Men’s BCiB Premier League Pennants
Grand Final Wrap-Up After eighteen games and a day of finals play the day finally came for us to find out the best pennant team in the city. Manning and Osborne Park lined up at Yokine Bowling Club on Sunday having finished as the top two sides in the competition to fight for the flag.
Form rested slightly with Osborne Park who had won eight of their last ten including a win over Manning away in the second semi-final the previous day.
With the rink draw done and the team talks completed the two sides began a titanic struggle for the 2016-17 Premier League pennant.
No one could get a clean break early with the overall score more or less equal for the first 30 ends of the match. But just before the halfway point Shane Knott exploded away for Manning picking up a seven and a four in consecutive ends. In that time the other three rinks held even and all of a sudden Manning went from one in front to twelve.
The game was precariously placed as another Manning number threatened to break the game right open for the minor premiers. However Osborne Park not only steadied but managed to start chipping away slowly at the Manning lead. They plugged away so well that at 48 ends the aggregate was square again and remained about level for ten ends.
Then the Saints consistency began to show as they took gained a nine shot lead over Manning with just fifteen ends to go. That lead lasted just ten ends as with Manning entered the last five ends of the match with 73-69 lead.
Osborne Park showed their character again to lead again with just three ends to be played. Two ends and an umpire’s measure later Osborne Park led the Eagles by a shot and, despite the best efforts of both sides, an end later the game that had everything was a draw.
All four rinks went back out to play an eventful extra end.
The first rink to finish was Tom Mitchell’s who picked up five to put Manning well and truly in the box seat. They were immediately followed by ones to Knott and Osborne Park’s Neville Stevens which cancelled each other out. Unable to get five Daniel Trewhella was forced to kill his end to give the Saints a chance. As Osborne Park held two or three shots Manning third Matt Ayres moved the jack back to give Manning shot and forced Trewhella to kill the end again. After he missed with his first Manning skipper Matthew Mitchell trailed the jack again to make it even harder for Trewhella to kill. After another miss the celebrations began as the Manning Eagles won an incredible final to win The 2016/17 flag.
The Manning men joined their ladies as premiers as they won the Premier League double for the second time in three years.
Men’s Premier League Finals Results
