To be invited overseas to Judge is an honour, to be invited to judge a Breed Specialty has to be the closest thing to being invited to Judge at Crufts in the UK. I cannot thank enough, the committee for inviting me and the exhibitors and their dogs all who travelled many thousands of miles to attend this magnificent show.

I am indebted to all 162 dogs who persuaded their owners to travel the vast distances from their homes to the wonderful setting in Adelaide. The Club’s Committee must have worked exceptionally hard to set up the ground and ring so professionally. All exhibits were a credit to their owners and handlers and whilst some new handlers have a little still to learn their dogs were amongst the best behaved I have seen around.

The Bullmastiff fanciers in Australia should be congratulated on their general standard of the Breed, many of whom would do well anywhere in the world. I was very encouraged to see that Breed type was far more important to most breeders than any other matter.

My Best of Breed was an Australian Bred Bitch who I would certainly have liked to ship back to the UK. Excellent in breed type, size, and body structure, this bitch would have worked all night should she have been born at the time this breed was used as a gamekeeper’s dog. A credit to her handler who was at one with her dog, dog and handler moved around the ring in the closest harmony, a picture for anyone to remember.

Thank you again to all winners and regrettably those who were not placed for attending these wonderful two days which I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.

On a final note I have to say how envious my wife and I were of all the wonderful prizes given by the club via donations etc we have plenty of new suggestions for our club for the future. Lastly a big thank you for the gifts given to us by the Club.

14 week old light fawn dog very well balanced for one so young, Good square head with good markings, good ear set and nicely set eyes, good reach and arch to neck. Good overall bone, nice level top line moved and handled well.

At 16 weeks this young brindle has all the makings of another fine young dog, not quite so together as 1st place but nevertheless one to watch. Good head type with correct ear and eye set, lovely reach of neck, good top line with good tail set, good bone nice shoulders and good rear angulation, moved well.

Another fine 15 week old baby good head with nice clear mask, well set ears and eyes, nice depth to chest, good level top line, moved well.

Super 8 month old fawn with a classic head square to all angles and correctly proportioned. Lovely dark eye, good ear set, nice width to jaw and good dentition. Good reach of neck to nice rib cage with lovely depth of chest. Good shoulders and nice bone to foreleg, good topline held well on the move, fair drive from well angulated rear, good tail set. Moved and handled very well, one for the future.

7 month old red, nice head with good mask, nice ear and eye set, nice square jaw with good dentition, nice reach of neck to nicely developing depth to chest. Good forelegs with enough bone, nice topline, good tail set, moved well.

8 month old fawn, Good head with super expression, well set ears, nice mask, good reach of neck, well placed shoulders, fair depth to chest, good rear angulation and good tail set, moved ok.

10 month old Brindle, Very nice head with well set ears and excellent mask, good jaw with nicely set strong teeth. Good deep chest and nice strong forelegs. Nice top line held well on the move, good rear angulation and nice tail set.

Fawn 8 month old puppy, Good head with well placed ears, lots of expression and interest, Good reach of neck, Fair shoulder placement, fair topline held well on the move. Good rear angulation, still very young.

Nice very young fawn dog, good square head but could do with a little more pigmentation, good ear carriage, fair reach of neck, very close coupled, good bone, but a little straight in stifle, fair tail set , moved ok.

17 month old fawn with very nice mask, good eye and ear set, good mouth, good reach of neck, good depth of chest, nice spring of rib, good strong forelegs with just the right amount of bone, good level topline with good tail set, nice rear angulation, moved very well.

Another very nice fawn dog at 15 months has still got time on his hands to mature just could not settle today. Very nicely proportioned head with good mask ear and eye set, good dentition, Nice reach of neck to level topline, good shoulders and bone to forelegs, good depth of chest, fair rear angulation, good tail set, moved ok.

17 month old, fair mask good depth of chest, moved ok.

2 year old fawn dog in good sound and strong condition, Good square head with correct mask, good wrinkle when interested, nice ear set. Good dark eyes, good dentition with nice square strong underjaw. Nicely arched neck to good spring of rib, nice deep chest , good strong forearms with good cat like feet. Good level top line and nice strong rear end, moved and handled well.

Another very well proportioned 20 month old light fawn only very narrowly beaten by 1st place by lack of expression. Head square with good eye and ear set, good jaw line with good dentition, fair mask. Good reach of neck, good rib cage and depth of chest. Good top line and rear angulation, nice tail set moved and handled to perfection.

Yet another very good dog this time a red with a lovely head and correct mask, good eye and ear set, good strong lower jaw with good dentition, good reach of neck, good deep chest and spring of rib. Nice forearm with good muscle and bone. Fair rear end, moved well.

Well deserved placing for this 7 year old red dog in superb condition, Very well presented in sound muscular condition and excellent coat. Good square head with just the right amount of wrinkle when interested, good ear carriage, good dark eye, super mask, good strong square jaw. Nice strong reach of neck to well muscled deep chest. Good strong well boned forelegs with nice tight feet. Good spring of rib, super level top line held well on the move. Very good rear angulation which showed when he moved away, excellent drive from the rear made this dog move effortlessly around the ring. Very well handled.

Another quality red male with excellent dark mask, good eye and lovely ear carriage. Good mouth and strong underjaw. Nice deep chest good level top line, moved well.

Litter brother to 2nd place, good head and depth of chest, good spring of rib, fair top line, moved and handled well.

Son of Best Dog and CC winner this 23 month old challenged hard to beat his sire and only lost out narrowly on movement. Super square head with excellent black mask. Good eyes and super ear set, correct muzzle and jaw line, very good dentition. Lovely arched muscular neck to good shoulders and depth of chest. Nice spring of rib to good strong well angulated rear with loads of drive. Good top line held well on the move. Well handled.

Super fawn dog who for his age put up an excellent challenge for first place. Every bit of him showed quality but age let him down today, would have loved to have gone over this dog when he was in his prime as he certainly has many super attributes. Moved to perfection and handled superbly.

Another fine older dog who put up a good challenge for his placing. Lovely brindle of 6 years in fine condition, good head with clear mask, good eyes and ear set. Nice reach of neck to good depth of chest and spring of rib. Good top line held well on the move. Good rear angulation, moved and handled well.

A really beautiful little baby puppy with super head and expression, this brindle baby is so hard to fault, her head is in superb proportion to her body, her eyes so dark and well set, the ears just perfect, the body so square and balanced and the bone just right. If she carries on as this she will go all the way very quickly. Beautiful is the only way I can describe this puppy!

Lovely feminine fawn super head with lovely mask, good ear set nice eyes good jaw line. Nice and square, still very much a baby but moved well.

Another quality brindle baby, good feminine head with very nice expression, good depth to chest, nice and square moved very well.

Super 8 month old light fawn, with good head and clear mask, Good ear carriage, lovely well set eyes with nice stop. Good square jaw with good dentition. Nice arch of neck to good shoulders and depth of chest. Fair spring of rib, nice level top line, good rear angulation, well set tail. Moved and handled well.

Pretty red bitch with good head and mask, nice ear carriage and good expression, good reach of neck, good depth to chest and nice shoulders, fair bone to foreleg , good top line, good rear angulation moved well.

At just over 6 months this young brindle bitch challenged well for her place. She has a lovely feminine head with just enough wrinkle, well set eyes and good squareness to head and ears, good depth of chest, good bone and strong rear quarters moved very well for her age.

At 11 months of age this youngster has a bright future. Nice clear fawn with lovely feminine head of correct proportion. Super well set ears, beautiful eyes with good stop, correct length of muzzle, good lower jaw and nice dentition. Good reach of neck to well placed shoulders, nice depth and width of chest. Good bone to forearm and feet beautifully cat like with black toenails. Good spring of rib and nice level top line held on the move. Good rear angulation with well muscled legs, well set tail. Moved and handled very well.

Another quality 11 month old fawn bitch. Good head with correct expression, good dark mask, well set correct size ears. Nice eyes with good stop, correct length of muzzle giving good dentition and nice strong underjaw. Nice reach and arch to neck, good shoulders and depth of chest, good top line fair rear angulation, moved well.

At 8 months this young bitch was up against older puppies but she held her own. Feminine with inner strength showing through, good solid square head on sound strong neck and shoulders, good strong bone to forelegs and lovely straight back, good rear angulation with powerful rear drive showing through. Moved soundly and with strength, lost out only to maturity.

13 month old red bitch in excellent condition. Lovely square head with correct ear carriage and excellent mask, good dark eyes with super stop, correct length of muzzle, good strong underjaw and good dentition. Nice reach of neck to well placed shoulders and good depth and width of chest. Good bone to forearms and good pasterns to excellent tight feet. Good spring of rib, good level top line and good strong rear angulation. Well placed tail held well when moved. Moved and handled very well.

13 month old light fawn, good strong feminine head, good mask, good ear set nice dark eyes, good neck to deep chest, good forelegs to nice tight feet, good body, good rear angulation and good top line, well set tail held correctly on the move.

16 month old brindle, nice square head with good ear set, nice dark well set eyes and nice square strong jaw with good dentition. Good reach of neck, good bone, good level top line held on the move, good rear angulation and well set tail.

30 month old sound bitch with good head and mask with correct expression , well set ears, nice dark eyes, good jaw with fair dentition. Good reach of neck to good well set shoulders and good depth and width of chest. Good strong well boned forelegs, nice spring of rib, good level top line and nice rear angulation, good tail set. Moved and handled well.

2 year old fawn, with good mask, good ear carriage, nice dark eyes, fair reach of neck, good depth of chest, good forelegs. Nice level top line when on the move. Good rear angulation, moved well.

20 month old fawn, nice feminine head with good mask, good ear and eye set, good strong square lower jaw giving good dentition, nice reach of neck, good shoulders and forearms. Good depth of chest, fair spring of rib, good top line held well on the move. Nice tail set and good rear angulation, moved and handled well.

This beautiful bitch of 5 years of age came into the ring as if she owned it, from no matter where I stood looking at her she was showing herself off all the time. I do not intend to critique this exquisite bitch as she is as close to the breed standard as one could wish. Her ring presence was second to none, her attitude was exemplary, a superb example of our lovely strong breed.

This sound moving fine bitch was only narrowly beaten by the best in show, another fine example of the breed who also did not stop showing the whole time she was in the ring. Beautiful full square head with excellent expression when alerted. Good ear set and correct change in colour. Well set dark eyes with good stop, lovely square muzzle with good strong square underjaw, good dentition. Lovely sweeping arch of strong neck to well placed shoulders, good well muscled and boned forearms with nice tight feet. Good width and depth to chest giving lovely spring to rib and superb level back, good strong well muscled rear legs correctly angulated to provide the drive she showed when on the move, correct length and set of tail. Moved and handled to perfection.

Another superb example of the breed, 3 years old and absolutely superb, all three of these bitches were in the finest condition and very little separated them. This lovely fawn again had a superb head square from all angles, correctly set ears, beautiful dark well set eyes, correct length and colour of muzzle, super square jaw with strong underjaw giving good dentition. Lovely strong arched neck to good strong well placed shoulders. Strong well muscled and boned forearms to good pasterns and strong cat like feet. Good spring of rib with level top line, good strong rear angulation, excellent bone throughout. Well set tail carried correctly on the move. Handled and moved superbly.

A very nice sound red bitch who challenged very hard for top honours. Lovely square head with very good ear set, Lovely dark well set and correctly shaped eyes, good head proportions and just the correct amount of wrinkle when alerted. Good reach of neck to well placed shoulders, good forearms to good pasterns and lovely tight feet with good black nails. Good spring of rib and nice level back to well placed tail, good rear end with strong muscle and good angulation. Moved superbly and well handled.

5 year old bitch, good head with good mask, well set dark eyes good ear set, good dentition, good reach of neck, good depth of chest and spring of rib. Good rear with plenty of muscle. Good top line, moved well.

Another fine example of the breed in 1st class condition. Very well balanced, good bone and muscle and in good coat, moved and handled very well.