Racing finally returns to the Lismore Turf Club on Sunday with the club hosting the Oaten's 50th Anniversary celebrations.It is the first meeting that the club has hosted since the Lismore Cup event in September that was abandoned after just two races.LTC Secretary Manager Scott Jones and his team have worked hard to get the track right for the meeting.The turf did not respond as the staff wanted throughout the winter months and with the re-establishment of the irrigation system after the floods, the track is in excellent order for the meeting.The Oaten's celebrations will bring a large crowd to the track to celebrate the clubs return.The weather forecast is much better than Cup Day, with the track rated a Good 4.The first race of the seven race program jumps at 1:35pm, with race six being the feature race, the Oaten's 50th Anniversary Cup over 1410m.Murwillumbah trainer Matt Dunn has the favourite in the Cup, Desert Miss which is coming off a last start win in Murwillumbah two weeks ago. Desert Miss will be ridden by Matt McGuren.The last race will start at 5:17pm.

Far North Coast softballer Lachlan Coe had a tough start to the U/19 National Softball Championships in Perth.The tough start was all worth it after the NSW side took out the Championship with a win over Victoria in the Grand Final.The Left Fielder fell ill on arrival in the west, with what was originally thought to be tonsillitis but was found to be an abscess on his tonsil.Coe spent the first night of competition in hospital before emerging to take part on Day 2 of the tournament.The NSW side won seven of their eight round matches to finish on top of the table and go into the Major Semi Final on a winning run.The NSW side took on Queensland in the Semi Final and came out on top after an epic 8 innings game, sealing a place in the Championship Final against Victoria.Coe and his NSW side dominated the Final, taking the game 10-2 and raising the National Championship trophy.There was no rest for Coe and his family, who boarded a red eye flight to Sydney after the U/19 Championship to take part in the U/18 National Youth Baseball Championship in Blacktown.Coe showed his versatility in the first match of the tournament, pitching for NSW Country against Queensland in their 8-6 victory.The New Country side has since had a 4-4 draw with the ACT before losses to NSW and Victoria.

Marist Brothers will be out to defend their total of 273 on Day 2 of their clash with the Ballina Bears at Fripp Oval on Saturday.Brothers were led by batsman Pat Martin (98) and Daniel Hamshaw (89) in posting the total in 72 overs on Day 1 of the Round 6 clash.The Bears resume at 0/9 after facing just 3 overs last week.The Brothers attack will be led by Brendan Mitchell and Owen Bensley, with youngster Hamish Weekes and the spin of Tom Parsons looking to take wickets early.The visitors may also look to Martin and Hamshaw to roll the arm over during the day.A win for Brothers will move them up the LJ Hooker League ladder to start the year on a positive note.The match will commence at 1:00pm.

Why not referee in 2023? Take up a whistle and earn extra cash and help out a local football club.Northern NSW Football and Football Far North Coast are supporting a Level 4 Referee Course at Saunders Oval Ballina on Monday 23 January.There is no cost to participants, with Football Far North Coast covering the cost of the course for participants.The Level 4 Referee Course program's practical emphasis complements the FFA online Laws of the Game Course and is aimed at match officials officiating on community and premier competition football. The Level 4 Referee program is a combination of classroom sessions and practical mentoring. Participants must be 13 years of age at the start of the training program.At the completion of the course, participants will receive:- Level 4 Referee Course- Laws of the Game Book- Professional Referee Whistle- Assistant Referee Flag- First Year Referee Green Shirt- Umbro Match Official Shorts- Umbro Socks- Set of Red and Yellow Cards- Match Record Book- FFNC Match Official poloParticipants can register at https://bit.ly/3jbDCpBFootball Far North Coast will run additional courses prior to the season commencing, but this is a great opportunity to take advantage of the school holiday option.

The annual Lismore U/12 Cricket Carnival will get underway next week. The Carnival will commence on Monday 9 January and conclude on Thursday 12 January. Sixteen teams from across New South Wales will contest the tournament which has been a consistent event on the junior cricket calendar for over 30 years. Fixtures will be played in both Lismore and Casino, with finals being played on Wednesday and Thursday. The first ball will be bowled at 9:30am on Monday morning with Round 1 games including the Far North Coast Thunder up against Maitland (Casino), FNC Sixes playing Tamworth (Blair Oval), FNC All Stars clashing with North Coast (Nielson Park)and FNC Country playing the Newcastle Blasters (Nesbitt Park). Round 2 for all teams will start at 2:30pm on Monday after a short travel and lunch break. Teams from Illawarra, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Maitland, Tamworth, the Mid and North Coast and a number of Sydney teams will play up to eight matches  The tournament is a great boost to the local economy in a quiet time for many businesses heavily affected by the 2022 floods. Lismore and Richmond Valley Councils have been working hard to have pitches and grounds ready for a big week of action.

Marist Brothers duo Pat Martin and Daniel Hamshaw have led their side to a big first innings total in their LJ Hooker League clash with Ballina.The Ballina Bears won the toss and elected to send Marist Brothers in to bat and the decision paid early dividends.Opener Ashley Simes was bowled first ball of the innings, with Matt Cleaver falling in the second over for 5, with the score at just 2/5.Brad Cleaver did not last much longer, falling in the sixth over for 3, to have the Brethren in trouble at 3/32.It was left to Pat Martin and Daniel Hamshaw to steady the innings and that is what they did.Martin plundered the Bears attack, finishing agonisingly close to a century, with 98 off just 81 balls. Martin has been a solid part of the Brothers batting lineup in the 2022/23 season.Martin's innings included 2 sixes and 12 fours after being dismissed in the 25th over.Hamshaw was steady at the other end and continued on with his innings after Martin departed, going on to finish with a hard fought 89.Youngster Hamish Weekes added 20 runs of his own to see Marist Brothers all out for 273 in the 72nd over, a marked improvement on recent innings.The Ballina side where then asked to face three nervous overs before the first days play concluded, with the home side 0/9.The Marist Brothers bowlers will look to strike early next Saturday to put pressure on the Ballina top order.

Marist Brothers will be looking for the perfect start to the new year in Round 6 of the LJ Hooker League on Saturday. Brothers will travel to Fripp Oval to take on the Ballina Bears in the resumption of the competition after the mid-season Christmas break. The Lismore side will again make several changes due to player availability with several strong additions to the side. Opener Ashley Simes has been named in the side and will add strikepower at the top of the order. His combinations with Kevin Warid and Pat Martin could be key to the outcome. Brothers Brad and Matt Cleaver and Joe Allan will add a solid backbone to the top order. Bowlers Owen Bensley and youngster Hamish Weekes will again join captain Brendan Mitchell in attack attempt to get the most out of the pitch. Weather and pitch conditions could play a factor with storms dumping large amounts of rain across the region earlier in the week. A win for Brothers will push them further up the ladder at a crucial time in the competition and a win for the Bears would be their first for the season. The match commences at 1:00pm. Goonellabah Workers Sports have a bye in Round 6 of the LJ Hooker League and Lismore District Cricket returns on Saturday 14 January. 

The Lismore District Cricket and the Northern Rivers Cricket League have a Christmas/New Year break and teams are taking the time to assess the first half of their seasons.Casino lead the First Grade Competition by 13 points from Goonellabah Workers Sports, Marist Brothers and Norths.Casino's Connor Turner leads the runs with 294 and Michael German, also from Casino has taken 22 wickets.The best of the local batsman in the First Grade Competition is Marist Brothers Luke Collings (3rd) with 189 at an average of 31. Goonellabah's Brad Walker sits in fourth place with 165 runs at 41.The best of the bowlers is Norths Ryan Duyker with 15 wickets at 8 from Charlie Alexander, who has 13 at an average of 9.Second Grade is led by Kyogle from Lismore Workers, Casino, Evans Head and Marist Brothers.Kyogle's Courtney Nagas has 250 runs at 62, with the leading local batsman is Craig Hamshaw (3rd) with 204 runs at 40. Evans Head's Ben Nurse is out in front in the bowling stakes, with 16 wickets, five in front of second place.Norths have the lead in Third Grade from Marist Brothers, Goonellabah and Kyogle.There have been plenty of runs scored in Third Grade this season so far, with Norths Ari Carr leading with a massive total of 453 at an average 90. There are currently 15 players with totals over 200 in Third Grade.Marist Brothers Jamie Cottee (av. 11) and Kyogle's Travis Jackson (14) are the leading wicket takers in Third Grade with 16 each.In Fourth Grade, Eastern Districts lead the pack from GWS, Marist Brothers and Casino.Goonellabah Workers Sports Cory Drew is out in front of the runs, with 246 at 27, followed by Eastern Districts Brendan Ross with 208.Marist Brothers Zach Conte has slayed opposition sides with the ball, taking 27 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 9.Conte's haul includes matches of 5/21, 5/33 and 7/21in Fourth Grade.

The LJ Hooker League cricket season has come to their mid season break and the Lismore teams will take time out to assess their seasons so far.Goonellabah Workers Sports currently sit fifth in the two day competition, with 3 wins from 4 matches played, six points behind competition leaders Tweed Banora Colts.Marist Brothers are just two positions behind in seventh, but in contrast have just one win from their 4 matches.The bowlers have dominated so far this season, with locals filling three of the top four positions in the bowling rankings.Goonellabah pair Reece Gregor, 15 wickets at 12.0 (2nd) and Josh Healy, 14 wickets at 8.0 (3rd) are a big part of the sides success this year and will hope to add to their tallies in the New Year.For Marist Brothers, opener and captain Brendan Mitchell sits on top of the Marist Brothers wickets takers with 13 wickets at 11.0 and fourth overall.Runs have been shared amongst a number of batsman with Brothers middle order batsman Pat Martin leading the local charge with 170 runs at an average of 56. Martin sits ninth across the LJ Hooker League Competition.For Goonellabah, Brady Toniello (16th) has 132 at 26.0 and opener Rory McLean (19th) is on 125 at an average of 31.0.The competition will resume in Round 6 and will be played on the 7th and 14th January, with Goonellabah Workers Sports having the bye and Marist Brothers travelling to Ballina to take on the Bears in a must win match.

The Marist Brothers Rugby League Club have produced the signing of the year, and 2023 has not even started.Gold Coast Titans legend, Papua New Guinea International and Marist Brothers Junior David Mead will return to the club in 2023.Marist Brothers announced the signing of Mead this week, after finishing with the Brisbane Broncos recently after a 3 year stint with the Catalan Dragons in the Super League. Mead has played wing, centre and fullback.Mead attended Trinity Catholic College and Kadina High before signing with the Gold Coast Titans, commencing his career in First Grade in 2009.David has represented NSW Country and the World All Stars and has represented PNG in the 2008 and 2013 World Cups, captaining the side in the 2017 World Cup.Mead will bring his experience and expertise to the Rams who will be looking for a dramatic improvement in 2023.The club has recently announced their coaching structure for the 2023 season, with a number of new appointments to the club.The Ladies League Tag Ramettes will be led by Nicholie Donovan and Lisa Brown.Both ladies have been around the club since the start of the league tag competition in 2017 and will be a huge asset to the side that has been previously coached by Al Petty. The clubs strength and conditioning needs will be overseen by coach Lee Nagorcka.The Under 18s will be directed by Chris King who has stepped up as the Under 18s coach after a number of years as a coach of junior boys and girls sides. King will look to resurrect the U18's after sitting out the 2022 season.Reserve Grade will be led by Rod McFarlane who is returning to the club and will bring his knowledge and expertise to the Reserve Grade players. First Grade will be coached by Matt Barber and will be assisted by Mark Bellman, Joel Jensen and Mick Davis.All of the coaches are keen to get started early join 2023 and make the season a big one.

Lismore Rugby Union Club have announced their 2023 senior coaching group, with several announcements still to come.Ron Cox and Cody Johnston return to the helm in 2023 after an interrupted 2022 season, with floods devastating the club's facilities and grounds prior to the seasons start.Cox and Johnston, joined by John Jenkins and manager Lewis Ireland, who will also continue with the group from 2022. Ron Cox is a long time Lismore City member playing over 200 First Grade games and captaining sides throughout the 1990’s. Cox took to coaching in 2000 and led First Grade sides in 2003/04 and 2008/09, also coaching juniors from U7-U16, winning several premierships in both juniors and seniors over these years. Johnston takes to the coaching role alongside Cox, playing over 200 First Grade games himself. John Jenkins has years of First Grade coaching experience leading many teams to grand final success. Jenkins has been involved with the SCU Gold Rats and the Wollongbar/Alstonville Pioneers in previous years.Lewis Ireland returns to his role as Manager having taken on this role many times over the years. Lewis has over 100 games for Lismore City.All existing, new and interested players are encouraged to attend pre season training which kicks off on Tuesday 31 January 2023. The Second Grade, Women's and U/18 Colts appointments will be announced early in the New Year.

A group of Lismore Futsal players have just returned from an amazing opportunity to play in an international tournament in the Solomon Islands.The inaugural SIFF International Junior Futsal Cup 2022 was played in Honiara with four touring teams from Just Futsal Foundation competing against Solomon Islands youth teams selected from the Bulk Shop Junior Futsal League 2022.The four teams flew out of Brisbane and played in the tournament from Saturday 17 to Tuesday 20 December at the Friendship Futsal and outdoor multipurpose Hall in Honiara.The conditions in the Solomon Islands, as always, were hot and humid for the visitors, but the opportunity to play Futsal, meet new friends and visit such an amazing place will be remembered for years to come.The Just Futsal teams competed in the U12, U14, U16 and U20 categories under the leadership of former Solomon Islands Kurukuru coach Vinicius Leite.The Solomon Islands are a very strong nation when it comes to Futsal and the competition was tough for the mainly Lismore based teams. The Solomon's have regularly contested the FIFA World Futsal Cup and compete internationally in a sport that some would say is their national pastime.The Just Futsal teams final placings were:JF Australia U12's - 6th PlaceJF Australia U14's - 4th PlaceJF Australia U16's - 5th PlaceJF Australia U20's - 6th Place

Lismore Rugby Clubs Women's and Girl's programs are growing and the club is recruiting.Former Club President Peter Everingham was a strong advocate for female rugby and he has recently handed the presidential reins over to Emily Cox who is keen to continue the momentum.The 2022 was a successful season for the club, with the U/16 Girls team making the Grand Final and the Women's 10's side taking out the Major Premiership in terrific style over Casuarina.The club will look to field teams in U/13, U/15 and U/17 Girls and the Women's 10's competitions in 2023, along with the Men's First and Second Grade and Colts competitions.All women and girls interested or who would like to make further enquiries can contact the club via their Facebook site or via Emily Cox on 0401 887 808.

Three consecutive years of extreme circumstances that include the impact of COVID and the 2022 floods, has taken its toll on Italo Stars FC, with the proud North Lismore club to sit out of the 2023 football season.Despite the best efforts to navigate a way forward, after the loss of the club facilities and dire impact on numerous club members, many who lost houses and possessions in the floods, club president Mat Edmonds has conceded that the immediate obstacles are just too onerous. Edmonds said, “The damage and loss that occurred to the fields and facilities in February and March this year, was a massive blow to Club Marconi, that had optimistic plans to reignite activity at the Italo Australian Sports and Recreation Club after finalising the purchase before the floods hit.” He added, “The football club struggled to exist this season, with no field, no facilities and despite receiving various equipment from Northern NSW Football and Football Far North Coast, the club was on life support.” Edmonds and Italo Stars FC Life Member Ben Perry met recently with Football Far North Coast General Manager Steve Mackney, to discuss the situation. The parties agreed that the absence of a playing venue, combined with a range of factors, including ongoing stress on members that has diminished the ability to recruit volunteers, has created a situation where the club simply cannot exist in 2023. Italo Stars FC celebrated 50 years of activity in 2016, however expectations to progress the proud history of Stars have been tempered with the impact of the flood in 2017 that was tough to rebound from and then has so cruelly been impeded had every turn since. Although a decision has been made to go into recess in 2023, the purpose is to enable a recalibration of options beyond next season. Italo Stars FC is one of several clubs that have been doing it tough, with almost 1000 players lost from Football Far North Coast participation this season. General Manager Steve Mackney said, “Football/soccer player numbers in this region grew to more than 7000 prior to COVID back in 2019 and the game is fortunate that there is a depth in numbers to sustain activity.” “We hope that 2023 is only a temporary pause and that Italo Stars FC will return to local football.” Mackney concluded. Registrations for the 2023 Football Far North Coast season will open on 1st February, with a role for players, coaches, referees and volunteers. Enquiries can be made to [email protected]

Goonellabah Workers Sports have played out a nail biter against Pottsville in their LJ Hooker League clash at Oakes Oval on Sunday.Chasing the Pottsville total of 161, Goonellabah resumed at 1/4, with Rory McLean and Tom Standish at the crease.Standish (2) lost his wicket early, before Sam McLean came to the crease to join his brother in the run chase.Sam went for 12, before captain Andrew Kemmis (26) and Mark Denmeade (26) steadied the ship, partnering Rory McLean at the other end.Rory went on to top score with 60 and was the main stay of the innings, a role he has played a number of times this season.Unfortunately for Goonellabah, regular wickets fell in the lower order and it came down to Goonellabah needing 10 runs with just 3 wickets in hand.Pottsville then struck Kaleb Armstrong (3) on the pads in the 57th over, which brought Alec Watson to the crease to partner Reece Gregor.The pair added just two runs before Watson was caught for 1 in the 59th over, with Josh Healy striding to the crease.Gregor was able to add another 6 runs to his total before Healy was dismissed with just one run needed for the draw or 2 runs for victory.Gregor remained unbeaten on 8 in the 1 run loss.The Goonellabah side will now rest over the holiday period before resuming on Saturday 21 January after having the bye in Round 6 (7 and 14 January).

FNC Softball will turn blue on Saturday to support a worthy cause.The Association will be holding a "Blue Round" to support the Scott Rindfleish Foundation and Bowel Cancer Research.Scott Rindfleish was an international softball umpire and coach, who sadly passed away on 10 October 2022 at just 40 years of age.Recognition of his sporting achievements are best signified by his world championship umpiring achievements and most proudly, Scott’s induction into the Softball Australia Hall of Fame and the Softball NSW Hall of Fame.Coaching softball was also a great passion of Scott's and alongside his brother, Adam, led NSW softball teams for over a decade, supporting the achievements of countless athletes who have gone on to achieve great success. The Scott Rindfleish Foundation is committed to “Strike Out Bowel Cancer”. Linked to a great softball phrase associated with the role of an Umpire and Scott’s former softball position as a pitcher.The FNC Association is supporting this wonderful cause by encouraging all players and supporters to wear blue, donating all team nomination fees to the charity and collecting donations on the day. There are also several novelty fundraisers including $2 donations for for strikeouts, dropped catches & home runs.The first round of matches will commence at 1:30pm with Goonellabah Gunnas v Byron Allsox, Workers Falcons v Rous Rogues and Dodger Demons v Casino Cougars.Rous Rangers will take on Rous Warriors and Workers Dael's Turkeys will play the Woodburn Wonders at 3:30pm.

Goonellabah Workers Sports will be looking for a solid run chase against Pottsville at Oakes Oval on Saturday on Day 2 of the LJ Hooker League Competition.Rory McLean and Tom Standish will resume the Goonellabah innings at 1/4, chasing the Pottsville total of 161.Last week, Goonellabah won the toss and sent Pottsville in to bat at Oakes Oval.The decision paid dividends with the Goonellabah bowlers taking wickets on a regular basis, eventually bowling Pottsville out in the 69th over.Josh Healy was the best of the bowlers with 4/20 off 11.5 overs, closely followed by Reece Gregor with 3/48 off 20 overs.This meant Goonellabah needed to see off 3 overs prior to the end of the days play, unfortunately losing Brady Toniello in the process.GWS will look to consolidate early and see off the opening bowlers, with a number of batsman in good form recently.Sam McLean, Andrew Kemmis, Kaleb Armstrong and Gregor all amongst the runs in recent weeks.The home side will look to chase down the runs and go into the Christmas break on a high.

Marist Brothers will be looking for quick wickets against Cudgen on Day 2 of their match at Mortimer Oval.Captain Brendan Mitchell will be the key as Brothers have very little room to work with in the first innings.Brothers will need to put pressure on Cudgen early, with the visitors needing just 48 runs for first innings points.The Brothers batting lineup got a number of starts last week but no single batsman was able to post a solid total.Unfortunately, they were bowled out for 142 in the 49th over, allowing Cudgen to face 21 overs in the afternoon, reaching 2/95 after captain Mitchell took both wickets, finishing the day with 2/30 off 7 overs.Marist Brothers may also look to score quickly in the second innings and post a total and try for an outright victory over last season's champions.With big hitting Kevin Warid at the top of the order and Pat Martin and Daniel Hamshaw returning after missing last week, they have the firepower to make this an option.Mitchell will need wicket taking support from Owen Bensley, Hamish Weekes and spinner Tom Parsons if they are challenge Cudgen.The match commences at 1:00pm.

One of the longest standing and significant local sporting competitions is set to resume in 2023, Football Far North Coast announcing that the ANZAC DAY CUP competition is set to return after disruption this year due to the impact of the floods.The inaugural Anzac Day Cup competition was played in 1950, with football using sport to pay homage to the men and women who selflessly gave of themselves through times of conflict and war, so that they our community can live in peace and safety. Football Far North Coast General Manager Steve Mackney has confirmed that Tursa Employment and Training will continue its long strategic relationship with the event, saying, “TURSA is a valued community organisation, that despite the significant impact on its operations, staff and clients, has enthusiastically committed to continue to support football as an important component of the broader efforts to drive recovery post covid and after the catastrophic floods in 2022” Martin Claus, Manager of Marketing & Communications at TURSA, said that they were delighted to maintain their relationship with Football Far North Coast.“At TURSA we have a long history of being an integral part of the local community,” said Mr. Claus. “Football has an extremely strong presence here and aligns perfectly with our values, promoting inclusion, healthy living, and community engagement. We are very pleased to be connected with the ANZAC Day Cup competition in 2023.” Mr Claus also spoke about how sport brings people together from all walks of life and celebrates cultural diversity. He pointed out that it provides youth with a platform to develop their physical abilities as well as essential life skills such as teamwork and leadership.South Lismore FC is the defending Men’s Premier League ANZAC Day Cup winners from 2021 and will go into 2023 also holding the Men’s Premier League grand final winner’s trophy from 2022. The ANZAC Day competition will commence on 24th February 2023.