ASTLEY CUP: Last year Dubbo Senior College had to beat Bathurst High in the final round to win the time-honoured Astley Cup. They got the job done and now tomorrow it all starts again.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A big team of Dubbo sportsmen and women travel to Bathurst for their defence of the trophy won by Dubbo in 2004 and 2007 but for Bathurst it has been a long time between drinks, in fact, it was 1998 when they last tasted victory.
Each year the three teams - Orange High, Bathurst High and Dubbo Senior College - are very different, so past results can’t be taken as the blue print for victory this year.
But what is important for Dubbo is that they defeated both Orange and Bathurst in 2007 and were deserved trophy winners.
But how even were the games last year.
Orange beat Bathurst, 412 Astley Cup points to 388; then Dubbo got over Orange 423-377 leaving it all up to the final leg at Bathurst.
To their credit Bathurst won four of the eight sports - netball, boys basketball, athletics and hockey - while Dubbo took tennis and rugby league.
The main difference was draws in girls and boys soccer with Dubbo getting home 401-399, leaving the final points tally at Dubbo 824; Orange 789; Dubbo 787.
Fast forward to this year and over the next two days Dubbo will be in Bathurst and next Thursday and Friday Orange travel up here to Dubbo.
The final leg is at Orange against Bathurst on Wednesday and Thursday, July 2 and 3.
New South Wales Under-17 cricket all rounder Tim Armstrong will be seen in a different light tomorrow when the Astley Cup sports competition gets underway between Dubbo Senior College and Bathurst High School at Bathurst.
After returning from a successful tour of India with the NSW team and the trophy for best on tour, Tim has turned his focus to tennis and rugby league, which will occupy his time tomorrow and on Friday.
Tennis has long been a way of life for Tim, even before cricket came along, while the rigour of rugby league doesn’t usually go with an elite cricketer.
This will be Tim’s last stint at Astley Cup sport before he heads to Sydney to further his cricket career.
He played in Dubbo’s Astley Cup triumph last year and it’s important that the titleholders get a good start again this time.
Sports master at Dubbo Senior College, Kieran Smith, said it would be a hard one to call trying to find a winner.
“The pressure is going to be on us to retain the Astley Cup,” Smith said.
“All three schools (Dubbo, Orange High and Bathurst High) are strong across the board and it will be a very interesting contest from day one.
“Dubbo has a very strong tennis team again with Western reps Kate Wells and Amanda Astri in good form and our two soccer teams are good teams.
“We are the Western champions in girls soccer and our boys made the final so we’re hoping for good results in those three sports.
“Dubbo has a handy team in boys basketball but Bathurst are traditionally strong so we will have to be at our best to gain as many Astley Cup points as possible in that leg.
“Dubbo beat Bathurst in Western Area netball so we’re hoping for a similar result, while we both fear Orange who are strong each year.
“In athletics Dubbo has a lot of its team competing in other sports so we’re hoping that injuries won’t deplete our ranks.
“Then we have hockey where we will hoping to keep it as close as possible, again realising Bathurst probably have the wood on us there.”
The rugby league usually holds a lot of interest each year and it shouldn’t be any different this time.
Bathurst has had some good competition in the State Knockout series and will be well drilled while Dubbo had a University Shield game against Gilgandra High yesterday and will be looking to have their best team on the paddock.
NSW Country Under 18 prop Max Ray will spearhead the rugby league team while the undoubted talents of Josh Merritt in the halves will be important.
In the following legs of the Astley Cup, Orange High visit Dubbo next Thursday and Friday (June 26 and 27) while the final contest is between Orange and Bathurst at Bathurst on July 2 and 3.
Astley Cup schedule:
Bathurst High v Dubbo Senior College, in Bathurst.
Thursday:
9.30am: Tennis; 10am: Mulvey Cup debate; 11.30am: Rugby league; 1pm Girls soccer; 2.30pm: Boys soccer.
Friday:
9.15am: Athletics; 11.30am: Hockey; 1pm: Basketball; 2.30pm: Netball.
Dubbo Astley Cup teams
TENNIS
Tim Armstrong, Amanda Astri, Jacob Barnes, Tom Barnes, Aimee Buckland, Leigh Dargan, Alex Panetta, Kate Wells.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Tim Armstrong, Allan Arnold, Jordan Boney, Brodie Chapman, Brodie Duff, Anthony Egan-Smith, RJ Gray, Dylan Hill, Jake Josephs, Grant Kemp, Elliott Knight, Tim Long, Matt Marks, Josh Merritt, Max Ray, Justin Sanderson, Jeremy Smith, Brad Spencer, Maddison Thomas, Lionel Wood.
GIRLS SOCCER
Jodie Carberry, Lateisha Carr, Staci Cummings, Penny Dunn, Eryn Fraser, Katie Greenaway, Natasha Hampton-Lunn, Sarah Kennedy, Samantha Lees, Kaitlyn Mason, Teigan McRae, Tar-Lee Roberts, Lana Skryzpnik, Aimee Tink.
BOYS SOCCER
Mitchell Barber, Jacob Barnes, Matthew Bellingham, Jaidan Biles, Remy Hemburg, Nathan Kenyon, Duncan Lawrence, james Leonard, Ben Manson, Russell Scott, James Stimson, Justin Sutton, Andrew Tarry, Josh Wilson, Jordan Winn.
ATHLETICS
Taryn Barton, Anna Bernasconi, Khyarne Biles, Jodie Carberry, Joel Carney, Lateisha Carr, Jessica Colwell, Jess Cross, Leigh Dargan, Travis Dorrington, Rachael Eaglesham, Kyla Flick, Aaron Ford, Lyndon Gale, April Gordon, Natalie Henry, Hannah Lawler, James Leonard, Tim Long, Andrew Long, Jack Parry, Katie Potter, Josh Primmer, Tar-Lee Roberts, Alex Ronayne, Justin Sanderson, Nathen Swan, Alex van Dartel, Ricky Weatherall.
HOCKEY
Brooke Burton, Megan Cannon, Jessica Colwell, Ellie Farquhar, Candy Garraway, Alice Halpin, MOrgan Josephs, Georgie Karydis, Sarah Kennedy, Rebecca Lee, Samantha lees, Julie Martin, Lisa Mould, Gemma Murphy, Katie Potter, Tar-Lee Roberts, Sarah Rootes, Tiffany Rowland.
BASKETBALL
Ben Castlehouse, EJ Fernando, Benham Fisher, RJ Gray, Jesse Johnson, Cameron Lawrence, Daniel Owen, Tom West, Andrew Willis.
NETBALL
Taryn Barton, Anna Bernasconi, Khyarne Biles, Teleisha Caton, Kristie Caton, Kyla Flick, Eryn Fraser, Bec Hall, Sonya Maestrom-Jones, Tiffany Rowland, Rebecca Short, Kate Wells.
MULVEY CUP DEBATING
Anna Bernasconi, Michaela Davis, Sonya Maestrom-Jones, Komal Pandya.