Sport
29 July, 2023
Polocrosse triumph for Kilcoy at Tansey
The Kilcoy-based Stanley Rivers Polocrosse Club overcame adversity and some hard-fought opponents to win the C grade division at the Tansey polocrosse carnival on the weekend of July 22 and 23.
Clay Colless, John Colless, John Donovan, Julie Stephensen and Selena Stevens were the only Stanley Rivers players to take part as several others were absent due to injury.
Allan Bartlem from the Rockhampton club filled in to complete the Stanley Rivers team, as the host club staged its first event since recovering from the same floods that devastated the Kilcoy grounds in February 2022.
Twenty-eight teams attended the carnival from as far away as Rockhampton, Alton Downs (also at Rockhampton), Charleville and Tambo in addition to south-east teams including Gold Coast, Warwick and Toowoomba.
The mornings were very cold, but conditions warmed up once play began.
Stanley Rivers played four games over the weekend, winning against Gold Coast 3 and Tansey 4 on day one to progress to the C grade semi-final the following morning.
The semi-final was very tight, with the Kilcoy team winning in extra time/golden point against Alton Downs.
The decider was another tight match, this time against Gold Coast 2, which led by three goals at the start of the final chukka and was in sight of victory.
Not to be denied, Kilcoy came back to win by one goal in normal time as a thrilling final few minutes unfolded.
John Colless was named player of the final, as well as a well-deserved Best Horse and Rider in C grade.
Considering the damage done to the grounds, the fields were safe and they played very well while the carnival ran smoothly.
