Power Pulling: Bay club rules nationals rope

Members of the title-winning Western Suburbs Power Pulling contingent. On the board are Eamon Minehan (front) and Alex Schroder. From left are Peter Voice, Lindsay Schroder, Jordan James, Karl Schroder and Russel Morley. Photo/Paul Taylor

Like so many Hawke's Bay power pullers Eamon Minehan was introduced to the sport by a member of the Schroder family.

"Alex and his family got me into it three years ago," Minehan said, referring to Alex Schroder, a grandson of Lindsay Schroder, godfather of the sport in the Bay.

St John's College year 12 student Minehan, 17, was this week saluting that introduction as he reflected on the two titles he helped his Western Suburbs club win at the national championships in Te Awamutu at the weekend. Minehan is believed to be the first student to be a member of a winning openweight team and he was also in the title-winning middleweight team.

Alex was a reserve for the openweight team. His father Karl and Jordan James joined Minehan as the club's double titlewinners.

"I'll probably be too heavy for the middleweight team next year but I'm looking forward to helping the openweight team retain our title when the nationals will be held here in the Bay," Minehan said.

He ranks his power pulling as important as his school 2nd XI soccer commitments. He trains once a week with his teams and has three sessions weekly with an individual pulling machine.

At the other end of the experience scale, Lindsay Schroder, who has competed in the sport for 53 years, was the skip for the winning openweight team. Next year's nationals will be held just before his 78th birthday. "I started training for those nationals today," he said on Monday.

Western Suburbs last won the openweight title in 2002. Three members of this year's winning team, Darren Thompson, Russel Morley and Karl Schroder, took to the board that year.

They travelled home with the Leopard Breweries Trophy which was first presented in 1971 from the then Bay-based brewery. Bay teams had won the trophy in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Western Suburbs last won the middleweight title in 2009. Lindsay and Karl Schroder and Thompson were the 2014 team members in that team.

"That was the year our team consisted of members from two families ... the Schroders and the Thompsons," Lindsay said.

He was in a Whakatu team that won the middleweight title in 1963.

Shelby Thompson of the Western Suburbs club is the national women's individual champion and Graeme Smith of Te Awamutu the men's champ.

Western Suburbs winning teams at the weekend were:

Middleweight: Karl Schroder, Peter Voice, Jordan James, Eamon Minehan, Alex Schroder. Skip: Darren Thompson.

Openweight: Darren Thompson, Russel Morley, Jordan James, Eamon Minehan, Karl Schroder. Skip: Lindsay Schroder.