New Australian champion shearer Daniel McIntyre

NEW South Wales’s Daniel McIntyre has reclaimed the title of Australia’s top open shearer with a quick yet clean performance at the Bendigo showgrounds on Saturday.

At the 2017 National Shearing and Wool Handling Championships at Bendigo, McIntyre was fourth to finish his 12 sheep in 23 minutes and 16 seconds among the final field of six shearers, but scored the least board and outside quality points to defeat the fastest finalist, Victorian Jason Wingfield from Cobram.

In what commentator Australian Wool Innovation’s Jim Murray described as an “awesome shear”, Wingfield pulled out of gear in just 19 minutes and 31 seconds, but was narrowly placed second by just two points overall, finishing with 104.72 quality points.

Defending Australian champion Shannon Warnest from Willalooka in South Australia was third in 23 minutes 45 seconds, less than one behind Wingfield (105.58 points), and outpointing fourth placegetter Justin Dolphin, also from South Australia, on 108.22 points. Another South Australian shearer Nathan Meaney was fifth on 108.72 points and Victorian Dan Mraz was sixth with 126.10 points.

Shannon Warnest pushes hard on the long blow at Bendigo.

McIntyre’s win at Bendigo gives him his third national open title in four years, after winning in 2014 and 2015, before losing to Warnest in 2016 at Warialda in Queensland.

McIntyre said he “zoned out” the other shearers in the final and kept to his game plan while Wingfield and other shearers went around him.

“I guess that comes with maturity a bit; not to worry what everyone else is doing and stick to what you are doing and try not to get flustered.”

The 36-year-old has been shearing for 19 years from his Glen Innes base. He said getting the title back was special.

“Having it two years in a row and then losing it makes you realise what it means to you – getting it back feels good.”

Aussies win trans-Tasman shearing test

Jason Wingfield shearing at Bendigo.

McIntyre also combined with Warnest and Wingfield with their homeground advantage for a “terrific” win in the trans-Tasman test at Bendigo last Friday – the first event in the 2017-18 trans-Tasman series.

“It’s always good to get one on them that’s for sure.”

He felt the test sheep – six Merino wethers and six first cross wethers — suited the Australians.

“Our crossbreds don’t shear as well as they do in New Zealand so we do have a bit of an advantage here on home ground.”

The Australians finished their Merinos well clear of the New Zealanders, who couldn’t regain any advantage on the crossbreds.

Wingfield, in his 17^th trans-Tasman test, lead the charge against the Kiwi shearers — John Kirkpatrick, of Napier, Rowland Smith, from Northland and Troy Pyper, of Winton — shearing his six Merino wethers and six crossbred ewes in 18 minutes, four minutes ahead of last-men-off Kirkpatrick and Smith. The Australians were the first three to finish and also posted the three best board quality points. Warnest and McInyre also had the best sets of outside or pen points.

Shearing Sports New Zealand’s Doug Laing said Australia claimed the win by a wide margin of 43.2 points, bouncing back from defeat at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March but extending to seven the number of Australian home wins since the black singlets last won a test in Australia in 2010.

McIntyre also who claimed the best individual points overall, for the fourth time in his eight consecutive tests. He was just 1.2 points ahead of legendary two-times world champion and Merinos guru Warnest who has shorn 30 trans-Tasman tests, the last 28 in a row since 2004 and including being top individual at least 15 times.

The best of the New Zealanders was new world champion Kirkpatrick, shearing in the series for a 13th time since first making the team in 2002.

Pyper, the quickest of the Kiwis, was in his third trans-Tasman test, and 2014 World champion and reigning Golden Shears and New Zealand open champion Smith, who dominated the last match in an all-conquering night in Masterton seven months ago, was in his fifth test in the series.

NZ wins blade test

In the trans-Tasman blade shearing test at Bendigo, the New Zealand team of Phil Oldfield and Tony Dobbs (156.40 points) were clear winners against Australia’s Ken French and John Dalla (164.23 points).

Tran-Tasman machine shearing test results: Australia 247.47pts (Daniel McIntyre 19min 41sec, 80.8pts; Shannon Warnest 20mins, 81.92pts; Jason Wingfield 18min, 84.75pts, 3) beat New Zealand 290.67pts (John Kirkpatrick 21min 59sec, 93.87pts; Troy Pyper 20min 11sec, 101.75pts; Rowland Smith 22mins, 101.75pts) by 43.2pts.

Sources included Doug Laing, Shearing Sports New Zealand.