1985
Alan McGrath and his family were celebrating more than 30 years of involvement with the Stanhope Cricket Club when Gus Underwood featured the cricketing dynasty on the back page of the Free Press.
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Alan was 46 at the time and had debuted with the club in the 1954-55 season.
He was still playing with younger brother Bill, 42, but two other brothers (Lindsay and George) were no longer playing with the club.
They were featured alongside 21-year-old Paul McGrath, oldest son Leo and Bernie.
• Craig Hilton collected his second Kyabram Bowls Club championship when he beat the up-and-coming Joe Waite.
Hilton won the final 25-11 in 23 ends to regain the title he first won in 1978.
It was Hilton’s fourth appearance in the final.
2005
Kyabram tennis volunteer Brian O’Meara was announced as a finalist in Tennis Victoria’s Volunteer of the Year award.
The St Augustine’s Tennis Club member of 45 years was recognised for his commitment to tennis at an event on the eve of the Australian Open centenary.
A foundation member of St Augustine’s, O’Meara was a past president and treasurer who was made a life member in 1976.
He gave up tennis in 1995 for health reasons and made a successful transition to lawn bowls.
St Augustine’s Tennis Club president of the day, Gerald Angelino, said Brian was an expert in caring for the lawn and was in control of watering systems and soil testing.
• Champion Kyabram district cricketer Peter Watt was named a Bendigo Country Week cricket Hall of Fame inductee.
He attended an event with wife Tracy and became only the second KDCA cricketer to be afforded the honour by the Bendigo cricket organisation. The other was legendary Cooma cricketer ‘Lackie’ Ranson.
Watt had represented the KDCA at the carnival for almost 20 years and qualified by scoring more than 1500 runs in carnival games.
He had also won multiple Jack Stone Medals as the best player in the Kyabram district competition.
Still on cricket and Blake Campbell celebrated his return to KDCA competition by striking 109 for Tongala, having returned to live in the area after a brief stint with AFL club Carlton.
He hit 11 boundaries and three sixes in the innings as Tongala doubled the Stanhope total from a week earlier.
• The Banksia Financial Group’s Kyabram Sportstar of the Year field swelled to 38 with 14 nominations for the October to December period.
Twelve different sports were represented in the latest nominations: Brenton Bassett from golf, Ian Basset from croquet, Bev Rennie from athletics, high jumper Thomas Pryde, shooters Stephen Atkins and Ryan Atkins, lawn bowler Jenny Crilly, golfer Lisa Jean, footballer Brett Deledio, boxer Iggy Harrington, cricketer Daniel Hopwell, lawn bowler Mick Humphreys, motocross rider Brad Kennedy and swimmer Claire Keating.
2015
Kyabram completed back-to-back Cricket Shepparton junior one-day finals when it played the final against Kammamomus under lights at Kyabram Recreation Reserve.
Kyabram made 7-148 off 25 overs, openers Kyle Fitzgerald (20 not out) and Cade Mueller (12) setting up the innings.
Curtis Ryan (21 not out), Billy McLay (22 not out) and Rylan Cunningham (22 not out) made contributions, before Karramomus managed only 7-72 in reply. Connor Hawes and man-of-the-match Curtis Ryan both took two wickets.
• Kyabram Fire Brigade cricketer Brendan White was suspended for 10 weeks (three of those suspended for two years) by a Goulburn Murray Cricket tribunal after being reported for striking Rochester cricketer Jake Wright.
White was officiating as a square leg umpire at the time and appealed the original 10-week sentence to have three of those weeks suspended.
• Australian netball star Bianca Chatfield was guest speaker at the Kyabram Sportstar of the Year evening, explaining her long career in the sport after being selected as an 18-year-old in 2001.
The Commonwealth Games gold and silver medallist and world champion, had played 240 games for the Melbourne Phoenix and Vixens at the time.
At 189cm, and a defender, she represented Australia on 59 occasions and had the crowd in the palm of her hand for the evening.
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