If you thought that the sledging in Australian Cricket was bad, then you should hear what goes on when local golfers play the now traditional Townies versus Bushies Day.
This year’s event will have an added incentive with the inaugural Ernie Potter Memorial Trophy, donated by the Potter family, to be presented to the best pair of golfers on the day.
Since the whole Townies versus Bushies concept began it has very much become a grudge day between Michael ‘Mick’ Bannister, who captains the Townies, and David ‘Ooze’ Knight, for the Bushies.
Traditionally the Townies will stop at virtually nothing in their ‘win-at-all-costs’ attempt to have their name on the coveted trophy.
They have even been know to try to bend the rules as they go along but the country boys are usually up to their tricks.
The rules for this year’s event will be decided by ‘Ooze’ (who himself is not beyond a bit skulduggery and rules bending).
It’s now 10 years since the first game was first played and over that time there has been a lot of campaigning going on in both camps to get players who were born in town or who lived in the bush to play for one team or the other.
In particular, Ernie Potter (who the memorial trophy this year has been named after) was one of those players who came under pressure from both camps.
Ernie claimed he was born in Mount Hope and was therefore a country boy, but it’s reported, when it came to recruiting players for the teams, the cunning Mick Bannister offered Ernie one schooner more than ‘Ooze’ and bought him for the Townies team.
Ernie will be remembered as one of Cobar’s greatest sportsmen and he was very much apart of the early Townies v Bushies days and so it is appropriate that a trophy should be named in his honour on this occasion.
The men’s golf annual general meeting will be held prior to the golf day.
A barbecue will follow the game as golfers wind up the season.—Way out of bounds
