Sport
16 February, 2023
Tight finals clashes predicted for Saturday pennant
The final four is set for 2022/23 in both divisions, with games to be played at Highland and Newstead on Saturday afternoon. DIVISION ONE A tight battle for supremacy at the top of the division one table has been resolved, with Highland Tartan and...
The final four is set for 2022/23 in both divisions, with games to be played at Highland and Newstead on Saturday afternoon.
DIVISION ONE
A tight battle for supremacy at the top of the division one table has been resolved, with Highland Tartan and Talbot Gold taking the double chance.
Highland Tartan weren’t in a particularly giving mood, not giving Dunolly Gold a chance to take the win they desperately needed to take a finals spot, eventually winning 84-39.
Tartan took all three rinks on offer, with Greg Shay defeating Peter Freemantle 29-17, Michael Fryar defeating Barry Mortlock 23-14 and, in the most dominant performance, Garry Coburn defeated James Fox 32-8.
It meant that Talbot Gold had to settle for second despite defeating Newstead Blue 61-50.
Newstead Blue will have been pleased with their performance against the finals-bound Yabbies, with Bill Burnett taking a rink against Peter McLoughlin 25-21. However, the Yabbies proved too strong on the other rinks, with Paul Radstock defeating David Cobden 24-10 and Robert Jackson edging out Brian Daly 16-15.
Dunolly Blue made an almighty statement against the team they’ll be playing against in the first round of finals, dispatching of Maryborough Golf Blue 104-34.
The result suggests that Dunolly Blue will remain a threat come finals time, particularly with the ease with which they were able to sweep aside Golf Blue.
Peter Waters defeated Harold Patullo 38-9, while Alan Weir had a similarly dominant 34-7 win over Kort Gay. Golf Blue’s most competitive rink was the second rink, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Kevin Prime from going down 18-32 to Tony Galofaro.
In the final game of the round, Avoca Red confined Highland Red to the wooden spoon thanks to a 77-40 win which saw them finish the season off strongly with a second win in succession. Avoca Red took all three rinks, with Graeme Orr taking care of Jan Turner 30-12, while Daniel Giddings eased to a 23-14 win over Nathan Reeves. Ian Proctor finished things off with a 24-14 win over Adrian Masterman-Smith.
Looking ahead to the first round of finals, and Highland Tartan will be taking on Talbot Gold at Newstead.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since late-October, with the round 10 match that was scheduled left unplayed due to the heat.
If round three’s sample size is anything to go by, it looks like being a game that will go down to the wire. Highland Tartan won on that occasion, 55-47, but all three rinks were seperated by under 10 shots.
Shay defeated Radstock 21-12, but Talbot Gold bounced back on the second rink, with Peter Fletcher defeating Harvey Pearce 20-17. Michael Fryar ensured Tartan would take 14 premiership points with a 17-15 win over McLoughlin.
Dunolly Blue will be looking for a repeat result from last week when they play Golf Blue at Highland.
The two encounters have been split this season, with Dunolly Blue’s aforementioned 104-34 victory last week, while in round seven, Golf Blue surprised everyone with a 69-47 sweep.
On that occasion, Gerry Carmody defeated Waters 30-12, while Prime defeated Alan Parkes 20-18 and Gay defeated Weir 19-17. It remains Golf Blue’s only win against a fellow top-four team in 2022/23, and they’ll be looking to repeat the dose tomorrow to make it to the preliminary final.
In hindsight, that result perhaps played a big part in making this meeting possible — had the reverse result occurred, Dunolly Gold would be taking part in finals instead, while Dunolly Blue would take Talbot Gold’s place in the second semi-final.
The loser of the second semi-final will take on the winner of the first semi-final the following week at Avoca Country Golf Bowls Club.
DIVISION TWO
Much like division one — on the surface, at least, it seems to be a three-horse race, with Maryborough Golf looking to prove that finals are a completely different ball game.
Despite taking the minor premiership, Carisbrook suffered a minor setback last week when Maldon proved too strong, winning 67-54.
Eric Symons gave Carisbrook two points by the narrowest of margins, defeating Sean Ryan 19-18, but Maldon proved too strong on the other two rinks, with Annette Gillham defeating Gary Haigh 26-13 and Jim Brookshaw beating Ron Baker 23-22.
Highland White maintained the double chance, but it was agony at the other end for Avoca Gold, who missed the finals by just four shots, losing 56-59.
Had Avoca Gold won, they would be in the finals at Golf Gold’s expense by just one premiership point.
Highland White won two of the three rinks on offer, with Tony Lacey defeating Ann Loosmore 23-16, while Leanne Wallis beat Geoff Loosmore 20-13. Avoca Gold gave themselves a fighting chance on rink three thanks to Rebecca Zueschner’s 27-16 win over Lowen Clarke.
Avoca Gold’s loss was Golf Gold’s gain, taking care of Newstead White 74-43 to take fourth spot on the ladder at the very last gasp.
John Scott defeated Mark Leckey 24-16, while Gary Chaplin’s 25-14 win over Noel Bott and Philip Mortlock’s 25-13 win over Robert Sewell allowed Golf Gold to take all 16 premiership points, while confining Newstead White to the wooden spoon.
Talbot Brown may have narrowly missed out in their pursuit of the double-chance, but they showed that they will be a grand final threat thanks to an 82-34 win over Dunolly Green.
They took all three rinks on offer, with Barb Crossley defeating Paul Chase 30-11, while Ray Prentice had a similarly dominant 33-8 win over Donald Coe. In the closest rink of the game, William Donlon defeated Sandra Chaplin 19-15.
Carisbrook will now play against Highland White for a spot in the grand final at Newstead on Saturday.
With their round one clash washed out, their sole meeting for the season has been their encounter in round eight, a game where Carisbrook won 64-44 to assume top spot on the ladder.
Phillip Burt defeated Donal Lemin 22-10, but Highland White took two points on the second rink with Lacey defeating Baker 18-16. Eric Symons ensured it’d be a good day for Carisbrook with a 26-16 win over Wallis.
Similarly, Talbot Brown and Golf Gold go into battle to keep their season alive at Highland having also had just one meeting in round eight.
On that occasion, Talbot Brown were able to hold out for a 54-47 victory.
Ian Pryor defeated Marian Webb 21-13, while Golf Gold took two premiership points thanks to Mortlock’s 23-16 win over Donlon on the second rink. Crossley defeated Brenda Lind 17-11 to ensure the points would be Talbot Brown’s.
