Day 6 – Singles Continued
Day 6 of the competition will see the men and women play their quarters and semis of the Tasmanian Open Singles at the Buckingham Bowls Club from 9.30am.
The top half of the draw will be fought out by 3 current Tasmanian players, being Lyn Triffitt, Alison Venn and Rebecca Van Asch with Rosie Geeves the fourth, also a past state player. Triffitt and Geeves are both coming off the backs of good games to this point, which should indicate a competitive match. Bec will be the favourite heading into her game with Ali Venn, but I would not rule out a close encounter, with Venn proving she is capable of quality draw bowls. I am tipping a Triffitt vs Van Asch semi tomorrow afternoon.
The bottom half of the draw is a mixed bag, with Kaye Sproule and Jessica McMullen looking to take advantage of their knowledge of the Buckingham greens. This will be a great game for the spectators and is sure to draw the local crowd in. Rose’Anne Howard will be looking to get a win over Tasmanian over 60’s player Sonia Martyn. Sonia is very experienced at this level and I believe she can do well to progress through this round.
By Courtney Hobbs
The Fours is over, the Pairs is down to the final, now it’s time to see who will reach the final of the competition that everyone wants to win, the State Singles. There are also three players, Cameron Tegg, Michael Sims & Lee Schraner are all in with a chance of winning all 3 titles. Only 16 players remain but only 15 have a chance of the title. You’ll find out why as you read on. Some great matches to be played at Buckingham Bowls Club.
Rosny Park’s Anthony Clifford will be out to seek revenge on Glenorchy Rodman’s Lee Schraner as it was Schraner who knocked out his brother Cody in the first round. The class of Schraner has once again been evident this week and it his title for the taking. Can Clifford stop him? I don’t think so.
Lochie Sims, Trevallyn, has been playing very well this year, both in pennant and these Championships, leaving many to say that it is a case of when he will join is brother in the Open State side, not if. He will face Sam Springer of East Launceston in this all Northern affair. Springer was Runner Up in last year’s event and is once again proving people wrong by making another deep run in the Singles. I think Sims’ consistency will get him over the line.
Why can only 15 people win? Because Josh Lording will be forfeiting his 4th round match against Josh Mabb. A scheduling error by Lording sees him being forced to work and no-one feels worse than Lording himself who sees a golden opportunity slip through his fingers. Mabb can enjoy a sleep in.
To finish the top half of the draw it will be Warren Groves, Trevallyn, taking on North Launceston’s Andrew Whitmore. In my previous singles preview I claimed Jarrod Long was the Champion of Champions title holder but I meant to say he was the Southern champion, as it is Whitmore who is the reigning State Champion. Whitmore has always been there about in the singles event and would favour himself against Groves. Groves has already defeated one North Launceston player to get this far but I don’t think he’ll be able to make it two.
Onto the bottom half and we see Chris Lee of Buckingham taking on Michael Taylor of Claremont. This result may depend on what type of green is produced for the day. If it’s anything like the last two days, the slow speed will suit Lee. Taylor will need a quicker green to suit his style of play. I think Lee will just get over the line in this one.
The highlight of the 4th round has to be Michael Sims, Trevallyn, vs Cameron Tegg, Glenorchy Rodman. These two players played together to win the State Fours, will also play against each other in the State Pairs final and both will know each other’s game inside out, they even play with the same type of bowls! This is really a tough game to pick and I don’t think I have deliberated over who to pick in any game in any of the three events more than this one. I’ll just give Tegg the nod as the slower greens should suit his style of play but Sims will be tough to beat.
Greg Douce, Latrobe, will be hoping to go one step further than his run in the fours, where he was the Runner Up and he faces David Genford from Rosny Park. These two also met in the 4th round four years ago with Genford coming out on top on Douce’s home green. Since then Genford has managed to win a State Singles and 2 State Champion of Champions Singles titles, so should enter the game with confidence with four bowls in hand. Douce has the ability to take the win in this one but I’ll pick Genford to get to 25 first.
The final match up sees Kingborough’s Taelyn Male take on Chris Norris from Dover RSL. Male has been having a fairly solid year as a skip and will feel as though he is a big chance to take the win here. Norris has been a consistent performer over the last few years and has been one of the key reasons that Dover RSL now find themselves second on the pennant ladder. This should go down to the wire but I’ll take Male to win narrowly.
I think the Semi Finals will be Schraner vs Mabb and Genford vs Tegg, could Schraner & Tegg meet in the final. This could set up the possibility of the winner taking out all 3 titles. Can their levels of fitness and concentration enable them to be undefeated for the entire week! Good luck to all players.
By David Genford
