POLOCROSSE: After 10 years away from the sport, Matt Hardy is back at the highest level and loving it.

He was part of the Warwick 1 mixed team which went down 12-10 to Tansey 1 in the A-grade final yesterday. Warwick qualified for the final with a victory in the semi against Quirindi.

Hardy returned to club polocrosse last season but his appearance in yesterday’s final was his biggest game to date.

Late in the game, he spent two minutes in his role as No.3 trying to get the ball back for his team as Warwick tried every trick in the book to secure a last-gasp win.

“It is really good to be back. This was my first carnival on my new horse,” he said.

In the Shell Cup, Sydney won the open final 18-13 against Warwick.

The Sydney team was boosted by long-time Western Australian representative player B.J. Thomas who made such an impact he won the prize for the best horse and rider.

Sydney beat Tansey 1 to make the final while Warwick was too good for Wandoan in the other semi- final.

Anthony O’Leary won best horse and rider in A-grade as Cunningham 1 went down 17-15 to Bauhinia.

O’Leary showed he is in form for his own club carnival this weekend at the Bony Mountain Recreation Reserve. One of the high points of the weekend for the Southern Downs was the D-grade win by a Killarney club which is back after not fielding any teams last year.

Other Winners

Open: B grade Wandoan 2; C grade Calliope; D grade Killarney 1; E grade Tansey 2; F grade Tansey 3.

Mixed: B grade Tansey 2.

Junior: A grade Inverell: B grade Wandoan