Kilmore faces final hurdle
By Colin MacGillivray
ONLY one hurdle stands between Kilmore and its first Seymour District Cricket Association A Grade premiership since 2016 – the Yea Tigers.
Kilmore booked its grand final berth by seeing off two-time reigning premier Tallarook in an eight-wicket semi-final romp. In the other semi-final, minor premier Broadford fell agonisingly short against the Tigers.
Kilmore’s triumph was set up by a ruthless display of precision bowling from Brett Buttler and Hayden Smith, neutralising the dangerous Tallarook batsmen.
Smith, who has been in and out of Kilmore’s A Grade side this season and was a mid-week call-up for team, produced his best performance at the right time, taking 3/6 from six overs.
Buttler (3/17) and Smith bowled three maidens each, with support from the likes of skipper Josh Buttler (1/21, four maidens), Robert Hanson (0/4 from five overs) and Jayme Lowe (1/7).
With runs hard to come by, Tallarook’s batsmen were forced into increasingly risky shots.
After Tallarook opener Coby Schulz was run out for 15 the team stabilised briefly before four wickets fell in quick succession.
Cameron Muir (15), skipper Lachie Watts (11), Ben Cooney (0) and Dan Fisher (0) were dismissed for the addition of only six runs, leaving the visitors struggling at 5/39.
Leigh Irving (16) tried to hold Tallarook’s innings together in the middle order, but when he fell the rest of the tail was quickly swept away. Tallarook was all out for 70 inside 34 overs.
Josh Buttler said despite facing a relatively small run chase, he knew Tallarook’s bowlers would come out firing with their season on the line.
But despite the best efforts of Blake Coyle and Watts, Buttler fished unbeaten on 37 alongside keeper Matt Rose (3*), with only Dale Tassone (26) and Jacob Walton (4) falling during the run chase.
Buttler said the Kilmore players were thrilled to reach the grand final.
“Tallarook have had a bit of the wood on us for the past few years. We saw them as a bit of a benchmark, so we set ourselves up to be able to match it with them,” he said.
“We stuck to our plan that has worked all year. We bowled to build pressure and restrict their scoring, and tried to keep tightening the pressure throughout the innings.”
Buttler said his side would stick to the same tactics against Yea in the grand final.
“Early in the year we won in a pretty easy manner and then the second time we met they won in a pretty easy manner,” he said.
“It’s definitely an even contest and you couldn’t say either side is particularly favoured. It’s a contest that could go either way.
“The plan we’ve gone with throughout the year of building pressure is something that we’ve relied on and it has worked. If we’re able to do that, hopefully we’ll come out with a win.”
Buttler said Kilmore was looking forward to hosting the grand final and urged the town to support the team on Saturday.
“We’re hoping we can get a big crowd and a lot of home support, and hopefully that can help get us over the line. It’s very exciting to play a grand final at home. We want our supporters to come out and watch,” he said.
The Tigers will be no easy beats after finishing runner-up to Tallarook in the past two seasons.
Yea emerged with a three-run victory after a thrilling semi-final against Broadford on Saturday.
A strong effort from the Broadford bowlers restricted the Tigers to 9/105 from their 45 overs as Jack Connell led the way.
Connell finished with 3/14 from nine overs, with Taylor Shell (2/7), Braden Hickey (2/18) and Ash Gurney (1/24) also among the wickets.
Broadford was tantalisingly close to its first grand final appearance in three years, but Yea’s bowlers refused to concede defeat.
Broadford skipper Ash Wood made 20 at the top of the order after the loss of Hickey for 12, but Wood’s dismissal by Tiger Marc Steiner triggered a case of middle-order nerves for the home side.
Mitch Collier (13) and Jeremy Bradshaw (12) were the only other Broadford batsmen to reach double figures until tailender James Jones strode to the crease.
Jones entered with Broadford in dire trouble at 9/81, still 25 runs short of victory.
He and Shell put on a heroic last-wicket stand, with Shell defending stoutly and Jones hitting out boldly.
Jones scored 19 runs from his first 20 balls, including two fours and a six to bring the home side to 9/102, only four runs shy of victory. He looked to have struck the winning runs as the ball sailed toward the boundary, but a brilliant catch from Tiger fieldsman Damon Malcolm brought a heartbreaking end to Broadford’s season.
“It was a fantastic game of cricket. I thought we bowled really well to restrict them to 105 and I felt we probably should have been able to chase that down. To their credit they bowled really well and we came up just short,” Wood said.
“It was a catch on the fence to end it. It was a fantastic catch by Damon Malcolm. You’re talking inches and it goes for four.
“It’s a tough game sometimes. It’s disappointing but I’m proud of our efforts as a team throughout the entire season.”
Blasters earn shot at redemption
By Colin MacGillivray
SEYMOUR Blasters will have a chance at redemption after their men’s and women’s teams qualified for Country Basketball League grand finals this weekend.
It is the second year in a row the Blasters reached the north-east conference men’s and women’s grand finals, but both sides will be hoping to redeem themselves after losses last season.
The men’s team will enter its clash with Myrtleford as a hot favourite after an 86-50 win against Wodonga in the weekend’s semi-final.
The Blasters showed why they finished atop the ladder with an imperious display led by Tyler Best, 19 points, Patrick Green, 15, and Thomas O’Connor, 10.
Ominously, men’s coach Craig Hockley said the Blasters still had room for improvement.
“It was still a pretty tough game. At half time [the margin] was only 12 points, so we fixed up a few things,” he said.
“We had nine turnovers in the first half, so we focused on that in the second half and started scoring more freely.
“We have a heap of depth and all players scored, so everyone had moments and contributed at different times. There was nobody who stood out more than anyone else.”
Hockley said the team would avoid complacence in the grand final despite beating Myrtleford by 26 points earlier this season.
“You go in confident but never take things for granted. That was a fair while ago and teams improve throughout the season, so you don’t want to go in overconfident,” he said.
“We’ll do the things we’ve been doing because it’s been successful so far this year. We need to make sure we’re playing defence and pressuring their ball carriers and creating turnovers that we can score off of.
“There’s always a bit extra there in the back of the mind because we lost last season, so it’s a chance for the team to redeem itself.”
Women’s match
Seymour’s women will also get a shot at redemption after a thrilling semi-final win against Wallan on Saturday.
After a neck-and-neck first half the Panthers pulled away in the third quarter, but a determined effort by the Blasters saw them storm back into the game.
Young gun Maddison Ford scored a game-high 17 points to lead Seymour, while centre Leah Swain provided a physical presence on the boards.
Carley Cranston was a standout for Wallan as she has been all season, scoring 16 points and draining three three-pointers.
Seymour got its nose back in front in the final few minutes and, after getting Wallan in foul trouble, sealed the game from the free-throw line. The final score was 65-62.
Coach Bill Pearce said he could not be prouder of his team.
“It was a pretty gutsy and tough win, and it’s always pleasing to be on the right side of a three-point margin,” he said.
“Maddison Ford has been an absolute standout this season. She’s a 16-year-old girl playing in a women’s competition and she’s basically dominated this year.
“She came off injured – she rolled her ankle early in the game and I thought she was very doubtful to return to the floor, but she got strapped up and had a couple of painkillers and came back on and dominated.
“Shona Gesler shot some really timely three-point shots early in the game, which were great steadiers for us.”
Pearce said Swain would have a big role to play in the grand final against Wodonga.
“We’re facing Wodonga [in the grand final] for the second year in a row, so hopefully we might be able to exact a bit of revenge,” he said.
“I think the key to Wodonga will come down to our dominant players again. If Maddison Ford plays well, Leah Swain didn’t play for us last year against Wodonga, and I think she’ll make a big difference.
“We have a lot of teenage kids playing [and] Leah is … a senior player who is a big steadying influence when we’ve got a lot of kids on the floor who can get intimidated by physical play.
“Whenever she’s been on the floor she’s really levelled the team out, and we’ve had a lot of close games this year. Having her to steady the ship when we need it has been crucial.”
Both grand finals will be on Saturday at Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre.
The women’s grand final starts at 6pm, with the men playing at 8pm.
Seymour Basketball Association president Tony Best congratulated both teams on reaching the grand final and encouraged Seymour supporters to travel to support the team.
“It’s pretty exciting to have both teams in the grand final two years in a row. This year we’re hoping we can go one better than last year,” he said.
Romsey looks to rebound before finals
ROMSEY will look to rebound against Gisborne and District Cricket Association bottom side Woodend after a nail-biting loss to Gisborne on Saturday.
The Redbacks were pipped at the post after winning the toss and making a strong total of 6/211 from 40 overs.
Skipper Ben Way led from the front, making 45 with the bat and partnering with first-drop batsman Matt Milne (61) to get Romsey to 1/87.
The Redbacks continued to pile up runs after Way fell, with Will Collins (33) and Jack Thorsen (37) contributing in the middle order.
Romsey had good reason to fancy its chances of victory after removing Gisborne openers Jayben Bannan and Sam Mackay cheaply, but a succession of strong performances by Michael Allen (54), Jason Wilson (57) and Patrick McKenna (60) but Gisborne back in the game.
The run chase came down to the final over, with the visitors scoring the running wins with three balls to spare and five wickets in hand.
Jaime Taylor (2/29 from eight overs) and Taylor Stevenson (2/31 from eight overs) were the only bowlers to take multiple wickets for Romsey.
Despite the loss the Redbacks remained above Gisborne in third place on the ladder and could finish in second place with a win and a Sunbury United loss this weekend.
Wallan is also safe in fourth place on the Johnstone Shield ladder despite a loss to Sunbury Kangaroos on Saturday.
It was another match that came down to the wire, with Wallan bowled out for 173 in the final over of its innings and the Kangaroos just chasing down the total, scoring 7/175 with five balls remaining.
Lancefield had its first loss of the season in division two, going down to second-placed Blackwood by six wickets.
A score of 66 by Mark Caton helped Lancefield to 6/132 from 35 overs, but Blackwood reeled in the total with 12 balls to spare, finishing 4/137.
Eagles and Power to face off in semi-final
WHITTLESEA and Laurimar will meet in a cut-throat Diamond Valley Cricket Association Mash Shield semi-final on Saturday after finishing third and fourth on the ladder respectively.
The season finished with a double round at the weekend as teams played round 14 on Saturday and rescheduled matches from round 12, which was abandoned due to COVID-19 lockdown, on Sunday.
Whittlesea closed out the home-and-away campaign with wins against South Morang and Thomastown United.
Once the Eagles broke a strong opening stand between South Morang batsmen Trent Harvey (52) and Steffan Thomas (36), the rest of the order crumbled, and the visitors were all out for 139 in just 25 overs.
Nathan Somerville produced one of the performances of the season with a blistering 8/30 from eight overs.
With plenty of time to reel in the total Whittlesea’s batsmen worked diligently, with Rajitha Ratnayake (71) leading the way and Corey Avola finishing unbeaten on 28 to reel in the total with six wickets in hand.
It was a similar story on Sunday, with Somerville taking 3/17 to lead the Eagles to a 9/157 to 84 thumping of Thomastown United to finish with nine wins.
Laurimar also finished on nine wins, dropping below the Eagles on percentage after a loss to Rosebank and a win against Thomastown.
The Power sent Rosebank in after winning the toss but failed to reap rewards from the decision after the home side blasted 3/205 from its 40 overs.
The Power made a good start to the run chase through captain Jake Zerella and fellow opener Ash Williams, who put on 73 for the first wicket.
But the runs were not flowing fast enough, and once the openers fell Laurimar did not have enough firepower to match Rosebank, finishing its 40 overs at 5/163.
The Power bounced back with a six-wicket victory on Sunday, with Williams (46) and Josh Deans-Draper (4/13) leading the way.
Laurimar has beaten Whittlesea in both meetings between the sides this season.
The winner of Saturday’s showdown will advance to the preliminary final to play the loser of top sides Rosebank and Panton Hill with a spot in the grand final on the line.
Mernda’s season finished with a win against Bundoora and a loss to Eltham in the Money Shield.
Against Bundoora the Demons were guided to 6/132 largely thanks to Jack McLagan, who scored a season-best 62 runs.
Despite McLagan’s form with the bat, Mernda still needed a strong bowling performance, and got one from Cooper Perrin. Perrin produced a five-wicket haul to decimate the Bundoora line-up, with support from the likes of Geordi Summers (1/19) and James Baker (2/21).
The result was Mernda’s fourth win of the season, which saw the Demons finish in eighth place
Mitchell Shire COVID-19 vaccinations to commence
By Colin MacGillivray
MITCHELL Shire aged care residents and frontline healthcare workers will be among the first Australians to receive COVID-19 vaccines in coming weeks.
The initial stages of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy will be delivered across Victoria at nine health service hubs. The hub for Mitchell Shire residents is Goulburn Valley Health in Shepparton.
The first people to be vaccinated as part of phase 1a of vaccine rollout include selected frontline healthcare workers, aged care residents and staff, and quarantine and border workers.
GV Health COVID-response executive manager Alicia Cunningham said people would begin receiving vaccines at the hub from next week.
“We are excited that the vaccines will soon arrive at the GV Health vaccine hub and that COVID-19 vaccinations will commence from the week of March 8,” she said.
“The first front-line staff to receive the vaccine that week will be those working at the Graham Street campus of GV Health in Shepparton and will include 150 staff working in the emergency department, COVID-19 testing and respiratory ward, and in the critical care unit. This will be followed by the public aged care residents located at GV Health Aged Care facilities at the Shepparton, Tatura and Rushworth campuses from March 15.”
Kilmore District Health chief executive David Naughton said Kilmore aged care residents and staff would likely begin to receive vaccines later in March.
“We’re still waiting for the details. We’re anticipating that this will be happening here towards the end of March. We are meeting with GV Health [this week] so we should know more after that,” he said.
“Residential aged care residents, like our two 30-bed places, and our staff in the 1a cohort are our responsibility, and we’ll continue to work with the GV Health public health unit who have got the responsibility to coordinate it all. We’re working with them really closely. They will be giving us the advice about when to expect things to happen.”
Mr Naughton said aged care residents would not need to travel to receive their vaccinations.
“At this point all of our aged care residents will get the vaccine in situ in the residential aged care facilities. They don’t have to move,” he said.
“With the staff we’re just trying to work out exactly whether they will come to us or whether our staff will go to them.”
Seymour Health chief executive Ward Steet said he expected vaccinations to start in the Seymour region from March 22.
“Seymour Health is working in close partnership with the GV Health vaccine hub to ensure the vaccine will be available as soon as possible in the Seymour region,” he said.
“Our frontline healthcare workers and public sector aged care staff and residents will be vaccinated first as part of the commonwealth’s phase 1a rollout. A community vaccination program will follow after the phase 1a vaccine rollout, with the timing and logistics of this currently being planned.”
Mr Naughton said while the finer details of the vaccination program were still being discussed, he expected everything to run smoothly.
“Immunisations have been given out across Australia for years, and we know what to do,” he said.
“Every year we do winter flu immunisations for all of our staff, and last year I think we had 96 per cent of our staff who got the winter flu immunisation.”
GV Health chief executive Matt Sharp said the health service was in daily contact with relevant government departments and would continue to provide updates on the vaccination program.
“The GV Health COVID-19 vaccine team is working tirelessly to prepare for the vaccine launch during the week of March 8,” he said.
“We understand the … community has a lot of interest in and questions about the COVID-19 vaccine launch and we will endeavour to keep the community informed throughout the vaccine rollout period.”
Fatal crash in Wallan
POLICE are investigating a fatal collision south of Wallan on Saturday night.
Police say two cars collided head-on on the Northern Highway, about 200 metres north of the Hume Freeway, at about 11.30pm.
A male driver died at the scene, while his female passenger was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the second vehicle was transported by road ambulance to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A spokesperson from Wallan Police Station told the Review the investigation was ongoing, and police were still in the process of notifying family members, some of who appeared to be overseas.
The spokesperson said the incident appeared to be the result of driver error.
The Northern Highway was closed in both directions at Wallan folllowing the crash, with traffic diversions in place while police investigated the scene on Sunday.
Police urge anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Standpipe fears continue
By Steph McNicol
MITCHELL residents fear ‘dire consequences’ because of a lack of State Government funding for ‘critical’ standpipes across the shire – only two of 13 are functioning.
Concerned residents gathered outside Broadford Shire Hall on Saturday morning to hear from Victorian Farmers Federation water policy adviser Charles Everist and chief executive Jane Lovell about the urgency of emergency water point funding.
Emergency water points, standpipes, are vertically standing pipes providing large amounts of water during an emergency or for domestic needs.
Ms Lovell is a landowner Mitchell Shire while Mr Everist owns land in Romsey.
“I’m also a CFA volunteer, so I understand absolutely the importance of water when we’re fighting bushfires, and the importance of water year round for farmers,” Mr Everist said.
“There are 300 standpipes, or emergency water points, across the state. They are managed by a combination of local government, urban and rural water corporations. A lot of council standpipes have been in operation since the 1960s.
“It was seen back then as an important part of the community infrastructure and an important asset for the community in the long term.
“Over the years we have seen a lot of these assets become degraded through neglect from managers, confusion over who is responsible for the management of standpipes, and it’s really robbed rural communities of an important asset that is essential.”
Also attending the community rally was Kilmore East farmer Kevin Butler, who also founded Blaze Aid – a volunteer-run organisation that helped farmers rebuild after natural disasters, particularly fires.
“We’ve got a shocking situation at the moment … the government put [standpipes] up during the drought, council continued to look after [them], but these standpipes only have a certain life,” he said.
“We’ve go something like 13 standpipes here in Mitchell Shire, 11 of them have a limited life and all are virtually unworkable.
“What’s going to happen when we have a fire like last year? A mega-fire 10 times bigger than any other. Nulla Vale or Tooborac could go up in smoke. Who are we going to rely on? Where are you going to get your water from?”
Mr Butler called on the State Government to provide what he estimated to be $300,000 to fund the standpipes in the shire.
“You’ve all got emails, you’ve all got computers. Write to the government and tell them we need $300,000 now. Not next week, not next fires – now,” he said.
Clean-up day on Sunday
COMMUNITY groups, schools, businesses and individual across Mitchell Shire are set to clean up the region on Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday.
Residents are encouraged to tackle the surge in single-use disposable items, such as takeaway coffee cups, food packaging, masks and sanitised wipes – all of which have polluted parks, bushland, streets and waterways across the shire.
Several sites across the shire, including Broadford, Kilmore, Seymour, Tallarook, Wallan and Clonbinane, will take part.
The day gives residents the chance to showcase their community pride by joining together to improve the appearance of public spaces while supporting the environment.
Clonbinane resident of 36 years Cathy Soulsby said she had witnessed littering increase in her area, particularly from motorists throwing plastic bottles, cups and other food packaging out their windows.
In response, she organised her own Clean Up Australia Day event, starting from her home on Spur Road.
“It really bugs me to see the amount of litter on the side of the roads. We’re going to do Spur Road again, and because it’s an access road to Mount Disappointment State Forest we get a lot of gabage just chucked out car windows,” she said.
Ms Soulsby said she feared littering was an ingrained habit in some people, but hoped her presence cleaning up on the side of the road would strike a chord with passers-by.
“Learn to respect the bush a bit more,” she said.
“Hopefully they’ll see us out there picking things up and think twice about throwing their garbage out.”
Ms Soulsby encouraged everyone in her community to join and help pick up rubbish from 9.45am, before she hosts a barbecue lunch. People can register with her on 0416 391 085 before the day.
All volunteers are advised to bring a hat, gloves, sunscreen, drinking water and to wear closed-toe shoes.
Mitchell Shire Mayor Rhonda Sanderson said the shire’s environment had been affected by an increased uptake of single-use, disposable items during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unfortunately, this waste pollutes our streets, parks, bushland and waterways, impacting on one of our greatest assets – nature,” she said.
“Clean Up Australia Day is fun, easy and anyone can take part. I commend the local groups that are organising a clean-up for their area and thank everyone who will take part on Sunday.”
To volunteer to take part in a clean-up, visit www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/join-a-clean-up.