Ron Lane
It has been a busy time for head coach Mark Evans and his crew at the Team Impact Boxing Club Cooroy.
To say they have been full on would be an understatement.
One of their amateur champions turned professional and another pro is in training for his next major fight.
Four of the amateur team travelled north to Townsville to contest the North Queensland Games and another team member is training at the AIS in Canberra, in preparation her trip to Istanbul, Turkey. There she will represent Australia in the Elite Women’s World Armature Boxing Championships.’’
Bryce Heggerty fought his first professional bout, a four-round fight, in the super- middleweight division. Heggerty, a former state and national title holder had no problems, winning every round which resulted in him receiving a unanimous points decision.
For gym mate Keren Whitehead, also fighting in the super- middleweight division, it was a totally different contest. Fighting an eight-rounder for the vacant Queensland title, his opponent, Flynn Pakenham never took a backward step and this resulted in a very tough fight. At the end of eight rounds, judges scored the fight a draw. This will result in a return bout with the date yet to be announced.
The tournament which was held at the Ettamogah Pub in Aussie World, drew a capacity crowd. This was indeed a very encouraging factor for our boys who have chosen to make their career in the tough world of professional boxing.
Ben Cameron-Hands our other professional, with two fights for two wins, fights on Saturday night at the Nissan Arena in Brisbane. It is this young lad, now fighting in the featherweight division, who finished an amateur career of some 94 fights, during which he won four successive Australian Golden Gloves, plus other state and national titles, that has drawn the attention of some of the biggest promoters in the game. We wish him well.
For the four amateurs who travelled to Townsville, it was indeed a very successful tournament.
Boxing in the 57k division Cohen Robinson won gold, and in the Elite Women’s 60k division, Keana Welsh also won gold. Carson Lawrence who boxed in the 63k came home with the silver medal. Page Robinson had the unique experience of boxing on both the Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday night she won the gold medal in the 60k division and on Sunday night again won gold, this time in the 63k division.
The North Queensland Games is a multi- sports event and is a very popular.
For the members of the Team Impact Boxing squad, they came home very impressed with the whole event and are definitely looking forward to their next visit. It is a great example of promoting the various sports to the more remote areas of Queensland.
For the other member of Team Impact Boxing Club Angie Harries, now in training at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) in Canberra, it is, in her own words, “the chance of a lifetime”.
Chosen in the Australian team to represent her country at the Elite Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, in Istanbul Turkey, she is fully aware of what lies ahead. Knowing that in Europe amateur boxing is very big she has fully prepared herself both mentally and physically. The fact that she has been chosen to represent her country on the world stage of amateur boxing is in itself a great achievement. To this young lady we wish her all the very best.
Rugby League
Once again, the Noosa Pirates Rugby League upheld its proud Anzac Day tradition of hosting home games against visiting teams ,with the main game, A grade being against the Gympie Devils.
Despite inclement weather and the Covid restrictions, the game on the 23rd had a good crowd was in attendance.
Prior to the main game which kicked off at 6pm,all Anzac Day traditions were upheld with both Pirates and Gympie teams assembled in front of the clubhouse.
The Tewantin Noosa RSL was, as always, in attendance and represented by Phil Granger. Standing between the two teams, Phil Granger read the ode and this was followed by a minute’s silence. Then, much to the enjoyment of the crowd, last year’s bugler 12 year old Sunshine Beach High School student, Jeremiah Montgomery, again stepped forward to sound the Last Post.
At the completion of the ceremony, the young bugler was once again mobbed by admirers and spent some time shaking hands and posing for photos.
It is hoped that this tradition with the Noosa Pirates, the Tewantin Noosa RSL and Jeremiah Montgomery as bugler will be upheld for years to come.
In the main game, the Pirates got off to a good start when in just five minutes they scored when centre Kurt Scheler cut through Gympie defence and with a long run scored wide of the post.
The conversion was missed, leaving Pirates with a 4 -0 lead. However, in the 11th minute Gympie scored off a loose ball and the kick was converted to make it 6-4 Gympie. But with good forward work, Pirates hit back to score under the posts and with the conversion being good, gave Pirates a 10-6 lead.
Pirates scored again out wide to take the score to16-6. Then Gympie hit back to make it 16-12 Pirates. Despite the pouring rain, Gympie decided to again spread the ball wide which resulted in a try on the left wing, which was converted with a great kick from the side line in pouring rain. Gympie 18-16.
Another quick try saw Gympie convert to make it 24-16 in their favour. Gympie was starting to show a disregard for the wet conditions with wide sweeping runs, but a dropped ball gave Pirates’ possession, enabling them to score. With the kick being successful, Gympie was cut back to a 24-22 lead. From then on, the score started to swing Gympie’s way, as they continued to use back line moves, with their bigger backs running on to the ball and playing it out wide. On the final whistle the score stood at 40-26 for Gympie.
Other games saw Pirates Div.2 A defeat Gympie 26-18. Div2b Palmwoods won 32-22 over Pirates and in the Open Women’s, Pirates won 28-12 over Gympie.
At the completion of the games, players and supporters gathered in Pirates club house for a fundraising jersey auction, which resulted in a $2470 income for the club. With the ongoing support of the Tewantin Noosa RSL, which has been a happy relationship for some 20 years, I think we can happily say that the Anzac Day tradition of football and good fellowship is in safe hands.
