Key decisions moved to delegates on future of Ipswich competitions

Some heavy duty decisions and back-up options are to be made by Ipswich sporting officials.

Club representatives have been invited to have their say on what should happen next in the Ipswich hockey competition. Picture: David Lems

CLUBS being sought to provide crucial input, the possibility of extending seasons, encouraging players to keep fit for finals.

Some heavy duty decisions and back-up plans are soon to be made by Ipswich sporting officials.

Interim Rugby League Ipswich (RLI) chairman Anthony Breeze said the board was considering options to continue matches and carnivals from August 21.

Breeze has just had a meeting with the Queensland Rugby League South East Queensland Division, where a revised calendar has been offered.

“They (the SEQ Division) have got a big spreadsheet timetable for the three leagues for us to have a look at about moving everything back and how it all looks on the calendar with dates and grounds and all that,’’ he said.

The revised schedule includes Ipswich hosting the SEQ Women’s grand finals at the North Ipswich Reserve on August 21 and staging the junior girls grand finals on the adjacent Len Johnson fields.

That is dependent on the Queensland lockdown ending on Sunday.

The RLI board was looking at extending the Ipswich competition.

“There are all different scenarios,’’ Breeze said.

“We (RLI) had a four-week buffer. We can go into October whereas others (like Brisbane and Gold Coast) don’t have too much of a buffer.’’

Having seen the SEQ Division calendar, Breeze said the RLI Board would have a Zoom meeting with club delegates after seeing what is decided on Sunday by the Queensland Government.

He said RLI was looking at venue and new date options, including pushing the season back two weeks.

Brothers back Michael McDonald scores to keep his team in the hunt late in the Rugby League Ipswich A-Grade game against Swifts. Extending the season is one option being considered. Picture: Bruce Clayton

The Ipswich Hockey Executive Committee will also await feedback from club representatives at Monday night’s Management Committee meeting before finalising future options.

Ipswich Hockey secretary Margret Mantell said discussion issues included how to deal with matches not completed last weekend and how best to schedule future games.

Sixteen senior games and one junior match were not completed last weekend due to the lockdown.

Other issues include the future of the under-15 Coulter Shield and Southern Cross championships scheduled for this weekend and what to do with school holidays coming up.

All that needs to be resolved with junior finals set to start on August 21 and senior finals a week later.

Mantell hoped everyone had a clearer picture after the Queensland Government’s next decision on the lockdown.

“It will be the management committee that will make a decision on Monday night,’’ she said.

“We’ll send something out in the next couple of days so they have a chance to discuss it and then come with their view on how they want to handle it.’’

Mantell said even when the lockdown ends, there could be other restrictions like travel limits and caps on venue numbers that need to be addressed.

“There’s lot of considerations that are hard to do because you don’t know what the situation is going to be,’’ she said.

Ipswich Eagles footballers like Sophie Crawford are keen to see her team get another shot at finals glory. Picture: David Lems

Keeping fit for finals

In Aussie rules, the Ipswich Eagles are hoping QFAW Division 2 North finals can start on August 14.

The Eagles women will go into the playoffs in third having eight wins and three draws from the season so far.

However, head coach Clint Bateman was disappointed his well-drilled team didn’t get a shot at securing second spot and receiving an extra opportunity to progress to the grand final.

That is because the final two games of the season were called off.

“We were pretty confident we would have won our last two games and finish second, which would have given us the double chance,’’ he said.
“We could have been a much better season than it looks.’’

The Eagles are scheduled to open the four-week final series with a home game against sixth-placed Redcliffe.

“We have to win every week to make the grand final,’’ Bateman said.

If the Eagles beat Redcliffe, they would next face the winner of the other first week final between Pine Rivers and Hinterland before another elimination final.

“We’ll try and make sure everyone is doing their bit to keep fit during the lockdown and share training ideas and stuff,’’ Bateman said.

“We could potentially have no (team) training sessions before finals.’’

Bateman backed his players to follow a daily training program as individuals until the sport opens up.

“We’ve encouraged them to get out and have a kick every couple of days,’’ the coach said.

“They are a great bunch of girls who are very self motivated most of them.’’

One blessing of having two weekends of fixtures called off was the chance to rest any injuries.

“We’re looking pretty healthy,’’ he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone with any major injuries.’’

With this weekend’s scheduled match against Pine Rivers called off, the Ipswich Eagles men have completed a disappointing QFA Division 2 North season.

The Eagles men came 12th with just three wins and a draw to go with their 11 losses.