Pyalong Author stands out!

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October 21, 2025

CAROLINE Angel is a local author out to prove how powerful women in their sixties can be and with a prestigious award under her belt, Ms Angel is keen to take everyone along for the ride.

The Australasian Horror Writers Association recognised The Dead Spot as the winning Shadow Award for best horror novel at its Conflux Shadow Awards Ceremony in Canberra earlier this month.

“The suspenseful, psychological story [is] set in a country town in Victoria,” they said.

Ms Angel likes to write a good, intelligent, suspenseful story.

“I’m 63 years old and I don’t hide that. I go to events along with young people, but I’m the one they are lining up to see when the doors open,” she said.

“I believe a reader or a publisher sent a nomination in. I was knocked off my feet when I saw I was in the top five. The book sales were spiking.”

The Dead Spot is not Ms Angel’s first book, her repertoire of horror, science fiction and fantasy spans 10 publications and a decade dedicated to her genre.

“My first book wasn’t published until I was in my fifties,” she said.

“The inspiration for The Dead Spot came about as I was driving with my grandkids.

“I said one day, as we were coming up to a dead spot, imagine if the [internet] dead spot killed everything. They said oh yeah, you have to write a book about this!”

Ms Angel’s passion for writing began at five years of age and she attributes her to vivid, yet scary imagination to growing up in a religious cult, but she has no plans to write an autobiography just yet.

“I feel like that would sound like a pity party,” she said.

“My year seven teacher entered a book I wrote into a competition, and I won a prize, it was just so wonderful and it was the first encouragement I had about my writing.

“Three of my books have dystopian themes, and I’ve written my escape in three of them. It’s been cathartic.

“Seven are supernatural horror. I think real people scare me.

“People are scary; the world could end because of people, because of wars.

“I am anti-devastation, anti- starving people to death and anti-bombing cities.”

The Dead Spot, published in September 2024, has attracted five-star reviews on its Amazon retail platform.

A previous novel, Less, was trolled; its story of terrified characters working together to create a new society or just to survive ruffled some feathers as their leaders were homosexual.

“My publisher sent the review to me, it said. Clearly this writer hates white Christian men,” Ms Angel said.

Ms Angel said she was grateful that Amazon removed the reviews under their hate speech policy, but then the trolling got personal.

“It’s author went back to the Fundamentalist Christian Facebook Group; there’s around 2,500 of them.

“I had horrible reviews attacking me personally and also on all my social media channels. I had to close a couple of them down and reopen them.

“As a writer, you have to be careful not to have a political opinion, I could alienate half of my readers.

“In the Dead Spot, there’s an Indigenous character and you don’t even realise until half way through the book that he’s Indigenous.

“I wanted people to like him for a young fella that has a lot of guts, and he’s not the token Aboriginal boy. It’s only when he talks about his connection to the land that you realise.

Ms Angel is a resilient woman who adores her rural lifestyle complete with horses to ride, and emerging writers to mentor.

Writers of Mitchell Shire 1068w WebRdy — The Writers of Mitchell Shire Group met at the Kilmore Gaol on Saturday for their monthly meeting with guest speaker Jane Melville (front and second from the right.)

Together with a friend they co-founded a Facebook community six years ago to unite and inspire local writers.

“So many people are emerging writers,” she said.

“I say do it, you want to write, just do it. I motivate people to work on their elevator pitch, blurbs, application letters and they have to read it out at our next gathering.”

The group meets monthly for friendship, workshops and to hear from special guest speakers. To learn more search for the Mitchell Writers Group.

Ms Angel has generously given the Review two copies of The Dead Spot for our readers to win.

To enter the draw, send an email to sales@ncreview.com.au by close of business on Friday, October 24 and the lucky winners will be announced in the following edition

Cricket is picking up the pace

Jo Kubeil

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October 21, 2025

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THE Seymour and District Cricket Association played round 2 on the weekend with plenty of thrills and spills in its T20 A-Grade games on Saturday.

On a picture-perfect day for cricket, Pyalong hosted the Yea Tigers at its Recreation Reserve where Yea won the toss and elected to bat first.

Marc Steiner made 77 runs across the innings and in between two wickets fell to invite Cameron Armstrong onto the pitch and he took advantage by racking up a steady innings of 53 not out, helping Yea to 2/138.

WEEKEND SPORT Pyalongs Paul Duggard whacks another six 1068w WebRdy

Chasing 138 runs, the Pyalong wickets fell quickly when Tigers fielder, Austen Ross caught two out including Dermott Clancy on just four and in partnership with Thomas White, they eliminated Paul Dugard on 29.

Dugard had a good innings with Daniel Sowden until White bowled the local police man out for 16.

Prior to that, Jamie Pryor made 22 runs for the home side, but it was not Pyalong’s day, and they finished 21 runs short, 5/117

At Tallarook Recreation Reserve, the home side, and the team to beat, played Seymour.

Electing to bat first, Tallarook’s Mitch Itter and Lachlan Watts made an impact with Itter on 58, before he was run out by Jason Brown and Watts on 61 before being bowled out by Hugh Smity. The successful innings finished with Leigh Irving still on the pitch (25) and Tallarook finishing on 3/163.

Seymour were up against the highest run rate in the division for the day’s fixture and were sorely disappointed when Blake Munari-O’Dwyer took Brown’s wicket with a golden duck.

Tallarook’s good form continued with three more wickets from the young bowler, seeing Lachlan Drummond leave the pitch on nine runs and Daniel Bergowicz, on a golden duck. Seymour didn’t come close this time, 9/61.

While Avenel drew the round two bye, Puckapunyal hosted Alexandra on the army base.

Winning the toss the home side fielded first, and it took some time to finish the Alexandra captain – William Ashton was bowled out by Madison Albers, on 20 around the 10th over. Matthew Wal made 15, while Joshua Crane chipped away making 13 singles not out when the side finished, 7/88.

Puckapunyal, chasing 88, looked promising with the opening partnership between Nicholas Bennetts and Charles Davies notching up 39 runs between them, but the fielders were finishing off strong with Justin Leary a menace, taking four catches and took three successive wickets. in the closest game of the round, Alexandra claimed victory when Puckapunyal’s innings ended, 8/84.

Tallarook is on top of the ladder followed by Yea and Alexandra. In round three, for a 12.30pm start, Alexandra host Tallarook at Leckie Park and Seymour have a bye. Yea play Puckapunyal at home and Avenel host Pyalong.

Inquiry into Council released

The North Central Review

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October 21, 2025

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A COMMISSION of Inquiry has been released on the City of Whittlesea’s performance in the months leading up to former Mayor Aidan McLindon’s suspension, which ended on Friday, and has resulted in council requring a new Municipal Monitor.

From the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendation, Steven Kingshott has been appointed as the new Municipal Monitor to the Council for the next 14 months, taking over on October 15, running until December 31, 2026, where he will support council in addressing the inquiry’s findings and recommendations.

Twenty-five witnesses, including all Councillors who were elected in October 2024, as well as the City of Whittlesea CEO Craig Lloyd, Council officers and members of the public were interviewed, with 2000 documents collected.

The Commission of Inquiry found Mr McLindon ‘failed in several essential respects to perform the role of a Mayor consistently with the Local Government Act 2020 or in a way that would support the needs of the Council or the community’.

“As Mayor, Mr McLindon was required to lead the decision-making processes of the Council, including chairing Council meetings. He did not perform this role particularly effectively. He did not commit the time and effort needed. He also failed to represent the Council to the community and left Council without an effective voice,” the report said.

“In the role of Mayor, Mr McLindon was required to promote good conduct by the Councillors. In fact, he personally demonstrated extremely poor conduct.

“Many of the comments on social media by Mr McLindon show, at the very least, a disregard for how they affect other people, especially members of the LGBTQIA+ and First Peoples communities.

“In making unsubstantiated and sometimes bizarre accusations against the Council, the Council Administration and the Victorian Government, Mr McLindon generated misinformation and brought the Council into disrepute.

“Overall Mr McLindon demonstrated a disregard for how his actions reflected on the Council and how they affected other Councillors, Council staff and the community.”

The findings from the Commission of Inquiry found that while there were concerns with the Council’s performance, Council was not dismissed due to no evidence that the Council was unable to deliver good governance.

The report read that while the Commission had ‘serious concerns’ about Mr McLindon’s conduct whilst Mayor, it also acknowledged that the performance of the Councillors, CEO, administration and the Deputy Mayor also contributed.

“While the Commission has serious concerns about the conduct of Mr McLindon when he was Mayor, there were also shortcomings in the performances of the Councillors, the CEO and Administration, and the Deputy Mayor that contributed to the problems at the Whittlesea City Council,” it read.

“When issues arose in respect of Mr McLindon’s conduct, more should have been done by Councillors to try and resolve those issues internally and to hold Mr McLindon to account for his behaviour.

“Overall, the Commission found that the Councillors have sought to act responsibly since the election of Mr McLindon as Mayor.

“Circumstances where the councillors appear to have fallen short appear to be attributable to inexperience, a lack of support and limitations of the legislative framework.

“The Commission did not hear any evidence which suggested that the Council is unable to deliver good governance, and it is not of the view that the Council should be dismissed.”

The report also found that while Mr Lloyd sought to respond to Mr McLindon’s performance, a quick escalation of breaches was seen to perhaps increase, rather than calm tensions between himself and Mr McLindon.

“Initially, the CEO’s response to Mr McLindon’s poor performance of his roles as Councillor and Mayor was professional, upholding the demarcation of their roles. However, we also found that the CEO was very quick to escalate what he considered were breaches of the Local Government Act 2020 or Model Councillor Code of Conduct to integrity agencies rather than try to resolve them internally and this may have exacerbated rather than calmed internal tensions,” the report read.

“The relationship between the CEO and Mr McLindon was beset by tension, conflict and a lack of mutual trust from the outset which impacted the health and wellbeing of both parties.

“They both may have benefited from the engagement of an independent mediator or support person to address their emerging relationship breakdown.

“The Commission is conscious of the difficulties that are likely to arise in the relationship between the CEO and Mr McLindon when Mr McLindon returns from suspension and that this will require particular attention.”

Minister for Local Government Nick Staikos said the City of Whittlesea needed to fix issues which had emerged across the first six months of Council’s term.

“The events at Whittlesea City Council are serious and culminated in a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Mayor by Whittlesea’s ten other councillors. It is clear that a municipal monitor is needed to assist the council’s administration,” he said.

“I expect the City of Whittlesea will use this opportunity to rectify the issues raised in the report – to reset and build a good governance framework that better serves ratepayers.”

A weekend of wickets

Michael Thompson

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October 21, 2025

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THE second round of the Diamond Valley Cricket Association wrapped up on Saturday in fine weather.

In Mash Shield, South Morang recorded its first win of the new season, defeating Mill Park by four wickets at Mill Park Lakes Reserve.

The Lions did enough to record first innings points via Lachlan Gatherer’s 45 and Seyon Uruththiran’s unbeaten 33, which allowed them to pass Mill Park’s 176 before eventually calling the game after losing their seventh wicket while ahead by 13 runs, scoring 7/189.

Laurimar was almightily close to defending 121 at Laurimar Town Park, before succumbing to Lower Eltham by two wickets.

Lower Eltham did look comfortable for much of the day, but a game changing spell from Luke Richardson and Jayden Clifford saw it lose 5/20 in no time at all to sit nervously on 8/110.

However, Lower Eltham did enough to score the 12 runs it needed to take victory, finishing on 8/128.

Richardson took 3/16 and Clifford 2/30 in their valiant attempt to secure a result for the Power.

In Money Shield, Mernda could not find the key wickets in its loss to Banyule at Beverley Road Reserve.

Banyule scored at a steady pace all afternoon and was able to pass Mernda’s total of 186 with just over seven overs to spare left in the day.

Ryan Marnell, Lachlan Taylor and Caleb Leckstrom took one wicket apiece for the Demons.

Whittlesea’s first XI continued its good start to the year by defeating Bundoora United by five wickets at NJ Telfer Reserve.

The Eagles elected to bowl first, but it looked for a large part of the first half of the innings as though it would backfire as the Bulldogs raced to 3/148.

However, Nuwan Madhusanka Vidana Kankanamge’s three wickets helped turn the tide for the Eagles, who restricted Bundoora United to 7/180 off its 35 overs.

Whittlesea again had a hero with the bat for a second week in succession after losing 3/6 in the early stages of its innings, with Sisipsara Dehigaspitiya making an unbeaten 87, which included nine fours and four sixes, as the Eagles easily chased down the target to score 5/185 in 30.3 overs.

In other games around the league, Mernda and South Morang met twice in two grades, with the Demons taking a low-scoring 16-run win in the F2 grade battle at Mill Park Lakes Reserve’s synthetic oval, 117 to 101, while the G3 grade game went the way of the Lions at Edgars Creek Reserve, scoring a 20-run victory, 9/114 to 4/94.

The Demons would otherwise win two of their three games, with the B grade team scoring a 45-run win over Montmorency in a high-scoring game, 300 to 255. The E grade team would take a six-wicket win over Riverside, 4/195 to 193, while the Demons’ G1 West team would lose by 17 runs to Rosebank, 197 to 7/214.

South Morang had a mixed weekend, winning two of its five lower-grade matches.

C grade was defeated outright by Bundoora United, with the Lions bundled out for 122 and 142 in losing to the Bulldogs outright by 28 runs. E grade had a much better result, however, taking a solid 130-run victory over Lower Eltham in a high-scoring affair, 8/364 to 234. There was no luck for the Lions’ G2 grade team, however, losing 8/162 to 4/164 to Bundoora Park.

Laurimar also scored wins in half of its games. In D grade, the Power’s 9/278 was more than enough to take victory against Lower Plenty, who could only muster up 8/205 in response.

In F1 grade, the Power lost a low-scoring game to Eltham, 6/113 to 7/118, while they fell agonisingly short in chasing down Lalor Stars’ 198 to G1 West, scoring 5/195 in response. There was better news for Laurimar’s G2 grade team, however, scoring a four-wicket win over Montmorency, 6/125 to 7/124.

Whittlesea completed a clean sweep of its weekend with a solid seven-wicket victory in its first game at AF Walker Reserve for the year, scoring 3/156 to comfortably chase down Thomastown’s 7/155.

In the North Metro Cricket Association, the third round of games was played on Saturday morning.

Despite a fine 50 off just 23 deliveries by Emma Leatham, South Morang Blue was unable to find enough scoring power to defeat North Balwyn Willows at Mill Park Lakes Reserve, falling by seven wickets.

The Lions scored 6/122 off their 20 overs, before North Balwyn ran down the target comfortably, scoring 3/124 off 16 overs.

Tahnee Pevitt was the Lions’ best performer with the ball, taking 1/12 off two overs.

Laurimar Black had no answer to Epping, losing by 67 runs.

The Power could not stop Brooke Nam, who scored an unbeaten 50 before retiring, or Alicia Gorman, who scored 39 as Epping scored 5/144, with Poshika Joon taking 3/17 off her four overs.

Despite some disciplined batting from Phoebe McKenna, who scored 33, and Victoria Mitchell, who finished unbeaten on 32, the Power couldn’t make enough runs as Epping restricted the Power to 1/77 off their 20 overs.

It was a similar story in division three.

South Morang Maroon had a thrilling encounter against Olympic Fillies in a low-scoring match, with the Lions making 6/57 off their 20 overs, before Olympic Fillies also had difficulty scoring runs.

Sandy Iyer had a great spell, taking 3/10 off four overs, while Vrishti Mongrolia took 2/12 off 3.2 overs, but Fillies found just enough to score the runs they needed, scoring 8/58 off 18.2 overs.

Laurimar Teal was run down by North Eltham.

The Power scored 7/98 off their 20 overs, with Toni Rule top scoring with 25, but the Wanderers were far too good with the bat, scoring 2/99 off 13.3 overs.

Council turns down place of worship

The North Central Review

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October 21, 2025

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A MUCH-TALKED about proposal which sought to build a Hindu temple in the Green Wedge Zone of Whittlesea on 330 Grants Road, Woodstock, has been denied by the City of Whittlesea following widespread community attention.

At the October 14 council meeting, Council had to navigate the proposal, with 753 submissions, made up on 366 objections and 385 letter of support, as well as petitions which was for and against the proposal.

However, the City of Whittlesea, in carrying the motion unanimously to reject the permit, said the proposal did not fit the urban growth boundary in the Green Wedge Zone, despite recognising the emotion attached to both sides.

The applicant, in the meantime, will still be able to appeal the decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Councillor Christine Stow said she wanted to remain consistent with previous rulings on applications in the Green Wedge.

“We welcome any buildings into the area, we welcome prayer and we welcome all faiths, but not in a Green Wedge. It’s not in the urban growth boundary,” she said.

“I have many people come to me with Green Wedge applications. Over the years, people have applied, and it takes hundreds and thousands of dollars and they still don’t get the outcome they want.

“This is not about the traffic that pass on the road, this is not about the built form, and it was not about the vegetation, it was about that this is a Green Wedge.

“It’s a Green Wedge because it’s a sensitive area.”

Referring to Woodstock and Eden Park as agricultural and rural land, Councillor Blair Colwell said the application would have ‘blurred lines’ between urban and rural character.

“This is an evidence-based decision assessed against the Whittlesea Planning Scheme and the Green Wedge Zone, with the conclusion being the application is not consistent with the purpose or relevant planning policies,” he said.

“Woodstock and Eden Park localities are predominantly agricultural and rural residential land use with minimal infrastructure and planning to effectively accommodate and introduce a mix of land uses.

“By introducing a new land use to the area, this will blur the lines between the urban and the rural characters of the area, the sight location a considerable distance from urban land in a rural location, and minimal services and amenities in the proximity.

“While acknowledging this has been an application which has drawn both enthusiastic support and vehement disapproval, I want to highlight these points as guiding principles in my decision-making process.

“I want to reaffirm that Whittlesea is a place for all, and celebrate all faiths, beliefs, cultural practices and people who are part of our community, and this has also been reflected in the planning decision.”

Councillor Jarrod Lappin said there was support from a large section of the Mernda community, and said he was open to working to provide a place of worship going forward.

“Speaking as the Councillor for Mernda Ward, there is considerable need for accessible sites that can be used as places of worship, and I acknowledge that many supporters were based in Mernda,” he said.

“Due to the various clauses in the planning scheme that conflict with this application, it’s clear that this site is not appropriate, but I would like to recognise the community need for these spaces and ask that the CEO consider how we may proceed with more clarity on preferred locations for places of worship in the City of Whittlesea to ensure the diverse needs of community are met and community spaces are delivered in accessible locations.”

Mayor Councillor Martin Taylor spoke to finish the discussion, emphasising that places of worship were needed in the City of Whittlesea to serve community needs, but not in a Green Wedge Zone.

“At the outset, I want to make it very clear that I believe every faith and religion has the right to a suitable place of worship, a place where individuals can gather in fellowship, practice their faith freely and contribute positively to our community,” he said.

“Equally, I believe that every planning application presented to this council, must be assessed to a process that allows extensive community consultation which is transparent, respectful, inclusive and free from any form of discrimination or misinformation.

“In considering this particular application, I have undertaken a detailed objective review over an extended period. I’ve listened carefully to the views expressed by members of the community, considered written submissions, examined officers’ report and recommendations, and reviewed the relevant statutory provisions that cover planning our municipality.

“In that context, I place strong emphasis on ongoing protection of the Green Wedge areas within our municipality. These areas are vital to our environment, agriculture and ecological integrity of Melbourne’s north, and the action plan reinforces protections against urban expansion and non-compatible land uses that would undermine the long-term value of the land.

“I’ve considered all factors and based on the material presented to council, I formed the decision that the location is not suitable for the application at hand, according, the objective planning reasons I’ve outlined, I am unable to support the planning permit, therefore, support this motion.”

Police staffing concerns across Whittlesea

The North Central Review

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October 21, 2025

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Police staffing concerns across Whittlesea

POLICE staffing across the City of Whittlesea was brought up throughout parliament this week as Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell raised concerns that Mernda and Epping police stations may be closed every weekend.

Ms Lovell said she had been informed by sources that from November 2, Mernda and Epping Police stations would be open from Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm, while Whittlesea station would only be opened two days a week.

Such a result would mean the Whittlesea Police Service Area would only have Mill Park to serve the municipality of 250,000 people on Saturdays, Sundays and evenings.

Added claims from Ms Lovell was that Mernda and Epping were operating at around 50 per cent of its staffing, while Mill Park was estimated to be operating at around 30 to 40 per cent of its staffing.

The claims followed Brad Battin attempting to visit Mernda Police station recently, only to find it closed in the middle of the day.

With recent data suggesting crime in the City of Whittlesea increased by 28.5 per cent in the region last year, Ms Lovell said there were great concerns.

“It is a total betrayal to close police stations in the City of Whittlesea when crime has gone up by almost 30 per cent in the last year,” she said.

“The Minister for Police must guarantee that Epping, Mernda, Mill Park and Whittlesea police stations will return to being fully staffed, Mernda station will return to being a 24-hour, seven-days-per-week operation, Epping station will remain open on weekends and confirm by what date these outcomes will be delivered.”

However, the State Government hit back, saying operational decisions regarding counter hours at stations were a matter for Victoria Police, not made by the Government.

A government spokesperson said funding had brought 192 new members into the Whittlesea area as part of $4.5 billion of funding.

“Our record funding of $4.5 billion has helped Victoria Police bring more than 3,600 new members on – including 192 new officers in the Whittlesea area,” they said.

“The Chief Commissioner has also announced his plan to deliver a safer Victoria and a new-look Victoria Police – getting more officers out from behind the desk and on the streets deterring crime.”

CFA stepping up for CPR

Michael Thompson

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October 21, 2025

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RESIDENTS across Broadford and Kilmore in need of life-saving support will get additional assistance from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in the coming weeks as both towns’ CFA joins the Fire Medical Response program.

The Fire Medical Response program has been rolled out across the last 12 months, with the goal to help complement Ambulance Victoria responses, strategically chosen to provide more assistance if a CFA brigade can reach a patient sooner in a time-critical situation, which includes providing CPR in a time of need.

Training was completed two weeks ago to help complete practical accreditation, with further training provided afterwards to help prepare for the program’s start.

Broadford CFA’s Rhys Trevithick said this rollout will happen next month.

“From November 12 at 4am, both Broadford and Kilmore (CFAs) will be responding to a number of priority zero calls alongside Ambulance Victoria, for cardiac arrests and the time-critical stuff,” he said.

“Between the two brigades, we have around 40 volunteers that have been specially trained in fire medical response. We are the 32nd brigade in the state to take it on, with an end total of 50 across the state.”

Mr Trevithick stressed that the CFA program was not a replacement for Ambulance Victoria but was there to provide greater support across the state system.

“It’s important to note we are not there to replace ambulances. We may arrive on-scene when you call 000 before an ambulance does, but we’re there to provide immediate assistance as soon as possible to increase patient outcomes,” he said.

“Broadford and Kilmore were identified as areas where the program could see benefits. Both brigades’ membership voted on whether we wanted to take it on, and both voted in a way that meant we were happy and willing to step up to the challenge, which was welcomed across CFA and Ambulance Victoria.”

Wallan snares first win in McIntyre Cup

Jo Kubeil

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October 21, 2025

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THE Gisborne and District Cricket Association competition played one day matches on Saturday and fans were treated to a spectacular effort from Wallan in the McIntyre firsts against Rupertswood.

Wallan won the toss and batted first.

A formidable partnership between its dependable captain Bryan Vance and Hamish Mullavey-Clark early in the game resulted in 98 runs.

However, at its conclusion, nervously, the wickets fell fast as Rhys Berry sent Archie Moore, Kavindu Ratnayake and Mitch Van De Duim back to the shelter and Shane Van Rooy was handy, assisting with two catches.

Wallan paved the way for a thrilling afternoon of cricket, all out for 177.

Rupertswood, in their early batting could not get away from the deadly bowling combination of Steven Bell and Van De Duim and mid-way through, when Ned Crotty looked dangerous (30), Mullavey-Clark delivered to take his wicket.

Berry made 23 not out and late in the game, Ryley Davis (26) appeared to be making up the gap; happy with nothing less than five boundary scores, however, some terrific fielding from Wallan saw them secure their first victory for the season, defeating Rupertswood by 43 runs, all out for 134.

Wallan coach, Steven Bell said the game gave them some credit.

“After a pretty humiliating loss to Woodend last week, I’m happy with the team,” he said.

“To get a win against a finals contender is big for this team, and the club. This win gives the team confidence that we can compete in this grade of the competition.”

Still in the McIntyre firsts, Broadford were defeated by 144 runs in its game against Gisborne at Harley Hammond.

Riley Vernon opened the batting and starred, making an unbeaten 150. Although Nathan Woods bowled Jarryd Vernon out for a golden duck the damage had been done. Matthew Barake created 48 runs, also with many visits to the boundary before Riley Nolan ended his innings with a loud LBW call.

Broadford batted up chasing 5/258, the biggest score of the round. Early, Joshua Nolan’s 24 runs and later Kyle Hopkins 23 helped, but the side was dismissed all out for 114.

Round 3 also saw Macedon and Woodend victorious over Romsey and Sunbury United respectively.

In the McIntyre seconds, the draw is reversed and Broadford shone when they played away against Gisborne.

Winning more than the toss, Broadford batted first and early in the game flexed their muscle.

Kyle Redenbach (27), Tyrell Dunn (30) and Ashley Wood (76) respectively led the pack and in the fielding, Wood bowled out four players and took one catch.

The final score was Gisborne 164 and Broadford, 8/179.

While Wallan’s McIntyre seconds also won the toss and batted first, in similar fashion, they came out swinging with Beau Fowler (33), Chase Fowler (34) and Brenton Hanson (37).

Oliver McAliece for Rupertswood was too deadly and with fielding assistance he removed three wickets.

The side also batted well in their middle order with Will Honner (71) and later on John Lane (43).

It was a close game which finished with Rupertswood defeating Wallan, 7/195 to 9/196.

To conclude the round, Sunbury United and Romsey had wins over Woodend and Macedon respectively.

Johnstone Shield

In Johnstone Shield, Eastern Hill are proving a force to be reckoned with as they comfortably defeated East Sunbury at John McMahon Reserve by 72 runs.

Lancefield delivered its first victory in the competition, scoring 8/159 to defeat Eynesbury, who were all out for 137.

Kilmore played away and won the toss. Batting across the first innings Dale Tassone made 84.

In between Diggers Rest fielders delivered consecutive ducks to Rhys Quinert and Shuan Suttie and next, Marcus Davern was out first ball. Ben Dawson finished strong, remaining on the pitch with Tassone (77).

Stuart Partridge reliably claimed three wickets, one of those a loud LBW and his brother, Callum took a brilliant catch. It was a nail biter that finished with a victory for Diggers, 4/181 to 5/180.

Kilmore play away on the week end against the Sunbury Kangaroos at Eric Boardman from 12.30pm in a one-day match hoping to move on from fourth on the ladder.

In the Johnstone Shield seconds, Diggers visited Kilmore’s Cricket Ground where Kilmore won the toss and batted first.

An excellent innings from Harrison Purcell (34), Steven Burns (31) and later Lachlan Peggie (27) resulted in the leather finding the boundary on many swings.

Diggers were comfortable in the run chase, scoring 3/149, with big runs from Cameron Morris (33) and Dylan Caruana (40 not out) and Michael West (24 not out).

Kilmore’s Samuel Smith took two wickets and one catch but it was not enough as the Blues could not defend 143.

Jensen Shield

The Jensen Shield saw Wallan win away against Macedon, 1/141 to 8/139 at JD Clifford.

Kilmore were no match for Diggers Rest Bulla Village, scoring 87 to 7/154 at LB Davern.

Club Grade

Kilmore fell desperately short against Malmsbury, bravely trying to chase down 3/204, but falling short at Barkly Square, scoring 6/185.

Broadford was no match for Romsey, all out for 89, before Romsey chased down the target one wicket down.

Wallan took a strong win over Eastern Hill by five wickets at Greenhill Reserve, scoring 5/129 to 127.

Kookaburra Women’s League

Local teams, Wallan and Broadford met for the first time on a windy Sunday morning where Wallan won the toss at Greenhill Reserve.

Traditionally, Megan Farrell opened the batting and retired not out (50).

Kasey Lennox (51), Terrie Haydon (32) and Kerrie Curran (20 not out) were strong batters who found the boundary line on many occasions until their innings finished on a season high, 3/245.

Broadford were thrilled when Ellanor Carboon bowled Kia Montgomery out (28) and later Terrie Haydon.

Chasing 245 was always going to be a big task for Broadford’s inaugural women’s cricket side to achieve.

Captain Brooke Jeffery (eight) was bowled out early, when she faced Lara Vecchie, and the wickets fell quickly thereafter. In its middle order, Melodie Bassett (three) and Maddison Benham (two) gave it their best shot however Wallan was too good and the visitors were dismissed, 8/29.

Kilmore women did not get to play as Darley forfeited.

Broadford moves into division one top four

Michael Thompson

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October 21, 2025

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Broadford moves into division one top four

THE bowls competition has already seen division one’s best teams break away.

Unbeaten in its opening two games, Kilmore had a big crack against Gisborne away from home, but despite three different results on all three rinks, it wasn’t quite enough to take the win as Gisborne won 67-56.

Tim Rogers’ 25-12 win over Josh Wiffen made all the difference for Kilmore, while in a thrilling rink battle, Daniel Noonan took a 26-24 win over Dane Gade. Daniel Carroll and Braidon Johnson’s rink ended in an 18-all draw.

Broadford have moved into the top four thanks to an impressive 72-50 win over Romsey.

David Ellis’ 26-10 win over Greg Taylor, and Daryl Kelly’s 24-14 win over Cameron Austin made all the difference, while it fell short of the clean sweep with Robert Chapman falling 22-26 to Aaron Young.

In division two, Broadford and Kilmore both fell short, with Broadford losing 92-46 to Romsey, while Kilmore was 15 shots short of Macedon, losing 65-50.

Kilmore couldn’t get the job done at home against Gisborne in division three, losing 47-63 despite winning two of the three rinks on offer.

In division one on Saturday, Kilmore returns home to host Diggers Rest, while Broadford will have a big task in travelling to the high-flying Kyneton Golf.

Kilmore and Broadford will have a local battle at Kilmore Bowls Club in division two, while Kilmore will have the bye in division three.

Meantime, midweek pennant started last Tuesday, with Kilmore’s division one team no match for Kyneton, losing 98-18.

At Kilmore Bowls Club, the local rivalry between Kilmore and Broadford hit the rinks, and it was Broadford who took the win, scoring a 63-48 triumph.

Alan Langdon drew first blood for Kilmore on rink one with an 18-14 win over Luke Gleeson, but it was all Broadford elsewhere, with Barbara Goddard scoring a 22-12 win over Joan Grindlay, and Peter Hoskins winning 27-18 over Derrick Boyd.

Kilmore will host its first midweek game today against Diggers Rest at the Kilmore Bowls Club, while Broadford will host Kyneton in division two. Kilmore travels to Macedon.

Panthers’ road trip yields two wins

Michael Thompson

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October 21, 2025

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WALLAN’s men continued its terrific run of form to open the Country Basketball League season, while the women are still plotting to take its first win of the year.

The weekend started with a double-header for both teams at Myrtleford.

The women tipped off to start proceedings, but it was the Saints who got the jump on the Panthers, leading by 13 points at the first change, before extending their lead to 23 by the long break.

Wallan was a lot more competitive in the second half, but the damage was well and truly done, with the Panthers eventually losing 73-99.

Carley Cranston was a reliable scorer for Wallan, scoring 18 points, including four threes from behind the arc, while Madeline Daoud scored 13 points and Maddison Delbridge 11.

In a reversal of the women’s match, it was the men’s Panthers who stormed out of the blocks, leading by seven points at quarter time, before extending their margin to 17 by the long break.

A back-and-forth third quarter followed, but the Panthers again secured a break in the last term by scoring 31 points to 22 to eventually finish up 96-68 winners.

Ryan Philippe drove to the cup with ease, scoring 20 points, while Brody Thrum displayed his three-level scoring abilities in finishing with 16 points. Jayden O’Brien’s 13 points and Dion Stacey’s 11 ensured it would be a good night for the Panthers.

The Panthers navigated their back-to-back with a second meeting against Wodonga in a week.

Wallan’s women’s match was a repeat of the game the previous night against Myrtleford, where a slow start cost the Panthers dearly.

Trailing by 12 points after the opening frame, the Panthers could only manage four points in the second term, with the game essentially over as they trailed by 21 at the main break.

However, despite that, Wallan can take some confidence over going bucket-for-bucket in the second half as it eventually lost 49-74.

Melissa Buckley scored 12 points, while Cranston added 10.

The men’s Panthers blew the Wolves away in the opening half en route to a 31-point victory.

Thirty-one points to 19 in the first quarter, followed by 33 points to 18 in the second, ensured the game was over by half time, with the Panthers leading by 27 points, before cruising to a 107-76 triumph.

It was Philippe who again starred, scoring 28 points as he proved to be a straight bucket across the weekend, while Lachlan Lombardo was a flamethrower from beyond the arc with four threes as part of his 18 points.

Seymour’s women were the only Blasters team to take to the court, with the men’s team enjoying their bye, but they were no match for Wodonga on Saturday night.

The Blasters were no match for Molly Moylan, who dropped a 40-piece for the Wolves as they recorded a comfortable 94-51 victory.

Chloe Dimkopoulos gave her all against the tide, and finished with 16 points, while Isla Whitford also scored 10 points to support her.