Terry Tonga
Terry Tonga is a veteran Southland sports scribe who lives for high-stakes drama, from screaming V8s to physical netball clashes in the Steel fortress and basketball battles in the Sharks tank. He covers southern grit with pure, trackside passion
The Tour of Southland turns 70 this November — and it's bringing back the legends to prove it. Australasia's longest-running multi-stage cycling event, the SBS Bank Tour of Southland, will hold its 70th edition from November 1 to 7, less than a year after the rescheduled 69th
The Southland Stags are heading bush this July, visiting eight rural clubs across the province in a single day. The annual Rural Roadie runs on Tuesday July 7, with the Stags squad splitting into four groups to cover ground from Drummond to Tokanui. The initiative is free to attend and
Cormac Buchanan finished 18th at the Autodrom Brno circuit in Czechia on Sunday, but he's not dwelling on it. He can't — the next race is already here. The Southland teenager had a rough weekend in the Moto3 World Championship from the start. Set-up problems limited his
The Southern Steel are one win away from the ANZ Premiership grand final — and head coach Wendy Frew has been here before. The Steel host the Tactix in an Elimination Final at ILT Stadium Southland on Sunday, with a spot in next weekend's decider against the Mystics in
Southland basketball has a new single boss covering both the grassroots game and the Sharks' national league campaign. Rod Bannister has been appointed General Manager of the Southland Basketball Association and the Southland Sharks, combining what were previously two separate roles into one. The move is a deliberate restructure
Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires have jumped into the lead of the GT World Challenge Australia championship after a dominant weekend at Queensland Raceway. The Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport pair finished third and first across the two 60-minute races at Ipswich, vaulting from fifth in the standings to
Southern Steel will host the elimination final after beating Canterbury Tactix 56-54 in a thriller at Invercargill on Sunday. The result reversed Steel's 13-goal opening round loss to the Tactix while breaking an 11-game losing streak against their southern rivals. More importantly, it secured home advantage for the
Corbin Strong is back. Southland cyclist Corbin Strong won the Lotto Circuit Franco-Belge on Sunday, ending a difficult start to the season with a powerful sprint finish on Belgian roads. Strong's victory came after his team controlled the race from the front. Riley Sheehan launched a decisive attack