NRLW fired up for Magic Round: About 60,000 people are expected to attend Hunter Stadium in Newcastle for the NRLW's first standalone Magic Round. Sydney Roosters centre Isabelle Kelly says Newcastle is the right location to host the event because people in the Hunter always turn up to support sport in the region. Tickets went on sale last week for the two-day event set down for August which will result in all 12 teams playing in Newcastle.
Photo: Newcastle Knights prop Yasmin Clydsdale (left) and Sydney Roosters centre Isabelle Kelly. Image credit: ABC News/Carly Cook
Appeal over chicken death: A Hunter Valley man who threw a live chicken into an alligator pen at a wildlife park has won an appeal against his sentence after arguing abuse in the community amounted to extra punishment. Peter William Smith removed the chicken, named Betty White, from its enclosure in January last year before tossing it to alligators. Smith avoided jail, instead being allowed to serve his nine-month prison sentenceby way of a community corrections order requiring 100 hours of community service work. Last week he appealed and won, his sentence replaced with a $2,000 fine. Smith's appeal was allowed because of fresh evidence presented about him being abused and shunned in the community, amounting to extra-curial punishment. His conviction stands.
Residents feel earth move: An earthquake was recorded near Singleton on Tuesday morning, Geoscience Australia reporting a 3.4-magnitude quake hit the town about 5:20am. The epicentre was at the Mount Thorley coal mine and the quake reached a depth of 4 kilometres. Residents in Broke and Bulga reported feeling the shake.
Upper Hunter battery plans: Plans for a new grid-scale battery to be built in the Muswellbrook Shire have been lodged with the state's planning department. The project will involve the construction, operation, and eventual commissioning of a 400-megawatt battery energy storage system at McCullys Gap in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone. Proponent BW ESS says the 13-hectare site would be cleared and a 330-kilovolt transmission line installed to support the battery modules. The application says the project would create up to 150 jobs during the 18-month construction period and 10 to 15 jobs once operational.
More sick corellas: More corellas have been found dead and dying in Newcastle, prompting extra testing by the Environment Protection Authority. Last month more than 250 corellas died in inner-city suburbs like Carrington, Wickham and Hamilton. Poisoning is suspected, but it's unclear if it's accidental or deliberate. Hunter Wildlife Rescue said last week more ill corellas had been found.
Jets go down at home: Newcastle Jets men's coach Rob Stanton says the team got the result it deserved after going down 2-1 against the Wellington Phoenix in front of a home crowd at the weekend. The Jets were trailing 2-nil at half time before picking up in the second half with a goal in the 65th minute and a handful of other on-target shots. Stanton says the team's first-half performance let it down.