Nine-time champ bests brother

The name Goodger is synonymous with woolpressing, not only in Wairarapa, but well beyond its borders, and so it was fitting on the 25th anniversary of Golden Shears woolpressing competition brothers - and rivals - Jeremy and Vinnie Goodger should fight out the men's final.
It was also fitting the two chose to think beyond their rivalry to recognise that while a full gallery of spectators in Masterton's War Memorial Stadium were watching and enjoying the competition, others elsewhere were still in hurt and shock.
The Goodger brothers opted to wear red leg bands in memory of the 165 known victims of the Christchurch earthquake and the many more who survived traumatised and changed forever.
Those watching the contest online in the shattered city would have taken heart at the gesture and must also have been enthralled by the sheer expertise of the two finalists.
In a cat and mouse-type struggle, with both men engaging in tactics to perhaps lure the other into a false sense of security or into making a rash move, it was older brother Jeremy who showed his younger sibling not to take age for granted.
For Jeremy, 30, the win was the ninth time he had clinched the title - including each year for the past seven years - but by his own testimony it may be close to his last as he plans to enter one more year before handing over to Vinnie, 20, to carry on the family tradition alone.
Until three years ago that honour may well have been shared with another sibling, Warwick, who was also a champion woolpresser but was badly injured in a car crash that has left him confined to a wheelchair.
According to Golden Shears stalwart and writer Doug Laing, the first woolpressing events at the shears were held not in the stadium, but in a nearby garage.
The move into the stadium some years back was a huge advance for the competition and this year's final, elevated to a prime Friday night spot, went down a treat with the packed spectator gallery.