State Champs Day 3 – Singles Preview
WOMEN’S SINGLES PREVIEW
Day three of the Tasmanian Championships will see the Women’s singles, played Sandy Bay and Claremont Bowls Clubs. A number of top games look to be played, with past and current State players set to compete in round one. At Claremont, in the top half of the draw, experienced Tasmanian skip Lyn Triffitt will play the up and coming Hollie Keen, who has set herself well for a long stint at state level. Hollie will be looking to get off to a good start and cement her spot in the Tasmanian side for the upcoming National Sides Championships. Whoever wins this game will be a strong chance of making the second day of play in the singles.
Last years runner-up Carol Bannister lines up against Dover club mate, Pip Martyn in the first round. This will be a tough game for the experienced Bannister, with Pip playing exceptional bowls in her sectional play of the state pairs at Buckingham today. Other ladies looking to press their claims to a quarter final berth are Rae Simpson, Gail Thow and Gaylene Ridgeway who will all be tough to beat with four bowls.
The next sextion is a tough section of the draw to pick a winner from, with a number of consistent draw bowlers, who could all make the quarter final. The favourite would have to be in form Alison Venn, who recently made her debut for the Tasmanian side in Victoria.
With each player receiving a bye in the first round, four ladies will battle it out to extend their stay in the south of the state for a few more days. Bec van Asch will be the early favourite with the bookies after taking out the title last year; although she will face tough opposition from Maureen Zoon and Maxine Viney.
Much like the previous section of the draw only three players stand in the way of Kim Saunders and Peri Buckley advancing to the quarterfinals in their respective sections with tough competition present from the likes of Jess McMullen, Lisa Bevan and Satya Springer.
The last two quarter final spots are up for grabs at Sandy Bay with a number of tough competitors in this form of the game. Mikayla Fuller, Rose’Anne Howard and Jackie Knight will all be looking to impress selectors ahead of the coming amendment to the state squad. State skip Courtney Hobbs will be trying to progress through to the second day of the competition, by drawing on her experience at this level.
MEN’S SINGLES PREVIEW
84 players will be competing over 3 different venue to try and survive the day and be a part of the last 16 of the State singles. There are some cracking match ups, including the 2015 & 2014 Champions playing off against each other in their first game. Let’s have a look at who I think will progress to the final 16.
The top of the draw sees the 2015 Champion of Champion singles winner, Jarrod Long, look to continue his recent run of form in the singles arena. His main competition should come from Chris Roach, Jack Ellis and Anthony Clifford, although Grant Chamberlain has been leading very well in pennant and should give Long a tough first game.
State skip, Lee Schraner heads the next group of players. His main opposition should come from Daniel Baker, but Schraner should prove too strong and advance to the second day of play.
Lochie Sims is continuing to blossom into a very talented player and faces another player of promise in his first game, Shawn Leitch. I think the winner of this game will progress through, although Phil Hobbs or Josh Appleyard won’t make it easy for them. My tip is Sims.
Last year’s Runner up Sam Springer will start his campaign against Julian Brown with the winner to take on either Jake Wyllie or Peter Bannister. Although Springer had a great run last year, I think Bannister will be the one to move forward.
Darren Monks will be keen to have a decent run in the singles but comes up against Josh Lording in the first match which will prove to be a close encounter. “Chicken” Monks should be good enough to progress and defeat the winner of the Oakley/Neal matchup.
A likely 3rd round matchup of Josh Mabb & Simon Zaporozec could be the match of the day, with both players in good form, having both skipped through their fours team into the quarter finals. I think it will be case of Zaporozec’s draw shot vs Mabb’s conversions and I’ll just give the honours to “Zapper”.
The next qualifier will have to win three games (the last few sections only needed to win two) with the likely winner being Robert McMullen. Josh Mazur will relish being able to call his own shots and will give a good challenge to Ray Boutcher, but I expect Boutcher to take the win and eventually play “Rowdy” in the 3rd round.
The last player to qualify for the top half of the draw will be a close battle. Either Pat Hoffman, Matt Mitchell, Will Springer, Andrew Whitmore or Steve Graf would be worthy adversaries heading into the 2nd day. Only one can get through and I think with Pat Hoffman having the easier draw will give him the advantage, but this is a tough section of the draw to get out of.
The second half of the draw sees all but four players have Byes into the 2nd round. I’d expect one of the two Southern players in Chris Lee or Josh Baker to play off for their spot with Josh Baker just winning a close match.
Joey Thomas would fancy his chances of advancing but Ross Bannister who got through to the quarter finals last time we played in Hobart won’t make it easy for him. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Michael Taylor gets through to the next day. I’ll take Thomas to go through.
Another great match will be taking place with David Douce taking on Michael Sims. Douce can play some very good draw bowls but I think Sims is more of a complete bowler if he keeps his head up and stays positive. The winner of this game should advance, with Sims being my tip.
If the draw is in order of the rinks you play, next door to Douce/Sims will be Keghan Booth and Cameron Tegg. If I was a spectator at Bucks, I’d be placing myself in between these two rinks. The beauty of it is the winner will then have to play Tim Douce. These types of hard matches will put the winner in good stead for the day, similar to the run David Minns had last year. I think Tegg will just get over the line against his two mates.
As mentioned previously the last two State champions match up with David Minns taking on David Genford. These two also played last year with Minns obviously taking the win. With four bowls Minns will be hard to stop. His opponent will likely be either Gene Ayton or Leigh Munnings who will both need to win their first round match to get the chance. I rate both bowlers and they could give Minns a scare but I think his defence of the title will still be alive heading into the second day.
Greg Douce should be too strong in his section of the draw with probably only Tristan Bakes offering some resistance. Darren Booth is a bit of a wild card as a new player to the state but I’ll stick with Douce to take it out.
Josh Walker-Davis is the only Northern hope in the next section of four and has shown that he has a lot of promise with his bowls in the recent Tasmania vs Victoria junior series. His opposition from the South will be from Taelyn Male in the first instance and if successful probably Jarrah Allan in the second match. My money will be on Male to get through.
The final match ups see the youngster of the field Isaac Maughan (12) taking on Chris Norris and Tom O’Brien playing Big Al Smith. I think Maughan has the ability to win his first match and the Claremont supporters would be hoping for a Maughan/Smith match up. Unfortunately for them, I think O’Brien will spoil the party and be the 16th player to qualify for the 4th round.
