Collings’ effort ‘a belter’

New Zealand’s oldest sporting trophy – the Ballinger Belt – has been successfully defended for the first time in history. Dating back to 1873, no shooter had been able to come up trumps two competitions in a row, but some 149 years later, Mike Collings hit new ground on Saturday. The Te Puke Club member triumphed beating Malcolm Dodson – the 2016 champion, from the Kaituna/ Blenheim Club – by five points in typically tricky conditions at Trentham’s Seddon Range, to follow up last year’s triumph, and make it three Queens No 1 badges in total, having also won in 1998.