Local Vets Shine at 2026 State Championships

Rockhampton’s three players who participated at the Queensland Veterans Championships at the South Pine Sports Centre, Brendale returned home with some impressive results at this annual tournament that concluded on Saturday evening.

Monica Deeth, James O’Sullivan and Dave Hockings took part in both team and individual events and Deeth and O’Sullivan brought back several medals between them to add to their trophy cabinets.

Deeth’s five bronze medals put her on the podium that many times and she would have been trying very hard in all those events for the prize to be a better colour. Of these five medals one was in singles while to remainder were in doubles events. In the over-60 women’s singles, she notched a good 3-1 win over the reliable game of Lorraine Fourro of Bundaberg in the quarters before bowing out to the very consistent Clare Owen (Brisbane) in the semis.

Deeth joined forces with O’Sullivan and they won bronze medals in both the over-50 and over-60 mixed pairs events where the favourites went on to victory. Her other third placings came from when she partnered Mackay’s Anne Selwood in the over-50 women’s doubles and Lorraine Fourro (Bundy) in the corresponding event at over-60 level.

Apart from O’Sullivan’s very competitive showing in these mixed doubles draws he played strongly in talent packed over-50 men’s singles going through to the quarter-finals with some impressive victories before bowing out to one of the heroes at the recent Rocky open titles in Jerrod Thompson from the Moreton Bay club. He went out early in the over 60 men’s singles event to the strong play provided by Thomas Woltman of Cairns.     

All three city reps took part in the series of team matches which were conducted across a variety of age-groups. Deeth participated in a composite team which came home outside the medals while O’Sullivan and Hockings combined to be a competitive outfit in the over-60 men’s division. After the matches in their group this pair occupied third spot and consequently were relegated to play out the competition for fifth to eighth placings where they won a further two matches against Toowoomba and Brisbane-B to come home in fifth spot overall. The irony of this situation was that in the group round-robins they lost their most important match by three rubbers to two and had fortunes been reversed they would have been in the finals for contention for the medals.

In other news from this tournament Gerard Watts, who played in local fixtures and other events regularly for in excess of fifty years prior to semi-retiring to the Gold Coast late last year, excelled to reach the final of the over-70 men’s singles event. In the play-off for the gold medal, he was beaten to silver by a new club-mate at the Gold Coast Association in Martin Tribe by three games to one in a good contest. Watts, who is a Life Member of the Rocky club, still returns home on a regular basis and when in town takes part in local activities including subbing in top grade fixtures.  ockin