Around the Greens
Edition 3 Focus at the top
With ladders beginning to sort themselves out, today we’ll look at how the upper echelons of the pennant competitions are shaping up before we shift our attention back across all divisions next week. With the double header on the weekend the men’s competition in particular has seen a fair bit of movement from a number of teams.
Starting with men’s Premier League Cambridge have made an impressive start to the season with just the one loss to sit top. That loss came to Doubleview on the weekend who made use of a strong double header weekend to take second position. Morley have started well on their return to Premier League with three wins from five games, a good haul for a promoted side. Last year’s grand finalists have found the going tough so far this season. Osborne Park were winless until the double header but two wins has brought them back to within an aggregate of the four. Still their slow start could prove costly. Manning have had two surprising losses but have recovered well to still sit in third place, however they are yet to play either of the current top two. Currently occupying the relegation spots are Wanneroo and Stirling. Wanneroo have showed some promising signs with wins over current top four sides Doubleview and Kardinya however with just a draw to their name Stirling have struggled thus far. The fixture between the two in round eight looms as crucial.
In 1st White the top four is currently made up of Thornlie, Kardinya, Warnbro and Sorrento with North Beach and Mount Pleasant sitting just outside. After a poor weekend North Beach have slipped from top to out of the four whereas two wins from Thornlie allowed them some movement up the ladder to top. We could see the dynamic change with Brad Ball moving from Warnbro to Sorrento having not lost a game for the Wizards yet this year. After the top six there’s an aggregate back to Mosman in seventh with Cockburn just outside the relegation zone. Osborne Park and Kalamunda are both struggling. Kalamunda in particular have their issues with five of their eight rink wins coming from Wayne Olive’s side.
In women’s Premier League Mosman Park have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season to sit top of the ladder. It hasn’t been an easy run either with a win over reigning premiers Manning 1 and Osborne Park who were finalists last year. North Beach and Manning 1 sit just behind with one loss each. Its not surprising that three of the powers in women’s bowls in recent years occupy for top three positions. Sorrento are continuing to build their top-flight reputation and currently make up the top four. Surprisingly sitting just outside are newly promoted Safety Bay. After struggling two years ago they’re making good on their return thus far with three wins. Osborne Park have started a little slowly with just two aggregate wins but still find themselves only two points out of the four. Gosnells also have two wins and are in their usual mid table place. Melville have started okay in their first Premier League season where survival would be a success. Currently they’re eight with a three point gap to the drop zone. Leeming have an aggregate under their belt but are struggling to pick up rink points which could be costly. Manning 2 are struggling with less than a point per game which perhaps isn’t a surprise given their player losses this year.
Even if Leeming do finish in the drop zone they might have Premier League next year. So far in 1st White Leeming are undefeated highlighting the depth of talent at the club. They already have a game and half lead on second which is another second side in North Beach. Another game back is Victoria Park who head a congested middle of the ladder. Just five points separate third from seventh. Vic Park, Mundairing, Thornlie, Mosman Park and Yokine all look to be in the hunt for a finals spot at this stage of the season. Games between those five sides will have a great effect on how the ladder looks at the end of the year. The three early automatic relegation candidates are Willeton, Osborne Park and Warwick. With an aggregate sized gap already opened up between seventh and eighth these sides need to move soon if they want a more comfortable year.
We want you to contribute, good or bad and especially funny if you see something interesting out on the green let us know so we can share it. Email us at enquiries@bowlswa.com.au
Article by The Rinkside Spy
