Round 5 Pennant Wrap

by Bowls ACT on March 6, 2019

There were no Grade 1 matches this weekend past, and all the men get a rest this coming weekend.  The women still have to play on the Canberra Day long weekend, and this is because; either, we just wanted to annoy you, or, you have an extra team in the grade and that requires an extra round!  I guess it could be both…? Lol!

In Grade 2, if the scores are finally correct, QRSLM had a big win against Canberra North. Read (QRSL) and Pollock (CN) had a draw but the remaining two QRSLM rinks have serious wins Neil Craven by +15 and Darren Walsh by +24.  Final score QRSLM 82, CN 43 (2.5-0.5).  The Tugg v Belconnen match was a close affair overall but there were significant rink variances.  Ben Griffiths had a +9 shot win, for the home team (T), whereas the David Gallagher (B) rink overrode that with a +18 shot win.  There was only a one shot difference in the remaining rink, giving Belco the win despite only taking the one rink.  Final score Tug 51, Belc 56 (2-1).  In the remaining match of the grade, Queanbeyan got up over WC.  Two rinks were close with the remaining rink skipped by Adrian Halloran doing the damage. Final score WC 54, Qbn 65 (1-2).

In Grade 3, Goulburn extended its lead on the ladder with a win over Canberra.  Goulburn now have a handy buffer of more than a match’s worth of points between it and next placed, Yass.  John Ensby and Hayden Ward (G) both had good rink wins with the Russell Lowes rink providing 2 points to Canberra.  Goulburn’s Ensby remains the leading skip with an unbeaten record.  Final score Gbn 56, Can 45 (2-1).  Yass made a meal of the lads from WC defeating them on all rinks.  The Jason Rath and Alan Tindale rinks had +21 and +25 shot wins whereas the remaining rink wasn’t quite so painful for the Creekers!  Final score Yass 84, WC 32 (3-0).  Yowani picked up its first win of the season when it defeated Tuggeranong by two rinks to 1.  Without wanting to take away from the Yowani victory, mention must be made of the 8 scored by the Smith/Gerbich/Kearslake/Shanks (T) rink.  In answer to the question posed on the Hansard-esq, Facebook page “Lawn Bowlers Australia”, yes you are entitled to pins and I will get those to you!  Final score Yow 63, Tug 52 (2-1).

In Grade 4, continuing a tail of woe, WC went down to Tuggeranong by some 30 shots overall.  Alan Thatchers rink (T) made an outstanding contribution to the total score, whereas John William’s rink gave the Creek their two points.  Final Score WC 43, Tug 73 (1-2).  The other matches in the grade were much closer.  QRSLM defeated Belconnen by 5 shots.  Colin Cassidy’s rink (QRSL) was best for the home side; Stephen Young’s rink (B) best for the visitors.  Final Score QRSLM 62, Belc 57 (2-1).  Canberra North posted a narrow win over Queanbeyan.  Peter Totterdell’s rink was best for Norths whereas David Van Reesch’s rink did the damage for Queanbeyan.  Final score Qbn 54, CN 57 (1-2) The grade 4 ladder has the top 4 teams separated by only 8 points so it is still anyone’s game here.  Belconnen’s Stephen Young is the only Skip with a perfect record of 5 rink wins and a +53 diff.

In Grade 5 Yass had a huge win over Queanbeyan.  All rinks had good wins giving them a much needed 12 points.  Final score Yass 78, Qbn 33 (3-0).  Yowani also had a three rink win, this time over Belconnen. Two rinks were close but Ron Rooks’s rink posted +14 to the overall score.  Final score Yow 61 Belc 42 (3-0).  Goulburn hosted Canberra North and the visitors dealt the home team their first defeat of the season.  Vincent Reid’s rink  was Norths’ best whereas the Reg Thoms rink was Goulburn’s best.   Final score Gbn 52 CN 70 (1-2).  Bungendore and QRSLM had a draw but only after an error in the scores was identified.  Tuggeranong had the bye.  Despite their loss, Goulburn sits firmly on top of the table, ahead of QRSLM and Yowani.

Before I move onto the women’s results, on behalf of the members of Bowls ACT, I extend condolences to Rhett and Hemi Palmer and their families following the death last week of their father.

In the Women’s grade, there were few surprises.  Weston Creek continued their dominance with a 2 rink win over Queanbeyan defeating them by 26 shots.  Final score Qbn 20, WC 46 (0-2).  Tuggeranong made their second trip to Norths in two weeks and were happy to get a better outcome second time around.  They defeated the combined Norths/Yass team on both rinks.  Final score CN 27, Tug 52 (0-2).  Canberra North made the trip out to Belconnen and continued their winning form winning both rinks.   Final score Bel 49, CN 33 (0-2).  At QRSLM the rinks were shared but the mammoth win by Ruth Moore’s rink was enough to give the number 1 team the overall points.  Final score QRSLM1 57, QRSLM2 33 (1-1).  Canberra had the bye.  The top 4 places on the table are very close, with just 2 points separating 1st and 4th. Interesting times ahead!