“I had a good day and everything fell into place,” he said.
The event, held recently in Warrnambool, featured the top three shearers from each Australian state.
In the opening two rounds, each competitor had to shear 10 composite lambs each per round.
From there the top six made it through to the final where they had to shear 20 sheep straight.
Mr Mackrill described the championship as a “pretty big thing in the shearing competition world”.
He said it was an honour to join “some of the absolute best in Australia” who had previously taken out the title.
Winning the event qualifies Mr Mackrill to compete at the Golden Shears Trans Tasman Championship against New Zealand in March next year.
This will be just the second time he has competed at the competition.
He’s looking forward to challenging himself against New Zealand, which he regards as the best in the world at shearing.
“They’re really good at their sheep, [with the sheep] being crossbreeds, they’re the best at it really,” he said.
For Mr Mackrill, shearing is both a profession and a hobby.
Aged just 30, Mr Mackrill has been shearing full time for half his life.
He enjoys the fact you can do it anywhere, allowing him to travel while working.
He has always been interested in the competitive side of shearing, entering his first competition at the age of 14.
He enjoys the “sporting” nature of competitive shearing, including being able to compete against his mates and some of the top shearers in Australia.
He said winning the open championship was no easy feat.
“Everyone there was capable enough of winning,” he said.
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