Kotoni’s blinder. Park Run turns 3.
HOW good is Wello boy Kotoni Staggs?
With the Titans favoured to beat the Broncos on the Gold Coast, the former Wellington Cowboys’ star set the stage for a Brisbane victory.
First off was a clever step and round the front pass to Kodi Nikorima to get them in for their first try – that really came out of nothing.
Nikorima had just run the ball and in his eyes, he was backing Staggs to do something special, so he was straight up on to his feet to back up and receive that amazing pass.
Minutes later, Staggs brushed off veteran fullback Michael Gordon like he was made of paper mache to score his own try.
Soon after he took a solid knock to the head and came from the field, but Broncos fans (oh how I hate them) and everyone else now knows what a potent force this bloke is going to be into the future.
Both those early tries, which came from nothing, galvanised the Broncos and shattered the Titans’ confidence – he was the game-changer who set the tone for the match.
Broncos’ fan Mitchell Cooper’s comment to the club’s Facebook page was typical:
“Staggs was great while he was on the field, he really shut the Titans down and put them on the back foot right away.” IT seems just a short while ago that Dubbo Parkrun was just starting out so it’s difficult to believe that it’s been three years.
The casual nature of the event is it’s secret, along with plenty of hard-working volunteers.
It’s like Cars and Coffee, you don’t have to show up, there’s no pressure, but people feel great when they do.
And it’s all about talking to like-minded people and connecting with community.
The best things in life... are not things.
Anyway, the Parkrun crew invites everyone this Saturday to help the event celebrate its third birthday (July 14). THERE will be also be bacon and egg rolls on offer from the Rotary Club of Dubbo West Inc and steaming hot coffee will be for sale thanks to The Bean Machine! The theme is spots or stripes! For those who don’t know what Parkrun is, here’s a brief description:
“Parkrun is not a race against other runners, but a 5km timed run, jog or walk.
“It can really be whatever you want it to be, whether that’s for fun or as part of a training plan.
“Dubbo Parkrun offers an opportunity for all members of our local community, male or female, young or old, to come together on a regular basis to enjoy our beautiful Macquarie River and get physically active in the process.
“We want to encourage people to walk, jog or run together irrespective of their ability – this event is truly open to all and best of all, it really is FREE!
“Taking part is easy – just register in advance by 6pm on the Friday before your first ever parkrun event.”
The great thing is that you only ever need to do this once!
Then just set your alarm for Saturday morning and get yourself there!
If you need any more information, message the Facebook page or go to www.parkrun.com.au/ Dubbo WHO can believe an XY Falcon GTHO Phase III recently made more than a million bucks at auction?
Who can tell what will be the next big thing that escalates exponentially in value?
Not me, that’s for sure, but you can join in on that guessing game fun at this weekend’s annual Dubbo Antique and Collectables Fair.
The fun starts on Friday evening (July 13) with a gala opening night from 6pm which gets you wine, canapes and music for your $20 at the DRTCC.
The fair continues on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm and entry is just $6. WELL, $130,000 later and Dubbo’s Team Two Dads is getting set for yet another fundraising trek to raise much-needed cash for the Kidzfix Foundation.
It’s a charity which believes that no matter where you live, kids and families have the right to quality health, wellbeing services and equipment, so they set out to help ensure that all sorts of expensive and specialist health equipment is in hospitals all over the place.
After a hugely successful Kidzfix Foundation Rally in 2017 which raised more than $130,000, Team Two Dads is lining up again with David Ward enlisting his younger, hairier, little brother to dust off Errol the Two Dads ute and hit the road.
This year, the focus is on kids who need specialist care and equipment as the annual Kidzfix Foundation Rally travels from Broken Hill to Mildura, starting in Broken Hill on September 7. The trip will head into the Flinders Rangers then down through the wine country of South Australia, along the coast and mouth of the mighty Murray River to Mount Gambier, then head north finishing in Mildura on September 15.
Plenty of local sponsors have chipped in for the cause; the generosity of Dubbo businesses is pretty astounding.
Raffle prizes include generous donations of an Engel Fridge (BCF Dubbo), Pizza Oven (Elgas Dubbo) and a signed framed 2016 Kangaroos Rugby League jumper (NRL).
Team Two Dads will be selling tickets at BCF Dubbo, Macquarie Inn and local sporting events and St Pius X School Dubbo or contact them directly via https://www. kidzfix.com.au/donate (note ‘rafflescar02’ in payment reference)
To donate or learn more, see https://www.kidzfix.com.au/donate or to become a sponsor, contact the Ward Brothers at twodadsrally@gmail.com or the Two Dads Facebook page. PARKES MP Mark Coulton has overseen $56,000 in Commonwealth grants for NAIDOC Week celebrations across his vast electorate.
“I’m pleased that no less than 30 organisations across the Parkes electorate will benefit from this significant investment in NAIDOC Week,” Mr Coulton said.
“NAIDOC Week is an annual celebration of the histories, rich cultures, outstanding achievements and ongoing contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The cool weather wasn’t a deterrent for the many activities across the area which was great to see.
Community creations: pic of kids with giant soccer ball
Another community event which is being well embraced is Community Creations.
Kyle Myers is the programs manager for Creative Community Concepts and he spends most of his life driving around the state thinking up new ways to bring communities together.
I caught up with him on a chilly windswept day at Lunar Park where the multitudes of kids seemed impervious to the cold.
“It’s really cold actually but we’ve got lots of people here and having a ball, literally – we’ve got a new game we’ve created where teams of four have to roll a giant soccer ball through a course,” Mr Myers said.
“They bring their parents to watch them in a non-threatening lots of fun environment. That’s what these days are all about and something to do for everyone.
“Parents and kids are saying how good these days are and how many more they want of them so we’re going to do some other activities in the coming terms as well,” he said. THE Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail has seen a $13.5 million contract awarded by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) for feasibility design work between Narromine and Narrabri.
Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Member for the Parkes electorate, Mark Coulton has welcomed the announcement that work on the Environmental Impact Assessment will commence in coming months.
“This is critical work which will help to narrow the current preferred study corridor from up to five kilometres to a final alignment of 40-60 metres,” Mr Coulton said.
Great to see the project continuing to move forward. Hopefully the mess with the changing of the route to the east of Narromine can be sorted out. INTERRELATE will present $2000 from their Indigenous Innovation Fund to the Walan Wirringah Women’s Group on July 17 to provide a shade shelter at their safe meeting place in The Community Garden, situated on Dubbo Regional Council land.
I’m a big fan of the Walan Wirringah Women’s Group (translation ‘Strong Women’ in Wiradjuri). This group of women has been meeting on a weekly basis since it was established in March 2017 and their project is just so peaceful and calming when you visit it, no matter the amount of small kids running around underfoot.
The money from Interrelate will fund construction of a shed to be used as a safe venue for the group’s support activities.
Well done to Kelly Robertson for all the work she’s done behind the scenes to activate and help this group from week to week.
Walan Wirringah has no official funding and are solely reliant upon key stakeholders for resources, donations and fundraising support.
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News staff. Note: John Ryan is also a councillor on Dubbo Regional Council, and is also employed part-time by Landcare. He writes here in his capacity as a journalist.