Tough fight expected as Shears reaches 50

Ask Mavis Mullins who will win the open title at the 50th Golden Shears in Masterton next week and she ducks for cover.
Not because the Golden Shears president is afraid of making a fool of herself by being wrong, rather a case of there being so many serious contenders she genuinely doesn't know which way to go.
''Gosh, there's probably eight or nine in with a strong chance, maybe even more than that,'' she said yesterday. ''It's anybody's guess.''
Mullins has been a regular attendee at this season's shearing competitions and _ while the usual suspects for the open title at Masterton, such as 16-time winner David Fagan and other regular New Zealand representatives John Kirkpatrick, Paul Avery and James Fagan have been displaying their usual good form _ they certainly haven't had things all their own way.
''You always have to rate those guys highly because they have been there, done that and the Golden Shears invariably brings out the best in them.,'' Mullins said. ''But, boy, I can tell you they are going to have lot of fellows pushing them hard next week. And they know it too. I wouldn't think any of them see themselves as definitely making the final, let alone winning it.''.
Who then does Mullins see as potential upsetters? Two of David Fagan's fellow residents from Te Kuiti in Digger Barnes and Dean Bell are on that list, as is Dion King of Taradale. All three of them have been prominent at Golden Shears before but then there is Cam Ferguson (Hawke's Bay), Jerome McRae (Wanganui) and Matt Smith (Northland), with a couple of hardy mainlanders in Nathan Stratford and Darren Forde.
''The competition is going to be absolutely vicious, as good as it's ever been,'' Mullins predicts.
''Anybody who has an off day will be history. There's going to be no room for that, not with this sort of line-up.''
Mullins is confident that the standard in shearing in all other divisions at the Golden Shears will reach an all-time high, with perhaps the most interesting entry in the lower grades being David Fagan's son Jack.
He is showing all the promise to be expected from one with that heritage.
Welsh and Australian teams will take on the cream of New Zealand's talent in ''test'' matches, with a ''very parochial'' Mullins suggesting the Kiwis will take the spoils. In woolhandling, there will be another transtasman clash as well as the final round of the world qualifying series, the first two placegetters of which will represent New Zealand at the world championships in Wales in the year. Four woolhandlers from the North Island and four from the South Island will do battle in that event, with current world champion Cherie Alabaster (Taihape) and the well-performed Joanne Kumeroa (Wanganui) expected to set a hot pace.
Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand and his wife will be special guests of the Golden Shears Society at their 50th anniversary dinner at Solway Park, tickets for which are still available.
A feature of finals night on the Saturday will be a showcase tribute to past open champions, of whom about 10 are expected to be in attendance.