From the Batemans Bay Seahawks first-grade premiership to the fastest eight-year-old in the state, let’s look back at the biggest sports stories of the year.

January

The George Bass Marathon dominated the headlines in the first week of the year, as Bulli and North Cronulla started with three-straight stage wins in the open men’s and women’s categories respectively. Meanwhile, we brought you a story about a Darwin crew using a Bermagui boat.

Cricket took over at the end of the George Bass, as Tom Engelbrecht helped NSW Country win the Australian Country Twenty20 title in Geraldton. In local cricket, Scott Fagerlund scored a big 125 to put Batemans Bay’s first-grade side in position to win their first game of the season, one that was finished off by the bowlers the following week.

It wasn’t just cricket and surf boats in January though, as we celebrated Dave Connaughton’s 400^th run with the Broulee Runners. The Catalina Country Club sent a group of young golfers to Royal Canberra, and basketball star Darcy Harding signed for the Diamond Valley Eagles in Melbourne.

The fishermen of the region competed in the 80^th Tollgate Island Classic hosted by the Batemans Bay Fishing Club.

February kicked off with the Batemans Bay Surf Club winning 10 medals at the NSW Country Surf Life Saving Championships, while the Broulee Runners were in the news again as five-kilometre record holder Matt Johnson returned after a four-year absence.

Horses were in the headlines, as Moruya played host to Olympic coaches at the Mirrabooka Junior Summer School, and Jeff Adams took on Australia’s best equestrians at Willinga Park.

Batemans Bay Tigers junior Jack Murchie was picked in the Australian side for the Rugby League Commonwealth Championships, and Moruya’s Gundary Oval was promised $495,000 for much-needed upgrades.

Finally, the Bay Post sat down with gymnast Andrei Kravtsov to talk about his experience at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Three of the Batemans Bay Cricket Club’s junior teams qualified for the finals of the SDJCA competition, while Group 16 Rugby League geared up for the season-opening All-Stars game in Narooma.

Speaking of rugby league, Batemans Bay’s Taneisha Roberts scored two tries in the Illawarra Steelers’ Tarsha Gale Cup win over the Canberra Raiders. In the other code, Cassie Staples was named in Australia’s rugby sevens side for the Commonwealth Games.

Rugby union kicked off in the Bay as well, as the Boars finished third in a pre-season competition at Hanging Rock Oval.

Two shire women made names for themselves in the saddle, albeit very different ones, as Leah Hearne took part in the BMX Australian Championships, and Farann Mathie cleaned up at the Polocrosse Zone Presentations.

The biggest event of the month was the seventh-annual Hotondo Homes Bay to Breakers Ocean Swim, which attracted a record 330 participants.

The Capital Coast Triathlon Festival drew athletes from all over the state, while the Batemans Bay masters crew conquered surf of a different kind.

Two mechanics from the Bay took on Mt Panorama, while Cassie Staples narrowly missed out on a Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Batemans Bay’s Sam McCann was named in the St. George Dragons’ Jersey Flegg side, while we spoke with Mogo product about his goal to mentor as many young people as possible in Port Kembla.

But the biggest story of the month belonged to the Batemans Bay Tigers, as they stung the Bega Roosters to record their first win in Group 16 for more than two years.

May might be smack bang in the middle of footy season, but we couldn’t ignore the Bay Paddle Challenge in its second year. Jaylah Hancock-Cameron also broke up the footy coverage with a string of strong performances in Vanuatu to boost her Olympic chances.

The various codes of football dominated the rest of the month, including the Moruya Sharks taking on both of 2018’s eventual grand finalists, resulting in a win and a loss.

Young Jerome Chatfield played for two representative sides in touch footy, while the Grande Olde Boars recruited former Wallaby Stephen Larkham during their trip to Christchurch for the Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival.

Sam Millynn played his 200^th game for the Batemans Bay Seahawks, while South-Coast artist Cheryl Davison got the opportunity to design the Sydney Swans’ indigenous guernsey.

The Batemans Bay Seahawks had their second 200-gamer in as many months, as Luke Dudley kicked a goal in a big win.

Two Bay golfers changed places, as one went to the United States for college, while the other returned home, while an unheralded qualifier went all the way to the final of the Batemans Bay Tennis Open.

Rob Paxevanos documented the Far South Coast on his television program, Fishing Australia, with a special focus on the Eurobodalla Shire.

South Coast superstar Kezie Apps signed for the St George Illawarra Dragons for the inaugural women’s NRL season, while local youngster Luke Gallen was picked for a Brumbies’ representative squad.

The feelgood story of the month was the town of Moruya chipping in for the Allard family, whose son Daniel was suffering from leukaemia. Daniel sadly passed away just two months later.

The Batemans Bay Boars kicked off the month with their annual Indigenous Round, which included an exciting win over Yass.

The youngsters in the area made headlines in July, as Jed Forrest was named in the NSW side to play at the Rugby League Championships in Adelaide, and go-karters Bailey Sweeny and Luke Ryan won races at the Bob Hinde Memorial.

Rugby league was still a big talking point in July, with Jack Murchie’s NRL debut with the Canberra Raiders the biggest story of the month.

There were a couple of big games in the Shire as well, as the Tigers edged out the Sharks in a cracking derby, before Moruya narrowly missed out on the minor premiership with a tight loss to the Bega Roosters.

Finally, Tuross Head product James Alexander officially qualified for the 2018 International Triathlon union Age Group World Championships.

August was the month we got an Olympian, as Jaylah Hancock-Cameron was officially named in the Australian team for the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.

We had a great story about the Czubara sisters and their go-karting exploits in Queensland, and the Batemans Bay Breakers under 16 girls finished second at the Basketball State Cup.

Both the Currowan Endurance Ride and the Rally of the Bay happened in August, while Batemans Bay basketball players Riley O’Shannessy and Jeremy Harding helped the Shoalhaven Tigers to their first ever youth men’s title.

The Batemans Bay Seahawks stamped their premiership credentials under lights, and the Batemans Bay Tigers won another thrilling derby over the Moruya Sharks to book their place in the Group 16 prelim. They would be eliminated a week later.

The Tigers were represented on Group 16 grand-final day, but the under 18s finished runners up for the second-straight year.

September brought the Batemans Bay Seahawks their first premiership in a decade, while the Batemans Bay Rogue Waves won the Eurobodalla Netball Association’s A-grade title.

Jacob Zutt and Chris Rose shared the Moruya Sharks’ B&F award, and the South Coast Indigenous Knockout returned to Mackay Park for another year.

Rosedale MMA fighter Blake Donnelly won his first ever televised bout at Hex UFC against Sean Le Gourrierec, and Moruya skydiver Jules McConnel geared up for the World Parachuting Championships on the Gold Coast.

Rugby league fans found out the Canberra Raiders and Canterbury Bulldogs would play a trial match in Bega next year, although not everyone was happy with the decision.

October brought one of our favourite stories of the year, as we sat down with Darrell Bossley to talk about his experiences as a jouster.

We also had the opportunity to speak with basketball superstar Lauren Jackson about her time in Tuross Head.

Jaylah Hancock-Cameron continued her fantastic year with a silver medal at the Youth Olympics, while BMX rider Leah Hearne finished second in the BMX Australia National Series in Tasmania.

Batemans Bay BMX Club riders gained three state plates at the NSW Titles in Castle Hill, while a pair of Moruya skydivers picked up a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Treigh Stewart picked up the Tom Nelson Medal at the CRL awards night, and members of both the Moruya and Batemans Bay Surf Clubs were recognised for their work during a rescue off the coast of Moruya in March.

November saw the end of one of the Eurobodalla Shire’s favourite events, as the South Coast Nationals were held at Moruya High School for the final time.

It was a big month for Shire athletes, as we caught up with Daniel Beby on his return from the Kona Ironman, and brought you the story of Jacob Borg, the fastest eight-year-old in the state. The new Euro Coast Athletics Club had an extremely successful carnival in St George’s Basin, with a swag of medals and two records.

The various football codes kept themselves in the headlines in November, as the Seahawks announced a women’s side for 2019, the Grande Olde Boars took part in the Golden Oldies Rugby Carnival in Tathra, and seven Eurobodalla soccer players were picked to play in the 2019 National Indigenous Football Championships.

The Batemans Bay Surf Club took out the 180+ ladies surfboat division at the Lifesaving World Championships, and the Moruya Pony Club celebrated its 60^th anniversary.

December saw the first Far South Coast branch carnival held at Malua Bay Beach in more than six years. Meanwhile, Steve Corcoran from the Canberra-Broulee Nippers took part in Surf Lifesaving NSW’s Beach to Bush program.

The Eurobodalla Dressage Association held its presentation night in Moruya to celebrate 30 years in the saddle, a marvelous achievement for a regional club.

Rugby union made headlines this month, including Roxy Horne’s selection in the ACT squad for the National Youth 7s Championship, and Matt Ryan’s return as head coach of the Batemans Bay Boars.

The Batemans Bay Cricket Club won its first title in the Shoalhaven just before Christmas, and we brought you the story of Simon Dunlop, who tackled the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in his boat Pelagic Magic.