WA outclassed at Lockleys
Australian Sides Championships Day 2 Wrap The Western Australian State teams have had another tough day of competition in the Australian Sides Championships at Lockleys Bowling Club, South Australia as day two concluded without a win on the board.
In the morning match against Queensland both WA teams were looking to bounce back to winning form however fell short in the finish. The afternoon game provided WA with a chance to shine against a normally beatable Tasmania but the team were once again outclassed albeit the women’s team went close.
Once again conditions were great for bowling and the WA Men’s team started confidently against Queensland to build a small but useful 20-15 lead with all rinks playing well. WA managed to keep up the good work and steadily built on the margin to move into the last third of the match with a 45-34 advantage. Pieter Harris’s rink of Cory Bessant, Daniel Patterson and Kyle McIlroy playing some of their best bowls to hold a 15-9 lead. With WA leading 52-41 it looked like a win was on the cards however Queensland found another gear. WA could only add a handful of shots in the last few ends in a disappointing finish with Queensland coming over the top of them to win 56-62. Harris held on to win 23-19 and Mitchell dropped a single on the last end for a 18-19 loss. Better players for WA included Cody Packer, Bill Brandsma and Matt Mitchell.
The Women’s team made one change to the team with Shari Solly making her skippering debut as she swapped positions with Lisa Featherby. Unfortunately the change didn’t have the desired results on the scoreboard as that rink once again found it tough going during the day. The women’s team got behind early and were never able to seriously challenge. Helen Morss’s rink played out a high scoring 24-26 match whilst Krstina Krstic’s team were once again showing the way with a solid 17-14 victory.
Men – WA v Qld
Slavich
15
v
Rice
24
Mitchell
18
v
Brown
19
Harris
23
v
Baker
19
Total
56
Total
62
Women – WA v Qld
Morss
24
v
Clarke
26
Krstic
17
v
Millerick
14
Solly
11
v
Keagan
23
Total
52
Total
63
After the lunch break WA resumed against Tasmania which on paper looked a touch easier than the big 3 in NSW, Vict and Qld however Tasmania had already proved to be no walkovers with both Men’s and Women’s teams having 2 wins on the board.
The Men’s side was in the hunt early with the score 25-26 it looked like a close match was unfolding. The further the game went the more the rink scores began to separate. WA was in control with Tom Mitchell’s rink who had moved to a 13-8 lead however the Tasmania’s where controlling proceedings on the other two rinks. In the finish WA went down 45-65 with Mitchell finishing up as clearly the best rink with a 19-16 win.
In the Women’s match WA got well behind early and looked set for another decent loss however the team produced a great fight back. With a dozen ends to play WA had cut the margin to two shots and when the rinks skippered by Krstic and Morss both picked up fours at the same time suddenly WA was leading 58-52. Unfortunately the lead didn’t last for long as Tasmania hit back just a few ends later with a couple of good scores themselves to take back the lead. A crucial end came with just 5 ends to go when Krstic’s rink through the good work of Heldt, Wray and Adams again held a score of four however the opposition skip played a bomb to draw shot and kill off a possible surge from WA.
Men – WA v Tasmania
Slavich
15
v
Nitz
24
Mitchell
19
v
Sims
16
Harris
11
v
Schraner
25
Total
45
Total
65
Women – WA v Tasmania
Morss
22
v
Hodgetts
30
Krstic
27
v
Triffitt
16
Solly
18
v
Van Asch
24
Total
67
Total
70
WA finish the round robin event with games against South Australia – Saturday AM, ACT – Saturday PM and Northern Territory – Sunday AM. A full wrap of those games will be posted on the website Sunday afternoon.
Scores during play will be posted on the Bowls WA Facebook Page
For all fixtures, draws and ladders at the Australian Sides Championships click here
