Bowls South Thursday Pennant Update
With less than a month of pennant remaining we are taking a look at how each regions pennant competition is shaping up leading into finals. First up we have Bowls South as reported by David Genford. With 5 rounds left to go in this season’s Thursday pennant competition, it already appears to be a race in 2 for the Minor Premiership in Division 1. Buckingham lead with 125 points narrowly followed by Sandy Bay, the reigning premiers, on 124 points. This Thursday will see the two teams play against each other, with Sandy Bay hoping they can repeat their Round 5 result which saw them win 60-55. The dominance of these two teams is highlighted by looking at the Skips ladder. 6 of the 7 top skips are from these two clubs with June Guy (Buckingham) & Christine Dowl (Sandy Bay) both with 11 wins, with Debra Lee (Buckingham) & Yvonne Buckley (Sandy Bay) with 10, leading the way.
It’s not just the skips that should get the credit for Buckingham being on top of the ladder. Lee has had her daughter Jess McMullen playing very well as a 2, Jeanette Lane who is having her first year at Buckingham, also playing in the 2 spot has been playing well for Guy and recent clubs singles winner Alison Chamberlain has been playing well as 3 to Glenda Ormerod.
Since Round 5 of the competition the Top 4 has been unchanged, with Rosny Park (87) and Kingborough (84) being the other two teams. The only other team that is really in a position to challenge for the 4 is Howrah who are currently 8 points behind Kingborough on 76. Howrah have 2 of their 5 games left against teams above them, so should have destiny in their own hand.
The battle for relegation is also wide open. Beltana (48) do find themselves on the bottom of the ladder but if they can get a win against Rosny or New Norfolk in the next 2 weeks, they give themselves a real chance of avoiding the drop. Within striking distance is Glenorchy Rodman (56), Claremont (58), New Norfolk (60) and Sorell (62).
In Division 2, Brighton (121), Rosny Park (103) & Cygnet (98) have cleared away from the opposition. Brighton are in the box seat for promotion mainly thanks to Nerise Baker’s rink who has won 9 of the 11 games that they have played. Sandy Bay, Geeveston, Orford & Howrah are fighting it out for the last spot in the finals. St Johns Park will be hoping to close the 8 point gap to Kingborough to stop themselves from being demoted to Division 3.
In Division 3, Dover RSL have virtually locked up promotion with a 29 point lead over the second placed Cremorne. Dover RSL field an impressive side with Carol Bannister, Barb Liddington & Sonia Martyn leading the way from the skips positions. Martyn is an impressive 12 wins from 13 and 191 shots up! The Taroona/Kingborough combined team and Buckingham round out the four and look likely to stay there. Rosny Park (43), Glenorchy Rodman (50) & Brighton (52) look to be fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. This week’s match of Glenorchy Rodman at Rosny Park could be crucial in this battle.
Division 4 sees Howrah with an 11 point lead over Glenorchy City with Geeveston and Orford only a further 4 and 5 points respectively. In a competition that seems to be very even both Buckingham and Sorell can’t be written off for a finals run just yet. Unfortunately for Kingborough they find themselves on 21 points, exactly half of the Rosny Park team above them.
In Division 5 we have the unique situation of Brighton 2 being on top of the ladder with 114 points leading Brighton 1 on 76 points! The battle for the last two finals spots is very close with only 3 points separating Buckingham, Dover RSL and Howrah.
Good luck to all teams as the finals draw closer!