FLAMING Devils continued their winning run in Northern A Grade interclub snooker competition, beating ladder leader Works Black 3-1.
Andrew Rainbow, 2-0, Heath Rainbow, 2-1, and Walter Sully, 2-0, won with Andrew Saltmarsh, 2-1, Black's only winner.
Exeter RSL moved into equal second spot with the Devils, after defeating Works Gold 3-1. Ben Swain, 2-0, Adam Bindoff, 2-1, Garry Bakker, 2-1, and Gold's Steven Leary, 2-0, were the winners.
Launceston RSL also moved into the four with a 3-1 win over Works Blue. Roydyn Bishop, Terry Adams, Harley Stebbings and Blue's Rolf Stevenson all won 2-0. Adams' break of 30 was the round's highest.
In A reserve, form side and leader Works Green continued its winning run, beating Longford 7-5, while Navy consolidated second spot with a 7-5 win over Amber.
State qualifiers
A TOTAL of 35 players competed in the eightball Tasmanian state open team Northern qualifiers at the LWC, with all playing each other once over the course of the weekend.
Tim Wright, of North-West Coast, leads the ladder with 28 wins. The second round of play will be held on June 26-27 at the LWC.
Northern titles
ENTRIES for the Northern Tasmanian Billiards and Snooker Association championships in open, A reserve and B grade close today.
FLAMING Devils whitewashed Blue 4-1 in Northern snooker last week to move into second spot on the ladder behind Works Black.
Heath Rainbow 2-0, Josh Rainbow 2-1, Wally Sully 2-1 and Scott Kopriva 2-0 were Devils winners.
Exeter drew with Launceston RSL. Rex Swain 2-1 and Adam Bindoff 2-1 won for Exeter. Robin McEnnulty and Roydyn Bishop, both 2-0, won for Launceston.
Black stayed clear on top of the ladder holding on for a draw against Gold. Rodney Martin 2-0 and Andrew Saltmarsh 2-1 were winners for Black while the Leary brothers, Steve and Trevor, both won 2-1 for Gold.
Steven Leary's break of 29 was the round's highest.
Black heads the ladder on 16, Devils 10 Exeter 10, Blue, Gold, and Launceston RSL are on eight points.
David Bates leads the player rankings with nine wins from 10 frames.
In A reserve, Green had an impressive 9-3 win over Amber, where Lee Morcom, George Zammit and David Thomas all won 2-0.
Navy moved into second spot with a 7-5 win over Red, John Fordham's win for Navy was the decider.
Exeter beat Longford 7-5, with Lloyd Rogers and Greg Reid successful for Exeter, while Greg Williams was Longford's winner.
The A reserve ladder after round 6 is: Green52, Navy 36, Amber 33, Red 30, Exeter 30 Longford 29.
Lee Morcom leads the players table with nine wins from 10 frames, Lloyd Rogers had this week's best break.
Player profile
JOHN Reece was born in Scotland in 1923, lived at George Town, and died in 1991.
He was an outstanding billiards player with Launceston Workers and Exeter RSL clubs.
He won six Tasmanian billiards championships in succession, 1969 to 1975, and won the 1974 Australian title beating George Ganim jnr, of Melbourne, to earn his place in the IBSF world billiards championship in New Zealand in 1975.
He was a great rival of Harold Roberts-Thompson, having played each other in 14 Northern billiards championships.
Reece's legacy lives on with many players to whom he imparted the finer points of billiards.
For information go to the cue sport website www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419113528
NORTHERN billiards champion Graeme Pickett has lost a close state billiards championship final to Hobart's Les Higgins.
Played at the Launceston Works Club, Pickett closed to within 60 points with 10 minutes of the three-hour final remaining, but fell short.
Higgins has now won 20 state billiards title, while Pickett has won four. Pickett had the highest break of 130. Steve Carroll and Wayne Stokes, both of Hobart, were beaten semi- finalists.
North's Peter Donati won the consolation plate final beating Geoff Lehman, of North-West in the final.
Works Green win
A RESERVE side Works Green had another good win consolidating its top-of- the-ladder position, beating Works Navy 8-4.
Lee Morcom, Dean Wilson and Glen Johanson were Green's winners while John Fordham was Navy's only winner.
Exeter RSL and Amber had a 6-6 draw, with John Adams and Phil Stagg winners for Exeter, Damien Bushby and Peter Fraser were winners for Amber.
Works Red and Longford RSL also drew 6-6. Tim Donnachy and Adrian White were Longford's winners, Alan Armitage and Ray Smith won for Red.
The A Reserve ladder after round 5 is: Green 41, Amber 30, Navy 27, Red 25, Longford 24, Exeter 21.
In A grade, ladder leader Works Black won 3-1 over Launceston RSL, Andrew Saltmarsh. Bruce Lockley and David Bates all won 2-0 for Black with Robin McEnnulty 2-1 winning for RSL.
Devils had their first win beating Gold 3-1, Heath and Andrew Rainbow won 2-0, Wally Sully won 2-1 for Devils and Gary Bjarnoe- Elliott won 2-1 for Gold. Exeter RSL and Works Blue played a draw, Garry Bakker 2-1 and Adam Bindoff 2-0 won for Exeter, Rolf Stevenson 2-0 and Hans Georgieff 2-1 were winners for Blue.
Black heads the ladder on 14 points, Exeter and Blue on eight, Gold, Devils and Launceston RSL are on six.
WORKS Black continued its winning form in A grade interclub snooker, beating Works Blue 3-1. Bruce Lockley, Rodney Martin and David Bates were all 2-1 winners, for Blue, Hans Georgieff won 2-1.
Exeter RSL beat Flaming Devils 3-1. Rex and Ben Swain 2-0 and Garry Bakker 2-1 were Exeter's winners and Andrew Rainbow won 2-1 for the Devils.
Works Gold and Launceston RSL played a 2-2 draw. John Fraser 2-0 and Gary Bjarnee- Elliott 2-0 were Gold's winners. Terry Adams 2-0 and Royden Bishop 2-1 won for Launceston RSL.
In A reserve Works Green, consolidated its top spot on the ladder with an 8-4 win over Exeter RSL, where Rowan Phelps, Lee Morcom and David Thomas won 2-0 for Green and Phil Stagg was Exeter's only winner.
Amber won 7-5 over Red. John Saggers and Tracey Saltmarsh won for Amber, Bob Cain won 2-0 for Red.
Longford RSL and Works Navy had a 6-6 draw. Wayne Purdon and Greg Williams won 2-0 for Longford, John Fordham and Darryl Fox were Navy's winners.
Highest break in A grade was made by David Bates of Black with 43 and 31, Royden Bishop Launceston RSL made37.
In A reserve, Peter Fraser made a 29 break and Glen Johansen a 25.
State 8Ball Titles
The state eightball singles title was played at the Launceston Working Men's Club on May 1, with 24 players taking part from the South, North and North-West, drawn into four groups, with two seeded players in each group and the remainder of the field randomly drawn.
After the round robin stage, 16 players were left in the knockout stage with the two players who competed in last year's state tile, Gregg Watt and Anthony Adams, both of Hobart, playing off for this year's title.
In what was a seesaw affair in the final, it came down to the last frame with both players clearly feeling the effects of a long 12-hour day of pool, making several mistakes in the final frame with Gregg Watt finally potting the black to win the 2010 title.
The next event on the state eightball calendar will be the first round of state open team Northern selection trials to be played at the LWC on May 29 and 30 with entries closing on May 22. Entries can be made at the Eightball Tasmania website www.eightballtasmania.com.au
THE 2010 season for Northern Tasmanian cueists starts this week with snooker at Launceston Workers Club, Launceston, Exeter and Longford RSL clubs tonight and tomorrow.
Six teams will contest today's competition with LWC Amber playing LWC Navy at Workers and LWC Green at home to Longford RSL. Exeter plays LWC Red at Exeter RSL.
Six teams are lining up in tomorrow night's competition. LWC Black hosts the Flaming Devils, LWC Gold plays Exeter at the Workers Club and Launceston RSL is home to LWC Blue.
Potential players are invited to come and have a look, with play starting at 7pm and finishing around 10pm.
Players are given a handicap based on ability, ranging from Northern champion Graeme Pickett of minus 30 through to the out-markers on 80 (Wednesdays) and 50 (Thursdays).
The eightball competition begins next week with teams playing in three divisions on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Workers Club and most hotels in and around Launceston.
This column will bring results and stories, as the interclub season unfolds, including news from local, state and national events.
Another segment will be recounting the careers of past and present champions like the great Ron Atkins and Ted Pickett, late billiard champions Harold Roberts Thompson and George Town's John Reece, Tasmanian champions Les Higgins, of Hobart and Launceston's Graeme Pickett, and juniors Anthony Adams, of Hobart, and Exeter's Andrew Rainbow.
For information go to the cue sport website: www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419113528.
WORKS Blue led the way after round one of the Thursday night Northern snooker, beating Launceston RSL Grey Nomads 3-1.
Peter Donati, Hans Georgieff and Rolf Stevo were winners for Blue, with Robin McEnnulty replying for Grey.
Rex Swain and Adam Bindoff were winners for Exeter in its draw with LWC Gold, for whom John Fraser and newcomer Garry Bjarnoe- Elliot were winners.
Flaming Devils and LWC Black also had a 2-2 draw, with Heath and Josh Rainbow (Devils), David Bates and Bruce Lockley (Black) as winners.
On Wednesday night, LWC Green went top of the ladder with a 9-3 win over Longford, featuring wins to Rhoan Phelps, David Thomas and Anthony Thomas.
LWC Red beat Exeter 7-5 while LWC teams Amber and Navy had a 6-6 draw, with Damien Bushby for Amber and Nick Bruneau for Navy winning both frames.
Highest A grade break went to David Sheppard, of Launceston RSL Grey, with 45, Exeter Green's Noddy Francomb amassing 23 on Wednesday.
Junior titles
THE junior championships conducted in March at the Launceston Workers Club resulted in: under-15 snooker champion Cale Barrett (NW), runner-up Grace Cowie (South); under-15 billiards champion Cale Barrett, runner-up Josh Rainbow (North); under-18 snooker champion Anthony Adams (South); runner-up Andrew Rainbow (North); under-18 billiards champion Andrew Rainbow (North); runner-up Jason Featherstone (South).
Player profile
RON Atkins would definitely be Tasmania's best-known cueist, having won 16 Tasmanian championships and three Australian snooker championships (1975, '76 and '77).
He was also runner-up in '66 and '78, with his crowning glory being finishing runner- up to Englishman Jimmy White in the IBSF world snooker championship at the Albert Hall, Launceston, in 1980.
Atkins also played eightball, representing Australia in the 2002 masters series, and was runner-up in the international masters singles.
CELEBRATIONS of Neil Robertson's snooker world championship win yesterday stretched all the way to one particularly proud Launceston household.
A former president of the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council, Rex Swain, was in charge of a junior development group in the '90s that included the talented young Victorian.
Swain fondly remembered the young Robertson yesterday as he reflected on his 18-13 defeat of Scotsman Graeme Dott to become the first non-British winner of the world title since 1980.
"He was a quiet kid who sat in the corner and just played brilliant snooker," said Swain, who is the president of the Northern Tasmanian Billiards and Snooker Association.
"You can teach kids how to pot a ball or kick a footy but nobody spends a lot of time teaching them how to behave. Well he had something special there, he was different from the rest."
Swain said work commitments prevented him from watching yesterday's climax live, but he was nonetheless proud of the 28-year-old who was part of his junior development program from under- 12 through to under-21.
"Neil is a perfect example of what it takes to be an athlete in control of his talents, a good kid, modest and well- mannered," the 61-year-old father of two said.
"It will be interesting to see what effect this world championship will have on him."
WORKS BLACK went to the top of the Northern snooker A grade ladder with a 4-0 win over Exeter.
David Bates (2-1), Bruce Lockley (2-1), Peter Wallace (2-1) and Rodney Martin (2-0) completed the clean sweep.
Meanwhile, Peter Donati (2-0) and Rolf Stevenson (2-1) helped Works Blue draw with Works Gold, whose winners were John Fraser (2-0) and Garry Bjarnoe-Elliot (2-1).
Launceston RSL won 3-1 (Robin McEnnulty (2-0), Roy Bishop (2-0) and Terry Adams (2-1)) over the Flaming Devils, for whom Andrew Rainbow (2-0) was the only winner.
John Fraser (Gold) and Peter Donati (Blue) lead the players stats with four wins from four matches. Bjarnoe-Elliot's (Gold) 36 was the best break of the round.
In A reserve, Green (Lee Morcom, Rowan Phelps and Jenna Sampson, all 2-0) are five points clear on the ladder after an 8-4 win over Red (Alan Armitage (2-0)).
Navy held on to second winning 7-5 over Exeter. Craig Jory and Darryl Fox were winners for Navy, Derrek Peart and Greg Reid for Exeter.
Longford and Amber drew 6-6, all players winning a frame each.
Greg Reid (Exeter) and Rowan Phelps (Green) lead the player stats at 4-0 while Peter Fraser's break of 31 was the best of the round.
Player profile
THE late Kevin Burles, of Hobart, was an enigmatic person, winning the Australian snooker championship in 1959 and 1960 only to be suspended for 18 years, returning in 1978 and again winning the Australian title.
During the 1979 event, in Adelaide, Burles suffered a heart attack and died, leaving the question, how many championships could he have won.
Burles also won three Tasmanian snooker championships and two Tasmanian billiards championships.
Robertson's big gamble pays off with world crown. LIAM FITZGIBBON reports from Sydney. WHEN Neil Robertson quit school as a teenager to pursue his dream of playing snooker professionally, even his own mother thought it was a mistake.
But his gamble paid off big time yesterday when he became only the second Australian - and the first in 58 years - to be crowned world champion of the sport.
The 28-year-old Victorian, sporting platinum blond hair, accounted for Scotland's Graeme Dott 18-13 in a marathon best-of-35 frames final that lasted more than 12 hours and spread into three days at The Crucible Theatre.
It was both an emotional and historic triumph, coming after the success of Australian Horace Lindrum who beat a field weakened by a player boycott in 1952.
Robertson is the first world champion from outside the British Isles since Canada's Cliff Thorburn in 1980.
"Oh my God, absolutely incredible, I just can't believe it," said Robertson, who picked up a $411,000 first prize.
He described his win as a triumph for persistence after past unsuccessful attempts to establish himself in England as a world- class player.
"I had three goes at it and didn't do any good and there's no way in the world any of the guys who beat me would have thought I could do what I've done.
"I just kept persisting with it.
"I came over to Cambridge with 500 pounds in my pocket and I had to borrow a waistcoat off another Australian player.
"I couldn't afford to buy one but I could probably buy a few more now."
Robertson's win came as his Norwegian girlfriend Mille was due to give birth at any minute and capped a remarkable personal journey.
He packed his bags and moved to London to turn pro at just 16.
Robertson had to come home when the financial strain became too great but returned to the UK in 2004 before working his way inside the world's top 70.
He continued to improve and his first professional win came in October 2006 before going on to win three more main tour events before yesterday's ultimate triumph.
Fittingly Robertson's mother Alison - who admitted she once "wasn't so sure" about her son's snooker dream but ultimately helped fund it with credit cards - was there to watch her son's triumph after making a surprise dash from Australia.
She took a gamble by hopping on a plane while Robertson was still contesting the semi-finals.
"That meant absolutely everything to me," said Robertson, whose ranking shot up to No.2 in the world following the triumph.
"These are the moments you want to spend time with your family.
"Even if I'd lost I would have been really happy that she'd seen me play, because she'd never seen me play professionally and she'd always wanted to do it."
Courtesy Examiner Newspaper - Article 5 - 15 October 2009
CUE SPORTS BY ANDREW SALTMARSH
Young group for state team
THE state eightball team heads to Canberra on Saturday to compete in next week's Australian championship.
This year will see a building period for the team, being the youngest we have ever sent away and including the youngest player to compete in open teams in 13-year-old Cale Barrett, of Penguin.
The women's team will also face a learning curve for several new faces.
The masters team is led by Tasmanian junior development officer Cyrill Triffitt along with Doug Goss and Tony Adams, of Hobart, who have a good chance of being in the finals come next Wednesday.
Full results can be found at www.aebf.com.au.
The Tasmanian team consists of: Gregg Watt (captain), Sam Thurgood (vice-captain), Cale Barrett, Anthony Adams, Chris Forsyth, Jonny Lennard, Phil Dando, Trent Brooks, Bruce Lockley, Andrew Saltmarsh. The women's team is led by Fiona Plummer with Miranda Jamieson, Denise Millington, Michelle Grundy, Leonie Brooks, Debbie Rainbow and Mandy Snare.
Northern roster
THE 2009 Northern eightball roster started on Tuesday, and features three divisions of six teams.
New to the roster is the Legana Tavern eightball teams, and the NTEBA wishes them all the best in their first of what will hopefully be many rosters.
Also starting this week is the billiards roster, featuring nine teams from LWC, Launceston RSL, Exeter RSL and Longford RSL.
State shield
UNFORTUNATELY, the Northern snooker team could not win the last state shield match of the year, and make it a clean sweep of all five matches this year.
Played at the Claremont RSL club, the South proved far too strong for the North and the North-West sides.
If you have an article or event, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Up to date information can be found at www.nteba.com.au and www.eightballtasmania.com.au
Courtesy Examiner Newspaper - Article 4 - 17 September 2009
CUE SPORTS BY ANDREW SALTMARSH
Higgins wins title at Burnie
HOBART-BASED player Les Higgins has won his 15th state snooker title, played at the Burnie club.
Higgins defeated young Devonport player Callan Bissett in the final, 7-2 and he now has the opportunity to play in the Australian open snooker championships in Sydney on October 16-18.
Launceston-based players Graeme Pickett and Robin McEnnulty were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Gregg Watt and Higgins respectively, with Pickett making the highest break of the championships with a 70.
Gourlay Shield
IN the last of the state snooker triangular shield matches for 2009, the Launceston association has selected a strong team to try and make a cleansweep of all state shield matches this year.
The team will travel to Hobart on October 3-4 to play a team from the North-West Coast and Hobart for the Gourlay Shield.
The Launceston team consists of Graeme Pickett, David Bates, Peter Donati, Roydon Bishop, Trevor Leary, Robin McEnnulty, Terry Adams, Rex Swain with emergency Garry Bakker, Adrian White, Bruce Lockley and Barry Glover.
If you have an article or up- and-coming event that we may be able to cover, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and remember up-to-date information can be found at www.nteba.com.au and www.eightballtasmania.com.au.
Perth's title
PERTH Black is the 2009 J. Boag & Son winter eightball roster premier after downing the Commercial Hotel in the final, played at the Launceston Workers Club.
Perth proved too strong for the Commercial team, winning 9-7 in the final.
In other results, Duke of Wellington defeated LWC Green 8-5 in the division 1 final, while Village Inn defeated Black Stallion 8-5 in the division 2 final and LWC Gold defeated Sunny Hill 8-3, to take out the division 3 titles.
Full results, including pictures and grand final score sheets, can be found on the NTEBA website.
A reminder - the summer eightball roster for 2009-10 will start on Tuesday, October 13. Team nominations close on October 3. Teams can nominate on the website and nomination forms have been sent to hotels and clubs, for further information please contact the secretary on 6344 8788.
Snooker finals
THE home and away roster for the Launceston Snooker Association has been completed and this week will see the start of the finals series.
In the A grade competition, last year's premier LWC Black finished on the top of the ladder and will host fellow team LWC Navy at the LWC in tonight's second semi-final.
The cut-throat first semi-final will see the LWC Blue team travel to take on Exeter RSL Black.
The grand finals will be played on September 23-24.
The billiards roster is due to start on Thursday, October 15, with only four players required for a team. Team nominations close on October 1, please contact the LWC, Launceston RSL, Exeter RSL or the Longford RSL if you are interested in nominating a team or you are interested in playing in a team.
