Sport
16 December, 2025
Weekend pennant reaches the Christmas break
While the Maryborough Highland Society will enter the extended Christmas break leading all three divisions, several teams also experienced some festive cheer in round 10 of the weekend pennant.
DIVISION ONE
In arguably the match of the weekend, Talbot has crucially moved itself back into the top two thanks to a 64-60 triumph against finals rivals Dunolly Blue.
When Tony Galofaro recorded a 31-12 victory over Peter Fletcher, it looked as though Dunolly Blue would cruise to a dominant result that would boost their second-place cushion.
However, Talbot’s Chris Crossley and Peter McLaughlan flipped that script with Crossley holding off Chris Williams 23-15 and McLaughlan overpowering Alan Weir 29-14.
The win moves Talbot into second, eight points clear of Dunolly Blue in third.
After narrowly falling short of a stunning upset against Dunolly Blue the week prior, Newstead collected a major scalp by conquering Carisbrook 70-57.
The contest went down to the final rink as Ross Gregory won a thriller for Carisbrook against Andrew Theckston, 20-19, and Newstead’s Bernie Gervasoni thwarted Roy Pickering 24-17.
Brian Daly made the most of Newstead’s slight advantage, guiding his team to a statement result with a 27-20 victory against Ron Baker.
Carisbrook’s defeat opened the door for Maryborough Golf to steam back into the top four, and the reigning premiers took full advantage, overwhelming Avoca 77-35.
Gerry Carmody and Kevin Prime got Maryborough Golf off to a perfect start with Carmody vanquishing Ian Proctor 25-11 and Prime overcoming Frank Shannon 21-14.
Anthony Chambers completed the sweep with a dominant 31-10 win over Daniel Giddings, moving Maryborough Golf eight points clear of Carisbrook, who now sit in fifth.
The Maryborough Highlands Society’s 10th consecutive victory came in rather peculiar fashion, eventually surpassing an impressive performance from Maldon 66-45.
In a truly remarkable coincidence, two of the three rinks ended in draws, with Maldon’s Peter Sedgwick and Highland’s Greg McHugh going to a 17-17 tie, while Annette Gillham and Grey Shay finished all square at 18-18.
That meant Garry Coburn’s 31-10 victory against Wesley Honeyman was the deciding result for Highland, who now have a 40-point lead in first place.
DIVISION TWO
Highland Black continues to cement itself as the team to beat in division two, securing its grip on first position with a 47-30 win against sister team Highland White.
Frank Mifsud and Robert Bursill showed no mercy to their fellow Highland members, with Mifsud vanquishing Allan Pike 21-10 and Bursill holding off Dennis Prosser 26-20.
Maryborough Golf remain Highland Black’s closest challenger for the minor premiership, taking one step closer to securing the double chance with a 50-23 victory over Avoca.
Gary Chaplin started proceedings for last season’s runners-up by conquering Geoff Loosmore 22-13, and Trevor Young followed suit, commanding Ann Loosmore 28-10.
Bridgewater has resuscitated their finals chances by snapping their five-game losing streak in the most dramatic of fashion, defeating Dunolly Green 38-37.
Ian Clutton’s clutch 20-18 win against Debbie Wintle was barely enough for Bridgewater to get over the line, with Fabio Delconte’s 19-18 triumph over Christopher Brooshooft not enough for Dunolly Green to turn the result.
Bridgewater now has their eyes set on chasing down Dunolly Gold, who hit a major stumbling block on Saturday in the form of Talbot, losing 47-34.
Talbot’s win sees them move within eight points of the fourth-placed Dunolly Gold after Ray Prentice took a nail-biter against Raeleen Mebbrey 22-19 and Laurie Vernon overcame Aaron Britten 25-15.
DIVISION THREE
Carisbrook has virtually assured its place in February’s final series with a hard-fought victory against fellow finals contenders Dunolly, 50-35.
Despite Paul Chase winning a rink for Dunolly over Kathleen Upson 19-16, Carisbrook’s Jeff Smith ensured his team’s victory with a 34-16 result against Wayne Stephens.
The win keeps Carisbrook in touching distance of the first-placed Maryborough Highland Society, who dominated Maldon 62-19 on Saturday.
Tilleke Wadeson, who’s been in exceptional form this pennant, defeated Pam Lyons 33-5 while teammate Gregory Long made quick work of Glen Coy 29-14.
In one of the shocks of the division three season, Avoca has comprehensively defeated second-placed Newstead 50-27, massively boosting their chances to sneak into the top four.
Craig Salmon and Greg Carey produced a result to remember for Avoca, with Salmon defeating Steven Gibson 25-15 and Carey vanquishing Noel Bott 25-12.