Eight lacrosse tragics turn passion into national representative dream
Eight intrepid South Aussies are off to represent Australia in Box lacrosse World Champs, plus redevelopments at an iconic SA golf course and footy ground, in Ben Hook’s weekly wrap of sport in South Australia.
These eight men have managed to leverage an underground, homemade local indoor sports league and turn it into a shot at international glory.
Box lacrosse has almost no mainstream presence in SA, and is largely self run by the competitors of clubs, many of them created from scratch.
But in three weeks’ time, these grizzled lacrosse addicts will face the world’s best at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada.
“I think it’s just a lot of fun,” Jesse Whinnen said. “Generally speaking it’s not publicised, it’s not put in the paper or anything like that.
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“It just started for a lot of guys as something to do in the off season that wasn’t ‘soft crosse’ which is a non-contact version. It’s a lot tighter environment, the field is smaller and your skills have to be a lot silkier.”
The effort to self-manage a sport makes the reward of representing Australia all the more meritorious and the team believes it is a real shot of a medal.
“All our friends and family up in the stands who come over to support us, waving Aussie flags, it’s a pretty cool feeling,” Cameron Semmler said. “Especially when we’re holding our own against the best countries in the world.
“In the past we haven’t had the numbers (of players) to get those high level players like the US and Canada but we hold our own and I’m pretty proud of it.”
Box lacrosse is a little less aerobically challenging as the field version, but the physicality of field lacrosse is emphasised indoors.
“The first thing I got told when I started playing is that if you’re in defence and you’re not hitting someone, you’re not doing your job,” Whinnen said with a laugh.
“For guys who still want to beat each other up, while developing skills, box lacrosse is really good for that.”
SHOOTING STARS
IT’S been a hectic week for one of SA’s most talented basketball families.
Following Saturday’s Premier League grand final, Sturt Sabres guard Ruby Porter (pictured) jetted out to Kuala Lumpur to represent Australia in an international U19 3-on-3 tournament on Tuesday.
Her cousin and teammate Elissa Brett flew out to the US state of Ohio the day before to begin a four-year college scholarship with Bowling Green State University. Meanwhile Elissa’s sister Aimee Brett stayed home to celebrate Forestville’s three-point grand final win over her sister and cousin.
Aimee made the matchwinning basket with four seconds left on the game clock.
GROWING HAZARD
KOOYONGA Golf Club’s redevelopment of its challenging 17th hole is continuing apace, with architects Crafter and Mogford Golf Strategies overseeing an overhaul of the green and surrounds, most notably the greenside water hazard.
Work started a month ago and is progressing on schedule. Both the green and the hazard are being enlarged, with the banks of the pond reinforced by stone work.
The company’s SA director Neil Crafter has plenty on his books at present.
Crafter Mogford is also tending to work on Glenelg’s 18th fairway, a range of upgrades at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Golf Club (which hosted last year’s World Cup of Golf), redeveloping a par 3 at Cronulla in Sydney, and has landed the contract to develop a new course at South Arm outside Hobart in Tasmania.
Modelled on the development at Barnbuougle Dunes, Arm End is expected to be completed in 2022.
CRICKET THE EASY JOB
SA Scorpions rookie Stacey Oates would not have been too overawed when she took to the field in the state’s colours at senior level for the first time during SA’s pre-season series in Brisbane this week.
When not playing cricket, Oates (pictured) is an emergency ward nurse at Flinders Medical Centre. Forget coming in at 5/20, real pressure is earning a living keeping critically ill patients alive in the middle of the night.
Scorpions coach Luke Williams has also been watching closely the progress of fellow rookies Emma de Broughe and Darcie Brown.
COSTLY CALL-UPS
IF you think the AFL’s mid- season draft was harsh on SANFL clubs, spare a thought for Matrics and Contax Premier League teams, who both lost stars to Super Netball on the eve of finals this week.
Charlee Hodges (Contax) and Cody Lange (Matrics) were expected to spearhead their club’s finals campaign on Friday night, but were drafted in to the Adelaide Thunderbirds team for the final minor-round game against Sunshine Coast Lightning just a day earlier. Neither Hodges or Lange have been on the T-Birds main playing list this season, just part of the extended training squad while playing Premier League.
The pair replace Sasha Glasgow and Emma Ryde, who both suffered season ending knee injuries last weekend against the Giants.
THREE-WAY BATTLE
IN just three years, local women’s footy has slipped from the top available level to the third competition in town, but the Adelaide Footy League Women’s Dutschke Medal for the best and fairest Division One player remains SA’s most identifiable award for female footballers.
First presented to Laura Giaretto in 1991, past medallists include a litany of leading SA athletes. The 2019 version will be presented Wednesday night, with an absorbing three-way battle potentially looming between SMOSH West Lakes’ teenage sensation Chloe Forby (pictured), along with Adelaide Uni’s Stephanie Walker and Angle Vale star Caitlin Teague.
The trio all have legitimate claims and will start among the favourites in what’s expected to be a low, tight count.
TOUGH BUT FAIR
IF you’re a footballer with a tendency towards being over-aggressive, the numbers suggest you’re far better off playing SANFL than Adelaide Footy League.
Following a count of suspensions dished out at SANFL league and AdFL Div 1 level, the contrast in penalties is enormous.
From our records, 33 players have been found guilty of an offence at SANFL level, 31 of which have accepted a reduced sentence via an early guilty plea.
The 31 players have been suspended for an aggregate total of 15 games. 21 accepted a $200 fine.
It’s a different story if you’re found guilty at AdFL Div 1 footy. Just seven players have been found guilty but 19 games have been doled out in suspensions, with a total of three matches suspended also added to the sanctions.
Whether SANFL’s higher guilty rate carries more weight than AdFL’s hefty suspensions is up for debate, as is the possibility that AdFL’s big stick — which recent history demonstrates can include clubs booted from the league — bears a significant deterrent factor.
QUALITY CALLS
IF you played Division 2 reserves in the Adelaide Footy League last weekend and actually thought the umpiring was pretty good, well, you’re probably right.
Overseeing the Unley Mercedes Jets-Broadview match at Kingswood Oval was Kevin Chambers and Michael Sboro.
Veteran Chambers umpired more than 300 SANFL League games before retiring over a decade ago.
Sboro is a current SANFL League umpire who agreed to help out last week.
FRESH ‘LEGS AHEAD
NORWOOD is in the midst of a resurgence ahead of finals, and so is its home ground Coopers Stadium.
The Baulderstone Stand, as well as the changerooms beneath the southern and western stands, are part of a major development, which has left the players using “Bianco Huts” as accommodation for training and games.
But Norwood Football Manager Mark Ross said the players have been galvanised by the inconvenience.
“The playing group has been wonderful,” he said.
“They’ve accepted it, and they’re really looking forward to what’s coming in the future.
“The players are here five days a week and they get to see, day by day, the progression.
“There is noise and it can be hard to concentrate when there’s a lot going on in the background. But they’re not things that matter.”
The Redlegs are driving fundraising for the build, crowned by the Wolf Blass Centre with a unique offering of a dozen wines made by former Norwood players.
Most notably, the Redlegs Winemakers Dozen, on sale from the club, features a red from d’Arenberg Wines, whose founder Chester Osborne was Norwood’s first captain in 1878.
BACK ON A ROLL
FORMER Norwood premiership hero Lachie Bowman is back playing top-flight sport.
A member of the 1997 team which beat Port, Bowman has been drafted by the Northern Knights in the Bowls SA Super League.
He played his third game for the Knights triples team on Friday night at Salisbury.