Joining with others and working as a team to achieve common aspirations has marked the Manly Warringah Junior Rugby League 2026 Season.
Grand Finals in the Manly Warringah Junior Rugby League were played at Brookvale Oval over the weekend of August 29-30, with Family of League volunteers greeting fans at the gate. Family of League exists to ensure those most in need in the rugby league community can access financial, social and emotional support. The foundation is the charitable heart of rugby league, proudly caring for the everyday heroes who keep the game thriving at the grassroots.
After 15 rounds of games and 3 of finals across the Season and the support of a host of club volunteers, referees, groundstaff, coaches, trainers, managers, the players and their families across the four and a half months of training and games at home grounds and elsewhere, footy Season in the MWJRLF clubs has come to the awards and presentation part of the year.
Mona Vale Raiders ran their first A Grade side for decades in 2025, finishing 6th in the points ladder before making the Grand Final this year under coach David Heath, who explained earlier in the Season Under 21's Raiders players have also been competing in the A Grade side this year. The Raiders and their A-Grade coach are focussed on succession planning and developing skills. After this year's results they will be the ones to watch next season.sm.jpg?timestamp=1788607134913)
Brian Friend OAM and Bob Butcher - MWJRLFC Legends
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Mona Vale Raiders GF A-Grade Team member - clearly stoked with a brilliant Raiders Season
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Dogs can fly!
Report: Surfing Australia, Photos: Surfing Australia / Jay Macguire
The 2026 Australian Shortboard Titles, with Australia’s best shortboard surfers, converged on Wollongong from August 24–30. Shortboard surfing is the high-performance core of the sport, and the Australian Titles showcase the explosive turns, seamless carves and aerial progression that continue to push Australian surfing forward.
With surfers from all six states competing across multiple age divisions, the event brought together generations of Australian shortboard talent, with national titles on the line and the opportunity to qualify for the Australian National Surfing Team, The Irukandjis, through the Over 40s, Over 50s and Over 60s Masters divisions, at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Masters Surfing Championships.
On Friday August 28 the 2026 Australian Shortboard Titles wrapped up the Masters competition in Wollongong, with champions crowned across the age divisions following four days of excellent conditions along the iconic Illawarra coastline..
The first final of the day delivered a standout result, with Pam Burridge (Mollymook, NSW) claiming the Over 60 Women’s Australian Championship after entering this year’s Australian Shortboard Titles as a wildcard.
The victory sees Burridge earn her place on The Irukandjis, Australia’s national Masters team, and the opportunity to represent Australia on the international stage.
A pioneer of Australian women’s professional surfing and former World Champion, and former resident of Pittwater, Burridge said returning to competition and pulling the Australian jersey back on was a special opportunity.
“I definitely won’t knock it because I think you often find people don’t come back to these events if they’ve had a great career because they’ve got a lot to lose. Someone might beat them on the day, and it can be a hit to the ego. But for me, even if I came last, I was totally willing to have a go. When you’re a certain age in the sport, sometimes you’re going to suck, sometimes you’re going to go OK, but you’ve just got to have a go. I decided to have a go and I was really rewarded with some nice waves.”
Burridge said the opportunity to compete alongside friends and put the Australian jersey back on made the experience even more meaningful.
“It is prestigious. I definitely wouldn’t knock it. To put the Australian jersey back on and be out there surfing with your mates, it’s pretty special. I was just really happy to have a go and see what happened.”
Pam Burridge, Over 60 Women's Champion at the 2026 Australian Shortboard Titles. Credits: Surfing Australia / Jay Macguire
Profile of the Week Avalon Bulldogs Win Back-To-Back PremiershipsDoggies supporters swarmed the field at full-time last Sunday, August 30, as the Avalon A Grade crew took back-to-back Premierships after holding off the Mona Vale Raiders for an 18-14 win at Brookvale Oval.
Those north of the Bilgola Bends have been grinning all week.
Chandler Walton, Jake Crutch and Taine Allen took tries for the Bulldogs, with Chandler's successful conversions stats at 2 out of 3 and he kicked a penalty goal.
The utter determination by the whole squad didn't let up for a moment.
Avalon Bulldogs also won historic back-to-back A Grade Premierships across the 2016 and 2017 Seasons, with athletes who played in those premierships, Will Kelly, Kurt Stevenson - who played his 350th game in June 2025 - Max Barry et al, alongside a group of new and upcoming players, some of whom have excelled with other clubs across Sydney, the Central Coast and even the Northern Rovers region prior to joining the Bulldogs.
After their win in the 2025 competition, Bulldogs Coach Haig Sare had a large cohort of players alongside those 2025 backbone team members and kept the focus on developing their skills, working as a team to achieve their common goal, and working to lessen the impacts of injuries on the individual athletes and team - no one played all 18 games this year.
History Avalon Public School's 75th Celebrations: Fete on Sunday September 20 - A few Insights into the History of A great school for its Diamond Jubilee
Park Bench Philosophers Privacy Reform: Consultation on Exposure Draft legislation - closes September 18 + Australia is eyeing a world‑first ‘fair and reasonable’ test for data collection and privacy
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Aquatics Australian Shortboard Champions 2026: Brown, Burridge, Koorey Win Women's Divisions
Pictures Pittwater's Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club's 159th Sailing Season Opens + Sail Expo 2026 Details
Events Kids Try Sailing at RPAYC, Down to Earth Space opening at Newport this September, Pittwater Softball Club: Play Softball this Summer, Corgi Picnic at Bayview, North Palm Beach Surf Club Anniversary Celebrations, Author Talks, Art Shows, PNHA Walks, Music at all compass points, Markets, Social Groups + more on!
Community News SOS Save our Suburb Mona Vale Parliamentary Delegation: Oct. 21, Rats Denied Shute Shield Back to back - but it's not over yet, Pittwater MP Community Forum: Warriewood Sept. 8, Shark Impacted Businesses brief, Celebrating service, commitment and our SES volunteers, Fire and Rescue NSW Team Deployed to Nepal, Consultation now open on proposed NDIS access changes, Northern Beaches Para Surfer BC: September event, Narrabeen athletics track: Update, 24Hour Row 2026 for Gotcha4Life, Aboriginal Support Group Manly Warringah Pittwater September 2026 Meeting, Extension of Feedback for Draft LEP - DCP, Calling All Stallholders: Elanora Heights Village Christmas Market 2026, Welcome to the new Nippers Season 26/27!, New rules for schools on AI in take-home HSC assessments, Government unveils plans for Cammeray Parklands, ABHS AGM September Meeting Notice, Pittwater Softball Club: Play Tee-ball or Softball this Summer, Wakehurst Parkway September 2026 Works Notification, Funding for projects supporting young people and safer communities, Get Ready Weekend 2026, Monika's Doggie Rescue Pets of the Week: Bonnie + Bickie, SAREX Training Day at Whale Beach, NDIS Reform: Have your say on the future of Supported Independent Living, Proposed public land at Seaforth, Pittwater Pitch Night, Notice of Works: Submarine Cable Installation Palm Beach, Celebrating 80 years of North Palm Beach SLSC, Marine Rescue Broken Bay Christmas Raffle, Discover Sailing Day Resources Now Available, SNB Surf Sports Calendar for 2026-2027, Defib funding returns for NSW clubs, Avalon Community Library Needs Volunteers, 2027 Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), Avalon Community Library Needs Volunteers, Pittwater Residents Associations, Sports, Environment and Social Groups, Pittwater Offshore Newsletter, Local JP's, + more
Environment Hazard reduction burn in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New fishing rule to protect critically endangered Greynurse sharks at Terrigal Haven, Community invited to imagine a symbiotic future at Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Horizontal Rainbow On Pittwater + Other Rainbows, Despite years of rain, Blue Mountains forests still haven’t recovered from the Black Summer megafires, What happens next with bird flu? An expert explains why monitoring matters, Bird flu could devastate Macquarie Island. Why are we removing the scientists we need to understand it?, Your house may be a haven for wildlife. It’s time we design homes with nature in mind, Appin Road underpass for Wildlife finally opened, NSW Landholders delivered clarity for managing native vegetation: NSW Government, El Niño set to become very strong, raising risks of extreme weather into 2027: World Meteorological Organization (WMO), IPART Review of the water pricing framework for NSW data centres: Have your say on terms of reference, Proposed public land at Seaforth: NBC Notice, Government plans for Cammeray Parklands, Revamped lookout to deliver panoramic views across Western Sydney, Public comment opens on industrial port and dredging proposal threatening Exmouth Gulf-Ningaloo, Australian Bass and Estuary Perch season commences 1 September, Get Ready Weekend 2026, Flying-fox Census, Katandra Bushland Sanctuary Season 2026, Sydney Spring Garden Competition, Stony Range Spring Festival 2026: September 13, PNHA Activities 2026, Coming up at Kimbriki, National Parks protect Southern Right Whales with new ‘stay away’ distance of up to 500 metres, A landmark UN report says the world will overshoot the 1.5°C climate target. What happens now?, Some of Australia’s biggest companies are planning for an unbearable climate future, Sea‑level rise, fuel shortages and missile tests top the agenda as Albanese heads to Palau for Pacific talks, The fight over AI data centres is becoming Australia’s next Indigenous policy challenge, The collapse of a mountainside triggered Nepal’s devastating floods. As the region’s mountains heat up, it won’t be the last, Australia needs renewable energy fast – but building it is only half the battle, Satellite images show how penguins’ diets are changing in response to Antarctic climate change, Extreme heat is taking a toll on firefighters as wildfires stretch crews to the limit, Galápagos corals show El Niño events are more extreme now than in past 1,000 years – here’s how my team made the discovery, How underwater ‘booms’ could provide earlier warning of deadly volcanic tsunamis, More trees are needed to cool down European cities in heatwaves – but they must be planted nearer to homes, Using a radar satellite to track emperor penguins in winter is changing our understanding of the species, 3D scans of Tasmanian tiger’s skull reveal it had crocodile‑style snapping jaws, Mona Vale Dunes bushcare group: 2026, Bangalley Headland WPA 2026, Sydney Wildlife Needs People for the Rescue Line, 2025-26 Seal Reveal underway, 622kg of Rubbish Collected from Beaches: Adopt your local beach program, This Tick Season: Freeze it - don't squeeze it, Protect wildlife: dispose of fishing gear responsibly, Notice of 1080 Poison Baiting, Volunteers for Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tours needed, Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Recycling Batteries: at Mona Vale + Avalon Beach, Reporting Dogs Offleash - Dog Attacks to Council, Plastic Bread Ties For Wheelchairs, Stay Safe From Mosquitoes, Mountain Bike Incidents On Public Land, Report fox sightings, marine wildlife rescue group on the Central Coast, Possums In Your Roof?: do the right thing, Aviaries + Possum Release Sites Needed, Bushcare in Pittwater: where + when, Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities, Pittwater Gardens, Environment Groups and Organisations in Pittwater, Ringtail Posses, Pittwater Environment History insights + Walks, Birds +
Children Sunday Cartoon and Animations this week: Crunch, NASA’s new telescope will transform our view of the universe. This is the story of its namesake, Horizontal Rainbow On Pittwater + Other Rainbows, World’s Longest Vehicle Ferry Crossing Bass Strait in 1961, Curious Kids: Why it is that the things close to the train windows zoom by really fast, but things further away seem to go by much slower? + Why do we count to 10? + Where did trees come from? + Why does gravity pull us down and not up? + Why are planets round?, Stories this Week: Grumpy Monkey Father's Day Fuss + 'Maddi's Fridge' read by Jennifer Garner, Activities and clubs for you
Youth Avalon Bulldogs Win Back-To-Back A Grade Premierships!!, Australian Junior Team Set to Compete at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships: Loci + Ben Representing Australia!, Students put their priorities on the political agenda at Warringah Youth Voices event, Horizontal Rainbow On Pittwater + Other Rainbows, New rules for schools on AI in take-home HSC assessments, Three common study myths busted by a learning expert – and better strategies to use instead, Peter Siddle joins NSW Blues coaching team, Under-water wonders by photo competition finalists, Inside LA's Most Famous House Built on the Edge of a Cliff: Inside History, Opportunities: Mick Fanning, Surfing Legend, Sporting Hero, All Heart, in Conversation with Tom Carroll at Warriewood October 1st + 2027 Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) + Try Rowing + Get Surfing + OptiChicks at RPAYC + Nature Writing Prize 2026 Now Open to Enter + North Palm Beach SLSC 80th + Pittwater Softball Club: Play Softball this Summer+ Premier's Reading Challenge, Financial help for young people, School Leavers Support, Word Of The Week: Community, I’m trying to lose weight. Will exercising make me hungrier and eat more?, Testosterone maxxing is all the rage – but when it comes to fatherhood, less might be more, Google’s AI overviews reinforce some conspiracy theories – new research, My unsung hero of science: Harriet Taylor Mill, the radical feminist philosopher who lived in the shadow of her husband, Nearly 100 years ago, Philadelphia’s Inez Patterson integrated pools and encouraged other Black girls to swim too, How algorithms are making our environments bland, Star Trek at 60: the secret of this pioneering series was its exploration of humanity, not aliens, ++
Seniors Celebrating service, commitment and our SES volunteers: NSW SES Warringah-Pittwater Unit, Residential aged care Funding Increases: Update, Feminist icon Gloria Steinem lifted up women everywhere, leaving behind a more gender‑equal world, Private health insurance rebate changes require urgent rethink: COTA, Over 3,600 patients stranded in hospital waiting for aged care, Why the rise in government debt is freaking out the bond market, Thrown shoes, sabotaged launches and exposed affairs: the drama of Australian political publishing, Pittwater/Narrabeen Parkinson's Support Group 2026 Meetings, Nature Writing Prize 2026: closes September 23, Avalon Community Library Needs Volunteers, AvPals Term 3 2026 Schedule, Can Australian businesses legally ban customers from using smart glasses?, How brainless sea sponges use sunset as a cue to prepare for metamorphosis, Pittwater Probus, Local groups, clubs, events, services for you
DIY Ideas DIY Fathers' Day ideas for the Gardening-BBQing Dad
Food Father's Day Feast: Recipe ideas
With Father's Day next Sunday, September 6, families will gather to share food and laughs around the BBQ and table, and cook dad's favourite dishes.
Although dad's favourites will range as wide and as numerous as there are dads, for those who would like to contribute something towards that special meal and celebration of dad, a few examples this Issue of what you can do. This could be as simple as getting some early Spring strawberries and melons, giving them a good wash, and whipping some fresh cream to go with them - yum! - or something a little more complicated, such as Eggs Benedict for breakfast.
We've stuck to recipes that will do for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, just to give you some inspirations for what you may cook up for your special dad - or use our tried and tested ones.
Turimetta Beach at very low tide.
Oystercatcher and White Faced Heron
