself with some competition to deal with.

As he turned onto the straight, he was challenged from behind, yet didn’t allow anyone to pass as he claimed the win by aquarter-length.

Incoming thick and fast was Robert The Puss, who gained positionafter positioninthe final 100m, nearly pinching the lead, settling for second.

It was just the second career win for Grey Ghost, with his last win coming in August last year.

Acey Deucy for Moe’s Charlie Gafa wasn’t able to make an impression up the front, settling for 11th.

 AN admirable local performance was seen in the Race 5Ladbrokes Racing Club Maiden Plate (2050m), which had six locally trained horses in the 13 horse-strong field.

Artspace was astrong contender from the start, but faded at the race entered the pointy stages, leading the field around to the final turn and onto the straight.

Then in came through the hard of horses to put their hat into the ring. Two of which were of local variety.

High Society Girl was the chosen one on the day to cross the line first, but swiftly followed by Princess De Turn for Sale’s Adam Hanley, just shy of a length behind in second.

Coming from further back was What AJourney for Sale’s Paul Worthington, who climbed from as far back as ninth to claim the final placing position. Los Alamos for Gelagotis looked to be in agood

position before they bundledtowards the rear of thefield, finishing 12th.

RoughEdges for Sale’s Cliff Murray sat at the rear for most of the race, claiming afew positions at the conclusion of the race to finish ninth.

Finishing the field off wasMurray’s Lonestar Charliein11thand Gafa’s Northern Heartland in 13th.

 ANOTHER six local runner made up the field in the Race 8S&S Equipment Hire &Sales Handicap (1600m).

Withthe sheeramount of horses in the field, one was bound to finish in the higher places, and that it did.

Rabbit Stu was the eventual winner, leading for the entire race, coming home two lengths clear for Tactfull in second.

BishopRockfor Sale'sSusie Wells ran in the midfield throughout the mile, but began to shift forward as the race entered the latter stages.

Bishop Rock, paying $26 to win, came home in third despite the nearsix-lengthdistance to the front two.

Close behind was Rosabeel for Sale’sAngela Bence, whowas also payingagenerous $21 to win, finishing fifth.

Rounding up the rear of the field was Villeneuve for Southey in seventh, Treasure ‘N’ Blood for Moe’s Logan McGill in 10th, Gafa’s Shesablinder in 11th, and Temleh for Moe’s Lenny Xuereb finished 15 lengths shy of the lead in 13th.

 THE final piece of success was put together in the Race 9Ladbrokes Bet Ticker Handicap (1200m), which saw The Great Bratski for Moe’s Christine Sexton come within alength of winning.

The GreatBratski was the $2.80 favourite for the race before the jump, and was well-poised to take victory again, if it wasn’t for Adrett for John Leek Jr of Cranbourne.

Surf life saving duo claim Gippstar awards

SALE'S Zali Gallagher was named the May Junior Gippstar award winner.

Zali, 17, is asurf life saver with Seaspray Surf LifeSavingClub, and has performed well in Beach Sprint and Flags events.

Among her achievements is agold medal in the under19Beach Sprint at theVictorian Lifesaving Championships, and asilver in theU19 beach relay.

Fellow Seaspray surflifesaver,Jess Jacksonwas the May Open Gippstar winner.

Jessica recently competed in the Surf Lifesaving Championships, where she finishedequal-ninth, one off the final eight eight in Open Beach Flags.

She also finished fourth in the Life Saving Victoria State Carnival held at Lorne and won afirst place pennant in the Open Beach Flag.

Jessica is part of the Lifesaving Victoria High Performance Squad, and is adedicatedcaptain for Seaspray Beach.

Shealso coaches and trainsnippers and youth (also assisting at local nipper carnivals/beach events) while training with Seaspray Beach Squad and Gippsland Track Club.

Holding the inside lane,The Great Bratski couldn’t musterenough pacetokeep ahead of Adrett, and as the line came closer,she had to settle for second.

The veteran eight-year-old mare sustained her 31st career placing (eight wins) from 78 starts.

Want To Doo for McGill closed out in eighth during this race, just under six lengths behind the race winner.

 WITH the remaining four races, three of which had some local horses in the mix, beginning with the Race 2CME Installation Maiden Plate (1000m).

Won comfortably by the favourite, Miss Cotoletta, the closest localtothe lead was Adja for Moe’s Cameron Templeton.

Adja led the field for majority of the race, before succumbing to those behind, letting three horses past before falling to fourth when crossing the line. Sommerregen for Moe’s Allison Bennett claimed sixth, and Miss Neyland for Sale’s Troy Kilgower fell to 10th.

Seemingly, afew horses refused to get into the barrier, this being thecase for Worthington’s Magic Aura, who wasset to debut, but instead was alate scratching  IN what was aclosely contested top end, the Race 3Cloud Chat Maiden Plate came down to the wire between two horses.

Four horses were favoured under $5 odds to win before the jump, with all four of them fillingthe topfour positions.

The eventualwinner wasCaptainElectric, winning by just over alength in what turned out to be atwo-horse race between him and Al Duca. ATom Bowler for Moe’s Ian Jones could only managetoget as highas10thplace,after spending most of the race from the very back in 11th.

 THE Race 7Hall’s Plumbing Handicap (1000m) was taken out by Per Ivy for Caulfield’s Colin Scott in an absolute nail-biter.

As they came toward the finishline, threesuitors were in line to claim the win, with all three of them finishing within ahead of each other.

Darceandermill was the unluckiest of the two placing horses, who was 0.02 lengthsfrom the win, while startingasthe $3 favourite.Royal Lane took third, ahead behind the winner.

I’m Cheeky for Sale’s Bill Wood claimed eighth, stillunderfivelengths back from the winner, in what was ahotly contested race.

 THERE was no local talent to start the day off in the Race 1Ladbroke It! Maiden Plate (1000m).

In aclose battle at the top, four horses finished within alength and ahalfofone another. The eventual winner was New York Diva, a close second-favourite, stealing the glory from the favourite, Snick.

La Fille Rouge led for majority of the sprint, but only just held onto third place by awhisker.

Longfordlocal

to run on the

Kobe

will represent thestate at the National Cross CountryChampionships next month.

KOBEHiskinsfromLongford Primary Schoolhas been selected to represent Victoria at the Australian Primary Schools Cross Country Championships. Kobecompeted last Thursday at Yarra Glen among100 of the states fastest nine and 10-year-oldsinwet conditions, in which he placed fourth in atight contest with only afew seconds between the top four. The national championships are hosted by Victoria this year, again at Yarra Glen Racecourse from August 20 to 23. Kobe is coachedbyDennis Huffer and is a member of the Gippsland Track Club.

Longfordlocal,

Hiskins

Photo: Contributed

SeaspraySurf Life Saving Club’s Jess Jackson haswon further accolades. Photo: Contributed MayJuniorGippstaraward winner,ZaliGallagher of Seaspray SurfLifeSaving Club.

Limerick Lady forSale’s Kelvin Southeystridestovictory in Moe

Photo: Ross Holburt/Racing Photos

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

SENIORS

LEONGATHA 1.3 3.7 3.8 6.10 (46)

WARRAGUL 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 (7)

GOALS: Leongatha: JGarnham 3J HarryT Hall JStewart.Warragul: VCaia BEST: Leongatha: KDrewJ Garnham JWalker BWillisT Brill ATrotto. Warragul: JDavidson LCarterPCarpenter LSerong JHughes IWallace

SALE2.8 5.9 8.15 13.17 (95)

DROUIN 2.1 5.2 7.4 11.7 (73)

GOALS: Sale:T Campbell 4BDessent 2SLange 2CHenness 2HHolmes JJohnstone M Dowse. Drouin: EMorris3 THancock 2JHuston KQuirkJMcKellar SAmoroso WPapley J Marshall BEST: Sale:JMclarenSLange HHolmes CHenness TCampbell JFreeman.Drouin: JKingiSAmoroso THancock EMorris MCotter KQuirk

WONTHAGGI

Magpies get back on track

Liam Durkin

HEADING into this season, most Gippsland League punditsshared the view it wasgoing to be avery tight competition. No one in their right mind however surely thought it would be this tight.

(53)

(42)

GOALS: Wonthaggi: CMcInnes 3J Blair 2JGilmour NAnderson KPatterson. Traralgon: D Loprese2 HNeocleous 2SHallyburtonJ Cunico. BEST: Wonthaggi: KPatterson IChugg J Thomas SBrayALindsay BCornelis.Traralgon: LD’Angelo MMembrey JCunico HNeocleous CAmbler DLoprese

(52)

5.5 7.7 (49)

4.1

GOALS: Maffra: IButters 3E Stables SSmith JMcQuillenKRenooyACarr.Morwell:C Macdonald 2B Mcauliffe2 JLeak TBrown TSmith. BEST: Maffra: ACarr JRead TScott A Wright BMonk IButters.Morwell: MLinton AQuigley BMacfarlane BBailey CMacdonald

2.14.4 6.6 11.9 (75)

1.61.6 3.9 8.10 (58)

GOALS: Moe: DKeilty4J Wood 2JBalfour 2J

GOALS: Sale:MAnnear 3M Lobley 3B Hall JCantwell HPotts BJones SRunciman JSimic Drouin: Details N/A. BEST: Sale:L Todd CLavertyBJones KCutler MAnnear CByron. Drouin: JSimpson XKinder CPiner CCaddy JAhern ARothmeier

(16)

GOALS: Bairnsdale: RCarstairs 4J Froud 4LDunkley 3RBlandford3 MNeate 2M Falls

2DO’Connor.Moe: SHansonW Hester BEST: Bairnsdale: LBleyswyk RCarstairs JFroud DO’Connor RBlandfordLDunkley.Moe: JMorrowW Hester LDurkin KWeir SHansonR Matthews

(3)

GOALS: Leongatha: TMcRae 2J Pellicano 2DKratzat FMateria NClark NNagel.Warragul: Details N/A. BEST: Leongatha: LHickey NHanilyD Kratzat JPellicano NNagel TMcRae Warragul: DRidgwayLGronowP Mulqueen JOrlickiLMiller XLaFrantz LADDER PW LD FA %Pts Leongatha 14 14 00 1356 287 472.47 56 Maffra 14 12 20 1031 431 239.21 48

Whilethe departure of several top-line players frommost clubs has meant adecrease in the overall standard since last year, the fact it has createdthe most competitive senior football competition in the state would have to be viewed as apositive trade-off.

Yes, the Gippsland League is currently the most competitive in the entire state. The league ranks number one for competitiveness, withanaveragemargin spread of just 20 points.

Round 14 action continued to uphold such numbers, with three of thefive games decided by less than threegoals, and anotherbyfour.  SALE withstood adecent challenge from Drouin.

While the Magpies won 13.17 (95) to 11.7 (73), they were kept honest by adetermined visiting side.The Hawks trailed by just seven points at the main break, and 17 points at three quarter time, as some errantkicking by Sale meant the gamewas closer than it perhaps should havebeen

The Magpies wereaccurate in front of goal for all the wrong reasons -hitting the post four times.

Such afeat was somewhat noteworthy given the strong westerly breeze blowing across Sale Oval for most of the afternoon.

After registering 8.15 (63) in the first three quarters, Sale straightened up in the last, kicking 5.2 (32) to win by 22 points.

Drouin for their worth also registered four goals in the final stanza, playing the game right out to the end.

Tom Campbell kickedfour goals in the win. The unassumingforwardnow has 30 goals for the year, beating his previous best in black and white stripes of 25 two years ago.

Much like Maffra’s Andrew Petrou before him,while Campbell mightnot looklikea footballer, he is someone who can be damaging if not shown enough respect.

Jack McLaren picked up where he left off last season with abest-on-ground performance. Coming back from long-term injury, it has taken McLaren just three weeks to find his feet again.

Others to play well were Hudson Holmes, Cody Henness, Jarrod Freeman, and the man recently ratedSale’sG.O.A.T-Shannen Lange.

When asked for asummation postgame, Sale assistant coach Shane Fyfe kept things in perspective.

“Tough old day, had some opportunities in the second and third to get away but it was pretty windy,” he said.

“All in we kept at it in hard conditions, great to see Jack McLaren back to his best.”

Ed Morris, tippedtobeDrouin’s coach next year, kicked three goals, and received goodsupportfrom aman who haspreviously coached the Hawks in Jordan Kingi.

Seb Amorosso, Tim Hancock, MitchCotter and Kye Quirk were also solid contributors.

The win took Sale to outright fourth on the ladder.

The Magpies have atoughfortnight ahead, with games against Traralgon and Leongatha, and given the logjam of teams, will more than likely be fighting to keep their

top five spot all the way to Round 18.

 MOE took astep closer to finals qualification.

The Lions broke away from apersistent Bairnsdale, winning 11.9 (75) to 8.10 (58).

Making the trip east, the visitors overcame gloomy conditionsthatsaw the lights turned on for the entire game, beforehigh winds wreaked havoc in the last quarter.

With the carpark at Bairnsdale City Oval comprising mostly of self-binding gravel, players and spectators were ducking for cover as small sandstorms were created.

On field, the Lions led at every change, although the Redlegs stayedwithin striking distance for themost part.

Returning from the halftime interlude 16 points down, Bairnsdale enjoyed periods of dominance in the third, yet onlywon the quarter by one solitary behind.

Moe made the most of their opportunities, and aHarri Sim goal rightonthe eve of three quarter time proved pivotal.

The third quarter was not without astory in itself,asMoe ruckman Chris Prowse was injured following acontest.

The stretcher was called for but not used, and while Prowse got to his feet, he was taken straight intothe rooms withoutfirst going through the interchange gates.

Therefore, he was unable to play the last quarter.

The Lions’ lead at three quarter time was virtually the same as it was half-an-hour earlier, and given the choppy conditions, gave them some handy breathing space.

Moe playing-coach Declan Keilty had to put himself in the ruck at times in the absence of Prowse, working alongside usual ruck and the suddenly promoted Lachlan McGrath.

Keilty set the game alight in the final term, kicking fourgoals as Bairnsdalethrewdown anumberofchallenges.

The Redlegs were only nine points behind at the 15-minute mark, and kicked three unanswered goals late to keep the game interesting.

Moe settled however, and agoal to Jacob Balfour as the clocked ticked deep into time on secured victory.

Moe midfielder Riley Baldi got busy in the last, having nine touches after being closely minded in the third.

His Bairnsdale counterpart Will Mitchell had 40 possessions, and was best on for the home side. Others to playwellfor the Redlegs wereEthan East,RandallStewart, Matt Corbett, Josh Lando and Cooper Harvey. Scott van Dyk was best for Moe, followed by Keilty, Brock Smith, Ben Daniher, Trent Baldi and Luke Mulqeen.

 THERE wouldn’t be many seasons that don’t involve Leongatha and the record books.

The Parrots kept Warragul to the secondlowesteverscore for aRound 14 game in Gippsland League history.

In adour day at Western Park, the home sidemanaged just1.1 (7)toLeongatha's 6.10 (46).

Warragul ‘missed’ the record by just three points.That unwanted distinction belongs to Bairnsdale, who kicked 0.4 (4) against Traralgon only as recently as 2016oddly enough.

Showing how much has changed in local footy, Warragul replaced current East Gippsland side Stratford on the list of lowest Round 14 scores. At the time, Stratford themselves were

playing ateam that has since merged. The Swans scored 1.2 (8) against Yallourn in 1964.

Aquick historylesson: Stratford had abrief affiliation with the major league (then called Latrobe Valley) from 1961 to 1964.

The Swans found the going tough, winning just nine games in their four years.

Yallourn meanwhile merged with Yallourn Northin1977, and competed in the Gippsland League as YYN until 1985 before moving to the Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League (until 2020)and thenNorth Gippsland FNL (2021-present).

‘Back in the day’ the Gippsland League essentially took in towns along the main train line, hence Stratford’s affiliation.

To the present, where only five clubs have frequent train access (Traralgon, Morwell, Moe, Warraguland Drouin), Leongatha found prompt and reliable service from Kim Drew, playing against his old side.

Jenson Garnham nailed threegoals,while Jay Walker, Ben Willis, Tallin Brill and Adam Trotto all had good moments.

James Davidson,LucasCarter, Patrick Carpenter, Liam Serong, Jake Hughes and Isaac Wallace were best for the Gulls.  WATCH out for Wonthaggi.

The Power surged back into contention after beating Traralgon.

Needing to take ascalptoremain in the finals race, Wonthaggi did just that, beating the second-placed Maroons 8.5(53) to 6.6 (42).

Wonthaggi overcame an eight point halftime deficit at home, kicking five goals to two after the main break.

The home side kept Traralgon scoreless in the third term, andwhile theMaroonsdid similar when they had their turn kicking with astrongbreeze (keeping Wonthaggi to one behind in the last quarter),itwasn’t enough.

Kaj Patterson was best for the winners, followed by Isaac Chugg, Jakeb Thomas, Shannon Bray, AidenLindsayand Blake Cornelis.

Cornelis is shaping as one of the great stories from season 2024.

After playing in the reserves the last two years, he has played the last three weeks in the top grade, and could do enough to hold his spot in time for September.

Granted the Power are still seventh, their victory at the weekend took them to awinloss record of 7-7.

Wonthaggi are only two pointsoutside the top five, and look to be playing their best footy leading into the most important time of the year.

After being decimated with unavailability in the firstseven rounds, Power coach Jarryd Blair has expertly negotiated the situation, turning adisastrous2-5 record aroundto5-2 in the last seven rounds.

That Wonthaggi has now beaten Traralgon, and fallenonly14points short of Leongatha and three points shy of Moe sincethe halfway mark of the year, means the Power should be viewed as an absolute danger should they reach finals.

Truthfully, Wonthaggi are asmokeytogo all the way.

Highlighting the Power's win was the debuts of twins Connor and Tom Macmillan. Theyoungsters, stillinfourths, created their own uniquesliceofhistory when they ran out for their first game together.

Luis D’Angelo, Mitch Membrey, Jordan Cunico, Harvey Neocleous, Connor Ambler and Dylan Loprese were best for Traralgon.

Bulldogs continue to flexmuscles

Drouin: TMapleson BRogers CKleeven BBibby CAmey ZMcmillan. Sale: MMcMaster TRonchiKSchoenmaekers JCantwell JGreenwood CShaw

3.4 3.5 3.8 4.9 (33) GOALS: Bairnsdale: LSykesOEmmett ZSmith FRusso MNeate CReed.Moe:MMcQualter ABattista MHasthorpe BEST: Bairnsdale: SO’Kelly MNeate CCook CReed SBuckley R Lieuwen. Moe: MHasthorpe JChila XBerquez LEarlW Jenkinson OBudd

MAFFRA2.3 4.7 7.8 9.11 (65)

MORWELL 2.0 2.0 5.1 5.1 (31)

GOALS: Maffra: WRuthberg2M Proud LHarrington AWattJDowsett TPhillips JBrickley EBerry. Morwell: TShankland 3M Blewett 2. BEST: Maffra: JDowsett JScrivenEBerryF McBean TLittleW Ruthberg. Morwell: TShankland CSeymour RMakepeace OHowe M BlewettT James

2.2 5.6 8.7 10.8 (68)

Warragul: KBoi 4CMcintosh 3A

2SGrummisch. Leongatha: FDonohue BEST: Warragul: HBrown APhillips HCant LFrenchT O’LearySHeenan. Leongatha:K McGrath NSkewesF McLennan JFixterJ Callahan OMahoney

Blake Metcalf-Holtand ErikaAllen

FOUR games remain in Gippsland League netball before finals.

Sale and Maffra however won't be participating, and were again on the receiving end of heavy losses in Round 14.

The Magpies lost to Drouin 45 to 28 at home.

After an already convincingfirst half, Drouin then tallied a10-4quarter that left the result without question, as the secondplaced Hawks moved just one game behind Moe for top spot.

Charlize Traumanis starred with25goals, supported by Karina Proctor with 20. Kate Van der Voort shot 24 goals for Sale.

Morwell smashed Maffra to the tune of 34 goals, 63-29.

The Tigers’ damage was done early with a 17-4 first quarter thatleft the gamewithout anydoubt as to who would come out on top at Morwell Rec.

Some surprising resultselsewhere left the ladder at least appearing as close as it has been since the beginning of the season.

Bairnsdale gave Moe their first incompletioninwelloverayear, drawing on the Redlegs’ home court 44-all.

Leongathaupset Warragul at Western Park, 53-43, whileTraralgon completed the distant trip away from home, defeating Wonthaggi by afive-goal margin.

 NORTH GIPPSLAND netball was reduced at the weekend due to Glengarry, Cowwarr and Traralgon Tyers United honoured with aweek off in Round 14. Sale City dominated Rosedale, 37 to 24 to remain undefeated for the year.

The victorygavethe visitingBulldogs a one-game cushion over Churchill in secondplace, behind the top dogs.

Churchill madethrough quite comfortably against Heyfield, winning44-29 at Gaskin Park.

The second versus third matchup wasa little more lopsided than expected, and the Kangaroos will now fight to hold firm with Woodside, both on nine wins for the season.

The Wildcats made easy work of Yallourn Yallourn North in a49-19 win at home. Woodside only has three games remaining, withabye coming up in two weeks. They’ll be fighting for adouble chance against Heyfield. Gormandale collected their second win for the year against Yarram, winning 56-29 in Yarram.

TheDemonsremain winless for the year

and look like that could be the case come season’s end.

 AN upset saw amajor change on the East Gippsland netball ladder.

Boisdale-Briagolong fell to fifth place. Round 13 was amust-win for the Bombers and their opponents, Orbost Snowy Rovers. If the Bombers had of won,their claimover fourth would have lasted another week. However, the Blues pulled off a12-goal win on their home turf ,50to38.

The victory propelledthe Blues into the top four and finals contention. Behindon percentage, Boisdale-Briagolong will need to win by alarge margin against their next opponents, Paynesville, to stay in touch with the top four.

At the top of the ladder, Lucknow and Wy Yung are cementing their authority.

The visiting Tigers had no trouble getting past Paynesville, 80-18.

On paper, the Magpies match-up against third-placedStratford previewed achallenge. But Lucknow,with not ared mark beside their name in the last five rounds, triumphed 46-30 in Swans territory.

Atravelling Lindenow added four points to their season tally when they beat Lakes Entrance, 49-41.

23 July,2024

NORTH GIPPSLAND

SENIORS

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ROSEDALE 0.2 1.2 3.2 6.4 (40)

GOALS: Sale City:MEvans 4KMartin 2FRead JAllison CWhitehill OWaugh JWhitehill

Rosedale: WLoganJSuter JDiamond RDiamond RAtlee SFox BEST: Sale City:LCarman

TBowman KMartin DMcGuinessJ Allison CWhitehill.Rosedale: LStuckey BSafstromD Barnett HFox JDiamond JSuter

YARRAM 3.7 6.12 10.14 11.18 (84)

GORMANDALE 0.2 0.2 1.2 1.2 (8)

GOALS: Yarram: JSwift5 TChisholm 2LRodaughan JMcfarland MClavarino BMotton. Gormandale:TKanara. BEST:Yarram: LRodaughan JMcfarland CBruns BMottonMClavarino LBentley.Gormandale: WFlanagan SBurgess CPotalej HRichards FRoscoe BHearn HEYFIELD 3.1 6.7 11.7 16.14 (110)

CHURCHILL 0.3 2.4 9.5 9.5 (59)

GOALS: Heyfield: KGraham 4MBennett 3BMansonNDinsdale DBurtonT Birss F Stephenson KHole TMarchesiSHumphreysMSundermann. Churchill: KHolt 2C Williams 2J Whykes BSkinner JFenech ADiCiero BHolt. BEST: Heyfield: TMarchesiT Birss LHeasley KGraham MVan Der ZwartKHole.Churchill: JFenech BWhykes BFlaniganJ Whykes ADi CieroT Sevenson WOODSIDE 2.7 3.9 6.16 7.18 (60) YYN2.3 4.6 6.7

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Woodside: MO’Sullivan 2ZRichardsJ Williams LLeeson RFoat JKennedy.YYN:B Clymo 3LFry DMacdonald JKeyhoe BEST: Woodside: RFoat BJohnson JKennedy LLeeson THall JMorgan. YYN: DShellcot THuttonDBrooks MLuck BClymo JMassese

Minor premiership still alive

TomHayes

ATELLING weekend in North Gippsland football uncovered answers that many had been searching for.

Three teams had alineput through them heading into the round, andnow afourth, and potentially afifth, has been added to that list

Lookingaheadtothe final month that awaits, it appears more and more likely that only six teams remain in the race for the top five, although the top two seemstobedecided.

The weather made things difficult in every game, no matter the opponent, forcing congested games and lower scores.  THEY weren’t going to be held down for long.

Woodside returned to the winner’s list after two consecutive losses, defeatingYallourn Yallourn North at home, 7.18 (60) to 6.9 (45).

Windy conditions made things difficult on the day, makingsenseofthe uptake in minor scores, which outweighed the majors by more than double.

Arollercoaster first half had everyone entertained, as the leadchanged hands on multiple occasions.

Having aplethora of chances in their front halfearly in the piecewas Woodside,who registered nine scores to five; albeit the two sides scored the same number of goals.

The Wildcats edged ahead at the break, scoring 2.7 (19) to 2.3 (15), but their lead could’ve been much morehad they kicked straight (or if the wind wasn’t present).

Woodside continuedtomisschances in the secondterm, while it wasYYN’s turntotake charge.

TheJetsmatchedtheirfirst quarter score, keeping the Wildcats to just 1.2(8) for the quarter, as the visitorssnatchedthe lead back by three points going into the second half.

Woodside returned to the field reinvigorated in the second half, but once again, despite their dominance they weren’t able to make YYN see it on the scoreboard.

AHeatherington. Rosedale: JReid

CBeaverJ

Hanley

BirdCJohnson SDeanBCunningham NIerardi T Oreilly.Rosedale: LLossbergCBeaverREvans cPritchett MBradley LLewis

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(22) GOALS: Heyfield: MMillar 2MCasella BRonan. Churchill: LBreretonBBreretonRCroft BEST: Heyfield: DPatmoreMCasella DBriggs SAndersonSDonahoe RPowney. Churchill: B Kokshoorn BMogfordR CroftBBreretonLBrereton

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3.4 4.4 (28)

Woodside: DMckean 2CHanning ADeanS LambertT Love.YYN:LSummersgill JKaschke AAndersonSGore. BEST: Woodside: AWalpole BKuch RMissen DMcAlpine C Whiteoak NTourtoulas.YYN:R Reid DBensonD Walshe JPheeney BMetcalf-Holt TLawrey LADDER

U18THIRDS

BEST: Churchill: JWilliams DToms LHeckerT DicoratoBAuger MFowler. Heyfield: E Davies JChristian BWilloughbyBMeli JMcdiarmid JReid

5.8 12.19 21.26 27.33 (195)

Woodside: DHarrison6D Taylor 4JMattern 3J Vanderveen 3AJanssen 2AFrancis 2FCupples RMaiden NLucas JScott MMattern TBatters DDobson. YYN: HKing. BEST: Woodside: AJanssen DTaylorRMaiden DHarrisonDDobsonNLucas.YYN:JKaschke JWeiir IGlibanovic NWhiteH RussellHKing

YARRAM 0.3 1.9

(16) GOALS: Yarram: RMcAlpine2LRoberts WBrunton CEarles BMcAlpineLEllis.Gormandale: TKanara 2. BEST: Yarram: WBrunton LRoberts LEarles JApiata RMcAlpine SClarke Gormandale: TKanara RMusgrove KWhitney LDillon JWhitney MDillon

1.5 4.5

Inaccuracies continued to blunder their score, but every point added up as Woodside reestablished their lead.

Scoring 3.7 (25) to the Jets’ 2.1 (13), their third quarter effort gave them ascendancy as the two entered the final term.

Scores seemingly flowed to the end which the Jets were kicking to in thelast, so an ultimate defensive effort was required from the home side to see themselves to victory.

The finalquarter scrap played into the hands of Woodside, slowing the game right down, reflected on the scoreboard.

Woodside kicked the only goal of the last quarter, along with two behinds, which were cancelled out by YYN’s two behinds.

Despite the lack of scores on the board, it was enough to see the Wildcats over the line by 15 points.

Each side only had one multiple goal scorer, as Michael O’Sullivan kicked two for the home side, and Blair Clymo kickedthree for the Jets.

Ryan Foat, Ben Johnson, Josh Kennedy, LiamLeeson, Tanner Hall,and Josh Morgan were outstanding in the windy conditions for Woodside.

Darcy Shellcot, coach Tom Hutton, Dylan Brooks, Mitch Luck, Clymo, and Jai Massese were held in good stead on the road.

The win creates atrue toptwo battle, as Woodside cut any threat from YYN, who are nowthree games behind the Wildcats.

Just nine per cent separatesfirst from second, and withboth teams expected to win their remaining games,whoeverisableto decimate teams more will reap the rewards.

YYN now find themselves locked in arace for the finals despite sitting third. From the outside looking in, the Jets would be favoured to win their remaining four games as things stand (Rosedale, Glengarry, Churchill, and Yarram), which would see them play finals with adouble chance.



SALE CITY continue to surge.

The Bulldogs are giving themselves the best chance of playing finals, after knocking over Rosedale on the road, 11.8 (74) to 6.4 (40).

Even on the road, Sale City always looked at home, steaming ahead early to close the game out.

It didn’t happen as early as they might’ve hoped, but they managed to kickthe onlytwo goals of the first quarter, opening a14-point advantage at quarter time.

The Bulldogs continued to ascend in the second quarter, at amuch more efficient, and hasty rate, which saw them boot four goals to one, with the lead over five goals at the second break.

With only one goal to their name, it was going to be toughfor Rosedale to make up the deficit they found themselves in from here,

unless they were able to stem the flow that the Bulldogs created.

An evenlyfought third quarter saw both sidesscoretwo goalseach,but acouple of minorscoreswentthe wayofthe visitors, which kept the margin creeping in an upward trajectory.

With 35 points up their sleeve going into thelastquarter, Sale City had enough wind in their sails to get to the finish line.

The Blues won the final quarter, but only by apoint, kicking 3.2 (20)to3.1 (19), as Sale City eased to their seventh win of the season.

Leadingthe way for the Bulldogs was Lachlan Carman, Tom Bowman, Kane Martin, Daine McGuiness, Jayden Allison, and Cooper Whitehill. Mitch Evans kicked four goals, helping the Bulldogs extend their lead.

Luke Stuckey, Blake Safstrom, Declan Barnett, Harper Fox, Jay Diamond,and Jake Suter playeda hard fought game for the Blues.

Although sitting in sixth place, Sale City could be one of the more threatening teams in the senior competition right now.

Their run home holds them in good stead too,with four very winnable games which could potentially see them return to finals for the first time since 2018.

The Bulldogs are set to face Glengarry, Churchill, Yarram, and Gormandale, which at this rate,they could win all four.They are yet to face Churchill all season,soare yet to testthe waters, while the game against Yarram in Round 17 could be one to keep an eye on.

As for Rosedale, considering their run home, it appears as though their season has come to an end. Despite being amathematical chance, the Blues have to play against YYN, Cowwarr, and Traralgon Tyers United, before abye in thefinal round.

Considering their percentage too, they might just need four wins to get in, but with threegames remaining, it appears to be mission impossible.

 YARRAM made light work of Gormandale.

The Demons surged to an 11.18 (84) to 1.2 (8) victory at home, in amuch-needed dominant display in tricky conditions.

It was the biggest win of the weekend, and it came at agood time for Yarram, who are locked in abattle forfinals, needingevery win they can get.

Conditions made it difficult to hit the scoreboard with effect, as Yarram nailed 3.7 (25) to two behinds in the opening term.

The Demons continued to show off their dominance, keeping the Tigers scoreless in the second quarter, all while kicking another 3.5 (23).

With the points in the bag, Yarram had a job to finish, and they didn’t need to go all out to achieve this.

Another 4.2 (26) in the third term for the Demons saw the margin surge further, even though Gormandale kicked their firstgoal of the game through Tyler Kanara.

Both sides appeared to hit awall in the final quarter.The Demons kicked the only goal, as they extended their margin by 10 points to collect the fourpoints in a76-point win

Josh Swift gave himself the best chanceat winning this year’s goalkicking,bootingfive goals and cracking the half ton for the season. He is now just four goals behind YYN’s Dean Macdonald.

Louis Rodaughan was best-on-ground for

Yarram, helped on the day by Jake Mcfarland, Chris Bruns, coach Boadie Motton, Matt Clavarino, and Liam Bentley.

For Gormandale, Will Flanagan, Steven Burgess, Chris Potalej, Hayden Richards, Flynn Roscoe, and Blake Hearns performed best.

Yarram move equal on points with YYN and Heyfield following their wins, but their month ahead is harder than the rest.

The Demons are set to face Heyfield, TTU, Sale City,and YYN on their run home. Considering current form, there is apossibility that the Demons could suffer defeat until the end of the season.

To assure themselves afinals spot, games against Heyfield,YYN,and Sale Citywill all prove pivotal, but as the season has progressed, the Demons have appeared to be most likely to slip up -and have done so in losses to Rosedale and Churchill.  HEYFIELD punished Churchill.

In tryingconditions at Gaskin Park, Heyfield resumed their dominance over the Cougars in recent times, putting them to the sword in a16.14 (110) to 9.5 (59) win.

The Kangaroos got off to the best of starts, kicking 3.1 (19) to three behinds in the opening quarter, as the Cougars appeared to take longer to get going in the cold.

Heyfield continued to pushthrough Churchill, adding another 3.6 (24) in the second term, while Churchill were just getting started, adding 2.1 (13).

Churchill weren’t done with yet, and they started confidently coming out of the sheds, getting the margin back down to as little as eight points during the third term. Alate goal to the Kangaroos saw them ahead by just 14 points, and all of asudden there was agame on their hands.

But Heyfield quickly reassembled themselves and made sure there was no chance of acomeback from Churchill, essentially ending their season on the worst of notes.

The Cougars were kept scoreless in the final term,all whileHeyfieldwentoff into the distance, kicking 5.7 (37), on their way to a51-point win.

ThomasMarchesi was influential for the Kangaroos, as was Tyson Birss, Liam Heasley, Kyle Graham, Max Van Der Zwart, and Kail Hole.

Jordan Fenech was namedasthe Cougars’ best in his 200th senior game. Notable inclusionsinthe best were BlakeWhykes,Bailey Flanigan, JoeWhykes, Ashley Di Ciero, and Tom Sevenson

The winfor Heyfieldhas provedtobea vital win,asYarram and Sale Cityboth scored four points in their banks.

The Kangaroos have only three games left this seasonand abye. They are settoface Yarram in avital fixture next week, before Gormandale, the bye, and lastly TTU. At this rate they probably win two of those, taking them to 10 wins for the season, but that game against Yarram could change everything. Churchill’s season looks to be over, with just five wins to their name all season, they are now three games back from fifth-placed Yarram.

Their tricky run home does them no favours, facing TTU, Sale City, YYN, and Cowwarr. Churchillhave only missed finals in the seniors once in 30 years, and it looks as if that feat may double in amonth’s time.  TTU,Cowwarr, and Glengarry had the bye.

Gaskin Park announced as NGFNL Grand Final host

TomHayes

CHURCHILL’S Gaskin Park will be the home of the North Gippsland Grand Finals this year. Although not announced by North Gippsland itself, Churchill FNC President, Mark Answerth announced the news in the football club's weekly newsletter.

GaskinPark welcomedthe additionof asecond netball court to their facility, possibly helping their case in getting hostingrights of the Grand Final.

"This is fantastic news for our club, and will give us an opportunity to showcaseour venueand club," Answerth

said in last week’s newsletter.

Gaskin Park is going through an overhaul, which sees the secondary undergoing resurfacing, set to accommodate baseball and cricket.

Churchill FNC are also set to receive $1 million through the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fundfor the construction of amulti-use pavilion,shared between the junior and senior football clubs, as well as cricket and baseball clubs.

New changerooms are expected to be apart of the pavilion, as the hopes to convert Gaskin Park into the premier sporting precinct in Churchill can begin next year.

FOOTBALL NETBALL EAST GIPPSLAND

Bombers remain on top

Blake Metcalf-Holt

ROUND 13 of East Gippsland football showcased some great matchups that continueto keep the racefor boththe minorpremiership and the ultimate afascinating one.

There are just four games remaining in the home-and-away season, and two games separating first from fourth.

 LUCKNOW proved too strong.

The Magpies swooped home to a10-point, come from behind win against Stratford, 9.7 (61) to 7.9 (51).

Given what was at stake, with Lucknow still in the race for top spot, and the Swans eager to take another scalp, both came out hungry at Lucknow Recreation Reserve.

It ended the first quarter 14-all. The Magpies found next to no room to move in the second, up by just twopointstoconclude the first half.

The Swans still felt like they had apoint to make, and given their form beating Wy Yung the week before, had utter confidence heading into the last stretch.

Stratfordheld Lucknow to one score for the quarter, asinglegoal, and added 2.3 (15) to their score as the third quarter ended with the visitors up by seven points.

The Magpies knew they had to respond and they had to make it quick. Lucknow did just that, banging on fourgoals to oneinthe final quarter to take the win.

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(18) GOALS: Boisdale Briagolong: DPratt 4T Ruthberg3NSandison2LPratt 2J Osborn 2J Whelan MHinks APadula JDennis.Orbost Snowy Rovers: TGriebenowT Morgan. BEST: Boisdale Briagolong: NSandisonJ Whelan NSellingsDPratt TRuthbergTThreadgold.Orbost Snowy Rovers: BMcDonald HMitchell TFindley JJoinerAKenny SWaddell

(84)

TBoydR Hall SDekkers PHoran KRichardson ABoulton

THouse M Coridas PLee ARyanKMahoney SJones.Orbost Snowy Rovers: BFenner JFarley ARobinson TRobinsonBHanrattyT Herbert LINDENOW 6.3 9.3 12.7 15.7 (97)

ENTRANCE0.2 0.4 0.7 5.11 (41) GOALS: Lindenow: KSmith 6BBartlett 3CCampbell BRutherford KRitchie JWalker Jnr J StewartAIrish.Lakes Entrance: CO’Donnell 2JDalyOBrown SDitchburn. BEST: Lindenow KRitchie TFaithfull AIrish NAquilina BRutherford. Lakes Entrance: CGoold AStevens C O’Donnell KGrabham SDitchburn KWade PAYNESVILLED WY YUNG (FORFEIT)

PW LD FA %Pts

2748 162 461.73 48 Orbost Snowy Rovers 12 921 815340 239.71 42 Lakes Entrance128 40 579427 135.6 36 Boisdale Briagolong 12 750

O’Shanassy,Lachlan Channing, and Alex Morcom performed admirably for Stratford

The result keeps Lucknow paired with Boisdale-Briagalong for first place at 10 wins and two losses for the year, while the Swans hold fourth position two games clear of Orbost Snowy Rovers.

 THE Bombers remain atop.

Boisdale-Briagalong claimed the needed away victory over Orbost Snowy Rovers, to elevate, even narrowly, some pressure from surrounding contending clubs.

The 9.12 (66) to 7.7 (49) win gave the Bombersseven songs in arow (ironicallytheir last loss camebyfive points to the Blues) and look like thesideinitatthe moment.

Once again, and as expected, aback-andforth first quarter had Boisdale-Briagalong up by only four points at the first break, 2.2 (14) to 1.4 (10) in Orbost.

That turned to anine-point lead into halftime and then leapt to a16-point lead with one quarter to spare that OSR couldn’t recover from.

Jim Reeves was the man of the match with four goals, followed by Thomas Jolly, Matthew Wilkinson,Kel Porter,Billy Marshall, and Andrew Quirk.

Ashliegh Jonker, Gus Rogers, Lachlan Frenner (three goals), JarrahNettleton, JakeHumphreys, and William Walker were standouts for the Blues.

for the game led to a10.5(65) to 3.6(24) loss to the Seagullsonthe road

After succumbing three goals to none in the second term, Lindenow kept the Seagulls scoreless in the third quarterand trailed by only seven points heading into the last.

The Cats conceded five unanswered goals the rest of the way, adding to that 10 scoring shots to just one, to give them no shot of a comeback.

Liam Carroll wasbest-on-ground for Lakes Entrance, followed by Angus McKenzie, SabastianEtheridge, Oscar Brazzale, Ben Richardson, and Noah Bottom.

Bottom, Brazzaleand McKenzie all had multiple goals.

Lucas Lakay,Todd Alexander,Lewis Roberts, Dave Donchi, Benjamin Rutherford, and JustinGouldperformedwell for Lindenow.

 WY Yung responded with fire.

The Tigersleftitall out on the fieldagainst Paynesville, winning 17.11 (113) to 7.4 (46) away from home.

Wy Yung bootedsix goalstoone and extendedtheirlead to 43 points by halftime.

Andrew Nelson proved to be the best-onground for Lucknow, with Joel McNamara, Dion Grace, Stephen Bertino, Jackson Smith, and Brenden Flinn following suit.

Smith was all over the place with three goals and Damian Hodder booted two.

NathanFrench, Lewis Bolton (second game for the year), Jackson Bacon, Dylan

OSR will be relying on other results to fall their way in the last four rounds of the season to be any chance of playing finals.

 LAKES Entrance defeated Lindenow.

After aquarter of play that had the Cats leading 2.4 (16) to 2.0 (12), it lookedasif Lindenowwouldbeincloseproximity of their first win of the year.

However, only kicking eight more points

The Tigers still found time to kick seven more goals to four for the Gullsthe rest of the way, meaning Wy Yung would hold onto clear third position on the ladder thanks to Lucknow defeating Stratford.

LukeEliawas the star of the show for the Tigers with five goals to claim best-onground, followed by Joel Waters, Nicholas Ward, JobeSomerville, JackHalabut,and Bradley Daniel.

Matthew Golding,Ben McKinnon, Judah May, Alex McLaren, Ty Fahey,and Troy Brown did their utmost for Paynesville.

Netball scoreboard

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE -ROUND 14

AGRADE: Drouin 45 def Sale 28, Leongatha 53 def Warragul 43, Traralgon 44 def Wonthaggi 39, Bairnsdale 44 drew Moe 44, Morwell 63 def Maffra 29.

BGRADE:Drouin 38 def Sale 32, Leongatha 46 def Warragul 25, Wonthaggi 40 def Traralgon 32, Moe 75 def Bairnsdale 41 Morwell 55 def Maffra 34.

CGRADE:Drouin 38 def Sale 31,Leongatha 38 def Warragul 19,Wonthaggi 25 def Traralgon 18,Bairnsdale 33 def Moe 29, Maffra 32 def Morwell 26.

17 ANDUNDER:Sale51def Drouin 44, Leongatha 51 def Warragul 15,Traralgon 35 def Wonthaggi 19,Bairnsdale 50 def Moe 22, maffra 37 def Morwell 18

15 ANDUNDER:Sale55def Drouin 39, Leongatha 41 def Warragul 17,Traralgon 44 def Wonthaggi 14,Bairnsdale 43 def Moe 36, Morwell 32 def Maffra 15

13 ANDUNDER:Sale43def Drouin 16, Leongatha 51 def Warragul 1, Trarlagon 36 def Wonthaggi 4, Moe 49 def Bairnsdale 21, Maffra 48 def Morwell 3.

NORTH GIPPSLAND -ROUND 14

AGRADE: Woodside 49 def YYN 19,Sale City 37 def Rosedale 24, Churchill 44 def Heyfield 29, Gormandale 56 def Yarram 29, Glengarry, Cowwarr,TTU -BYE.

BGRADE:Woodside 43 def YYN 37,Sale City 46 def Rosedale 18,Churchill 38 def Heyfield 34, Gormandale 66 def Yarram 39, Glengarry, Cowwarr,TTU -BYE.

CGRADE:Woodside 40 def YYN 25, Sale City 31 defRosedale 16,Churchill 38 def Heyfield 18,Yarram 25 def Gormandale 21,Glengarry, Cowwarr,TTU -BYE.

DGRADE:Woodside 44 def YYN 29, Sale City 30 def Rosedale 24, Churchill 35 def Heyfield 18,Gormandale 30 def Yarram 15,Glengarry, Cowwarr,TTU -BYE 17 ANDUNDER:YYN 29 def Woodside 16 Sale City 32 drew Rosedale 32, Churchill 17 def Heyfield 14,Gormandale 43 def Yarram 13,Glengarry,Cowwarr,TTU -BYE.

15 ANDUNDER:Woodside 40 def YYN 13

Sale City 30 def Rosedale 15,Heyfield 43 def Churchill 13,Gormandale 41 def Yarram 6, Glengarry,Cowwarr,TTU -BYE.

GIPPSLAND -ROUND 13

AGRADE: Wy Yung 80 def Paynesville 18,Lindenow 49 def Lakes Entrance 41, Lucknow 46 def Stratford30, Orbost Snowy Rovers50def Boisdale-Briagolong 38.

BGRADE:Lakes Entrance 31 def Lindenow 27,Lucknow 38 def Stratford34, Wy Yung 65 def Paynesville 18,Boisdale-Briagolong 37 def OSR 36.

CGRADE:Lindenow 33 def Lakes Entrance 28, Stratford34def Lucknow 26, Wy Yung 65 def Paynesville 17,Boisdale-Briagolong 45 def OSR 34.

DGRADE:Lakes Entrance 40 def Lindenow 20, Wy Yung 70 def Paynesville 6, Lucknow 38 def Stratford24, Boisdale-Briagolong 35 def OSR 16 17 AND UNDER: Lakes Entrance 10 Lindenow 0, Wy Yung 49 def Paynesville 6, Lucknow 48 def Stratford13, BoisdaleBriagolong 48 def OSR 37 15 AND UNDER:Paynesville 31 def Wy Yung 29, Lindenow 50 def Lakes Entrance 13,OSR 42 def Boisdale-Briagolong 27,Stratford24 def Lucknow 21

Carr drives Maffra to last-gaspwin

Liam Durkin

ANTHONY Hudson voice on.

“Siren could go any second.”

ReplaceSydney and Nick Davis with Maffra and Alex Carr.

In eerily similar circumstances to that famous semi-final in 2005, aball-up at the top of goalsquare at Morwell Recreation Reserve saw Eagles midfielder Alex Carr snap home the winning goal right at the death in Round14ofthe Gippsland League.

If banners back in 2005 read ‘Nick Davis come to save us’, the Gippsland League equivalent might well be ‘Alex Carr raises the bar’. Carr’s winner gave Maffra just their second victory for the season.

If postsiren reactions wereanythingtogoby however, the Eagles’ 8.4 (52) to 7.7 (49) result over potentialfinalist Morwell meant as much as any Maffra finals victory.

While recencybiaswill mean Carr’s last gasp effortwillbethe focuspoint, that in itself only told part of thestory.

Maffra did not score in the firstquarter,and were four goals down at the first change.

On aday when Maffra captain, Daniel Bedggood joined WinstonGieschenasthe most cappedsenior Eagle on 253 games, the team wearing red and black snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Equally, Morwell did very well to lose this. Leading by two points at three quarter time, the Tigershad repeat inside 50sduring the last quarter kicking toward the croquet club.

With his side down by three points, arare forward entry saw Maffra’s Kade Renooy accept amark from ahighball, before playing on to snap truly. Morwell respondedthrough Cody Macdonald at the 26-minute mark, and with seconds ticking down, it appeared the Tigers weregoingtoget out of jail.

On the Maffrabench, senior coach Anthony Robbins confided in his assistants that the next goal would more than likely decide the game. The Eagles worked the ball forward from the next centre bounce,with Carr busting his way through to getahandball out, which saw Bedggood, streaming down from halfback, send awobbly left foot kick inside 50, which wasmet by Archer Watt. Watt played on quickly from the edge of the arc, sending the ball to the hot spot.

Ahugepackofplayers flew, locking the ball up for astoppage.

Following up from his earlier effort, Carr burst through and attacked the ball after it had bobbled off afew hands and sat nicely for him.

His snap on the right went through and regained the leadfor Maffra as the clock ticked closer to 28 minutes.

“I see it, but Idon’t believe it”.

Maffra forced enough time out of the remaining minutes to kill the game, with Carr fittingly having the last kick of the match.

Carr was best-on, while James Read, Tom Scott, Ashton Wright, Brayden Monk and Isaiah Butters (three goals) were prominent.

Robbins said the result provided good reward for effort after his team had been on the wrongsideof the ledger in some tight losses thisseason.

“I felt for them (the players), they’d been working pretty hard, hadn’t had the success just to get over the line in acouple of those close ones, butyou just havetokeep gettingbetter to win those close games and yesterday we got one,” he said.

Speaking of the build-up to Carr’s goal, Robbins said there was nothingthe coaching staff could really do in that situation.

“It really just unfolded.Wegot our numbers forward and hopedsomething happened,”hesaid.

Wrighthad amighty last term, takinganumber of telling marks and rebounding some dangerous forward entries.

Still in under 18s, he has been in the best for the seniors over the last two weeks.

“He’s playing with amaturitybeyond his years. He’sbeentaking chargeofthe kick-inssowe’re asking some of these guystoplaybig roles but hopefully the payoff will be in the future,” Robbins said of the young gun.

Addressing the scoreless first term, Robbins said he wasn’t overly concerned as players came in for the huddle.

“We had afair bit of the ball we just couldn’t get it inside 50,” he said.

“It’s been aproblem all year, equalising around stoppage and just being mindful of directopponent, thought we were better at that after quarter time.”

The emphasis on defence saw the Eagles kick five goals to one over the next two quarters, and close to within two points at three quarter time.

Maffra’s win was made all the more meritorious

by the fact they were without leading goalkicker Caleb Calwyn and the Butcher brothers, Danny and John.

While Morwell was tipped to win, the Eagles did match up pretty well, with alot of the league’s up-and-coming young players on show.

“Their general run and workrate and teamethos is great,” Robbins said of the Tigers.

“I said to the players before the game, they’re the sort of team we want to be like, ateam that playsfor each other.

“Goinginto the gamewecertainly felt comfortable withsomeofthe talent we’ve gotthatwewould be competitive.”

The result should give Maffraconfidence, and they now have the chance to play the role of villain for afew teams fighting for aspotinfinals, starting with Wonthaggi at home this week.

Max Linton, AidanQuigley, Burkeley Macfarlane,

Local talent well within the finalshunt

TomHayes

TWO wins separate second from 11th in the AFL, and our locals are well and truly in the thick of it.

Whether they played apartinanupset, or continue on their merry ways, it appears as if there will be locals in finals.

 ADELAIDE caused an upset on Friday night.

Maffra’s Sam Berry played apartinthe Crows’ upset win overEssendon at Marvel Stadium,as the Dons’ finalshopes tookamassivehit in the 17.13 (115) to 17.11 (113) loss.

Berryhad 18 disposalsand agoal, as well as four tackles, three clearances and 382 metres gained.

Although the Crowsaren’t considered to be in the finals race, the Bombersdropped to eighth after the live ladder had them in second at the 19 minute mark of the final term.

 COLLINGWOOD’S premiership defence is wailing away.

The Magpies suffered ahugeblowintheir push to make finals, losing 20.13 (133)to9.13 (67) to the hands of Hawthorn at the MCG.

Nearly 75,000 people packed into the MCG for agamethatwas described as must-win for both sides. Despite neither side not mathematically out of contention, the loser of this game was said to be out of the race.

Nothing is over until it’s over. Especially if you are Collingwood. But the day was just not theirs. Hawthorn had their foot on the accelerator all game,asthe worm continued to rise in their favour.

Sale’s Scott Pendlebury was on point by his standards, collecting 19 disposals, six tackles and three clearances, but his chances of playing finals in 2024 are currently fading away. He does however look set to play his 400th game in acouple of week's, against Carlton at the MCG under lights on Saturday, August 3.

That game is tipped to attract one of the biggest home-and-away crowds in AFL history.

 BRISBANE pulled off an upset of their own.

Taking to the Gabba stage, the Lions knocked off first-placed Sydney in athriller,11.13 (79) to 11.11(77).

Yarram’s Josh Dunkley might’ve been considering quiet by his standards, collecting 15 disposals, six tackles and five clearances.

Boyd Bailey, Brandon Bailey and Macdonald collected the votes for Morwell.

The result loomsasone that willhavehuge ramifications forthe Tigers,withthe race to September intensifying.

Unbelievably, Morwell has been involved in 17 games decided by 10 points or less since 2022. While the Tigers are still two points clear in fifth, losing at home to the bottom side was absolutely the last result they could afford.

The disappointment of the result aside, how the last play unfolded could leave Morwell playingcoach Boyd Bailey with his most anguish.

Just how was Carr allowed to waltz through without anyone getting ahand on him?

When you are threepoints up with aminute left, surelyitisbumper barsupatstoppageand lock on.

Sale claims important win -Page26

Brisbane are now third on the ladder, just halfa-game behind Carlton in second, and are one of, if not the mostinform team in the competition right now.

 NORTH Melbourne just couldn’t hold on.

The Kangaroos started confidently against Carlton, but the Blues showed why they are such aforce in their 16.11 (107) to 14.4 (88) win.

Sale’s Charlie Comben was moved forward thanks to the reintroduction of Griffin Logue in defence for the Roos.

Originally drafted as aforward, Comben spent mostofhis time in the forward50beforehis horrific leg injury that ended his season last year.

Comben was on fire in the first half, kicking three majors.

Carltonled by agoal at quartertime,but the Kangarooswouldn’t budge, to lead by 11 points at the main break.

The Blues continued to enjoy their third quarters, this time kicking seven goals to three, regaining thelead by 17 points.

Comben finished with three goals,and had eight disposals, three marksand four tackles.

Maffra players swamp AlexCarrfollowing his late goal against Morwell.

Photo: Tash Dowsett

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