Molan's saw slices and dices Aussies

Rochelle Molan (left) and Jackie Brown, of Wanganui, carved up the Aussies in Adelaide. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

Wanganui axewoman Rochelle Molan proved a cut above the Australians in Adelaide last week and proved her Sydney Easter performance was no fluke.

Molan and fellow Wanganui axewoman Jackie Brown were competing at the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society South Australian Show and while they teamed for several combined podium finishes, Molan's performance in the Jill single-saw championship event was impeccable.

Molan won the event, then teamed with Brown to take top honours in the Jill and Jill handicap class and third in the Jill and Jill championship. Each competitor started on an equal footing in championship events, while axewomen in the handicap events were on staggered starts, depending on their seeding.

"The Adelaide show was tough competition and was used by the Australians as a trial for selection to America in January, so they were all trying all right," Brown said.

An eight-woman Kiwi team beat the Australians in a test series at the Royal Sydney Easter Show this year and Molan won the Jill single-saw event. Half the Kiwis were from Wanganui and included Molan, Brown, Maria Needham and Julie Rowan.

"The Adelaide show was an individual competition rather than a test series between them and us," Brown said.

While the pair were the only Wanganui axewomen to compete in Adelaide, they were joined by Marton Junction Axeman's Club members Wayne Tasker, Ian Grant and his sons, Aiden and Brodie, who competed in the under-21 class.

"They did okay individually without winning, but the two young boys would have gained a lot of experience and Wayne and Ian did finish third in the Butcher's Block event," Brown said.

But it was Molan's winning performance in the single saw that took centre stage.

"In the four or so years we've been going to Australia, Rochelle is the only woman to come home with a championship ribbon and now she has two of them," Brown said.

The single saw is widely regarded as the toughest of all the events and a fine balance of power and technique is required.

"I wanted to go to Adelaide and prove to myself Sydney wasn't a fluke and I'm stoked to have won the single saw again, especially after a bit of a technical hitch in the heats," Molan said.

"It's always neat to beat the Aussies, especially on their home soil," she said.

While the Australian season is winding down, Molan, Brown and their teammates are gearing up for the start of the Kiwi season and will be focusing on club and North Island events with a view to perhaps organising a New Zealand team to attend the American event in January.