Around the Greens
Edition 9 Close competition
Unfortunately due to bad weather forecasts women’s pennants had to be cancelled this week. This means no women’s results to look at but we’ll still have a close look at men’s pennants to see where teams are at.
There are a number of divisions that are extremely tight at the moment but perhaps none more so than the two 1 Blues which also have the most teams involved in promotion and demotion each year. Only two of the ten teams finish in safety with first getting promoted, second to fourth playing promotion finals, seventh and eight playing relegation playoffs and the bottom two teams relegated. In Blue North 13 points separate first place from demotion battlers in eighth. It’s even tighter further down with just six points between fourth and eight. This means in one round you could potentially drop from a finals place into a demotion playoff spot. That distance is even smaller in South where fourth is just 4.5 points ahead of eighth. Every game is going to be pivotal for those clubs where one game could be the difference between going up or down.
In 2nd Blue the top of the table is extremely tight with three clubs fighting for that automatic promotion spot. Bassendean jumped from 3rd to 1st courtesy of their win over second placed Yokine and Inglewood’s shock loss to 7th placed Mt Lawley. The win gives them a four point gap on top which is the biggest buffer any club has had since round eight. Mt Lawley’s win also changed the picture at the bottom of the ladder. While still in seventh they have now opened up a 19 point margin from drop zone and should now be safe come the end of the year.
The relegation battle is really getting hot in 3rd Gold with three of the bottom four winning their games last round. As the only loser of the four Morley fell from ninth to bottom and are now 9.5 points short of safety and their conquerors Wanneroo. Bottom of the ladder Cambridge’s surprise win against the previously fourth placed Warwick keeps them in the hunt for survival with 6 points to make up. They would be out of the bottom two if not for Osborne Park’s amazing upset win where they took all eight points against top placed North Beach to remain in seventh. That’s 15.5 points from 16 since Christmas and if they can keep that form up the Saints will be safe soon enough.
A reminder that individuals or clubs are welcome to submit any interesting results or happenings from any inter-club competition to enquiries@bowlswa.com.au.
Article by The Rinkside Spy
