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.