Men’s Saturday BCiB Pennant Final Preview
To be played Saturday and Sunday, 28 & 29 March 2015 Doubleview may start as favourites when the Minor Premiers take on the Cambridge Knights on Saturday morning, having earned home-ground advantage after 18 home-and-away rounds; however, with the winner warranting a place in Sunday afternoon’s BCiB Premier League Grand Final, to be played at Yokine Districts Bowling Club, neither side will be giving an inch in the hope of avoiding the in-form Manning Eagles or unpredictable Kardinya Kats.
Despite being relegated in 2013, Cambridge need only look back a further twelve months to when they defeated The View twice in two days to claim the Premier Pennant Flag, coincidentally the last time Doubleview topped the table at the end of the regular season. Having missed out on the four last year, The View have certainly been the form team this season winning their first six games before a one-shot loss to Karindya away. They continued on their merry way notwithstanding a narrow two-shot loss away to Bassendean just before Christmas and when Doubleview met Cambridge again in Round 14, The View were still comfortably on top with a 10-3 record while the Knights were hanging on to fourth spot by half a point with six wins, six losses and a draw.
Cambridge was a convincing 87-73 winner at home that day and finished the season strongly, dropping only one game to Manning away. Doubleview, who will take some comfort from their four-shot win over Cambridge in Round 5, lost three in a row including a 67-74 defeat to Kardinya at home before claiming victory in the last two games of the season to clinch a second minor premiership in four years.
The Kats will be relishing a return to the Doubleview greens where they played ever so well in Round 16, even though their final round loss to Cambridge away cost them the double-chance. Their opponents Manning have not played at the venue since the season opener, which ended in heavy defeat. Karindya did the double over Manning during the season, with the Eagles only managing two and a half rink wins across both contests. However, since that Round 12 loss, Manning have notched strong wins against Cambridge and the other sides fighting for fourth spot, namely Bassendean, Victoria Park-Carlisle and a massive 26-shot win over Osborne Park last week. Somewhat surprisingly, the Eagles dropped close games against relegated Stirling and South Perth in the same period.
This season’s BcIB Premier League has been of the most closely contested in recent years and with any side capable of beating another on any given day, all five potential Grand Final combinations remain a distinct possibility.
Elsewhere, Wanneroo have put last season’s disappointment behind them quickly by bouncing straight back up to the Premier Division. Cockburn will be hoping to do the same but will have to get past a determined Mt Pleasant and Osborne Park’s strong, second side. The 1st Division White Pennant will also be decided at Yokine Districts Bowling Club at the earlier starting time of 12pm, as will the 1st Division Blue North v South Grand Final between Kalamunda and Gosnells.
Please get down to Yokine to support your club where you’ll see plenty of good bowls on Sunday as well at a host of other divisions playing Grand Finals on Saturday at various venues across the Perth Metropolitan.
Caption: Cambridge’s 2011-12 Premiership winning side who defeated Doubleview at Yokine Districts Bowling Club. Will history repeat itself?
