Ariah Park News and Sport Results The Northern Jets made the long haul to Coleambally on Saturday. It was an early start for the Jets juniors. This round was also the bus trip and with The Reserves and 1st Grade recording wins it was a very happy return trip home. First Grade: Jets: 9.6.60 Coleambally: 8.5.53 Award Winners: Max Harper Joe Grinter Jacob Bell Ben Grinter Goals: Jack Harper 6, Max Harper 1, Harry Collis 1, Charlie McCormack 1 Reserve Grade: Jets: 8.13.61 Coleambally: 4.5.29 Award Winners: Lachie Sheather Dale Marsden Luke Pellow Zach Gaynor Jimmy Bray - Morgans Mug Goals: Lachie Sheather 1, Riley Webb 1, Tim Haswell 1, Dale Marsden 1, Riley Glasgow 1 U'18s: Jets: 8.8.56 Coleambally: 16.7.103 Award Winners: Billy Donaldson Seth Marinkovic Luke Dennis Hamish McClintock Goals: Seth Marinkovic 3, Hayden Walsh 1, Luke Dennis 1, Josh Davies 1, Hamish McClintock 1, Henry Prentice 1 Netball The Jets Netball only had 4 teams on Saturday against Coleambally as Colly do not have Under 17s. A Grade: Lost 45 - 40 Players Player: Maddi Marks Coaches Award: Abbey Doyle A Reserve: Lost 45 - 36 Players Player: Summer Batterham Coaches Award: Jess Zieltjes B Grade: Lost 50 - 35 Players Player: Bella Fairman Coaches Award: Zoe Thomas C Grade: Lost 30 - 16 Players Player: Lucy Buerckner Coaches Award: Neveah Webb Congratulations to Lucy Buerckner who played her first senior game yesterday for C Grade against Coleambally. *** Big 21st birthday wishes to Bella Fairman on Sunday. *** The Ariah Park Bowling Club had Christmas in July on Saturday night. A lovely night was had by all who attended. *** Birthday wishes to Kate Harris. *** Back to school this week for Ariah Park Central School and Ariah Park Preschool. *** The mobile library bus has changed their day to visit Ariah Park. The next few visits will be 30 July then 13 and 27 August from 2pm to 3:30 pm with the van located in front of the preschool. All residents are encouraged to use this wonderful service. Barmedman News Your last chance to book for the Gold and Grain Gala Ball being held at the Barmedman Community Hall this Saturday 25th July. Michelle Seymore catering, The Wobbly Boot playing, formal attire, a great night out. *** A reminder that the GRDC Update 2026 is being held at the Barmedman Community Hall on Wednesday 29th July with everyone welcome. Registration 8.30 for 9am start. RSVP for catering purposes 0294824930 *** A well attended and constructive Community meeting was held recently. Community meetings are an opportunity for members of the community to bring ideas for the betterment of the town and community. Among items discussed was the installation of a ramp disability access to the Community Hall. Work on the ramp has commenced and hopefully it will be installed in the not too distant future. *** Many in the community will be saddened to hear of the passing of former Barmedman resident, Eileen Hill. Eileen passed away on Friday 17th July, at the age of 84 years. A service of Thanksgiving celebrating Eileen’s life will be held on Friday 24th July at St James Catholic Church Muswellbrook commencing at 2pm. The service will be live streamed. Cards may be sent to 7-11 Tindal Street, Muswellbrook, 2333. Sincere sympathy is extended to Howard, Mellissa, Gary and their families. *** Birthday wishes are extended to Jean Maitland who celebrated her 98th birthday on Tuesday 20th July. *** A visitor to the Craft and Coffee Shop on Tuesday was John Baker from Kilmore Victoria. John is a cousin of Ian Moore and was able to catch up with Marilyn but unfortunately Ian was away for the day. *** Was great to see Temora featured on Sydney Weekender last Sunday promoting the Canola Trail along with Junee and Coolamon. The countryside is looking a sea of gold again with canola blooming in many areas. Coolamon News Coolamon Shire Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Tanya Jackson to the position of Executive Manager Development and Environment Services. Ms Jackson, who has recently relocated to Junee, brings extensive experience in local government planning, organisational strategy and major project delivery. Her professional background includes senior roles across metropolitan and regional councils, where she has led strategic planning initiatives, service improvements and complex development portfolios. Council welcomes Ms Jackson’s strong leadership credentials and looks forward to the expertise she will contribute to the organisation and the wider Coolamon Shire community. *** Rugby League has returned to Coolamon after the Coolamon Raiders Junior Rugby League Club’s growth prompted plans to resurrect a senior Raiders side. Organisers say strong junior recruitment, volunteer support and community backing have driven the move, with an AGM held to formalise entries for Group 9 junior competitions. Club founder Tom Besgrove led the push to provide local pathways for youth players. Historical records show rugby league was first played in Coolamon as early as the 1900’s, and the town previously fielded teams in regional Kennedy Shield competitions, organisers note. Residents and regional sporting figures have welcomed the development as a boost for youth sport and community engagement. The Raiders’ revival is being framed as a long-term project: rebuilding pathways for local players, reconnecting with a pre‑existing rugby league tradition, and offering new sporting choices for Coolamon families. *** Coolamon Shire Council has opened registrations for the 2026 Hard Waste Collection, running 24–28 August. Residents must book and comply with strict limits, including a maximum of 2 cubic metres per household and items liftable by two people. Non‑compliant or unbooked waste will not be collected. Full details are available on Council’s website. *** Entries for the 2026 Up2Date Art Exhibition close on Monday, 10 August at 5pm. The committee advises that entries may close earlier if the 350-artwork limit is reached. *** News from the Coolamon Shire Library this week includes: Storytime 2026. The next Storytime will be held Friday 31st July at 10.30am theme – “Lions”- Everyone is most welcome. Please note Storytime will not be held over the school holidays. NAIDOC Week. The Library will celebrate NAIDOC Week with a variety of activities and workshops. A three-week exhibition featuring artwork by local artist Rob Clark will be on display in the UTDS from 3 July to 26 July. Activities will also include a Yarning Stick workshop for youth, a dot painting workshop for primary-aged children, and a two-hour candle-making workshop for adults. For more information, phone the Library on 6927 2492. Lego Club. Lego Club will be held each Wednesday from 4.00pm – 5.00pm. Then on Saturdays, at 10.30am. all ages welcome. The aim of the Lego Club program is for children to have fun, learn to communicate with others and to develop problem-solving skills. The Coolamon Library is on Facebook. News, pictures, events and opportunities are regularly uploaded – join us now! Coolamon - From Our Past By David McCann This week, From our Past revisits NSW State Selector G.H. Saunders’ 1926 visit to Marrar to assess players in a SWDFL match between Marrar and Leeton. His eloquent account, published in the Coolamon‑Ganmain Farmers Review, offers a rare window into the game a century ago. In 1926, Saunders was a key figure in expanding Australian Rules Football in NSW, helping strengthen league administration and national coordination during a pivotal growth period. *** ‘…It says something for the game in the south-west when the N.S.W. League will send two selectors into the district with a view to selecting players for inclusion in the team to play against Victoria at Melbourne on the 24th inst. It is no pleasure trip to journey for two days and nights in a railway carriage without rest looking for footballers, of which there are quite a lot in the district. However, it was my lot to witness the Marrar-Leeton game at Marrar, while my colleague Mr. H. C. Keyes journeyed to Ganmain and saw that team play Narandera. I was quite astonished at the number of people present, and it was indeed a change to view a game amid such beautiful surroundings on such a glorious day as Saturday. It was a real treat to see the number of motor cars ranged alongside of ancient buggies and sulkies. And the excitement and exuberance of the barrackers, the fair sex in particular, struck me most forcibly. I wonder who the fair Marrar barracker was who stood near me during the last quarter, and wished to be struck “Fat, handsome of lucky?” My! those people surely take their football most seriously, and the scene reminded me greatly of a Melbourne final. And now for the game! I do not wish to deal with the game through each quarter, but will deal with the game as it finished. True, Leeton won, and on the day certainly deserved their victory, but how easily Marrar could have turned the tables, by keeping their places during that last quarter! Yet had Leeton played the straight game down the centre, and worked their pivots more, instead of working the useless wings, they could have won by a more substantial margin. And why will they persist in hanging on to the ball so much? The whole team appear to suffer with the same failing. The ball is made to kick, and Leeton want to practice kicking the ball. Kick, and still more kick, should be their motto. With ten minutes to go and only a few points separating them, the captain of Marrar made a grave error in taking Rees from the forwards and placing him in defence. Even though a backman had been injured, it was not good tactics to weaken the attack as he did, because when the ball did go up forward they had no one there who could finish off the effort. That, I believe, together with the players being out of position, was the cause of their defeat. The quickness of Webb, the Leeton captain, to take advantage of that weakness during the closing stages of the game made victory certain for his side, as he would have done more good for his side, had he driven the ball into the goal-mouth more, instead of a dangerous abort pass, which generally gave the defenders a chance to clear. It is a mistake to pass a ball, when within kicking distance. Remember the goal is the thing, and useless passing in front of goal is so much wasted energy. I have pointed out the faults, because it is the faults which bring defeat. And now to compare the game as played here and in Sydney! First of all, the Sydney players would stand aghast at the hard grounds, as they are used to enclosed grounds which are carpeted with beautiful grass. Then the dashing manner and play of the country men is great to behold. You do not see them standing still waiting for the ball, they tear in all the time, and some of them know not the meaning of fear. I marvelled at their hardness when I witnessed them dashing into crushes with sickening thuds, to be hurled down or out, only to rise again for more. There is a hundred per cent more dash in country football compared with Sydney. The marking is every bit as good, but the kicking of the country men with a few exceptions, is hardly up to Sydney standard. And then there is not so much combination in country football, as one would like to see, but that in my opinion is caused by too much intense rivalry which makes the game hard and congested, the eagerness of players to be doing something instead of keeping their places. This leads to the conclusion that country teams need some system and training. The individual player abounds, the enthusiasm is there, speed, dash, and grit exist, but what is all this if system is lacking? A team composed mostly of stars, each playing for himself, would need to play phenomenally well, to beat a very fair team playing with perfect cohesion. However, the material is there, but it needs knocking into shape, and I have no fear in saying that country football as played in the south-west is a better game to watch than the game as played in Sydney. In conclusion, I might state, as a selector I have not made mention of any particular player who might be picked to play against Victoria. Perhaps in next issue I may have something to say of players who have made a great impression, and players whom I believe would worthily uphold the prestige of football in this State and the little home town teams for which they play. I am looking forward to seeing another sterling game this week, and hope that whoever the teams are, they will keep their places and try to play with something approaching system…’
