Sport
4 November, 2025
Local croquet star Colin Clark wins Australian President’s Eights championship
In his first tournament back in years, Maryborough VRI Croquet Club captain Colin Clark secured a national title in the prestigious Australian Association Croquet President’s Eights competition.
After finishing atop the Third Eight bracket after the preliminary rounds, Clark strung together some late hoops at the death to win a tense final playoff 19-17 against New South Wales opponent Joanne Brown to claim the championship.
The major tournament title is a crowning achievement for Clark croquet’s career, which spans over two decades.
After being introduced to the sport when he came to Australia in 2003, Clark quickly fell in love, rapidly rising the ranks with several state tournament wins.
Following an extended hiatus due to various overseas assignments, Clark entered an expression of interest for October’s President’s Eights competition, widely regarded as one of the country’s premier tournaments.
Held at the Victorian Croquet Centre, Clark said the time was right to get back into the swing of tournament play.
“I’d been playing pretty well in practice and in social games for six months and I felt I was playing near my previous best, so I was reasonably confident,” he said.
“Croquet has got a lovely balance of quite complex tactics and skills, but it’s something that anyone can do.”
“Croquet is the sort of sport where if you’re reasonably good, you can potentially beat anyone.
“If I’m out there playing a break, it doesn’t matter if you are the world champion or someone who’s never picked up a mallet before, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
Selected to compete in the Third Eight bracket, Clark stood out in the preliminary round, consistently playing at a high level across the four days of group play to qualify for the playoff.
While he finished with a tied-best 11-2 record and a leading +162 net hoop score, Clark entered the playoff as the underdog after losing both of his group games to final opponent Brown.
Despite this, Clark said he remained confident he could finish the gruelling tournament on top.
“It’s both mentally and physically tiring, the tournament basically went for four days, each day you were playing four games and games can go for two and a half hours,” he said.
“I always felt that I was the better player and had the confidence in my swing and in my strategy to stick to my plans and execute.
“I just knew I had to play better. The first game I played her was on the first day and I probably didn’t play my best on the first day because it had been my first tournament in years.”
Clark took control of the playoff final immediately, creating a 17-point lead to virtually put one hand on the Major Tingey Tray.
However, Clark was unable to complete a challenging triple peel manoeuvre that would have ended the game 26-0, opening the door for Brown to mount a comeback.
Brown managed to get a break and levelled the scores 17-17 as time was running out.
With everything to play for, Clark snuck a couple of hoops under pressure after the bell and left an exigent long shot for Brown to steal the game at the death, which she couldn’t convert.
“It’s a big thing for me — it’s probably the biggest tournament I’ve won to date,” Clark said.
“I had previously won a couple of big Victorian tournaments, but to win a big national tournament, particularly in my first go after a long time, is really something.”
While he now has his eyes set on competing at the Australian and Victorian Open later this year, Clark is hopeful his success can bring local and national attention to his home club.
“It’s about raising the profile of the sport and the club in the community,” he said.
“For the most part, the game is played by an older demographic, so we always want to bring in new members.
“It’s a fun sport that’s really easy to learn, you can improve your skills really quickly and you would get the chance to meet a great bunch of people and have a really great time.”
The Maryborough VRI Croquet Club regularly hosts social play on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with visitors welcomed to attend at 9 am for a 9.30 start.