Every year I write hundreds of stories in my job but there’s always a handful that stand out.
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Just about anything can make a story stick in your memory. As a sports journo it can be a match that is an absolute cracker, it can be the person behind the story or it can be the story that you put plenty of time and effort into.
All those elements have played a part in my top five stories of the year.
Here they are in no particular order.
1. Guyra owners celebrate big time as Jodi Worley steers Melted Moments to Manilla Cup win
“Four of us ladies all put in for the horse, we bought him for two grand and he’s probably won $70,000 for us now,” horse owner Angela Grills.
The picture really tells the story here.
Pictured is Belinda Lenehan, Wendy Jackson, Angela Grills and Jenny Tierney – the owners of Melted Moments.
They’d bought the Melted Moments for a bargain basement price and has saluted for the owners many a time.
As a keen horse racing fan, owning a horse is something I aspire to. So to see a group of punters from around the region snag a win is a great thing.
I also think I was living vicariously through these ladies as well which made covering this one a delight.
2. Double delight as North Companions win dual titles
Grand finals are great. There’s no two ways about it.
This year gave me my first taste of Northern Inland Premier League grand final action since moving to Tamworth.
If you believe in fate, you may have predicted the result before it happened.
Heading in, it had been 10 years since North Companions had won an NIPL grand final.
2007 was the year and they just so happened to take out both titles then.
And what do you know, they had two teams in this year, too.
Like a movie script, both sides lifted to claim titles, repeating their 2007 effort, in front of a good crowd at Scully Park.
It makes writing the previews and the wraps all the more enjoyable when there’s a quirky little angle to it.
3. Sally Toppin's still on top with 14 championship wins
“It’s a lot easier now than it was in the past and I think there’s less young people taking up golf now. It’s very disappointing. It makes you wonder where the future of women's golf is in Australia,” golfer Sally Toppin.
This was a story that pretty much wrote itself.
I went into this knowing Sally Toppin had won 14 championships with the Gunnedah Golf Club.
That was going to be my angle at first but after starting to chat to Sally the conversation quickly moved on to the number of females that played around the region.
Sally was more interested in getting young girls to take up the game opposed to talking about her incredible achievements on the course.
That speaks volumes of how much a champion Sally really is.
4. Resurgent Dogs topple Blues | Photos
“I’ve got no words for it. Especially being down. Everyone just pulled together at the end there,” Gunnedah Bulldogs reserve grade co-coach Darren Certoma.
Much like the story I wrote on the NIPL grand final, this one stands out firstly because it was a grand final.
Grand final day – whatever the sport – is always enjoyable, in my opinion, whether you’re playing, working or spectating.
It’s as passionate as it gets and it’s fantastic to see it on display.
The Gunnedah Bulldogs and the Narrabri Blues had passion in spades this year, too, in the Group 4 First Division reserve grade grand final.
The two sides went at it hammer and tongs at each other. It was an out-and-out spectacle as Gunnedah scored a 24-22 come-from-behind win.
The game was brilliant and I loved watching it which in turn made it one of my favourite stories.
5. Soul-lifting story: community responds to league player's time of need
“We don’t know how we would have done it without the help. We just want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for this,” league player Thomas Michell.
This is the most recent story on the list but it’s also the most heartwarming.
Thomas Michell and his family had gone through a horror run.
Thomas broke his leg playing footy and not long after, his daughter, Imogen, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder.
That sort of stuff is tough to hear but what came next was incredible.
The community rallied, raising over $20,000, to help the Michell family.
It allowed little Imogen to get surgery which has helped her immensely.
While it’s heartbreaking to see a family go through such a rough trot, seeing people rally together is what being a community is all about.
It’s one thing I love covering as a journalist.