Southern Bowling Zone Claims Men’s IZRR
The Denison Bowling Club on behalf of the Northern Zone hosted the CBH Sponsored 2023 Men’s Inter Zone Round Robin on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th February. The weather was expected to be hot and uncomfortable and it shaped up that way with the Friday practice day particularly uncomfortable with many players choosing to wait until late in the day before going onto the greens. Fortunately the weather gods were on our side with Saturday and Sunday turning out to be much more comfortable and the early cool breeze keeping temperatures at a manageable level.
The first round of matches on Saturday morning saw South Western Zone up against Southern Zone and Northern Zone taking on defending champions Eastern Zone
South Western Zone jumped out of the blocks quickly to establish a lead and to eventually run out winners 97-79 aggregate and three rinks to two rinks. Darren Wilkinson (sk) Troy Wilkinson, Gary Rundle, Michael Spadaccini were the big winners for the South Western Zone 27-16. While Tim O’Meehan (sk), Charles Russell, Andrew McFarlane, Robert Marinoni had a 17-14 win for the Southern Zone.
The Eastern Zone also came out firing against host zone Northern and had a commanding 116-85 shot aggregate win with three rinks to two. Matthew France (sk), Ron Treasure, Eric Tenardi, Mathew Hudson lead the charge for Eastern with a 31-9 shot win. Northern’s Bradley King (sk), Jon Trotter, Ian Carlshausen, Warwick Glenister came a way with a 21-15 win to help with rink points.
Saturday afternoon saw the two losing zones in the 1st round, up against the two winning zones with Eastern Zone versus Southern Zone and South Western Zone taking on Northern Zone.
Southern Zone found their feet quickly even though they had to change greens and built a sizeable lead. Eastern Zone threatened to get back into the fixture a couple of times but Southern were to good and were never headed with an 111-81 aggregate win. Tim O’Meehan (sk), Charles Russell, Andrew McFarlane, Robert Marinoni led the charge for Southern with a 26-10 win. While the rink of Ashley Sharp (sk), Maurice Crameri, Michael Currie, Greg Jones were the only Eastern Zone winners with a 21-18 victory
Northern Zone were also required to change greens as Southern Zone did, and they also jumped away quickly to open up a lead over South Western. South Western fought back on a number of rinks but Northern were still able to win four of the five rinks and an 111-93 aggregate win. Northern Zones, Shane Giudice-Nairn (sk), Michael Ford, Michael Walton, Mark Adams had the biggest margin with a 27-17 rink win. Darren Wilkinson (sk), Troy Wilkinson, Gary Rundle, Michael Spadaccini were the sole South Western rink winner with a 24-21 score.
Going into the last round on Sunday morning all zones had one win each with Northern Zone and Southern Zone on top of the ladder with six rink wins each while South Western and Eastern had four rink wins each.
South Western and Eastern Zones matched up to each other with both zones not only needing an aggregate win but also most of the rinks to be a chance at the trophy. Eastern Zone started really well and by the three quarter mark had established nearly a 30 shot aggregate lead and a majority of the rinks. But then a change came over the game and all South Western rinks started to motor home and eventually overwhelmed the Eastern Zone to take a big come from behind aggregate 93-87.
However, with only three rink wins, it looked unlikely they could overhaul either Northern or Southern Zone unless they had an aggregate draw. South Western Zones Mark Simpson (sk), Glenn Dunn, Leon Birch, Robert Plater lead the charge with a 22-9 win. While Matthew France (sk), Ron Treasure, Eric Tenardi, Mathew Hudson were the standout for Eastern Zone with a 27-12 win.
On the other green the two ladder leaders were fighting it out for the overall trophy due to their number of rink wins from previous rounds. Southern Zone started strongly but Northern Zone were never far away and by the halfway mark the two sides were exchanging leads on the aggregate board. First Southern would push ahead and then Northern would go to the front for a short time. It wasn’t until the last few ends that Southern eventually took a match winning lead and were able to just protect the big scores rather than having to go on the offensive. When the dust settled Southern took the aggregate 98-94 and with three rink wins, took the title. For Southern, Johnathon Davidson (sk), Richard Schinzig, Richard Plant, Dean Offer played a large part of the win with a 21-14 score. Stephen Fewster (sk), Chad Eva, Richie Morcombe, Kent McConnell kept Northern Zone in it for a long time with a 27-18 win.
Congratulations to Northern’s Bradley King (sk), Jon Trotter, Ian Carlshausen, Warwick Glenister on being the only rink with 3 wins, showing hop tight the competition was.
Final Ladder:
| Zone | Wins | Rink Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Southern | 2 | 9 |
| South Western | 2 | 7 |
| Northern | 1 | 8 |
| Eastern | 1 | 6 |
Men’s Inter Zone Round Robin Fours Full Results
Country v Metro Selections:
With an incredibly difficult job, the Zone selectors named the Country Side to take on the Metropolitan Side at Osborne Park at 6.30pm on Thursday 2nd March
| Rink | Skipper | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A.Sharp | M.Crameri | C.Williams | M.Hudson |
| 2 | M.Simpson | G.Keep | S.Fewster | G.Twist |
| 3 | W.Holt | G.Main | R.Schinzig | J.Flavel |
| 4 | D.Wilkinson | C.Schell | D.Cliff | M.Spadacini |
| 5 | B.King | T.O’Meehan | K.Furniss | B.Hirsch |
| 6 | S.Giudice-Nairn | M.Ford | M.Walton | M.Adams |
Reserves: M France, J Davidson, W Glenister
Manager: P Manning
Missed the Games? – Watch the replays on Streamer or on Youtube.
