After a pre-season of hard work and preparation it is good to see the Noosa Pirates Rugby League Club well and truly on the move: and building momentum toward the season ahead.
On Sunday afternoon, 1 March, supporters convened at the Royal Mail Hotel Tewantin for a successful fundraising event, dedicated to advancing the new Junior Academy and enhancing upcoming facilities.
Highlight of the afternoon was special guest speakers from the world of Rugby League; Nicho Hynes- Premiership winner and Dally M Medalist, Moses Mbye local junior and international representative and George Burgess, English international and NRL premiership winner.
With the NRL launching from Las Vegas and Pirates General Manager Liam Anzelark as MC, the event was truly memorable and full of club spirit.
Moses spoke about growing up in Tewantin, playing for Pirates before progressing to NRL and overseas, Nicho reflected on his formative years with Sunshine Coast Falcons before moving on to Melbourne and Cronulla. George Burgess concluded the evening by recounting his experiences of growing up in England within a rugby family and competing alongside his brothers at the highest level of the sport. Great food, great company, and future Pirate inspiration.
Despite the challenging conditions the Pirates have enjoyed a successful weekend of grading games, trial and club activities: highlighted by several strong performances across junior and senior teams. In the U15 girl’s vs Kawana it was 32-20 Noosa, U17 vs Kawana 12-4 Noosa U16 boys vs Stanley River 22-10 Noosa.
Despite continued bad weather, Saturday the gradings continued. In the U13 Division 2 Boys match, Kawana defeated Noosa 28-12. In U13 Division 1, Kawana won 34-26. For the U13 Girls against Stanley River, the game ended in a 30-30 draw. In the U14 Boys game, Kawana beat Noosa decisively with a score of 40-0. In the U12 Boys division, Noosa fielded two teams to play against Gympie. Despite worsening conditions, Pirates thanked Gympie for continuing the matches. No results available.
Senior results: U19 Men—Toowoomba 20, Noosa 10; Open Women—Stanley River 22, Noosa 8; Reserve Men—Toowoomba 14, Noosa 0. In the A grade, main game of the day Pirates showed plenty of promise in difficult conditions.
New recruit Ulice Gillard scored two tries, while last year’s top points scorer Paddy McGinn, added a try and two conversions. After a tough game which saw several lead changes Southern Suburbs finished strongly to win 28-20. Considering the conditions Pirates would like to thank the Tigers for making the trip and wished them well
Outrigger Canoe Club.
Last Saturday saw a great day of racing for the club at Raby Bay Brisbane. Spokesman for the club, Colin Jones says that the day’s events were most notable for the inclusion of club’s legend and oldest member, Hugh Bigham: paddling as a member of the Senior masters Men’s team.
“What put the icing on the cake,” said Col Jones, “was that the team trounced the opposition to take out first place in the 10km sprint and there were smiles all around.” Distinguished waterman Chriss Kelly, one of the winning paddlers, aptly described the experience by stating, “It was an extraordinary privilege for us to paddle alongside Hughie. We were pumped up all day, just seeing the smile on his face.’’ Well done to Hughie and team. This is yet another sport that is old and steeped in traditions: traditions of the Polynesian people.
Amateur Boxing
Impact Boxing Academy, located in Cooroy, achieved impressive results at the recent Queensland Novice Titles: securing eleven wins out of fourteen bouts. Notably, Luke Austin delivered an exceptional performance, achieving three victories in three consecutive days across three matches. Additionally, Luke competed on both the preceding weekend and the weekend prior. He also achieved a gold medal victory in a tournament last year. Definitely a very busy fighter.
The tournament which was an outstanding success had a program of 225 fights, across the three days. On the first day, Team Impact won three out of four fights. Tom Peard earned a silver medal in the Super Heavyweight division with another strong performance.
On February 27th last year a National Women’s Development Camp was held. As this was part of the National Development Program to be in attendance would be a major step forward for any club: happy to say Impact members were present. Participating in programs like this is commendable.
Surf Life Saving.
The Noosa Heads SLSC lost a former three-year Club President, 1977-80, this week, making it a sad time for long-serving members.
His name, Jamie Dunn. Jamie Dunn, who is now being acknowledged throughout the East coast as an entertainer, the creator of that unforgettable character Agro, the man who was the interviewee of such celebrities as Ray Martin: and now he has passed away in the quiet country village of Imbil, with his wife by his side.
All this is a world away from us: us old guys who remember the old days when he was the boss. We will always remember how, on being elected he declared war on those members (there were quite a few) who insisted on wearing the red patrol shorts to work next day: knowing quite well they were for patrol duties only.
I recall encountering several of these individuals at the local pub following his site visit.
“Hell, I didn’t know he could get so angry,” said one. However, he made his point. By weeks end there were no patrol shorts to be seen on any building site anywhere around Noosa. We came to realise that we had indeed, elected the right man to do the job.”
So, to Jamie we say thank you for those years, thank you for that crazy character Agro, and above all your crazy sense of humour, that taught so many of us how to laugh. So, on behalf of all your old clubbie mates, I say unto you Jamie, Vaya Con Dios, old clubmate, Vaya Con Dios – Go with God.
