2015 Australian Sides Championships Schedule of Play
April 9-12 at Yokine Districts Bowling Club Western Australia will look to make home-ground advantage count when they take on the Australian Capital Territory in tomorrow morning’s opening round of the Australian Sides Championships at Yokine Districts Bowling Club.
9am Thursday, April 9 – Round 1
Western Australia v ACT
New South Wales v Victoria
Queensland v South Australia
Tasmania v Northern Territory
1pm Thursday, April 9 – Round 2 – WA v VIC
9am Friday, April 10 – Round 3 – WA v NSW
1pm Friday, April 10 – Round 4 – WA v NT
9am Saturday, April 11 – Round 5 – WA v SA
1pm Saturday, April 11 – Round 6 – WA v TAS
8.30am Sunday, April 12 – Round 7 – WA v QLD
Our Men and Women certainly started brightly in overcast conditions today against a strong New South Wales outfit with all the States and Territories experiencing their first feel of Yokine’s greens at the official practice day which included a host of warm-up Test Matches and training sessions.
WA led across all six rinks early on and after 21 ends the Women still held a slender three-shot advantage while the Men had extended their lead to 15. At the half-way stage, the NSW Women managed to get back on even terms before a four to Natasha Scott saw them hit the front for the first time. Therese Hastings led world champion Karen Murphy 12-6 while Matthew Ellul was in great touch for the Men as his rink led 20-7 but the momentum seemed to going the other way on the other four rinks. Aron Sherriff and Thomas Mitchell were tied at 14-all before Sherriff shot to a 21-14 lead and eventually ran out a 23-16 winner. Wayne Turley and Clive Adams were all square at 12-a-piece but Turley outscored Adams 12-3 over the remaining nine ends to win 24-15. Ellul could only pick up one on the last end with the jack in the ditch; his rink’s outstanding 27-16 victory with Trystan Smallacombe, Daniel Patterson and Luke Richardson all contributing, was not quite enough to carry the aggregate as WA went down by five.
It was a very similar story for the Women as Scott raced away from Lisa Featherby to win 25-14 despite the scores being locked at 13-all after 14 ends. Fellow Jackaroo Kelsey Cottrell was too strong for an under-the-weather Krstina Krstic and she ran out a comfortable 24-12 winner. Hastings’ rink, with Shenayde Heldt, Linda Warburton and Noelene Abe all in fine form, would have been pleased with their efforts as they got the better or Murphy 23-12 but naturally disappointed at the overall 12-shot loss.
In the afternoon, New South Wales quickly ensured they would retain the East Coast v West Coast Trophy by leading from start to finish to enjoy a massive 30-shot victory. Aron Sherriff and Wayne Turley were once again the stand-outs while Thomas Mitchell and his rink, comprising Scott Walker, Scott Edmonds and Kyle McIlroy, fought hard for 21 ends to earn a narrow 23-22 win. WA will meet NSW again on Friday morning, knowing a victory over the star-studded Blues could go along way to achieving their dream of holding aloft the Alley Shield for the first time since 1999.
With the NSW Women aiming for an unprecedented four Marj Morris trophies on the trot, WA opted to play them only once in the lead up to the competition-proper. Our Women, who last celebrated the ultimate success back in 2010, can now be confident of matching it with the high-fancied Blues and will certainly be backing themselves to be in the mix heading into the final round on Sunday.
For the full Schedule of Play or for more information on the Australian Sides Championships, please click on the links.
