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The Weekly Times - 21st February, 2018

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Wednesday 21 <strong>February</strong>, <strong>2018</strong> THE WEEKLY TIMES 31<br />

TWT SPORTS STARS No 7 & 8<br />

Honours for Kookaburras<br />

hockey whiz Lachie and<br />

squash sensation Shehana<br />

KOOKABURRAS hockey sensation Lachlan Sharp (pictured)<br />

and Australian junior squash champion Shehana<br />

Vithana are the seventh and eighth monthly winners in the<br />

2017-18 TWT Club Six/Ryde Sports Foundation Sports Star<br />

of the Year Award.<br />

Livewire Lachie, a<br />

Ryde Hunters Hill<br />

product, capped a<br />

memorable senior<br />

international debut<br />

series by helping<br />

the world champion<br />

Kookaburras<br />

claim back-toback<br />

Hockey World<br />

League titles in India<br />

last December<br />

while 18 year old<br />

Shehana represented<br />

Australia with<br />

distinction at last<br />

year’s World Junior<br />

Squash Championships<br />

in New Zealand.<br />

Both will receive<br />

their $300 Sports Star<br />

of the Month awards<br />

at a presentation<br />

this Friday night at<br />

Gladesville RSL Club<br />

at 6pm.<br />

LACHIE SHARP has<br />

grown in stature since<br />

making his top grade<br />

debut with the Ryde-<br />

Hunters Hill Panthers<br />

in the Sydney Hockey<br />

Association Premier<br />

League competition<br />

as a fresh faced 15<br />

year old.<br />

He played a key role<br />

in the Panthers’ 2015<br />

first grade premiership-winning<br />

side<br />

before earning his<br />

senior international<br />

spurs with the Kookaburras<br />

last season<br />

at the Hockey World<br />

League Championships<br />

in India.<br />

Lachie proved one<br />

of the real finds of the<br />

tournament as Australia<br />

finished strongly<br />

to secure the trophy<br />

with a spirited 2-1<br />

victory over Olympic<br />

champions Argentina<br />

in the final and regain<br />

their number one<br />

world ranking.<br />

<strong>The</strong> 20 year old attacking<br />

midfielder<br />

covered himself in<br />

glory when named<br />

Junior Player of the<br />

Match in the Kookaburras’<br />

3-0 semi final<br />

triumph over Germany<br />

and in the championship<br />

decider,<br />

producing skilful per-<br />

By CHRIS KARAS<br />

formances to impress<br />

keen judges.<br />

Australia’s heartstopping<br />

2-1 win over<br />

the Argentinians in<br />

Bhubaneswar was a<br />

tremendous feat and<br />

a reward for extreme<br />

hard work.<br />

In recent tests<br />

against <strong>The</strong> Netherlands,<br />

Sharp showed<br />

his wares in the series<br />

decider by nabbing<br />

two goals in<br />

the Kookaburras’ resounding<br />

6-1 victory<br />

over the Dutchmen.<br />

Lachie grew up in<br />

Lithgow and joined<br />

the Panthers as a<br />

promising 13 year<br />

old along with his<br />

father - prominent<br />

coach Richard Sharp<br />

- who guided Ryde<br />

to a Sydney Hockey<br />

Premier League first<br />

grade premiership in<br />

2015.<br />

Both would make<br />

the long trek from the<br />

NSW Central Tablelands<br />

to Sydney each<br />

week with Lachie later<br />

forcing his way into<br />

NSW junior representative<br />

squads plus<br />

the Australian U/21s<br />

team.<br />

National selectors<br />

have named Sharp in<br />

a strong Kookaburras<br />

squad to compete at<br />

the Sultan Azlan Shah<br />

Cup tournament in<br />

Malaysia next month.<br />

World number one<br />

Australia will take on<br />

hosts Malaysia (ranking<br />

12th), Rio Olympics<br />

gold medallists<br />

Argentina (second),<br />

India (sixth), England<br />

(seventh) and the<br />

Republic of Ireland<br />

(10th) in the tournament<br />

which runs from<br />

March 3-10.<br />

Lachie can push his<br />

claims for a spot in<br />

Australia’s Commonwealth<br />

Games squad<br />

with strong performances<br />

in Malaysia.<br />

SHEHANA VITHA-<br />

NA of Ryde is regarded<br />

as one of the<br />

best young squash<br />

prospects in the<br />

country.<br />

<strong>The</strong> skilful 18 year<br />

old has carved out<br />

an impressive record<br />

since emigrating to<br />

Sydney with her family<br />

from Sri Lanka five<br />

years ago.<br />

Her climb up the<br />

rankings has been<br />

rapid with Shehana<br />

being crowned<br />

National U/17 girls<br />

champion in 2015<br />

and achieving success<br />

at international<br />

youth level.<br />

She has chalked<br />

up some impressive<br />

victories while representing<br />

Australia in<br />

Trans Tasman Challenge<br />

matches and<br />

performed with distinction<br />

at the Commonwealth<br />

Youth<br />

Games in 2016 and<br />

at the World Squash<br />

Federation’s World<br />

Junior Squash Championships<br />

in New<br />

Zealand last year.<br />

At the 2017 National<br />

Junior Championships<br />

in Geelong,<br />

Shehana suffered a<br />

first time loss to leading<br />

Victorian Jessica<br />

Graham in a quality<br />

three set final after<br />

using her speed and<br />

courtcraft to great effect<br />

in the pressure<br />

games.<br />

<strong>The</strong> talented Vithana<br />

picked up her<br />

first squash racquet<br />

as a 10 year old in<br />

Colombo and was<br />

taught the game’s finer<br />

points by her dad<br />

Arosha and coach<br />

Navin Samarasinghe.<br />

On arrival in Sydney,<br />

she linked with Next<br />

Generation Ryde and<br />

achieved outstanding<br />

results to earn a<br />

spot in the NSW Blue<br />

Tongues and NSW<br />

Junior Academy.<br />

As a 14 year old at<br />

the National Junior<br />

Championships she<br />

reached the semi finals<br />

and later underlined<br />

her potential by<br />

capturing the ACT,<br />

Tasmania and NSW<br />

Junior Open titles.<br />

Shehana is currently<br />

the number<br />

one ranked Austral-<br />

ian junior in the U/18<br />

ranks and credits her<br />

two current mentors -<br />

Geoff Davenport and<br />

Aaron Frankcomb.<br />

<strong>The</strong> former Marist<br />

Sisters Woolwich<br />

student reached<br />

the quarter finals at<br />

the Oceania Junior<br />

Championships<br />

in Brisbane recently<br />

where she lost to Kiwi<br />

and eventual champion<br />

Anika Jackson in<br />

four tough sets.<br />

At the Australian<br />

Junior Open on the<br />

Gold Coast she was<br />

eliminated in the<br />

quarter finals by Singapore’s<br />

Sneha Sivakumar<br />

in three games<br />

and last week pitted<br />

her skills against<br />

the country’s leading<br />

players at the Australian<br />

National Squash<br />

Championships<br />

Melbourne.<br />

in<br />

Manenti 88 a<br />

plus for Tigers<br />

SYDNEY Cricket Club’s quest for a NSW Premier<br />

Cricket Club Championship title has hit a<br />

snag after the Tigers suffered losses to Eastern<br />

Suburbs in the top four grades last weekend.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Dolphins chalked up<br />

impressive victories over<br />

the finals bound Tigers<br />

with leg spinner Jack Preddey<br />

and all rounder Ian<br />

Moran instrumental in the<br />

club’s first grade triumph<br />

at Waverley Oval.<br />

Preddey snared 4-59 off<br />

19 overs and Moran (3-30<br />

off nine) to help dismiss<br />

Sydney for 291 - seventy<br />

nine runs shy of their victory<br />

target after Eastern Suburbs<br />

declared at 7-369.<br />

Young spinning all rounder<br />

Ben Manenti (83 runs off<br />

100 balls), opener Matthew<br />

Rodgers (64) and skipper<br />

Dan Smith (63) chalked up<br />

half centuries for the Tigers<br />

but to no avail.<br />

Top scorer Manenti<br />

smashed four sixes and<br />

six boundaries and was<br />

on the verge of a maiden<br />

top grade century when he<br />

was caught by Moran off<br />

the bowling of paceman<br />

Sydney remain in fifth<br />

spot on 46 points behind<br />

co-leaders Campbelltown-<br />

Camden and Parramatta<br />

(52); Sydney University (50)<br />

(140); the Dolphins’ third<br />

grade X1 (300) skittled the<br />

Tigers for 165 while fourths<br />

(8 dec 329) routed Sydney<br />

the Tigers (7 dec 131)<br />

eclipsed the Dolphins (128<br />

& 3-43) to avoid a clean<br />

Tom Skelly.<br />

and Sutherland (49).<br />

In lower<br />

Eastern<br />

downed<br />

grade<br />

Suburbs<br />

Sydney seconds<br />

action<br />

(220)<br />

for 132 & 3-47.<br />

Sydney’s<br />

came in fifth<br />

lone<br />

grade<br />

victory<br />

when<br />

sweep.<br />

Balmain Coppers<br />

JRLFC Reunion<br />

A REUNION for<br />

ex-players, ocials<br />

and supporters<br />

of Balmain Police<br />

Boys Junior Rugby<br />

League Club will be<br />

held on Saturday<br />

April 21 at Balmain<br />

Bowling Club from<br />

1pm.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Coppers -<br />

founded in 1938 -<br />

have a proud history<br />

in the Balmain Junior<br />

League.<br />

<strong>The</strong> sky blue and<br />

whites won Club<br />

Championship trophies<br />

in 1974-75-76<br />

and ‘77 and over the<br />

years a large number<br />

of players graduated<br />

to the Balmain<br />

grade ranks.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se included internationals<br />

Fred de<br />

Belin, Norm Pope,<br />

Jack Sinclair, Don<br />

Furner, Lloyd Martin,<br />

Wayne Pearce<br />

and Steve Roach<br />

and former Quensland<br />

rep Norm<br />

McLean.<br />

Balmain Police<br />

Boys JRLFC disbanded<br />

in 1949 but<br />

re-formed in 1966<br />

when ex-player Sgt<br />

George Stone was<br />

transferred to the<br />

club as Secretary-<br />

Supervisor.<br />

George along with<br />

childhood friends<br />

Keith Aggett and<br />

Tony Angelini represented<br />

the Coppers<br />

as juniors and<br />

would later become<br />

top administrators.<br />

Keith was a great<br />

stalwart of Ryde<br />

Eastwood Leagues<br />

Club while George<br />

(chairman) and Tony<br />

were long serving<br />

directors of Balmain<br />

Football & Leagues<br />

Clubs.<br />

For further details<br />

on the reunion<br />

contact Frank Borg<br />

0415 529 389 or<br />

Brad May 0430 343<br />

089.<br />

WAYNE Pearce and <strong>The</strong> Big Hitters are having their first gig for <strong>2018</strong> this Saturday night <strong>February</strong><br />

24 at <strong>The</strong> Epping Hotel from 10pm. Come along and enjoy a great night of classic rock music and<br />

dance the night away.

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