NSW on the brink of history
NSW have a firm grip on a historic fourth-straight Marj Morris Trophy win after notching up a fifth straight victory at the Australian Sides Championships in Perth this morning.
With two games still remaining in the competition, the Blues are not quite past the point of mathematical certainty to prevail in the women’s competition, but have established a game-and-a-half buffer between them and second placed South Australia, and appear destined to become the first state to record a four-peat since the inception of the women’s event in 1979.
The Blues still have to contest South Australia and Northern Territory over the next two rounds, but need only to draw their final rubber against the Top Enders to finish ahead of the Croweaters on shots-difference, if they were to stumble in their next encounter.
A win in their next round will give them an unassailable lead, and their 10th ever trophy victory.
Despite dropping their third round to Tasmania, South Australia were in contention for their maiden Marj Morris Trophy up until the fifth round, but were left ruing what could have been after splitting the rubber to the hometown heroes Western Australia 62-all this morning.
Raymond Terrace’s Natasha Scott leads the race for the best skipped rink, after defeating her Australian Jackaroos teammate Rebecca Van Asch 20-17, with Australian stalwart Karen Murphy hot on her heels.
In the men’s competition, South Australia verge on the brink of just their second ever Alley Shield victory, after a 27 year hiatus, but face a herculean hurdle in the penultimate round.
In a David versus Goliath match-up, the undefeated South Australian contingent face the similarly untarnished NSW line-up, who have secured the Shield 18 times, this afternoon.
The Reds and Blues clash should decide who claims the men’s spoils, with South Australia set to play the seventh-placed ACT and NSW to face the eighth-positioned Northern Territory in the final round.
World champion Aron Sherriff sits a win clear in the men’s best skipped rink encounter, leading Wayne Ruediger.
Click here for full results from the 2015 Australian Sides Championships.
Caption: NSW’s Natasha Scott is skipping the best performed women’s rink.
