IPSWICH'S dream to have an NRL team to follow in 2013 is on life support

NRL bid wants to kick off in 2013

IPSWICH'S dream to have an NRL team to follow in 2013 is on life support after expansion plans were dealt a blow by comments from NRL CEO David Gallop.

Gallop sent shockwaves through the seven prospective NRL bids when he said on ABC Radio over the weekend that he thought “we would get to 18 teams by 2015”.

“It might come earlier, but we should be giving our existing clubs a couple of years of new television money to get themselves stable before we introduce new teams into the competition,” Gallop said.

Western Corridor NRL bid chairman Steve Johnson said that the Ipswich bid would prefer a 2013 start and that it would be ready if early expansion was given the green light.

“We can be ready to go tomorrow – subject to getting a football side together,” Johnson said.

“The way our financial model works, the sooner you are on the field the better off you are.

“The 12-month lead-in costs are quite substantial ... so we'd actually prefer a heartbeat lead-in time so we can jump on the field.

“We are disappointed for the Western Corridor if it is going to be delayed because we believe there is a market out there now for a side. But as far as our planning goes it doesn't affect us.

“If expansion comes in 2015 then we will be ready for it.”

Franchises planning to come into the game include Western Corridor, Perth, Wellington, Central Coast, Central Queensland, Brisbane and Papua New Guinea.

Johnson said that if 2014 was the compromise expansion date, the Corridor bid would be ready.

“We have a stadium ready to roll,” he said.

“We have a football club infrastructure.

“We have got our juniors in place. We have got our second-tier clubs in place.

“We are just stepping up one level.

“Whether we start in 2013, 2014 or 2015 – we don't have to reinvent the wheel.”

Wanted: Miss Showgirl Entrants

FAR from the beauty pageants of old, today’s Ipswich showgirls need to have it all.

The Ipswich Show Society is searching for a local woman to become the “face” of the show as the 2011 Miss Showgirl.

Open to women between the ages of 18 and 27, contestants are judged on a range of criteria, including their general knowledge of Ipswich, as well as their personality and presentation.

The competition offered entrants the opportunity to develop public speaking and networking skills, with contestants mingling with everyone from politicians to business people, said 2010 title holder Louisa Dossetor.

She said it also gave women the opportunity to learn the finer arts of deportment and etiquette.

“It is not a fundraiser and it is not a beauty pageant,” Ms Dossetor said.

“Young women are judged on how they carry themselves and represent their local region.”

The Mt Crosby pharmaceutical sales rep said the competition also enabled young women to gain a range of marketable skills.

“When you finish school and uni, sometimes it is a struggle to find things to put on your resume,” Ms Dossetor said.

“By being part of the competition it shows you are involved in the local community.”

Ms Dossetor said the competition was also a great way to meet other like-minded young women.

“The competition has moved with the times,” she said.

“They have changed the age requirements so older people can be involved.

“It is definitely not old-fashioned.”

The 28-year-old, who went on to beat other young women from the Ipswich region’s country shows at the sub-chamber level, represented the region at the Queensland Country Life Miss Showgirl awards at the Brisbane Ekka last year.

Ms Dossetor said for four days while she was competing at a state final, she and her fellow finalists had been “treated like royalty”.

“To go to government house and meet Governor General Penelope Wensley was a real privilege,” she said.

Entries in the 2011 competition close on April 1.

For more information, prospective entrants can ring the show office on 3281 1577 or visit the website, www.ipswichshow.com.au

Josephine Gillespie - The Queensland Times

Shane Watson returns to home town of Ipswich to help lift locals' spirits

SHANE Watson has revealed plans to finish his career as an opener as Australian cricket's golden boy returned to home town Ipswich yesterday to apply his Midas touch to the flood-ravaged community.

Putting an end to debate over his long-term role in the Australian set-up, Watson scuppered suggestions of a shift down the order after blasting a majestic 161 not out to sink the Poms in the one-day series opener at the MCG on Sunday night.

Less than 14 hours after his 150-ball masterpiece, Watson arrived in Ipswich, reaching out to his people as he surveyed the wreckage of Queensland's worst natural disaster in 37 years.

Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale said Watson's presence underlined the region's solidarity and the 29-year-old is determined to be the backbone of Australia's top order for as long as he wears the baggy green.

"Absolutely, I love being an opener," said Watson, who made a guest appearance at Bunnings in Booval yesterday to sign autographs for locals.

"It's such a great challenge, whether it's day one when it's swinging and seaming with the bowlers nice and fresh, or day three when you can take them down. I want to stay there for good. It's the challenge I want."

Watson began his Test career in the middle order but the blond all-rounder has emerged as one of Australian cricket's finest openers.

Since being elevated to the apex of the order against England in July 2009, Watson has hammered 1696 Test runs from 36 innings at the world-class average of 49.88.

But his one-day pyrotechnics show on Sunday night is evidence of how much more he can offer in the Test arena. "It's one big score, it's nice to do it but I don't think it will put an end to it [criticism of his struggle to convert starts into huge Test scores]," said Watson, who failed to score a century during the Ashes despite getting a start in nine of his 10 innings.

"I will have to do it consistently over a period of time to know that I'm doing the right things mentally and technically. It's a nice step but I have to do it consistently."

Watson toured parts of Ipswich with Pisasale yesterday and paid tribute to the toughness of the locals.

"It's humbling. All I wanted to do growing up was emulate someone like Allan Langer, who was playing for the Broncos, and also Craig McDermott [former Test bowler], who'd been through the same system I'd been through," Watson said.

"Ipswich people are tough people. There's no doubt it is a hard time but I know everyone will come together to help out.

"I've been very lucky to grow up in Ipswich and get the grounding in life and cricket. They are a resilient society so it's nice to be able to help the people."

See source article by daily telegraph

Images by Getty

California scraps Jamie Oliver, turns attention to Queensland Flood Stricken Ipswich

JAMIE Oliver has selected the flood-hit Queensland town of Ipswich for Australia's first Ministry of Food program, which hopes to combat obesity by helping locals cook simple and nutritional food but his attempts to change eating habits in the home of showbusiness have suffered a setback.

Education officials in Los Angeles have rejected an opportunity to have the chef make a television series about the city's school dinners.

In a blow to Oliver, they said they preferred working with "nutrition experts".

Advertisement: Story continues below The snub came as Oliver prepared to move his young family to Los Angeles, where he plans to make the second series of his US program, Food Revolution.

Officials from the city's Unified School District also suggested that their counterparts in West Virginia, where Oliver filmed the first series, had not recommended taking part.

In a letter to Oliver's producers, Melissa Infusino, the district's director of partnerships, said the aims of the program were "in perfect alignment" with their own. But she added: "We believe our work with nutrition experts, health advocates, the community, schools and students is the most effective strategy for our continued success."

She said budgetary and time constraints meant that participation in the series would "prevent us from committing 100 per cent of our efforts to our students".

Oliver's first American series, which was broadcast by ABC, focused on Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest obesity rate in the US. It won good viewing figures and an Emmy award but also received sharp criticism. A Washington Post review said it "regurgitated the worst of reality-TV pap".

Its critic said Oliver, "a foreigner with meticulously rumpled hair", was "afflicted with the kind of warm-hearted caring that requires the constant presence of a TV crew".

Oliver also angered locals who discovered he had criticised them in the British press. A city spokesman later played down his efforts, saying: "There was already a movement to make Huntington healthier."

Infusino reportedly said that when her colleagues called school officials in West Virginia to discuss the experience of taking part in Oliver's show, they were told: "No comment."

A spokesman for Oliver said the governor of West Virginia and the principal of the school the chef worked in had been "hugely positive" about the series. He said Oliver hoped "parent power" and the arrival of Jerry Brown, the new Democratic governor of California, would persuade the school authority to change its mind. "This is a small setback but we think the door may still be open."

See SMH article Source

latest Flood information - Queensland Reports Ipswich Flood News

For all the latest information about the Queensland Flood crisis as issued by the Queensland Police click HERE

Here is the latest:

Speaker: Assistant Commissioner Peter Martin - Brisbane Update

*Brisbane River should be at high tide at 2:16pm this afternoon, and 3:29am tomorrow morning

* Public safety paramount at this stage

*Evacuation centers are being opened.

-RNA Showgrounds - 182 are currently residing

- QE2 Stadium - Currently being resourced and set up

28/10/2010 Ipswich – the perfect destination for business or leisure

Named the world’s most liveable mid-sized city* just three years ago, Queensland’s oldest provincial city Ipswich is an exciting destination to visit for both business and leisure, offering all the attractions and facilities of a progressive city.

Ipswich offers visitors plenty to see and do including visiting the Ipswich Art Gallery, the Workshops Rail Museum, steam trains, more than 500 parks, wineries, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and shopping centres.

The city hosts regular national and local festivals and events such as the Queensland Open Golf Championships, Ipswich Cup - the city's annual major horse race, drag racing's finest at the Winternationals held at Willowbank Raceway, Queensland 400 V8 supercars at Queensland Raceway, Ipswich Festival and Ipswich Show.

Read Full article at Metro Hotels press releases