Johnson and Lane one-all after Triples Final
A Bowls Report for The Mercury
by Peter Kirby
Bowls South’s Men’s and Women’s Open and B Grade Triples Championship events were concluded at Rosny Park Bowls on Sunday.
Women’s Open Triples
In the Women’s Open Final, Maddie Johnson (Kingborough), supported by her composite team of lead Michelle Moate (Glenorchy Rodman) and Barb Liddington (Dover), avenged her loss to Jeanette Lane in the final of the BTS Open Women’s Fours with a dominant performance to win, 27-8, after Lane conceded with three ends remaining in the 21-end match.
Buckingham’s Lane, with teammates Peta Barnett (lead) and Crystal Brooks, from Glenorchy Rodman, played some competitive bowls but Johnson’s lead, Michelle Moate, consistently set up each end for her skip with bowls close to the jack, and although Brooks played a number of excellent shots, the brilliant starts provided by Moate were most beneficial to the play of Liddington and Johnson. Johnson, in particular, moved the jack to advantage on a number of ends, and most telling when Lane was holding shot. The combined efforts of Johnson’s team enabled them to win 14 of the 18 ends played.
Men’s Open Triples
In the Open Men’s Final, Grant Wakefield (skip), Matthew Breward, and Greg Fehlberg (lead), all members of Brighton, began strongly against Ryan Guy (skip), Nathan Dinning, and Jack Butler (lead), representing Kingborough, winning the opening 4 ends to establish an 8 shot lead. By the 19th end Wakefield had won 12 of the ends played to lead 19-10, with Matthew Breward drawing consistently to the jack. Two brilliant bowls from Guy on the 20th end, the last of which removed Wakefield’s shot bowl, resulted in a maximum 6 to be just 3 shots shy, at 16-19, setting up an exciting finish. Unfortunately, excellent strategic play from Wakefield extinguished any chance for Guy to win, the final score being 20-16 in favour of Wakefield and his team.
Women’s B Grade Triples
The Women’s B Grade Final was played between teams from Brighton and Franklin. By the 5th end of the match Franklin’s Judith Reeve and her team of Sheryl Phillips and Kristy Harrison (lead), had established a 6 shot lead on which they continued to build, and which Rose Williams and her team of Janice Tonks and Shirley Fox (lead) found impossible to overcome and Reeve and her team ran out winner of the final, 24-15.
Men’s B Grade Triples
The Men’s B Grade Final, between Shane Winter (skip), Tim Morgan and Denzil Ransley, from the New Norfolk Bowls Club, and David Williams (skip), Todd Clark and Luke Ransley (lead), all of Brighton, was a close match throughout, but Winter would have been confident after gaining a 6 shot lead after the 15th end. Williams slowly eroded Winter’s advantage to 2 shots at the completion of the 20th end to create an intriguing finish. Winter did all he could to protect his lead but the good placement of bowls close to the jack by Luke Ransley and Clark, and a more determined effort from Williams produced the 3 shots required for the Brighton team to win by 1 shot, 19-18.