Open SWC Rounds 1 & 2.
Rounds 1 and 2 of the Bowls Tasmania Open State Wide Challenge divisions were held today at the North Launceston Bowls Club.
Defending champions Bowls North in both the men’s and women’s divisions were wanting to start out strong and take advantage of the bonus points on offer with their second side in action as the host region for this round. However the travelling North West and Southern teams had other ideas and came out of the blocks claiming all 4 overalls on offer in the morning sessions.
The North West men have certainly shown their intentions to regain the men’s shield after losing it for the first time in 7 years last season. They came out of the blocks firing and manager to amass 10points against the northerners. State skipper Mark Nitz with his state third Patrick Smith, Clinton Steers and Cameron Griffiths showed their dominance with a 23-10 victory over fellow Tasmanian teammates Robert McMullen and Aron Page, with young guns Josh Appleyard and Josh Walker-Davis.
Former coastal player Tim Douce had a close encounter with Aron Jago, but it was Jago with Chris Dudman, Luke Marshall and Jake Wyllie that managed to come away with a 1 shot victory. State skip Michael Sims with the experienced David Minns, Andrew Whitmore and Matthew Jackson managed to salvage Bowls North’s only win in round 1 with a 20-14 win over the David Gamble rink.
Bowls South also came to play with a slightly new look lineup for this season. Tasmanian Singles Champion Taelyn Male teamed with Keghan Booth, Bryce Guy and David Douce to score an 8 shot win over Longford’s Daniel Bakers rink. Josh Mabb’s young gun rink of Josh Baker, Peter Bannister and Mitch Banks showed their experience a 20-11 win over Invermay’s Gene Ayton. While East Launceston’s Adam Gurr, Will and Sam Springer and Longford’s Joe Thomas managed to retrieve a draw in their match against Tasmanian captain Lee Schraner, new Tasmanian’s Paul Williamson and Bradleigh Griffiths, along with Michael Sweeney.
The North West women’s team showed a strong improvement in their first round win taking a full 12pts from the defending champions. The Penguin rink of Karen Redman, Alison Venn, Gaylene Elsworthy and Bronny King came out of the blocks early and never looked back before claiming a 19-12 win over state skip Candice Hodgetts. While it was a similar story with Jennifer Dargavel, Rose’Anne Howard, Barbara Loane and Ebony White showing their dominance over Kim Saunders, Deb Lee, Vicki Winley and Jess McMullen taking a 9 shot victory. State teammates Erin Sesara and Rebecca Van Asch had a tight tussle with scores fluctuating either way for most of the game before Sesara’s rink of Dee Harman, Val Carey and Noelene Purton prevailed by 3 shots to claim a clean sweep of rinks.
It was a much closer encounter in the women’s other matches with Bowls South attempting to reclaim the women’s shield after holding it for 2 years before last season. Jenny Tirant, Rosie Geeves, Amelia Bruggy and Lauren Banks were the first to claim their victims with a 3 shot win over Maxine Monson’s rink. Carmel Rainbird, June Guy, Sheryl Phillips and Jorja Maughan soon followed suit against Judy Gurr 18-16. While Karen Stewart, Madge Strochnetter, Anne Cresswell and Colleen Davis managed to get 1 point for the North with a draw against State Skip Lyn Triffitt’s rink.
The Northern women turned it around in the afternoon though and showed that they are still a team to contend with. Saunders, Lee, McMullen and Winley made a tweak to their rink swapping the front end over and lead by example shorting out to a 20-0 lead before Triffitt’s rink attempted to peg some back. However Saunders rink eventually ran the game out 29-7. Hodgetts rink started off a little slow once again but managed to claw their way back securing a 13-10 win over the Rainbird skipped southern rink. Van Asch and Tirrant also had a tussle, however it was Van Asch supported by Courtney Hobbs, Logyn Curtis and Satya Springer that managed to claim the win 15-12.
The Northern second side came out firing after an agonising 5 shot loss in the mornings game. Judy Gurr and Bev Huett swapped places in game 2 with Huett taking the skips reins with Michelle Johnson and Jillian Dixon remaining up front and helping guide their rink to a 6 shot win over Redman’s rink.
Maxine Monson, Barbara Smith, Heather Thompson and Coralie Parsons had a close encounter with Sesara, Harman, Carey and Purton however the Northern girls managed to stay ahead by 1 shot after the 18 ends. While Dargavel, Howard, Loane and White scored the only points for the NW ladies in the afternoon with a 2 shot win over Stewart, making them the only undefeated rink in the ladies division today.
The Northern men’s number one team regrouped at lunchtime to take on Bowls South. McMullen, Page, Appleyard and Walker-Davis turned things around Mabb, Baker, Bannister and Banks with a 13 shot win to set them on their way. State Skippers Sims and Schraner showed their class with a tight battle, however it was Sims, Minns, Whitmore and Jackson that proved to strong on the occasion 18-16. While Tim Douce made the most of the home greens to take a 2 shot victory from Male and co.
Bowls North West kept on the quest with Nitz, Smith, Steers and Griffiths claiming a strong 24-5 win against the Daniel Baker skipped Northern rink, which puts Nitz’s rink on top of the individual rinks ladder. Jago’s rink also showed their dominance over Ayton’s rink 20-7, while Gurr, Springer, Thomas and Springer managed to finish their day undefeated with a 5 shot win over Gamble’s rink.
A full list of results from the day’s play including the overall ladders can be found HERE
