Round 4 Pennant Wrap
I’m sure I’m not the only one who was looking forward to the grade 1 matchup between Belconnen and QRSLM. And what a match it was! Although neck and neck on the masterboard for most of the match, each rink was a master game in itself. On the Mark Ebsworth v Dave Thomas rink, the QRSLM lads watched Belconnen steadily work their way through the ends til there was a 9 shot difference at the 11th end. Then the tide turned and it was QRSL’s turn to take most of the scoring shots. Neck and neck at the 19th end, a 7 to Thomas made a win to him look likely. Ebsworth wasn’t done, however, and finished with a 2 and a 3 to narrowly miss out by one shot. The Adam Jeffrey v Wade Turner rink was another close tussle with Belconnen having a 10 shot lead at one point but only winning by 3 in the end. So, with two rinks to Belco, the Robert Craven v Peter Watts rink was the match winner for QRLSM. There was only one shot in it at the 11th end but two 5’s on the next two ends saw QRLSM take a lead that was maintained through to the end. Final score QRSLM 66 (1)- Belconnen 57 (2). Out at Yass, a huge 31-18 rink win by Breeze Howard sealed the match for Yass despite losing the other two rinks. I understand there’s some 8 pins heading his way! Final score Yass 63 (1), Qbn 62 (2). Table leaders Weston Creek got a bit of a shock from Canberra Norths who came within two shots of posting their first win of the season. Big rink differences were the name of the game here too. Final score WC 59 (2)- CN 58 (1). In the final game of the round, Canberra had a good win over Tuggeranong. The best performed rink in that match was skipped by David Lindbeck who defeated his opponent 35-12. Final score Canberra 8 (2) Tuggeranong 50 (1). This win leaves Canberra 3rd on the table behind WC and Queanbeyan but with a bye in hand over both teams.
In grade 2, Canberra had a close one eventually going down to table leaders the Creek 51-58 (1-2). Although yet to win a match, I predict this will not be the case for long. Over at Queanbeyan, Canberra North were victors with a 20 shot margin. A handy 7 to Queanbeyan’s Bill Philp helped keep the score respectable. It is pleasing to see the good results for both Canberra and Norths. For those of you who don’t know, there were only 3 nominations for grade 2 and both these teams were reluctantly promoted from their preferred grade in order to make it a viable competition.
In grade 3, City had a nice 12 shot win over QRSL (2-1). For this round it was the rinks of Jimmy Gillespie and Ron Hawke that made the difference. Belconnen 56 (2) had a close win over Yass 53 and Tuggeranong 67 (1) a similar close win over WC 60 (2). Joe Zimoch’s rink was easily the best performed one for the Vikings with a 29-10 win. Although Belconnen is sitting comfortably on top of the table, there is less than a full match’s worth of points separating first and last making it the closest grade of all others. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was looking forward to the grade 1 matchup between Belconnen and QRSLM. And what a match it was! Although neck and neck on the masterboard for most of the match, each rink was a master game in itself. On the Mark Ebsworth v Dave Thomas rink, the QRSLM lads watched Belconnen steadily work their way through the ends til there was a 9 shot difference at the 11th end. Then the tide turned and it was QRSL’s turn to take most of the scoring shots. Neck and neck at the 19th end, a 7 to Thomas made a win to him look likely. Ebsworth wasn’t done, however, and finished with a 2 and a 3 to narrowly miss out by one shot. The Adam Jeffrey v Wade Turner rink was another close tussle with Belconnen having a 10 shot lead at one point but only winning by 3 in the end. So, with two rinks to Belco, the Robert Craven v Peter Watts rink was the match winner for QRLSM. There was only one shot in it at the 11th end but two 5’s on the next two ends saw QRLSM take a lead that was maintained through to the end. Final score QRSLM 66 (1)- Belconnen 57 (2). Out at Yass, a huge 31-18 rink win by Breeze Howard sealed the match for Yass despite losing the other two rinks. I understand there’s some 8 pins heading his way! Final score Yass 63 (1), Qbn 62 (2). Table leaders Weston Creek got a bit of a shock from Canberra Norths who came within two shots of posting their first win of the season. Big rink differences were the name of the game here too. Final score WC 59 (2)- CN 58 (1). In the final game of the round, Canberra had a good win over Tuggeranong. The best performed rink in that match was skipped by David Lindbeck who defeated his opponent 35-12. Final score Canberra 8 (2) Tuggeranong 50 (1). This win leaves Canberra 3rd on the table behind WC and Queanbeyan but with a bye in hand over both teams.
In grade 2, Canberra had a close one eventually going down to table leaders the Creek 51-58 (1-2). Although yet to win a match, I predict this will not be the case for long. Over at Queanbeyan, Canberra North were victors with a 20 shot margin. A handy 7 to Queanbeyan’s Bill Philp helped keep the score respectable. It is pleasing to see the good results for both Canberra and Norths. For those of you who don’t know, there were only 3 nominations for grade 2 and both these teams were reluctantly promoted from their preferred grade in order to make it a viable competition.
In grade 3, City had a nice 12 shot win over QRSL (2-1). For this round it was the rinks of Jimmy Gillespie and Ron Hawke that made the difference. Belconnen 56 (2) had a close win over Yass 53 and Tuggeranong 67 (1) a similar close win over WC 60 (2). Joe Zimoch’s rink was easily the best performed one for the Vikings with a 29-10 win. Although Belconnen is sitting comfortably on top of the table, there is less than a full match’s worth of points separating first and last making it the closest grade of all others.
In Grade 4, in what might have been considered an upset, last placed WC defeated Yowani 55 (2) -53 (1). Canberra had another win, this time over Queanbeyan 61 (1)-57 (2) thanks to a great rink win to Harry Hepburn, 27-8. Tuggeranong 61 (2) defeated Belconnen 57 (1) in the final match of the round with Jim Quicks rink being the best performed for Vikings.
In grade 5, Canberra North 75 (2) had a good win over Bungendore 52 (1). In what may have been a record – the youngest skip playing the oldest – teenager Brock Edwards had a one shot win over veteran Ray McInnes. It was also great to see Yass youngsters Patrick McFarlane and Benjamin Fahey (son of Peter) getting a game. Both played lead in rinks boasting a win, contributing to their overall win over Weston Creek. Final score 70 (3) – 49 (0). Tuggeranong 56 (1) defeated QRSL 49 (2), the result coming down (again) to one powerhouse rink win. This time it was James Douglas’s rink making the difference with a score of 27-12. Last but not least, Belconnen 62 (2) defeated Queanbeyan 55 (1).
In the White Lady Funerals Women’s grade, QRSLM posted their first win of the season defeating the previously undefeated Belconnen 40 (1) – 34 (1). Catherine Hunt’s rink was the best performed one getting up 22-15 (and she didn’t pay me to say this!) Only one shot separated Queanbeyan 45 and City 46, who each had one rink win. At the Creek, the powerhouse combo of Marg Bacchetto, Sharon Steel, Elaine Tse and Carol Rowe had a great rink win over their Canberra North opponents. North took the other rink but went down overall 52-29.
One last thing, whilst it is the responsibility of the home team to make sure results are entered, it is up to the away team to ensure that the rinks are correctly aligned (ie the correct skips are shown as playing each other). So, by all means let me know if there is a problem and I’ll do my best to fix it but it would be helpful if the away teams could give this more attention!
