Sport
23 February, 2023
Highland Tartan and Carisbrook progress to decider
The first round of finals has been completed, with all higher-ranked teams taking victory — but as is the case in finals, all of them were made to work incredibly hard for it. DIVISION ONE Highland Tartan have progressed to the grand final, to be...
The first round of finals has been completed, with all higher-ranked teams taking victory — but as is the case in finals, all of them were made to work incredibly hard for it.
DIVISION ONE
Highland Tartan have progressed to the grand final, to be played at Newstead in just over a week’s time, but the question that still remains — and will be answered tomorrow — is which team out of Talbot Gold and Dunolly Blue will be best equipped to take the fight to the minor premiers.
Tartan, either way, showed again that they can take gritty victories when it matters most, recording a 59-51 victory over Talbot Gold.
Greg Shay took a commanding 19-12 victory over Peter Fletcher on rink one, but Talbot were able to hit back on rink two, thanks to Peter McLoughlin’s 22-17 victory over Michael Fryar. It was left to Garry Coburn to secure a grand final berth for Tartan, taking a 23-17 victory over Paul Radstock to leave Tartan just one game away from going back to back.
It means that Talbot Gold now drop to the preliminary final, where they will face a Dunolly Blue team that defeated Maryborough Golf Blue — but not without an almighty fight.
Stung from their 104-34 loss just the week before, Golf Blue played with more purpose this time around, with Harold Patullo’s team taking rink one with a 21-18 victory over Peter Waters. They also took the third rink, with Kevin Prime taking a 16-15 victory over Alan Weir. However, it was the second rink where Dunolly Blue did all the damage, with Tony Galofaro taking a 27-13 win over Kort Gay, which eventually earned a 27-13 victory.
Looking ahead to the preliminary final, which will be played at Avoca tomorrow, it appears on the surface that Talbot Gold would have the edge on paper, having secured two important wins during the home and away season.
In round six at Talbot, Talbot Gold recovered from losing two rinks to take a 67-58 victory.
On that occasion, Weir and Waters took rinks thanks to a 25-19 victory over McLoughlin and a 23-20 win over Fletcher respectively, but it was rink three that proved to be Dunolly Blue’s undoing, with Radstock taking an emphatic 28-10 victory over Alan Parkes to hand Talbot Gold 12 important competition points.
While Talbot Gold got away with victory on that occasion, there were no such problems when the two teams met in the return meeting in round 13 at Dunolly.
Talbot Gold took all three rinks in their 60-43 win, which ultimately moved them to second on the ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season.
McLoughlin took a 16-13 win over Waters, while Fletcher accounted for most of the damage thanks to a 27-17 victory over Galofaro. Radstock finished the job thanks to a 17-13 win over Weir.
Whichever team is able to get the job done on Saturday has a vastly different record against Tartan — Dunolly Blue have been unbeaten against them in the Saturday pennant this season, taking victories in round four and 11 respectively, while Talbot Gold, despite being very competitive, have gone down to Tartan in all three meetings this season.
DIVISION TWO
Carisbrook underlined their status as the team to beat in division two, securing a grand final appearance after defeating Highland White. They’ll now await the winner of White and Talbot Brown, who battled their way past a gallant Maryborough Golf Gold.
Brook’s 64-53 victory over White was one where they had control for a large majority of the game, controlling two of the three rinks.
Phillip Burt gave Carisbrook a good advantage on the first rink with a 22-15 victory over Nathan Reeves, but White were able to fight back on the second rink thanks to Tony Lacey taking a 21-17 win over Eric Symons. But Ron Baker’s 25-17 win over Leanne Wallis ensured that Brook will look to go one step better than they did last season.
Talbot Brown kept their premiership chances alive, but not without a thrilling fight from Golf Gold, with the former eventually winning out 52-44 at Highland.
Ray Prentice won a tense first rink over Gary Chaplin 15-12, but Golf Gold hit back on the second rink, with John Scott winning 23-18 over Steven Murray. But the experience of Barb Crossley was telling, winning rink three 19-9 over Philip Mortlock to ensure Talbot Brown would live to fight another day.
It means that Talbot Brown and Highland White will converge on Avoca on Saturday knowing that both teams have taken a victory apiece in 2022/23.
In round six, Highland White held on for a tense victory at home, finishing the day 58-53 victors.
Lacey’s 23-14 win over William Donlon represented a good start for White, but Crossley’s 21-10 win over Donal Lemin gave Talbot Brown an avenue back into the game. Wallis’ 25-18 victory over Brett McCleary eventually allowed White to take the win.
If recent form is the best guide, however, Talbot Brown will be backing their chances of progressing through to the decider, particularly after their 63-48 victory over White in round 13.
Prentice took a strong 25-15 win over Leanne Wallis, but Lacy’s 21-13 win over Murray allowed White to hit back. Crossley’s 25-12 win over Alan Muggridge allowed Talbot Brown to take a convincing victory.
The winner of this game will have to contend with Brook, who are unbeaten against both teams in the 2022/23 season.
