OPEN MEN’S STATEWIDE CHALLENGE REPORT BY BN & BT OPEN MENS SELECTOR DAVID HERON
The second round of the State-Wide Challenge was held at The Burnie Bowls & Community Club on Sunday 28th January. Conditions were overcast with a strong gusty breeze & occasional shower making it tricky for the players.
The Bowls North Open Men were represented by:
Rink 1. M Jackson (Longford), O Morrison (Longford), J Thomas (Longford) & C Roach (Longford) (Skip).
Rink 2. P Costello (East Launceston, J Frost (Westbury), B Avent (East Launceston) & K Walker (East Launceston) (Skip).
Rink 3. S Zeuschner (Kings Meadows), A Donohue (Launceston), D Burke (Westbury) & T Stewart (Launceston) (Skip).
The Morning game saw us face the Tasmanian Team & we eventually lost by 14 shots overall. Both Chris Roach & Trace Stewart lost by 11 shots with the Kane Walker led rink recording a well deserved 8 shot win. The State Team got away from us early, but we managed to get back into the game before the strength of the State Side proved too much. In the other game, the South defeated the Northwest by 12 shots on two rinks.
We played the Northwest team in the afternoon game losing by 10 shots overall with Trace Stewart losing by 16 shots, Kane Walker losing by 3 shots & Chris Roach winning strongly by 9 shots. We again got off to a slow start but were within reach late in the game before the Northwest gained some good results over the concluding ends. The Tasmanian Team defeated the South by 30 shots on all rinks.
The next & final round will be played at New Norfolk on Sunday 3rd March. We remain on top of the regional ladder on 24 points leading the Northwest on 17 points & the South on 14 points. We will travel to New Norfolk with everything to play for & will face the South in the Morning game & the State team in the Afternoon.