South Western Zone Men’s ILRR Results
Played at Dudley Park Bowling Club Thankyou to Peter Rogalski for report and photo
Murray Districts Bowling League men to strong.
Lawn bowlers from the Blackwood, Leeuwin and South West League’s converged on the Dudley Park Bowling and Recreation Club to take on the local Murray Districts representative team to decide the annual regional championships over the second weekend January.
Murray League selectors were rewarded for their pro activeness in selecting 8 debutants in the 23 man squad and the teams gelled and performed very well against the best available bowlers from the South Western parts of W.A. in very hot and testing conditions.
With the temperature touching 41 degrees Celsius on Saturday afternoon, the Murray League team put the heat on the Leeuwin League in round 1, winning 4 rinks and drawing the fifth.
The team of Craig Greenhalgh, Len Cronin, Dean Tinley and under 18s state squad member Josh Hamilton stamped their authority with a 9 shot win, as did Kevin Coles team of Graham Miller, Peter Johnson and lead Peter Rogalski in a hard working effort.
Former Albany Bowler, Barrie Starbuck and his team of Russell Bates, David Armstrong and Andy Mears opened their account with a hard fought 4 shot win in a high scoring match 28 to 24 against the talented the Andrew Drayton and his team.
Keith Cannon, Neville Brierley, Graham Nottle and Richard Passmore brought up the first of their three wins for the weekend with a solid 7 shot win, while Ben Garrett’s combination of Kevin Vaughan, Bill Harris and Graham Farmer had a great tussle with former men’s state coach, Wayne Coyle and his Leeuwin team to share the honours with a 21 all draw.
The round 2 showdown on Sunday morning between the Murray League and the traditionally strong South West team who accounted for the Blackwood team in round 1 would go a long way in determining the ultimate winners of the Inter League Championship.
A noticeable lift in standard was evident in the cooler conditions and the Murray Districts team stood firm to win 4 rinks out of 5 and secure the important aggregate by 8 shots against a gallant South West team.
Greenhalgh’s team recorded their second win by 5 shots over Collie’s Ross White and his combination, while Barrie Starbuck’s team also won their second tough match by 4 shots against Bunbury’s Mark Mills and his team.
Ben Garrett’s team opened their account against Eaton’s Ian Cartlidge with a tight 2 shot win and Keith Cannon’s team also prevailed over Eaton’s Neville Woods and Co by the same margin, while Kevin Coles team went down in a hard fought match by 5 shots to the Charlie Joyce and his South West team mates.
Following the victory over the South West in round 2, the Murray Districts team only had to secure 1 rink win against the Blackwood League in the final round to secure the overall tournament win. They were made to work hard by the spirited Blackwood combination who drew 3 matches against the Garrett, Starbuck and Coles rinks.
The “Murray’s” Craig Greenhalgh and his team’s third win secured them the Champion Rink of the series’ award with an emphatic 22 shot victory, while Keith Cannon’s combination also recorded an 11 shot win to remain unbeaten and help secure the aggregate.
Final Results
Winners: Murray League: 6 points, 10 rink wins, 4 draws, 1 loss.
2nd place: South West League: 4 points, 8 rink wins, 7 losses.
3rd place: Leeuwin League: 2 points, 4 rink wins, 1 draw, 10 losses.
4th place: Blackwood League: 0 points, 3 rink wins, 4 draws, 8 losses.
Champion Rink
C. Greenhalgh, L. Cronin, D. Tinley, J. Hamilton 3 Wins + 36 shots
INTER ZONE REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS
The following bowlers have been selected to represent the South West Bowling Zone to compete against the other 3 other State zones at the Jurien Bay Bowling Club in early February to decide the country championships.
The Murray District Bowling League will provide 11 out of the 20 representatives and 2 reserves after winning all 3 encounters during the South West Zone inter League round robin.
Congratulations to the following Zone representative’s selected for 2014
Skip: Craig. Greenhalgh, Len. Cronin, Dean. Tinley, Josh. Hamilton
Skip: Mark. Mills, Andrew. Dreyton, Bruce. Thompson, Steve. Bryant
Skip: Keith. Cannon, Ross. White, Neville Brierley, Peter Rogalski
Skip: Neville Woods, Jim McElroy, P. Harris, D. Wilkinson
Skip: Barrie Starbuck, Russell Bates, David Armstrong, Andy Mears.
Reserves Kevin Vaughan, Ben Garrett, C. Kelly.
