Gender equity is an important issue for everyone, men and women, across all areas of the University.

In November 2015, James Cook University’s Vice Chancellors Advisory Committee resolved to seek admission to the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) pilot program of the Athena SWAN Charter in Australia.

The Athena SWAN Charter was established in the United Kingdom in 2005 and has shown positive results in advancing gender equity in the STEMM disciplines.

In her email to the University, Vice Chancellor Sandra Harding said gender equity is more than a parity issue.

“We must recognise the intrinsic value of diversity to innovation and intellectual life and its diminution if the cohort is dominated by one gender,” Professor Harding said in her message.

“As I am sure you are aware there is an increasing recognition across the higher education sector that women are under-represented in senior academic positions, with particular emphasis being placed on the number of females in leadership roles in STEMM disciplines,” she said.

While the focus of Athena SWAN is on  STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine), there is a push to extend this across all discipline areas at JCU.

Participating universities and institutions are required to collect, analyse and prepare data on current gender equity policies and practices, to identify weaknesses and gaps and to develop and implement an action plan to improve gender equity.

Division of Tropical Environments and Societies (DTES) Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Iain Gordon is leading the initiative at JCU.

JCU hopes to be accepted into the program and ultimately be in a position to apply for accreditation under the Athena SWAN Bronze Institutional Award in 2018.

Watch the personal accounts of some of JCU’s top women in STEMM.

These video projects were produced by students in Broadcast Journalism (JN2301) under the supervision of Dr Amy Forbes.

Professor Helene Marsh

AProf. Muriel Soden

Dr Alexandra Trollope

Dr Jodie Rummer

 Professor Sarah Larkins

Podcasts:

Interview with Professor Lin Schwarzkopf by jayden Woodbridge

Interview with  Haylee Letson by Caitlin Dobson

Interview with Dr Sara Brice by Nea O’Connor

Interview with AProfessor Ellen Ariel by Karlie Brady

by Caitlin Kelly

Local residents and wildlife carers became aware of hoons coming through the neighbourhood killing animals and running over wheelie bins.

“Often they are going off the edges of the road to hit the wallabies which is how we know it is deliberate,” says experienced macropod carer Michelle Bible.

The police have been involved.

However, the North Queensland Wildlife Care Inc. and local community have largely conducted their own investigation in the hope of catching the perpetrators.

Local residents and wildlife carers have been collecting video evidence of the offenders who they believe are a group of young men who live in the area.

They have set up a community Facebook page to track and collect evidence of the offenders in the act.

Wildlife Carer Michelle Bible who lives in Oak Valley has played a large role in collecting evidence.

“I have been collecting video footage and the numberplates of their vehicles which I’ve given to the police. Hopefully, they’ll catch whoever is doing this,” she says.

The incidents began last year but have recently escalated after the community became involved in stopping the offenders.

Michelle has received several death threats but refuses to stop trying to catch the offenders.

“They called me and left some really nasty messages when they realised I wasn’t backing off. I’ve put my life in danger doing this but someone has to do it,” Michelle says.

Police and Townsville RSPCA inspectors are investigating the incident and are treating it as a case of animal cruelty.

They could not, however, release any details on an active investigation due to privacy laws.

Michelle deals with the wounded and dead animals and has found up to six dead wallabies at a time.

“It is horrific for local residents and Michelle who has to go out and pick up all the bodies,” says fellow career Jenny Hayden.

Even if the wallabies are still alive when carers find them, they still need to be put down because of their injuries.

Animals which survive often suffer internal bleeding or shattered bones, and the only option for carers is to euthanize them.

Adult wallabies also die of stress easily which makes their care and rehabilitation impossible for carers.

Wallabies are particularly at risk of being hit by cars this time of year with the drought forcing them into suburban areas in search of food.

Wildlife Carers see a rise in rescue cases between July and August and can perform up to 3-4 rescues a day.

James Cook University (JCU) officials are saying students need to make formal complaints about the lack of on-campus parking before something can be done about it.

by Mykala Wright

Townsville JCU Security Manager Ian Brooks says students are not expressing their frustration with on-campus parking formally.

“Car parking complaints have been on a downward trend in 2016,” he said.

“Traditionally there are complaints at the commencement of the academic year until timetables settle down.”

PHOTO: JCU Memes Facebook page

JCUs Head of Estate Operations Robyn Fallon suggested the decrease in formal complaints may be due to an increased education campaign for   students and staff.

“We have enhanced our website to provide improved parking information and advise the University community at the start of semester about parking.

“Our message is that other options should be considered during busy times.

“Arriving early to secure a park, parking in free areas further out, cycling, car pooling and public transport should be considered during these times,” Mrs. Fallon said.

Third year Law student and former JCU employee Kate Gough said alongside her, a number of students feel frustrated with the on-campus parking, but do not submit formal complaints.

“I have only placed a complaint on one incident when contesting a parking fine that I received,” she said.

Third year Arts student Emily Devon also said the on-campus parking is inadequate despite never making a formal complaint.

“I never considered the possibility of a formal complaint making a difference,” Mrs. Devon said.

Other students, including first year Health Sciences student Talisha Mason, say they do not see the point in placing a formal complaint.

“I feel like making a formal complaint would be a waste of time.

“I don’t think it would be taken seriously or change anything at all,” Mrs. Mason said.

Mrs. Fallon said student’s formal complaints are taken seriously.

“We do listen to complaints to try to understand what we can do better.

“Students are our customers and the reason the University exists.

“We need to ensure their needs are met.” Mrs. Fallon said.

She also said it is the Estate Offices challenge to provide sustainable solutions.

“At the same time we need to encourage people to consider their impact on the environment and destroying natural areas to create bitumen car parks is not an environmentally sustainable action,” Mrs. Fallon said.

Mrs. Gough, Mrs. Devon and Mrs. Mason all said the current on-campus parking is unreliable.

“If every student attended every class they were enrolled in, there is no way there is an adequate number of carparks,” Mrs. Gough said.

Ms. Gough said there had been instances where the on-campus parking had negatively impacted her studies.

“There have been a few times that I have been late to class, and on top of that a few times where I could not find a park at all so just went home, despite arriving early,” she said.

Parking on the Townsville campus consists of a mix of free parking and permit only parking, with more than half of the parking areas exclusively available to permit holders.

Mr. Brooks encourages students to buy parking permits. 

“It [parking permit] does expand the parking choices.

“However, availability of Permit Parking is not guaranteed as demand peaks at certain times,” he said.

If you have a complaint in regard to the Townsville JCU campus parking, place it formally here.

by Emily Joy Tierney

Dr. Anneke Silver is a prominent and well established Queensland artist and art educator who has had  more than 30 solo shows, and countless group, invitation and touring shows,to her name in Australia as well as America, Europe and Fiji.

by Patch Clapp

Ron McBurnie is one of Townsville’s pioneer printmakers. He also etches and draws, and is one of the artists featured in the ““Celebrating Townsville” exhibition currently on at Umbrella Studio contemporary art.

Click here for video

Transcript

Ron McBurnie

Etcher, Drawer, Printmaker

RB: Often the water colours are done when I am in a place where I know I haven’t got as much time, but if I know I’ve got a lot of time I might do something in a really detailed way.

0:21- 0:48

This one’s done outdoors, that one was done up on the tablelands on the weekend. So I would sit in the rainforest looking at that and drawing it.

And then I’d bring it back into the studio and just finish little bits.

And I’d always try and finish form memory rather than from a photograph.

Most of the work I do is reasonably fine and fairly detailed.

0:49- 1:06

I go back to the same place a lot and do different images of them from different points of view. You get to know a place really well. And then we have places on the river, we have some mango trees where we draw, we have places up at Hervey’s range where we draw.

1:07 – 1:21

The earlier work was more about stories about people, but lately more about the landscape of this area, North Queensland, about the place where we live. Trying to getting a sense of what is this place where we live and finding the beauty in it.

1:22- 1:32

Artists in regional areas have a great network. I probably have about six people that I get feedback from and 1 or 2 that I trust implicitly.

1:33- 1:40

But, you know I have a lot of colleagues I show work to and say, “What do you think of this and how can I improve it?” and so on.       Shot of Ron showing etching into close up of etching.

1:41 – 1:51

Anneke Silver, Robert Preston and James Brown, and they were three colleagues who were of great influence in various ways on my work.

1:52 – 1:59

I think the art department, as it was, was incredibly vibrant and relevant to what was happening in the community.

2:00-2:36

All of the presses in this room came from… from the university. So this one here comes from RMIT, and this one here from my memory came from the bulletin.

I used to run a printing, a publishing, press at the university called lyrebird press with a guy called Tate Adams.

When I left the university, they closed down the Lyrebird press so I negotiated to get these presses. So then I had to build this shed, quickly, and then we moved the presses in there.

2:37-3:21

This is one of the major publications I did at the university when I was working on lyrebird press.

And we picked a number of artists to produce a work related to their experience of going to the Palmetum.

The publication took about 5 years to make.

I chose to do a work relating to the lagoon part of the Palmetum.

And then on every book, Lyrebird book, were the different lyrebirds that were designed by, often, by the artists whose book we did.

3:22-4:10

I’m as interested in collecting music as I am in art. I’ve got a huge music collection.

If I’m working on an etching or something grubby, I’ll always put a cd or digital file on or something like that.

Whereas if I’m working on a drawing or something like a watercolour Ill always put a vinyl on because I have to physically et up and turn it over. Vinyl only lasts 25 minutes. It means you have to stretch and get off your chair because the big danger for artists is that they forget how long they’ve actually been working on something.

I just have that process.

4:16-4:30

In your head you have an idea or an ideal about what you actually want achieve in your work. So you’re always searching to improve what you’re doing and try and get better at what you’re doing.

4:32-4:46

At a certain point when a work is getting toward the end, it starts talking to you, and once the dialogue’s finished, and it doesn’t talk to you anymore then it’s usually… you get on with something else.

Music: Memories from www.bensound.com

Footage by Patch Clapp and Andrew Sands.

Stills and time-lapses by Patch Clapp.

Jill O’Sullivan has always had a passion for art. Jill has spent much of her life learning about art and creating lithographs and technical drawings through printmaking.

by Sam O’Brien and Amy Crawford

A James Cook University alumna, Jill has spent much of her life learning about art and creating lithographs and technical drawings through printmaking.

The well-respected printmaker will be showcasing two of her lithographs alongside 11 other remarkable artists in the ““Celebrating Townsville” exhibition currently on at Umbrella Studio contemporary art.

JCNN’s Sam O’Brien and Amy Crawford sat down with Jill to learn about her influences, her motivations and why the dedicated artist space within Umbrella Studio is “the best thing that has ever happened” to her.

Scroll down to read the interview’s full script.

To gain more insight into Jill’s Art Musings, visit her blog.

Transcript

On reflection, how do you believe teachers influenced your art practices?

A great deal of course, I started with the PDA all the way through to the PHD. But it was just the way that they [lecturers] worked, their instructions, and their support. Basically that was the main thing that worked very well with me and of course their knowledge, their technical knowledge, and being able to reference. Anne [Lord] and Ron [McBurnie] particularly were very, very good at art and knew what was happening in the current art world- and not just printmaking but historically, particularly with Anne’s drawing as well as printmaking.

You mentioned [JCU Visual Arts Lecturer] Anne Lord there, she nominated you for the Celebrate Townsville 150. What would you say her influences were on your art practices?

Basically, again her knowledge, her understanding of the lithography – my two pieces in the upcoming show are both lithographs – and I worked pretty seriously with Anne over probably in many ways, over about six or seven years. She was my supervisor in my Honours/ Masters and I ended up taking her back on for my PHD. So she’s had a lot of influence on my conception development, technical skills and total support.

When you reflect on your own art-making career, we’ve already spoken about some of your lecturers at JCU, who else or what other things would you identify as your main influences on your art?

Probably drawing- I had Bob Preston for third year drawing and that was extremely good again, technical. James Brown for certain things, I didn’t have a lot of James but I had him for different subjects and I loved his technical mind- he really is one of the best painting technicians I’ve ever come across and he knows how to apply paint. Anneke Silver developed my interest in art history and that was actually pretty interesting, even before I came to JCU I met Anneke and she run workshops supplying arts out west, and she again was extremely supportive. I think all of these people fed into where I went and what I was doing. I can’t say that I followed any of their styles because that wasn’t the way it worked in printmaking– we didn’t follow the lecturer’s style at all, you developed your own.

Does drawing play a significant role in your art practices and if so how?

Oh, it does! Well, being a printmaker you draw, it’s one of the most important- not the most important, but the most important part of printmaking. You need to understand line, tone and how it will work in black and white and you’ve got to think backwards too, being a printmaker. I was a drawer before I came to uni, and one of the reasons I came to JCU was because of their drawing and printmaking components and those capable lecturers teaching those too.

Artists most often have to be self-reliant and lead a somewhat solitary lifestyle to create their art?

In the case of the printmaker, not necessarily, as you can see downstairs (the studio). Printmakers are a pretty sociable group, and because you’re using presses and sharing, you tend to share your knowledge as well. Painters are probably more solitary people than printmakers are.

Do you think that the added social element and support network helps you maintain your motivation?

Oh yeah, you bounce off the others and the others bounce off you. Downstairs we’re working on a project at the moment and we’re all going through ideas and keeping busy!

How does having a dedicated space downstairs for the making of art enable your practices and help you to create your pieces?

Well it does, because of the equipment downstairs. With the closure of the arts and printmaking at JCU, it was going to be extremely hard to actually access machinery and I’ve actually sat up and worked out I would probably mainly deal with lead prints and drawing. This all came to be through Vicki Salisbury and the fact we could get the presses over to actually enable me to continue lithography and etching, without having to outlay a lot of expense. And the space, it’s quite important to me.

Your works have been in many exhibitions and galleries; do you have any particular works that hold a special meaning to you?

Maybe one or two, but I tend to keep looking forward to the next piece of work. There’s a few that I’ll think ‘oh that was not a bad piece’. One or two of them are in the show I really like. So that’s a bit of experimenting with different techniques for both of them and they both worked. But any particular work I look at some now and think ‘oh that’s not much good’ and with others, ‘that wasn’t too bad’. But no, I tend to look forward more than backwards on my work. That’s a challenge.

Do you have any moment or exhibition that stands out as a highlight in your career as an artist?

Well probably my Honours one was probably the first major solo exhibition I had and that was quite successful, and then by the time I did Masters I got rather used to the idea of having solo exhibitions. So I’d say my first Honours one, first solo one, is the one that stands out most.

Art has a really special place in Townsville that is often under-rated with exhibitions across the town that are recognized nationally. How important do you feel art is in the Townsville landscape?

Well it is extremely important, and it probably has stronger presence than is actually realised- Perc Tucker [Regional Gallery], Umbrella [Studios], Pinnacles [Gallery], The Drill Hall [Studio], even my little gallery- Gallery 48, we all seem to have a good turnover of people that are interested. We get quite a few downstairs having a look at print works. But it’s actually quite- in fact it’s extremely important. There are moves on to build a nice dedicated precinct. TAFE is doing its very best to keep the art practice up and teaching. It’s growing from strength to strength, it comes and goes. 20 years ago I believe it was right across performance art, right across the board, and it’s building up again today.

Originally you are from Mount Isa, what triggered your move to Townsville and how do you feel the move has influenced your art practices?

I had basically been going to summer schools of applying arts to sort of develop the artist. In ‘88 I was sick and it wasn’t that serious in the end, and so I went off to the local TAFE to do something different, and that lead to joining applying arts. Anneke Silver and Anne Lord came out from JCU with lots of pamphlets and then there was another change in circumstances and I thought ‘I’ll see if I can get in’. So I rang up Anneke and I said ‘what’s the chances of me doing uni?’ And she said, ‘you’re in’. So that was it, I sold up and told my kids I was going back to school. The eldest just said ‘oh okay, that’s alright’ and my grandkids just looked at me and said ‘you’re going to school?’. So I ran away to uni and I came for the three years and at the end of three years I said, ‘I might as well do Honours’ – at the end of honours, ‘Oh I might get a scholarship and do Masters’, then ‘Oh I might as well finish the thing off now!’. So that was the trigger, the fact I was really interested in art. I’ve been doing summer schools, mid-term schools, I went to USQ [University of Southern Queensland] and I just thought that well, I wanted to take it further. It wasn’t so much the degrees, I just wanted to know.

What are your major sources of inspiration when creating a new art work?

That depends what I’m doing. For my PHD the main thing was ancient maps, and that was a major continuation for what I was doing then. But most of the artwork I did up until I finished my PHD have all been historically based. I drew the sources from- the concepts came out of studies in modern Renaissance, ancient mapping and Ptolemy, and one was the historical background of rural figure and the land. So these are all historically based, I think where I started from, but they’re my own interpretations of them. Not so much styles but the concepts.

What is your workflow and how do those ideas from history and the Renaissance become a piece of art?

With my PHD I did huge maps, subjective mapping of place which wasn’t grids and lines, but rather the feeling and the elements of place. That’s where I went to- and there’s this thing petrography which is a subjective backing of place, so that’s how it fit into that. I took that idea and did these big maps of place. But now I’m looking at- what’s driving it a little bit at the moment- is the fact we’ve got certain projects on and so we are working to a subject. Like the one that I’m working on downstairs is one that’s going in The Vault [a showroom in Umbrella Studios]. In the downstairs group we’re looking at a shifting of the building environment. So that’s quite a challenge. Where I work, I did people for a long time, just people in place. So it changes all the time now- where I go from here I’m looking at domestic settings next I think.

You mentioned there that there are a couple of pieces you’re currently working on, are you able to tell us any more about those pieces and where they’ll be displayed?

One of the pieces was done in my Honours year and I set up a number of posers with a friend of mine, based roughly on the portraits of Vermeer. But there were other ones that I set up and I would stage the people in a similar setting- it wasn’t copying it exactly, that was just the influence there. The other one I was interested in the domestic icon, or things that people collected. And where I was living at the time, I was renting with Ron McBurnie and his window sill over his kitchen was full of glass bottles and so I actually documented that as a lithograph because it was quite fascinating. That was a fairly recent piece- well not that recent now, it was about 2006, but that was where I was looking at investigating. And I’m quite interested at going back into that.

Do you have any plans for the future? Are there any exhibitions or competitions you will be entering in the short-term future?

I haven’t bothered with competitions for quite a while, just one is the time factor. But yes at the moment I’ve just finished working with compact prints which is here, I’m working on the piece for Shift in The Vault and I’ve got the postcards coming up. So that’s three major things all in within the next two months. What happens next year, I’m not quite sure yet! I’ve got another one too [current project] which opens… at our little gallery with Anne Lord and a friend of ours from out west, related to the dry tropics.

Outside of your own work, are there any pieces of artwork in Townsville that stand out to you as particularly influential or significant?

Well probably not influential, but I really like Ron McBurnie’s- the way he draws, prints and of course he has some really nice works. James Brown, Anneke- well basically I keep going back to these people who I’ve worked with or not so much that they’ve influenced my artwork but artwork that I’ve responded to quite happily. Then there’s on a day-to-day basis what’s produced here [in the Umbrella Studios workshop] with the other artists, it’s no piece or one piece that I’ll sort of say ‘wow!’ but there’s a few pieces I do say ‘wow!’. There’s quite a few people who are working here whose works I really like.

This year marks Townsville’s 150th year anniversary. How important do you feel it is that the history of Townsville’s art is recognized as part of commemorations?

Well it’s probably most important- artists have been working here since Townsville was founded. If you look at some of the prints and drawings in the Special Collections at JCU, you can see that there’s actually a time it played quite an important part in recording Townsville and arts of Townsville. The artwork that’s still produced now is still, a lot of it is recording the town as it is or was. So I think it’s quite important. And it has, I mean it’s not just art it’s hands on artwork, photography, even plays and music festivals- that’s all part of the art scene here and I think that’s still important. The Chamber Music Festival gets recognised Australia wide and internationally. These are things that make up a community and fits into culture.

You work across a number of mediums outside of printmaking, what is your favourite medium to work in?

Drawing. I used to paint- I used to be an oil painter- but I haven’t got the room to keep storing the canvases. So there’s drawing, mixed medium, and believe it or not digital work. The 3D printer’s providing a bit of a challenge there and the other one would be mixed medium- sculpture, 3D, yeah. I’ve taught pretty well through most of those mediums one way or the other.

You have run workshops in the past, educating Townsville’s next generation of artists. How does it feel to see your art practices influencing and developing the next generation of the region’s artists?

Well it’s good. I think my main thing is the fact that I’ve- where I’ve tried to impart downstairs and into workshops is the technical side of things, so if it’s done properly. That’s what I’m hoping I’ve helped with, I don’t see if my artwork is a major influence on them, but I think my technical knowledge was.

It was mentioned that there are challenges involved in the making of your art; do you find that that challenge adds motivation or do you look for pieces you could do easily?

No. I’m experimenting with different types of aqua tinting downstairs which is quite a challenge because we can’t use certain types of aqua tinting because of the health and safely things. That’s been good fun and so we’ve all been playing with that. I just like the technical challenge and to see ‘how will we get out of this?!’

Following their 6-4 defeat in Sydney, the NSW Blues will travel to the home of State of Origin, Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, to try and keep the 2016 series alive.

Sam O’Brien

Waiting for them on the hallowed turf of Lang Park will be Origin’s greatest ever team, a Queensland Maroons side gunning for their 10^th series win from 11 attempts.

Both sides have once again had a rough build up, with both sides making changes to the teams that took the field on the first Wednesday night of June.

A Queensland win this Wednesday night will seal another trophy for a side that seems to re-write the record books every time they take the field, whilst a Blues night in Brisbane will send the game to a chilly Sydney decider in early July.

What Game 1 taught us…

Game one of the 2016 State of Origin series was a dour affair, defined by its toughness, with neither side willing to risk letting their opposition into the game. The game did not really live up to expectations- bearing little resemblance to the teams last clash, a 52-6 rout by Queensland in game 3 2015.

Queensland opened the scoring early in the opening clash in Sydney, with a Johnathan Thurston penalty goal in the 16^th minute, handing the Maroons an early lead. However, it would be the boys in blue who would cross the try line first, with Boyd Cordner busting through Queensland’s goal line defence off a contentious James Maloney pass in the 25^th Minute.

The Maroons wouldn’t be made to chase for long however, wrestling back the lead in the 37^th minute as Dane Gagai finished a smooth backline movement to score the eventual match winner.

What followed halftime was an incredible contest, which was defined by neither side giving an inch, with a number of chances snuffed out by impressive defensive efforts. The Blue’s went closest to troubling the scorers in the second half, with only the Bunker denying Josh Morris a try which would have handed NSW the victory. The review officials deemed Morris grounded the ball short of the all-important white paint.

Overall the 6-4 scoreline was a fair representation of the contest in which the statisticians could hardly split the two teams. For Queensland, Darius Boyd was a stand out, handing in a man of the match performance in his debut in the Maroon Number 1 jersey. Dane Gagai, Corey Parker, Cameron Smith and Justin O’Niell (debut) all contributed significantly to the Queensland cause, whilst the performance of second rower Boyd Cordner was a definite highlight for the Blues.

The burning question from game 1 is whether NSW can go up a gear. Queensland looked flat, and far from their best in the opener, yet they still found a way to win. If Queensland can play at their best in game 2, its tough to see the Blues keeping pace.

The Line Ups…

Queensland:

1. Darius Boyd, 2. Corey Oates, 3. Greg Inglis, 4. Justin O’Neill, 5. Dane Gagai, 6. Johnathan Thurston, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Matt Scott, 9. Cameron Smith (c), 10. Josh McGuire, 11. Matt Gillett, 12. Sam Thaiday, 13. Corey Parker

Interchange: 14. Michael Morgan, 15. Jacob Lillyman, 16. Aidan Guerra, 17. Josh Papalii, 18th man. Ethan Lowe

New South Wales:

1. Matt Moylan, 2. Blake Ferguson, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Josh Morris, 5. Josh Mansour, 6. James Maloney, 7. Adam Reynolds, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Robbie Farah, 10. James Tamou, 11. Greg Bird, 12. Josh Jackson, 13. Paul Gallen

Interchange: 14. Dylan Walker, 15. Tyson Frizell, 16. David Klemmer, 17. Andrew Fifita

Both sides see changes from game 1 with injury and suspension creating discussion for selectors.

For Queensland, enforcer Nate Myles has been ruled out with a knee injury- his spot in the lineup taken by game one super sub Josh Maguire. Jacob Lillyman comes in as the new man on the bench, despite being dropped for game one. Queensland Selectors will not be too phased by these changes, with many people calling for this line up prior to game one. Myles, despite always lifting when in a maroon jumper, has struggled for form this year in a troubled Manly side, whilst Jacob Lillyman was one of Queensland’s best in his last Origin appearance.

For New South Wales, things have been slightly more troubling. Game one standout Boyd Cordner has been ruled out with a foot injury, which left the Blues searching for a second rower. Names such as rookie Bryce Cartwright and experienced hand Ryan Hoffman were tossed up, before the eventual selection of Cronulla Mr Fix-it Wade Graham. Graham’s Origin dream was short-lived however, with the judiciary rubbing him out of game 2 with a grade one careless high tackle charge. As a result, Greg Bird has moved from the bench to start the match, with Dragons enforcer Tyson Frizell named on the bench to make his Origin debut.

Most at Stake…

Whilst it goes without saying that the Blues have a massive point to prove in saving the series in Brisbane, the game will hold extra importance to a number of players looking to cement their spot as Origin standard players.

Laurie Daley has stuck with a loyal approach to the selection of his side, meaning a number of players who handed in sub-par performances in game one will be provided with the opportunity to redeem themselves.

In the lead up to game one of the series, most of the selection discussion centered around NSW’s spine, with the fullback and halfback positions most debated. In the number 1 jersey it was Matt Moylan who was given the nod, following an injury to front-runner James Tedesco. With Tedesco fit, and Moylan turning in a nervous game one performance, the Penrith flyer can consider himself lucky to have retained his spot in Daley’s lineup. A sub par game 2 performance may not see Moylan as lucky for game 3.

In game 1 Adam Reynolds became the latest half to pull on the Blue number 7 jersey, made famous by names such as Kenny, Sterling and Johns. A left field choice at halfback, given his at times questionable defense and weak running game, Reynolds was solid without being brilliant in game 1. However, NSW traditionally doesn’t hold too much patience when it comes to their halves, and so Reynolds’ Origin future may hinge on his ability to manufacture a Blues win in game 2.

On the Maroon side, Sam Thaiday is approaching the twilight of his Origin career, with his major contributions to game 1 coming in the form of a post match interview. At 31 years of age, Thaiday can ill afford another mediocre performance, with Cowboys fringe forwards Gavin Cooper (18^th man for Game One) and Ethan Lowe (18^th man for Game 2) bashing down the door, looking for their opportunity. Their time may come if Thaiday fails to step up in Game 2.

Where it will be won…

Despite the tough, defensive nature of Game One, Game Two looks set to be a more free flowing contest, with Suncorp Stadium likely to provide a much quicker surface allowing for better ball movement. Whilst Game One turned out to be a battle of the forwards, game 2 looks set to be decided in the halves, with kicking games and attacking cohesion likely to be the major factors in this contest.

Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston were below their best in game 1, and another off performance may open the door enough for the Blues to swoop in to take advantage. Adam Reynolds and James Maloney are known for their strong kicking games, and this aspect of their game will be crucial if NSW wish to send the series to a decider in Sydney.

How the bookies see it…

Sportsbet

Queensland, $1.58

New South Wales, $2.45

William Hill

Queensland, $1.55

New South Wales, $2.45

Centrebet

Queensland, $1.55

New South Wales, $2.45

Odds Current as of 17 June 2016. Remember, if you are going to have a punt on the game, please gamble responsibly.

The Verdict…

Despite a relatively close game 1, it is tough to see a similar result on the cards for game 2. Last time these teams met at Suncorp Stadium, Queensland were brutal in dismantling the NSW defence on their way to a 46-point victory. Whilst Wednesday’s game may not turn out a result of that magnitude, NSW will need to significantly improve on their performance to be able to effectively challenge the Maroons at home. The loss of Boyd Cordner also looks certain to trouble the Blues, whilst the Maroon’s changes make them look an even stronger outfit.

If the Maroons show up to play, they will win. If New South Wales don’t show up to play, it could be a repeat of Game Three, 2015. With all that said, Maroons by 12.

The Townsville City Council (TCC) is preparing to play host to a convoy of Australian talent at this year’s V8 Supercars races.

Andrew Sands

With Aussie rockers ICEHOUSE and Choirboys lighting up the stage at this year’s Castrol Edge Townsville 400, preparations are well underway to showcase Townsville’s biggest sporting event from July 8 – 10.

ICEHOUSE has sold over three million albums locally and nine million worldwide and is returning to North Queensland after more than twenty years.

The Choirboys will “Run to Paradise” to perform some of their greatest hits from their multi-platinum albums at Reid Park.

With so much happening and a huge number of expected visitors to the city, the council has focused its attention on the aesthetics of the venue and it’s surrounds with a ‘by-whatever-costs-necessary’ attitude to get the job done.

Simon Nash, a Maintenance Engineer with the TCC, says there is no set budget allocated to the event.

“It’s one of those situations where we fund it to what’s required every year,” he said.

“It’s obviously the highest priority to make sure it’s in good condition and that people can enjoy it.”

Preparations this year include a great deal of vegetation management to improve the visual appearance of the track, line marking, the removal of burnt rubber off the track surface, changes to signage and “significant” track repairs.

Concrete infills behind turns 5 – 8 are also being laid to accommodate the corner-cutting ways of the new Stadium Super Trucks set to make their debut on the Townsville track this year.

Last year, 152, 873 race fans were recorded making their way through the track over the weekend.

The event is estimated to generate more than 20 million dollars for the city over the weekend, a staggering amount that will positively contribute to the local economy.

“It’s more about bringing the money into the community more than anything,” Mr. Nash said.

For too long now Australians have had to put up with the cringe-worthy coverage of cricket and rugby league courtesy of the Nine Network.

Mitchell Carman

Let’s look at rugby league first.

If you want to watch a game of football that is being broadcast by the Nine Network, the first thing you should do is check the scheduled kick off time and don’t settle in until at least 10 minutes after the apparent ‘kick off’ time.

State of Origin is the best example of this.

The games are starting later and later to the point where, after watching the first game and finding out who was the man of the match, it was nearly midnight!

This is far too late for people who may have to work early the next day and even worse for school kids and young children.

I understand coverage has to drag on and on for financial purposes, but they have even stretched that too far- missing conversions and other portions of the game as they come back from the copious amounts of advertisements.

The commentary team they employ is full of legends of the game that seemingly walk into the job without even a simple English speaking test.

Brad Fittler, a great player in his own right, can barely string a simple sentence together.

While I understand these ex-players have an expert knowledge of the game, their job as a commentator is to convey the game to the general public and provide analysis.

However, all we seem to get is the biased perspectives of retired New South Wales and Queensland players.

One area I will give the rugby league coverage a tick of approval for is their introduction of females into prominent roles.

Both Erin Molan and Yvonne Sampson have given the network a breath of fresh air.

Hopefully these women will be the catalyst for better coverage in the future, and lead the way for an increase of females in this male dominated industry.

This brings us to the cricket side of the spectrum.

WIN’s coverage of the Summer of Cricket is single-handedly the worst coverage of any sport I have seen.

Whilst they do manage to start on time (usually), everyone is sick to death of the same monotonous coverage by the commentators.

How many times have you seen footage of Michael Slater getting caught down the leg side on 99, or jokes about how Mark “Tubby” Taylor was fat and used to stand in the slips all day?

Then we have Ian Chappell, who bores us to tears with his stories from the ‘good ole days’.

Combine this with hundreds of KFC advertisements and you there you have it: your Summer of Cricket.

Conversely we have Network Ten’s brilliant coverage of the Big Bash, which actually saw the network win a Logie for Most Outstanding Sports Coverage.

The network combined a mix of humour and informative analysis that made it possible to watch cricket without muting the television.

The coverage also proves that ex-players can make good commentators, something that WIN has not been able to achieve thus far..

We need more coverage that is enjoyable to watch and need to stop accepting subpar coverage for the purpose of making money.

Melbourne-based glam rock band Sisters Doll performed at The Venue last month, and what an experience.

Kiara Hayward

From start to finish the band gave it their all, creating an electric and exciting atmosphere which the busy venue loved.

It was clear the three band members love their profession as they fully engaged with the audience, keeping their attention and making sure they were never bored with the performance.

Aided by crazy moves and brilliant solos, the night was thoroughly enjoyable.

It was not the first time Sisters Doll has performed in Townsville though it was the first night they were not a supporting act, but actually the main event.

Band members and brothers, B. Monroe (guitar, lead vocals), Lipz (drums, vocals), and Auzy Foxxx (bass, vocals) made it a night to remember despite a few hiccups with B. Monroe’s broken strings and dropped guitar picks.

These issues didn’t faze him or the other band members, with Auzy Foxxx making sure the audience was still entertained with a bass solo while B. Monroe swapped guitars.

After a few more original songs it was time for another intermission (of sorts), this time with an outstanding drum solo by Lipz.

The drummer played along with an electronic/ dubstep sounding track, impressing all of us in the audience.

At one point during the performance, guitarist B. Monroe even got off the stage in the middle of a song to mingle with the crowd whilst continuing to play.

He interacted with fans and high-fived everyone he could before he had to get back onstage.

Overall their treatment of fans was really something to behold.

Between songs, the lead singer repeated how much the brothers appreciated how many people were there to support them, as well as the enthusiasm and participation of the crowd throughout the night.

They didn’t have any special effects or a crazy stage design, but they didn’t need it.

Their performance, energy, and passion for their music are more than enough to keep you engaged and wanting more.

The electric atmosphere continued into the night, and when B. Monroe announced that the next song was their last “unless you want more!” (as the lead singer put it), the audience begged for them to continue.

After another energetic performance (awesome light-up guitar included) Sisters Doll, played three more songs after their set-list was over, with two original songs and a cover.

They ended their show on a high by performing a cover of ‘Love Gun’ by KISS.

As they take inspiration from KISS (and other similar bands) it was great to see them do the song justice.

As a fan of KISS myself, the song didn’t feel like a cheesy cover at all, it was more like a tribute to the style of rock Sisters Doll are trying to resurrect.

Following their amazing performance, the brothers took a group photo with everyone in the audience instead of hiding backstage.

They mixed with the audience, taking individual photos with fans and signing merchandise as people bought it.

They also talked with fans and were only rushed when The Venue stated they wanted to close up for the night.

The guys haven’t let their recent television fame cloud their attitudes; they are still down to earth and appear to value every single fan- regardless of whether those fans supported the band before or after featuring in the Grand Finals of Australia’s Got Talent.

If anyone’s going to bring back glam rock, it will definitely be these guys.

Based on the success of the night, I’m sure I’m not the only one looking forward to the next time Sisters Doll are in town! Check out their Facebook page here or their Twitter here.