FAMILIAR FACES AUSTRALIA BOUND

For all the talk about the ‘new generation’ earlier this week, the list of qualifiers for the Australian Goldfields Open has a defiantly established sheen to it.

Among them are ranking event winners Ken Doherty, who has Australian in-laws, and Dominic Dale, who beat one of the young players, Liam Highfield, 5-3 last night.

Also through are former top 16 players Joe Perry, Ryan Day and Liang Wenbo, who lost all eight matches played in major ranking events last season as his form completely deserted him.

Marcus Campbell, Stuart Bingham, Tom Ford, Martin Gould, Andrew Higginson, Barry Pinches, Rory McLeod, Mark Davis...all players well used to the final stages of ranking events.

But through too is Dave Gilbert, who twice lost in the final round of Q School before qualifying in the third event.

Dave sums up what this entire tour is about: talking the knocks and still coming back for more.

By now, it must have gone through his mind more than once that snooker isn’t for him and he should work full time for his father’s business or in some other field.

But snooker players, despite all the knocks and setbacks, really love the game. They often say they don’t but it’s in their blood.

However many times they convince themselves the love has gone, it declares itself again – witness the return of Scott MacKenzie, who just two years ago stated he had had enough of snooker.

And Dave, like so many before him, has picked himself up off the floor, dusted himself down and, in this tournament anyway, got his reward.

So too did Nigel Bond, albeit in a match that finished at just gone midnight.

The 45 year-old survived a lengthy battle on the pink in the decider before sinking it and the black to edge Barry Hawkins 5-4.

Bond has been a professional for more than 20 years. It's 16 years since he was in the World Championship final.

But, again, he loves it and demonstrated an iron will his namesake James would have been proud of to finally come through.

Snooker is one of the loneliest of all sports. That is certainly true in the anonymous cubicles in Sheffield.

So players who are assured of a moment in the sun – Australian winter or not – should feel proud that they are making the long, long flight down under.