It was a huge year across local sports in 2022. After Covid-affected seasons across all sports at the start of the decade, 2022 heralded a return to some semblance of normalcy and that was celebrated by a multitude of moments and achievements – some of which we highlight here.
Whether it was Brendan Fevola and Tom Rockliff, both former stars in the AFL, pulling on Central and North Broken Hill jumpers, several AFLW debuts for women who made their starts in Broken Hill culminating in Shelby Raven signing with SANFLW side Central Districts, or the return of Harness Racing to the Silver City – sport always makes, and has made this year, a huge impact in Broken Hill.
In no specific order, here’s our choice of the Top Five sporting moments…
St. Joes the invincibles
There is no better place to start than the Broken Hill Soccer Association A-Grade Premiers, St Joes. Joeys quite simply had an unstoppable campaign.
After a regular season campaign that saw them batter the opposition week-in-week-out the finals series was no different.
In the Grand Final they took care of the Alma Goats comfortably. After being pushed all the way in the first half, they came home with a wet sail to record a 5-0 victory, taking home the premiership without suffering a defeat all season.
Head coach Rob James said prior to the grand final, “the opportunity to go undefeated all the way through to a Grand Final win is unprecedented”.
St Joes certainly broke that precedent, and their 2022 run was one for the record books.
Spitfires vs Bombers
One of the marquee events of the 2022 AFL Broken Hill season was when the local elite of the women’s game played out a passionate re-enactment of the historic 1941 fundraiser for the war effort between the Spitfires and the Bombers.
In an absolute classic, played in beautiful conditions for football, the modern-day Spitfires held on for a one-point win over the Bombers.
The showpiece was instigated and supported by local Steve Radford in conjunction with the CWA, as part of centenary celebrations, and was played with a finals like intensity.
“The intensity and passion were unbelievable for what was supposedly an exhibition match,” said match official Peter Nash.
South – A-Grade Premiers
First and second teams from the home and away section of the AFL season faced each other in an intriguing AFL Broken Hill Grand Final this year.
South were a force to be reckoned with all year, and only suffered two defeats heading into the season decider. One of those two losses was a hefty final round defeat to Central. The matchup had tongues wagging, with many wagering Central could repeat their performance from the final round of regular season fixtures and pick up an unlikely premiership.
It wasn’t to be, however, as a full-strength South side put Central to the sword in the decider, running out nine goal victors to add another premiership to their glittering trophy cabinet.
The Races Are Back!
Although the St Pats races were lucky enough to continue throughout Covid, the same couldn’t be said for the iconic Silver City Cup.
After a three-year gap, the Silver City Cup returned to the Broken Hill sporting calendar with a vengeance. Rain threatened its triumphant return, but it thankfully stayed away on the day, and a full dance card of races took place.
The big one, the Silver City Cup race, was won by the somewhat aptly named Splash the Cash. And if you followed the Barrier Truth’s pre-race day tips and splashed a bit of your own cash – you would’ve been one happy punter.
It was a huge day for trainer Nathan Hobson as well, as his horses won the first four races on the card.
“We’ve always had a bit of luck in Broken Hill. Love getting up there, and we’ll be back up there, for sure,” Mr. Hobson told us.
West Win it All
Finally, it was a massive year for West Cricket Club. In the back half of the year, West had their 100-year celebrations, with Kerry O’Keefe a guest speaker at the event which saw a new batch of hall of famers inducted, along with some existing HoF members elevated to legends status.
The night was the perfect way to cap a tremendous 2022. Earlier in the year West picked up all three senior premierships on offer with a clean sweep of the men’s, women’s, and men’s B-Grade trophies.
West defeated Central by six runs in the men’s A-Grade final and battered Warriors in the B-Grade final by 51 runs. The women’s side defeated Central by seven wickets, spearheaded by Leonie Wilson who finished with incredible bowling figures of 5/3.
There you have it.
The top five sporting moments from the 2022 calendar year.
The best part?
We have even more to look forward to in 2023.
