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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Riverland Sportsperson of the Year Awards

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:25): It gives me great pleasure to stand to talk about one of the great sporting events in the Riverland. Last Friday night, I was privileged to go along to the Riverland Sportsperson of the Year dinner to acknowledge the great feats and dedication, not only of sportspeople but of coaches, volunteers and the community at large, and what that meant to the Riverland. The Riverland has a long, proud sporting tradition. We have nurtured, coached, trained and committed to a number of Olympians, AFL players, national champions and world champions on a number of occasions.

The Riverland has a rich sporting culture and passion, and I was there to witness the Riverland Sportsperson of the Year Awards, now in its 54th year. These awards promote the advantages of being part of a local sporting community. As I said, whether you are a coach, competitor, umpire or volunteer, the awards recognise the sporting individuals who make an outstanding contribution to the sporting scene, particularly in the Riverland and greater district.

The Riverland Sportsperson of the Year is decided by a panel of judges and those three judges are themselves outstanding sporting contributors and have been for a number of years. The finalists for Riverland Sportsperson of the Year included Andrew Hume for golf, Brad Rosenzweig for cricket, Christina Glekas for hockey, Delaney Lueth for tennis, Ellee Eleftheriadis for netball, Gemma Letton for softball, Hannah Lehmann (wife of Troy Lehmann) for basketball, Jake Spencely for football, Jesse Frazer for baseball, Josh Ryan for dirt karting, Katrina Topperwein for tenpin bowling, Lee Stevens for cycling—he is a veteran and he just keeps on keeping on—Martin Barber (Barmera identity) for soccer, Mitchell White for basketball, Rebekah Thompson for gymnastics, Sean Herbert for hockey and Toby Whateley for off-road racing.

Our hall of fame has been renamed. It is now called the Graham Charlton Riverland Legends of Sport. It is an absolute dedication for a man who has dedicated not only his life to the sporting field but his afterlife on radio in promoting and giving every sportsperson an opportunity to be recognised on local radio. We had our two inductees into the hall of fame, one of whom was Sam Fisher, one of the AFL legends. As I understand it, he is a four-time All Australian. Life after footy sees him start up a clothing range and playing golf. He is a pretty handy golfer; I think he plays off a handicap of four, and it shows you his dedication.

We also saw Shannon Nettle, one of the great Cobdogla (Cobby) identities in tennis. Cobby continues to live the tennis dream. Not only are they continuing to win many back-to-back championships and premierships but they are now consulted and mentored by Shannon's brother, Shane, who continues the family legacy.

We also saw Sean Herbert named Riverland Sportsperson of the Year for the second year in a row for hockey. It is a great accolade for him. He has won a number of national and state championships. He has been selected for the Australian country team to tour New Zealand. He is also the first back-to-back winner of the award since 2004 when we saw Billie Jo Hammerstein win the award consecutively, also for hockey.

The Magic FM Peter Frankcom Junior Sports Star of the Year Award went to Arron Nitschke for athletics. He is ably coached by Richard Coote, who also received an award on the night. Arron had a fantastic year, including representing South Australia at school sports awards, and the list goes on. There was the 5RM Almondco Steve McFarlane Contribution to Sport Award.

Mike Horsman is a great advocate for coaching. Not only is he a footy umpire but he is also a tennis coach. My son, Nic, was under his guidance for a number of years and went on to do very well. The 5RM Almondco John Ormsby Coach of the Year Award went to Richard Coote, a primary school teacher at Berri Primary School who coaches athletics. He has a great stable of dedicated athletes.

I congratulate all the nominees, the finalists, the sponsors and the award winners on their contribution to Riverland sport. They are all notable models. The Riverland has a proud history of Olympians and national champions. I have run out of time but I will take the opportunity to mention them in another contribution.

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