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North East Tourist News - Spring 2024

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Fundraiser for Turkey disaster relief

TURKEY'S recent earthquakes have had a significant meaning for two current local hotel managers. Some four weeks ago earthquakes hit the country killing a record number of people ( 50,000+) and destroying hundreds, if not thousands of buildings. And...

Lighter cattle doesn't deter buyers, with $8m traded

THE first 2023 Wangaratta Livestock Exchange sales presented a "happy medium" for buyers and producers on Wednesday, as 4400 head of cattle went under the hammer at the Premier Angus Feature Weaner Sale.

Sale turnover exceeded $8 million with the market's top steers making $2250 per head.

Corcoran Parker cattle agent Reiley Murtagh said he expected prices to follow the cheaper trend of the current market.

"There's still some very high end cattle and there's still confidence there in the market; people are buying from all different areas," he said.

"They generally say these January sales are big on prices but I don't see it getting extremely dear again; I think at the moment we've found a happy medium."

One of the feature sellers of the sale was Mansfield's Rodda Manning, who presented 750 head of his 10–11 month old Angus steers at an average weight of 325kg.

Mr Manning said the past year presented difficult conditions for growing cattle, which presented lighter than previous years.

"Last year was a funny year, the calves are back about 30kg on this time last year, they just stood around in the water for months, it was cold, we never had any heat through the spring and just never had the growing conditions like previous years," he said.

"But everyone's in the same boat, and they've still lined up pretty well."

Mr Manning said he will expect the cattle produced going forward to be back to a heavier weight as the dryer conditions settle in.

"We've got farms at Warrenbayne as well and that feed is sort of disappearing quicker than what it is in Mansfield, but it's just been nice to have some dry paddocks," he said.

"I was sick of bogging quad bikes, utes and tractors."

Mr Manning said he was pleased with his result of $5.40 per kg on average for his steers.

"I think it was pretty reflective of where the market is," he said.

"The top pen made $1870 (per head) and they sort of made their way down from there, with the last couple of pens of lighter calves were back to $1610."

Mr Murtagh said he doesn't predict the lofty peaks in prices to occur this year but can see an uptick in prices after autumn.

"It was probably a tougher year for weaners in 2022 season wise," he said.

"Last year was definitely extreme, weaners sold very well and we had an exceptional season in 2021 which saw those weaners with a lot of weight gain.

"This year the majority of the cattle were a good 20–30kg lighter on average but the cattle still presented exceptionally well for the buying clientele."

January cattle sales continue in Wangaratta this afternoon from 2pm, with an expected 2500 head to be presented at the All Breeds Feature Weaner Sale.

Saints outperform Raiders in the wet

MYRTLEFORD'S senior footballers came out on top in their chilly contested slog of a game against Wodonga Raiders at Birallee Park on Saturday, the Saints dominating after quarter time to get the points 14.16 (100) to 7.7 (49).

Conditions meant wet weather footy was the name of the game, as Raiders initially restricted Myrtleford from playing their natural, free–flowing game style before the Saints kicked into gear.

A 21 point margin in the Saints' favour blew out to 42 coming into the final term, as Myrtleford piled on the scoreboard pressure.

Co–coach Dawson Simpson said the effort across the ground was extremely positive, particularly from the forwards.

"We went there and Raiders, in the first quarter, were certainly very hungry and they were playing some really good footy," he said.

"We didn't have it all our own way, it was a wet slog of a game but after the first quarter we were able to get the ball on our terms.

"It was a good result, I'm happy with how the boys performed after quarter time.

"The forward line functioned a lot better this week, we went with two talls – Ryley Sharp (three goals) and the resting ruck, either myself or Callum Crisp – and played a smaller forward line and they were really good, everyone chipped in with a couple of goals.

"Ryley's just in fantastic form, he's so reliable, he's a real leader and the way he goes about his footy and prepares so strongly each and every week, it's no wonder he performs how he does."

It was a challenge all day for the Saints' ruckmen against Raiders' Isaac Muller, who went up all day and won three times as many hitouts.

"Isaac Muller is an enormous quality ruckman and had a big influence on the game and was fantastic," Simpson said.

"There were a lot of stoppages and our mids were good, they took a lot of body and were able to nullify him a bit.

"It was a good contest in the midfield – early on he (Muller) was really big for them and got them going.

"After a bit we were able to set up and nullify his influence a little bit, but Isaac Muller played a huge game and credit to him."

Myrtleford's reserves enjoyed a cruisy win over Raiders 23.29 (164) to 1.0 (6), while the thirds suffered their fourth loss of the season 5.2 (32) to 6.4 (40).

The victory keeps Myrtleford in fourth on the senior ladder, ahead of Wangaratta Rovers on percentage, going into their match against Lavington this Saturday at McNamara Reserve.

The Saints will be eager to settle the score against the Panthers, following their upset loss in round one.

"There's no doubt we've got a lot of respect for Lavington and we're looking forward to having another crack at them and hopefully getting the score back to 1–1," Simpson said.

"We certainly went over there with the expectation that they were going to be a quality side, and we just couldn't get a hold of them all day – they were very fast with the footy, they moved it with good skill.

"In the last quarter we were able to get our game going but it was too late, we had a six goal deficit and we pared it back to about two goals and weren't quite able to get it done.

"A fast start or an intense start is what we're after."

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