2021 Bowls ACT Pennant Grand Finals
The funny part about a season is that you can play as well as you want all year but when it comes down to the final day you need to be on. Nothing proved the point more than Sunday the 18th of April when the top teams across the grades were there to be beaten. The finals series saw 5 top of the ladder clubs lose out from the 8 competitions, with undefeated teams falling at the final hurdle across the leagues.
No doubt there were some sore heads on Monday morning as QRSLMBC toppled the previously undefeated Canberra BC, but CBC got their revenge pulling off the same feat in grade 2 to beat the Railway. The Women’s First Grade was no different with the strong favourite QRSL being beaten by Weston Creek on the final day as the Creekers took another flag home.
Vikings put on a magnificent event for the community down in Tuggeranong with plenty of spectators coming down to enjoy the action. The BBQ was running hot all day to keep the crowd well fed, I must say the hamburgers were a hit, and the crowd was loving the sunshine. Bowls ACT can’t thank the Men’s and Women’s clubs at Vikings enough for their support. You did a fantastic job and have set the standard for hosting events.
Men’s Grade 1
QRSL 63 – 53 CBC
It was a tough day at the office for Canberra Bowling Club as they came into the match undefeated through the entire season. The stage was set for QRSL to throw all their hard work out the window as they came into town for the big dance. Canberra were putting down some great bowls, but they couldn’t quite find that same energy that had pushed them along all year.
QRSL were magnificent on the day. They got there the hard way losing by a shot to CBC in the Major Semi before getting up over QBC in the prelim by the single shot. You’d forgive them for lacking energy but the young guns provided plenty more energy on the Sunday as well as QRSL put down massive shots all day.
Ultimately QRSL were just too good on the day. Every time it looked like CBC were going to get a roll on QRSL would sit a shot in the head and take the end. There were ebbs and flows throughout, but ultimately when it came to the crunch QRSL put the right bowls down to take the win.
Congratulations to QRSL on their win, well earned through the whole weekend.
Women’s Grade 1
WCWBC 41 – 29 QRSLMBC
The story never gets old if you ask me. Top of the table QRSL came into the match with just the one loss for the season in the final round, but it seemed they’d found their form in thew Major Semi winning their way straight through to Sunday. But the ladies from the Creek, stirred on by the Men’s wins, came out firing.
Right from the start the Creekers looked like they were on for the day with QRSL a little slow out of the gates. Grand Finals are no time for a slow start and the Creekers made them pay dearly. The matchplay evened up through the middle of the match with both clubs trading ends, but in the end the headstart proved too much.
Weston creek were not going to give it up lightly and they continued to put the bowls down well throughout the day. It seems that this is another example of getting it all together at the right time of the year as Weston creek prove too strong on the day taking the flag home with them.
Congratulations to Weston Creek Women’s Bowling Club on their win.
Men’s Grade 2
CBC 67 – 46 GRBC
Another massive upset here as Goulburn had shown they were the team to beat through the entire season. Again it shows you need to put your best bowls down on the day to take away the win. There was plenty of fans who made the trip to town for Goulburn and while I’m sure they wished they had some silverware to show for it, a great day was had by all.
CBC didn’t let the Grade 1 rinks beside them affect the way they played as the bowls came out of the hand perfectly. They’d shown through the year that they weren’t too far off and to their credit pulled it all together at the right time.
Both clubs were playing well but, similar to Grade 1, CBC put them down in the right spot when it counted. The Railway couldn’t get any momentum together for the match as CBC put together a fantastic display to take away the win and the flag.
Congratulations to Canberra Bowling Club.
Women’s Grade 2
VBC 59 – 23 GRWBC – Green
Vikings showed some terrific from through the back end of the year with some experienced bowlers really starting to hit their straps when it mattered. They came up against Goulburn Railway Green who had been a surprising addition to the competition for the year. In their first season the Goulburn ladies brought a huge supporter contingent with the to the Vikings Town Centre and they were all there to celebrate making the Grand Final in their first year of the competition.
Their inexperience showed though with Vikings taking the advantage early putting down massive amount of shots through the first half of the match. They were up by over 20 shots early in the piece and from their the task seemed an insurmountable one for the Railway.
Despite the early deficit the Railway did find their feet on the big stage later in the piece to start putting some shots down, but the damage was done early. Vikings continued on their merry way, trading ends through the second half of the match to ensure they took the flag away with them.
Congratulations to Vikings Bowls Club on their win.
Men’s Grade 3
Yass 75 – 33 QRSL
A much closer competition throughout the year in Grade 3 as QRSL finished out on top of the table. They did the job on the Saturday at home and came to Tuggeranong full of confidence that they could get the job done again. Yass had other ideas though.
Almost immediately the task was set to QRSL as Yass started putting them down. They were taking early shots and it startled QRSL as the match started to get away from them. QRSL looked to rally knowing they had the form throughout the year to pull it back, but the gap was tough to rein in.
Ultimately the gap was a bridge too far as Yass Bowling Club continued to put down a steady hand and push for the flag. Yass ended up pushing further and further ahead as the match wore on taking out a massive win by 42 shots in the end.
Congratulations to Yass Bowling Club.
Men’s Grade 4
WCBC 71 – 57 Vikings
Here’s where we start to find form holding true from the home and away season. Weston creek took out the Minor Premiership and finished it off with a flag as well. The match started off in a tense affair with both clubs trading shots and the scores staying tight. Through the middle of the match Weston Creek started to make their moves putting a bit of a gap out on the master scoreboard.
Weston Creek took a solid lead through the middle of the match but Vikings started to claw their way back into the match as it continued into the afternoon. In the end though they’d left their move until too late as the Creekers continued to pick up enough shots to take the win.
Congratulations to Weston Creek Bowling Club.
Men’s Grade 5
Crookwell 63 – 62 Vikings
This match had just about everything you could ask for in a Grand Final with both clubs going at it all day. Crookwell and Vikings finished first and second respectively in the season and showed that there wasn’t much of a gap between the two when it came to the crunch.
The match was tight all day with the scoreboard never getting too far out of control. In the first half of the match it seemed that every time I looked at the scoreboard there was just the one shot in it, but then Crookwell made their move pulling a 10 shot lead on Vikings through the middle section of the day.
Not to be disturbed Vikings made their comeback pulling themselves into the lead through the final ends to bring the match to a tight close. In the end it all came down to the final end on the middle rink as the two clubs fought it out til the bitter end. Vikings had the chance to draw the final shot in and take the win, but ultimately it was Crookwell who took it out with celebrations a plenty.
Congratulations to Crookwell Services Bowling Club on the victory.
Men’s Grade 6
WCBC def. Bunendore BC on Extra Ends
Well, they just don’t get much closer than this one. Bungendore will feel a bit hard done by in the final results here as they put in some massive ends through the start of the match. They pulled themselves out to what looked like a match winning margin through the middle of the match as the bowls were coming down beautifully.
Not sure what happened next, maybe the wind changed direction or the drinks started flowing a bit too early, but the Creekers started to make their move. Slowly but surely they started pulling the points back through the back ends before it all came down to the final end. Bungendore almost saved it all, but they couldn’t get the second shot meaning we were in for extra ends.
I’m not sure what the shots were on the extra end, got a bit caught up in the excitement of it all, but it was Weston creek who took it out. They managed to pull enough shots across the three rinks to take out the win and start the celebrations. I’m sure the Labor Club in Stirling wasn’t quite ready for the cyclone that rolled through maybe an hour later, but I’m sure there was plenty of celebrations after another massive win for the club.
Congratulation to Weston Creek Bowling Club on another flag.
