NZ blade shearer Tony Dobbs. Photo – SSNZ.

SOUTH Canterbury blade shearer Tony Dobbs has successfully started another bid for World championship honours by winning the first round of a new New Zealand team selection series.

The win came at the Inangahua A and P Show’s Reefton Shears on Saturday when Dobbs fought off the challenge of rising hopeful and globetrotting Geraldine shearer Allan Oldfield, the top qualifier from the heats.

Oldfield, winner of Royal Show titles in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland over the last two years, reckoned Dobbs would be a tougher nut to crack in the four-man final and chased hard. However, Oldfield was beaten by about eight seconds and ultimately about 2.7pts as the two each cut–out three lambs in under 9min 20sec.

Oldfield beat father and 2017 world championships third placegetter Phil Oldfield by almost 44 seconds, and last off was 2010 world championships representative Allen Gemmell, of Rangiora. Gemmell placed third despite doing the better quality job overall.

The shearers face an eight-show series which ends in Christchurch in November, almost nine months before the 2019 World Championships in La Dorat, France.

Hodges wins open machine shearing

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Reefton-based Paul Hodges, from Geraldine, won the open machine shearing final, picking up the challenge issued when Blenheim veteran Chris Jones won the event for the first time 12 months earlier, and called on the younger hopefuls to step-up.

Beaten by just 0.26pts last year, Hodges relied on having the best quality points in Saturday’s final of 20 lambs each to win after being beaten to the end by both Rakia shearer Shaun Burgess and Brett Roberts, one of several Southland shearers at Reefton despite the geographical separation of more than 750kms.

Former New Zealand Corriedale Championships Senior winner Hodges has now won six open finals in the Tasman and West Coast area, the victory being his third at Reefton, where he won the Senior finals of 2014 and 2016.

Luis Pincol reaffirmed his path to becoming Chile’s first Open-class shearer by claiming his 11^th  title in the Senior grade. He was first to finish a 10-lambs final and beat runner-up Lionel Taumata, of Gore, by more than three-and-a-half points.

Brandon Maguire-Ratima, from Winton, and Jonah Collins, of Mataura, continued there good form in winning the lower grade finals.

The next shearing competition in the region is at Murchison on February 17.

Results from the Reefton Shears at the Inangahua A and P Show in Reefton on Saturday, February 3, 2018:

Open final (20 lambs): Paul Hodges (Geraldine/Reefton) 19min 6.46sec, 70.82pts, 1; Brett Roberts (Mataura) 18min 55.78sec, 72.04pts, 2; Shaun Burgess (Rakaia) 17min 56.72sec, 82.79pts, 3; Chris Jones (Blenheim) 21min 1.37sec, 84.97pts, 4.

Open plate (10 lambs): Nick Nalder (Takaka) 10min 50.03sec, 48pts, 1; Dave Brooker (Oxford) 11min 53.21sec, 48.96pts, 2; Sam Win (Ikamatua) 10min 58.13sec, 50.01pts, 3; Baden Barker (Tapawera) 12min 40.41sec, 53.12pts, 4.

Senior final (10 lambs): Luis Pincol (Chile) 13min 20.68sec, 51.33pts, 1; Lionel Taumata (Taumarunui/Gore) 13min 30.96sec, 54.85pts, 2; Mitchell Murray (Amberley) 13min 59.72sec, 59.09pts, 3; Sarah Higgins (Blenheim) 14min 54.31sec, 62.12pts, 4.

Intermediate final (4 lambs): Brandon Maguire-Ratima (Winton) 7min 34sec, 33.45pts, 1; Liam Norrie (Cheviot) 7min 35.34sec, 33.77pts, 2; Jesse Barclay (Mataura) 7min 11.25sec, 34.31pts, 3; Duncan Higgins (Blenheim) 7min 58.66sec, 39.18pts, 4.

Junior final (3 lambs): Jonah Collins (Mataura) 9min 1.56sec, 44.41pts, 1; Johnny Wyllie (Kaihoka) 8min 25.91sec, 48.63pts, 2; Yuki Yamamoto (Japan) 11min 30.18sec, 57.84pts, 3; Sharon Tuhakaraina (Gore) 10min 21.09sec, 63.72pts, 4.

Blades final (3 lambs): Tony Dobbs (Fairlie) 9min 10.03sec, 34.83pts, 1; Allan Oldfield (Geraldine) 9min 18.34sec, 37.58pts, 2; Allen Gemmell (Rangiora) 10min 10.38sec, 44.85pts, 3; Phil Oldfield (Geraldine) 10min 2.41sec, 45.45pts, 4.

Source: Doug Laing, Shearing Sports New Zealand.