State Singles hots up for finals
After two days of intense competition under hot conditions the Dyenamic Bowls Uniforms State Singles Championships are now set for the finals which will be played at the Bassendean Bowling Club on Sunday 29th January.
Bassendean are renowned for their superb greens and the green in use for the final is expected to be running superbly. The forecast is for temperatures in the mid 30’s with a stiff south easterly which shouldn’t pose any serious problems for the finalists who have been in great form to reach the last day of competition.
Supporters and fans of top level bowls are encouraged to come along to Bassendean to show their support for the players.
Bowls WA will be Live streaming all day from Bassendean opening with a Men’s Quarter Final from 9.30am followed by the Women’s final around 12.30pm and the Men’s final at approximately 3pm.
To view any of these matches head to Streamer at https://streamer.com.au/club/bowls_wa
Matches will also be available on replay once concluded.
So who are the contenders to be crowned our next State Champions? With both defending title holders bundled out the door is open for potentially new first time champions.
Firstly we will take a look at the Women’s Semi-finals which will take place at the same time as the Men’s Quarter Finals. The Men’s quarter finals will be first to 21 whilst both semi-finals and grand finals will be first to 25.
Chris Ace-Watson (Mosman Park) v Irene Arndt (Safety Bay)
A strong match up here with two previous runner ups from this event clashing in the first of our semi-finals. Chris Ace-Watson made the transition from playing at Boulder to the city with Mosman Park a few years ago and has continued her impressive career with another strong run in this event. Perhaps her toughest match was her first at Rossmoyne Bowling Club where she eventually defeated Debra Whitely from Bindoon 21-18. After that it has been pretty much plain sailing round out her section with a 21-6 win over Karen Weir (Wanneroo). She then hit top form at Bassendean last Sunday winning 21-5 over Kerry Hutchinson (Sorrento), 21-10 Judy Flanagan (Brunswick) and 21-6 Jenni McLaughlin (North Beach) to reach the semi-finals.
Her opponent Irene Arndt has emerged from a very tough part of the draw. She defeated 2012 Runner-up Liz Matthews (Manning) 21-16 in her only sectional game at Thornlie Bowling Club before a good run on the Sunday at Bassendean. She breezed past Ramona O’Neil (Leeming) 21-8 before another handy 21-12 win over Jillian Adam (Geraldton). Her biggest clash came in the quarter final match against four time champion Kristina Krstic. Arndt played some impressive shots to come out on top with a nail biting come from behind 21-18 victory. in the middle stages she trailed 12-5 with Krstic all over the jack and was able to come up trumps often with her last bowl which should give her plenty of confidence going the final day.
Deb Saunders (Osborne Park) v Kerry Andersen (Mosman Park)
Likewise, this should be another good match up and an interesting battle. Andersen has built her game on consistent draw shots and is rarely far from the jack whilst Saunders is one who likes to play shots and will be looking to convert when the opportunities arise.
Saunders is possibly the least credentialled of the remaining players but did recently make the semi-finals of the Masters Mixed Fours and Masters Mixed Pairs, she looks to be a player on the rise with a few years in Premier League under her belt.
Her run to the semi-finals came via 21-1 and 21-19 wins respectively in her sectional games at Cockburn Bowling Club against Shonah Buckley (Sorrento) and Yvonne Trotter (Thornlie) before knockout rounds at her home venue of Osborne Park. She played very well in wins over Lexie Webster (Safety Bay) 21-7, Julie Savell (Osborne Park) 21-15 and Jenny Parker (Mosman Park) 21-16. How she adapts to the Bassendean surface, a venue where she may not have played much will be the biggest challenge.
Kerry Andersen has won almost all there is to win in bowls, but a State Singles title has eluded her, albeit, she almost had the title holding two shots for victory in 2020 before Laura Merz snatched it back with a pinpoint draw shot to win 25-23. Kerry looks to be in similar form to that year given her impressive results so far.
In sectional play at Cockburn she was very steady with a 21-12 win against Mandy Heiner (Willetton) and the same score 21-12 over Toni Madigan (Civic Merredin). In the knockout finals she then hit top form with a 21-11 victory over Jenni Rogalski (Safety Bay), 21-18 Lee-Ann Green (North Beach) and 21-4 against Lisa Featherby (Mosman Park)
David Goddard (Harvey) v Blake Butler (Manning)
Blake Butler is the only remaining previous winner and is extremely well credentialled whilst David Goddard is the last of our country players who by the casual bowls follower would be considered the surprise packet however as you will find out he is one not to be taken lightly.
Butler has a terrific singles game and a very even temperament, meaning whatever the situation he is capable of playing well and is not easily flustered. He has shown this with several good performances in the Singles over recent years, winning it in 2019, runner-up in 2020 and with another strong run here.
Butler won his section matches at Osborne Park against Mike Vitale (Stirling) 21-5 and Graham Miller (Dudley Park) 21-13 plus his first knockout over Joe Rollnik (Ellenbrook) 21-11 before also defeating Jerome Clayton (North Beach) 21-14 and Graeme Prowse (Darkan) 21-17 at Bassendean.
David Goddard is a name that won’t be familiar to many outside of his home town of Harvey and those in the South West league but he is showing some terrific ability particularly in singles play. The 34yo rose to prominence last season when he entered the Men’s Masters Singles at Mount Lawley when he beat Justin Opie in sectional play 21-14 and then Blake Nairn 25-23 in the quarter final.
He has continued that impressive form by winning his section matches at Osborne Park 21-18 against Chris Margin (North Beach) and 21-7 Adrian Rose (Sorrento) along with a knockout game over Brad King (Geraldton) 21-18. At Bassendean he was able to overcome two solid premier league players in Murray Hulbert (Sorrento) 21-16 and Marcus Sear (South Perth) 21-18. Butler is certainly a step up in class for him but expect a bold showing and if he can win that match perhaps he will go all the way.
This match will also be our first Live Steam for coverage via Streamer.com.au
Tod Weir (Osborne Park) v Stein Davies (Joondalup)
Two very handy players engaged here who have played at the top level in pennants over many years. Neither has won a state title so this presents a big opportunity for the winner in what could possibly be the peak of their bowling performances to date.
Weir had his sectional play at Bassendean with steady wins over Dean Herbert (Warwick) 21-14 and Aaron Henneker (Quinns Rocks) 21-10. His knockout matches were a bit tougher at his home club Osborne Park where he outlasted teammate Neville Stevens (Osborne Park) 21-16 before getting the better of Troy Kinnane (South Perth) 21-14.
Davies who is having a terrific year with his new club Joondalup who are on the verge on making it to Premier League for the first time. Davies is the only player in the field who actually lost a game in sectional play where he played at Manning, after a 21-8 victory over Paul Wellington (Harvey) he did have some wriggle room with shots in hand so his 21-19 defeat by Dean Calvo (South Perth) could perhaps be excused. He quickly bounced back by defeating promising youngster Connor Biddle (Osborne Park) 21-13.
His knockout matches at Osborne Park also saw two good performances defeating Andrew Pasalich (Osborne Park) 21-11 and Craig Edson (Rossmoyne) 21-13.
Chris Lander (Mount Lawley) v Cody Packer (Osborne Park)
The bottom half of the draw is particularly strong with three of the four players having played an extra alignment match to make it this far.
Chris Lander must be the most experienced bowler in the remaining field having played at the top level for over 40 years. After many close attempts he finally won a major singles title claiming the Over 60’s Singles in 2021. His game is built on pinpoint draw shots, however if needed he has a handy up shot but he uses it sparingly.
Landers results to date have been solid in some tight affairs, he began his campaign at Manning in sectional play where he defeated Eddie Gollan (Thornlie) 21-19 and Greg Taylor (Sorrento) 21-20 in two close matches. His knockout match continued that trend defeating Ryan Moyle (Doubleview) 21-19. He then progressed through the next day at Osborne Park with wins over Charles Wass (Coorow) 21-16 and Paul Smith (Manning) 21-12.
Cody Packer is a name that needs no introduction given his recent elevation to both the Perth Suns and Australian Jackaroos on the back of many titles and good performances however the State Singles is something that has so far eluded him and there is little doubt he will be super keen to add that to the trophy cabinet.
Cody will also be one of the crowd favourites for the title. He had a 21-13 win over Bryan Chalwell (Pinjarra) in sectional play at Gosnells before a more comfortable 21-8 win over Simon Alden (Bassendean). At Osborne Park he had three more victories with a 21-13 win over Aaron Smith (Westonia), 21-12 over Charlie Slavich (Doubleview) and 21-17 over Dan Nicholls (Sorrento)
Shane Knott (Manning) v Daniel Trewhella (Manning)
The last of our quarter finals and possibly the most enticing matchup with two real shot makers engaged, both being skippers of the successful Manning Premier League side who love to convert a head. Both also have numerous titles under their belt but neither has won the coveted State Singles albeit Trewhella has twice been runner-up and has numerous Masters Singles wins.
Knott as mentioned has a very strong all round game and when his draw shot is on, he becomes very tough to beat. Playing at Gosnells Bowling Club Knott breezed through his section with a 21-1 win over John Carrigan (Joondalup) and a 21-8 win over Norm Kirkup (Bassendean) before facing a much tougher test against Julian Brown (Dalkeith Nedlands) who had only just arrived from Tasmania and looks to have a fair bit of ability. Knott won that alignment round clash 21-16 in a very high quality affair.
He continued his knockout rounds the next day at Osborne Park with a 21-14 win over Cameron Green (Mount Lawley) followed by a 21-15 win over Simon Deering (Doubleview) and finally a 21-12 victory against Beau Manton (Kalgoorlie).
Likewise Knott’s Manning teammate and now adversary Daniel Trewhella progressed through the early rounds well. His sectional play was at Mount Lawley where he posted back to back 21-10 victories over Ty Vandertogt (Wanneroo) and Garry Atkinson (Dunsborough). He then survived a real thriller against a gallant Mitchell Biglin (South Perth) which ended 21-20 before progressing to the knockout rounds at Bassendean.
Trewhella struck top form on the slick greens which suit his game. He crushed Anthony Einfeld (Mount Lawley) 21-5, defeated the very good singles exponent Russell Bates (Doubleview) 21-18 and capped it off with an impressive 21-11 win over last year’s champion David Downey (Manning).
So there you have it, a big preview of all upcoming matches with twelve very good players in action. Good luck to all the remaining players and win or lose to make it through to the last day of action is a great achievement.
You can catch up on the results via the Bowls Link Competition Portal
