Echuca batsman Curtis Townrow spearheaded a day of big hitting in the Goulburn Murray Cricket competition on Saturday.
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Townrow’s gobsmacking 255 not out, which included 26 fours and 14 sixes — 188 of his final score — is the highest individual score in GM grade ranks since the merging of the former Campaspe and Kyabram cricket associations 10 years ago.
Echuca’s final score of 6/359 is also a one-day game record.
Moama’s Ben Mason, Fire Brigade’s Justin Elliott (both C grade) and Colbinabbin’s Hamish Hoople (B grade) were other century makers on Saturday.
Playing in the Cricket Shepparton competition, Kyabram Cricket Club’s Cade Mueller also produced a dashing three figure innings, with 108 against Karramomus, his first century in the top tier of competition.
Geoff was one of GV’s toughest
Geoff Wilson, who lost a brave battle with prostate cancer early last week, was regarded as one of the smallest but toughest players to pull on a jumper in the Goulburn Valley League.
Small in stature but big in heart, Geoff, who died aged 82, had no fear.
‘‘He had white line fever and despite his size no-one intimidated him on the football field. Off the field he was an absolute gentleman,’’ former teammate and close friend Bob Bertoli said.
It was Geoff’s steely determination that led to him being recruited by Hawthorn from Melbourne suburban club Canterbury Football Club in the mid 1950s.
He defied a lot of critics who claimed he was not big enough — he was 168cm (5ft 6in) and weighed just 70kg — to reach the VFL stage to play 31 senior games and kick 30 goals in a five-year stint at the club up to 1959.
While at Hawthorn he played in its reserves premiership side in 1958 — the only flag ever won by the Hawks reserves.
In 1960 he was recruited by Western Australian Football League club Claremont and played in its 1964 premiership side before being lured back east to coach Shepparton Swans in 1965 by its legendary president Bill Hunter.
Geoff coached the Swans for five years, handing the reins to GVL Hall of Famer Roland Crosby, who took the Swans to the flag in 1970 against Kyabram in his first season as coach.
Geoff spent 1971 at Mooroopna playing under ex-St Kilda premiership player Jimmy Reid.
He had only one season with Cats before taking on a two-year coaching stint at Invergordon, then playing in the former Tungamah and District League.
Geoff, Bob Bertoli and several other players were given their marching orders by Invergordon at the end of the 1973 season after a controversial game against Dookie College that resulted in civil charges being laid but beaten in court.
After being replaced by joint coaches Barry Connolly and Lenny Timms at Invergordon Geoff joined Ardmona, then being coached by legendary GVL player Stuart Florence, in 1974.
Halfway through the season at the age of 37 Geoff called time on his playing career when he felt his small body had taken enough batterings.
‘‘Geoff always loved the Shepparton Swans and he returned there to coach the thirds in the mid 1980s. Three of his sons, Steele, Kyle and Blair, all played senior football with the club,’’ Bob Bertolli said.
After his playing days, Geoff spent 10 years as a central umpire with the Goulburn Valley Umpires Association, where he became acknowledged as one of the region’s best umpires.
Geoff was very community minded and became a stalwart of the Shepparton Kiwanis Club.
He also loved competition shooting and had an impressive collection of firearms of all vintages.
A father-of-seven, Geoff was interred at the Jamieson Cemetery last Saturday, reuniting with his late wife, Fran, and leaving a lot of memories for northern Victorian footy fans.
Benalla in dire straits
Benalla Football Netball Club is in crisis and could even fold because of dire player shortages.
An exodus of players over the summer months in both football and netball has the club on the brink of collapse.
Recruiting missions have failed and the club is in a quandary as to what it can do to arrest the dire situation.
It’s certainly a worry for the GVL and it is difficult to fathom how a town of Benalla’s size can’t produce enough players, even though it has another club — Benalla All Blacks, which plays in the Ovens and King League — competing for players.
Seymour snares Pinnuck
Seymour Football Club continues to bolster its ranks for the 2022 GVL season.
Its latest marquee signing is former Strathmerton boy Louis Pinnuck.
Pinnuck joins the Lions from VFL club Werribee, where he played 48 games.
The former Murray Bushranger is a 186cm utility who combines an impressive set of skills with a steely determination, which will make him a star for Seymour and in the Goulburn Valley League.
The extra bonus he will take to the Lions is his ability to play in any position with authority.
With Seymour already luring prize recruits in former Essendon and Hawthorn defender Michael Hartley plus James Wooster and Todd Lawrence to its ranks it is shaping as one of the 2022 flag favourites.
Tigers up and running
Rochester is sure to be one of the fittest sides in the GVL in the coming season.
The Tigers hit the training track on November 13 last year and have been steadily preparing for a pre-season camp to be held in late February.
The big buzz around Tigerland is the return of 214-game former North Melbourne player Shaun Atley, who will join his brothers Jacob and Joe for the 2022 season.
Apart from Shaun Atley, former club best and fairest winner Doug Wren and Golden Square’s Mitch Treacy, along with Elmore young gun Mitch Cricelli, are welcome new additions at Tigerland.
Stanhope’s proud tennis history
There were several omissions in my back page story last week on promising young Stanhope tennis player Jinaya Nurse.
In mentioning the good and great players who have played with the Stanhope Tennis Club over the years several players who could have easily been on that list were missing.
They include Lisa Niglia, Marg Haw, Fay Shaw, Max Stewart, Roberta Gibbs, Kirsty Gale, Michael Jacobs, Rohan Dwyer, Kevin Clurey, Katrina Hillier and Daryl Pate,
Mathoura soldiers on
Mathoura and district residents rallied at a crisis meeting last week to ensure its football netball club will survive, for the time being at least.
The meeting to determine the club’s immediate future drew 50 people and 11 executive and committee roles were filled.
Melyssa Banks, who was president of the club in 2018-19, is back in the chair and Stan Gilday, a Carlton listed player in the 1970s, has been appointed as non-playing football coach.
Now that it has a coach and its administration is back in order the club’s challenge now is to find recruits to boost its playing ranks.
The club's first official pre-season training run is set down for tomorrow night at its Morris St oval and any new players will be welcomed with open arms.
Dot’s best is good enough
Dot is again the best of the Bests at Tatura Bowls Club.
Dot Best has just won the ladies singles championship. It’s the ninth club title Dot has won in the past 13 years and qualifies her to contest the Champion of Champions event, which starts on February 20.
Kyabram Free Press