Plays of the Past

Stone later teamed with Geoff Goode to win the doubles title, beating Peter Campbell and Wayne Leppard.

Simm, daughter of the club’s former star player Wally Dunn, won the women’s title for the ninth time when she beat Marg Smerdon.

The pair teamed up to win the doubles title.

1980

Lancaster all-rounder Vin Sleeth was named the Security Permanent Kyabram Cricket Association Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year.

He beat teammate and Lancaster skipper John Lilford by 65 points, with Stanhope captain Ian Hall and Cooma opening batter Tony Kilmartin filling the minor placings.

Churches all-rounder Chris Hunter won the A-reserve title, ahead of Girgarre veteran Maurie Varcoe, the latter taking five wickets and scoring a half century in the final round to narrow the margin to five points.

Laurie Wickham, Greg Halls and Jim Harris filled minor placings.

In B-grade, Merrigum stalwart Bruce Andrew piled up a massive 956 points to win from Stanhope’s Ted Campbell and Undera all-rounder Chris Mitchell.

– Kyabram swim stars Joanne Sinnott, 10, and 11-year-old Stuart Laidlaw created history for their school they won the girls and boys championships in the Dawes Road School carnival.

It meant the pair had won back-to-back titles, something never achieved by a student at the school. Joanne won not only her age group, but also the open events.

Stuart was the winner of the freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke events.

– Chris Salter was convinced to take on the Lancaster Football Club coaching role for the 1981 season, which would be his third season in the top job.

The club also announced former Kyabram speedster Jol Illardi would be assistant coach to the 32-year-old Salter, who had been reluctant to take on the role according to club secretary Robert Carver.

Salter, a 200-game senior GVL veteran with Kyabram, arrived at Lancaster in 1977, and in two seasons as coach had taken the team to runners-up and third.

Illardi, 27, had last played in the region in the losing 1977 Kyabram grand final team, having played close to 150 games for the Bombers.

1990

Kyabram was about to unveil five new faces in the first round of the rich Tarax Night Football Series at Katandra.

New coach Mark Beers was among them, a former Collingwood star, while another big name to be unveiled was a powerfully built Footscray district league forward named Chris Stuhldreier.

He had just experienced back-to-back 100 goal seasons and represented the Victorian state team in the All-Australian carnival.

His Sunshine YCW teammate, Ralf Faulwetter, 22, was another newcomer. He had played as a ruckman at VFA level and with Fitzroy’s under-19 team.

Steve Kerwin, Kyabram’s 1988 best-and-fairest, was also returning.

– Tongala Football Club was promoting the King of Kanyapella arm wrestling competition, a new addition to the ninth annual picnic racing event, the Kanyapella Kup.

Held in Hodgsons Paddock at Kanyapella, just north of Tongala, the now famous event had a $1000 prize attached.

As for the arm wrestling competition, it was being sponsored by the Falcon Hotel and had a $100 prize attached. One of the finalists in the competition had already been selected, with renowned Tongala strongman Shayne “Tub” Gemmill ready to take on the raiders.

Major club sponsor, Pat O’Shannessey, had also announced his $2000 contribution to the club in preparation for the new season.

– Steve Martin was a surprise hero for Kyabram District Cricket Association in its McPherson Newspapers victory against Shepparton, having been named 12th man for the team before Tatura’s Travis Ryan pulled out with a twisted ankle.

Martin took five wickets from his nine overs, supporting Steve Thomson’s 3-13 as Shepparton was bundled out for 74 in just 33.4 overs.

Gary Farrow led the run chase with 41, while Maurie Varcoe (not out 13) and Ray Doolan (not out 17) saw the KDCA home with seven wickets in hand.

2000

Proud grandmother Phyl Stokes was preparing for the Kyabram District Cricket Association finals, in support of grandsons David and Paul Newman.

The Fire Brigade Cricket Club then 18 and 16-year-olds, were about to start their campaign against Stanhope, Paul fresh from a recent century and a match-winning Melbourne Country Week innings against Shepparton.

David Newman also debuted at the carnival, but his grandmother had yet to see him make any of his three centuries — two of those being in representative cricket and the third as a 14-year-old in a B-reserve club game.

– Tongala Cricket Club announced plans to embark on a fund raising scheme to help finance a two-storey clubroom at the recreation reserve.

Architect Col Armstrong, a former player with the club, had drawn up the plans for the building which would be constructed alongside the Legends of the Tin Shed shelter.

Club stalwarts Des Nunn, Brad Newman and Alan Davis formed the sub-committee for the pavilion, expected to be up and running in 2002 at a cost of $60,000.

2010

Kyabram’s under-17 cricket team was celebrating a hat-trick of premiership wins after beating Cooma-Girgarre in the grand final.

It was, however, won in rather unusual circumstances as the match actually ended in a tie — Kyabram taking the title by virtue of finishing on top of the ladder.

Cooma-Girgarre set a target of 116 for victory and the final Kyabram wicket fell for exactly the same score.

Tom Pyke was a star for the combine, finishing with 28 not out in a low scoring affair.

Jake Reeves took four wickets for Kyabram and was named man of the match for the premiership winners.

– David Newman won his second Jack Stone medal when he polled 21 votes to beat Paul Parsons by six votes.

Newman also won the runs aggregate, finishing with 642 runs, interestingly enough, only nine ahead of his brother Paul — who finished fifth in the award.

Other players to feature in the voting were Adam Nunn from Tongala, Kyabram’s Robbie O’Donnell and Comma’s Paul Ranson.