Champs retain sea swim trophies
CHARTERS Towers Bulls coach Len Knuth took plenty of positives out of his team’s 38- 19 loss to Burdekin over the weekend.
The Bulls made their return to the Townsville and District Rugby Union ( TDRU) A grade competition this year and while wins have been hard to come by they continue to give a great account of themselves.
Scores were locked at 12- 12 at Bill Thomas Oval in Charters Towers on Friday night before last year’s beaten grand finalists edged away from their hosts in the second half.
Knuth paid tribute to the attacking and expansive game played by Burdekin in their contest but also praised his side’s commitment across the reserve and A grade games.
“We went down in the reserve grade as well but both of the games were very entertaining for the crowd and I was happy with the physicality,” he said,
“The Burdekin run really good lines in attack, and fair play to them, they took some chances in attack in the second half that paid off.”
Work commitments and injuries have tested the depth of the Bulls in 2017 and while the results haven’t always been there, Knuth said he couldn’t fault the effort of his players in their return to the top division.
“Overall it’s been great to be back in A grade and it really inspires our juniors and gives them a pathway,” he said.
“Country rugby is about working hard for your teammates on the field and having a beer off the field afterwards and we’ve taken some great steps this year.”
North Ward were put to the sword by competition heavyweights Brothers 78- 12 at Mike Carney Toyota Park.
Ross River forfeited to twotime defending champions Teachers West. TOWNSVILLE open water swimmers Kylee de Rooy and Matthew Pegg have again conquered their divisions at the Stand Fitness Magnetic Island to Townsville Swim.
The annual event is the highlight of the Townsville Open Water Swimming Association’s ( TOWSA) season, with 113 swimmers in total involved in the 8km race.
In the beautiful waters off Magnetic Island there were 53 solo competitors making the most of the ideal conditions yesterday.
Defending men’s champion Pegg was too good for the rest of the field and he made it back- to- back titles after completing the gruelling race in 1 hour, 45 minutes and 45 seconds.
Women’s champion de Rooy wasn’t far behind him in a great time of 1.48.45, with her win yesterday the fifth time she has won the women’s solo division from as many attempts.
De Rooy had stepped away from solo racing in recent years to compete in duos or foursomes with her daughter and other young swimmers and she admitted to having some nerves in her return to the top division.
“This was the first time I had done the solo swim since 2011 and I knew I had to show my competitors respect,” she said.
“You never know what will happen or who will show up on the day and it’s important to just go out there and swim your own race.”
The duo competition was won by Emily de Rooy, 16 and Madeline Prizeman, 15.
Local teens Lincoln Hardy, Bayden Hardy, Tom Harte and Ben Tumelty banded together to conquer the field as a team of four.
Numbers were up by around 25 swimmers from last year and de Rooy thanked everyone who had been involved in and supported the swim this year.
The iconic swim was the fourth event in TOWSA’s 2017 open water series, with the final event to take place on August 13.