Kingborough into Premier Division Grand Final
Premier Division report by Peter Kirby
Kingborough through to Premier Division Grand Final
Bowls South’s Derwent Eye Specialists Premier Division Semi Finals were played on Saturday, and in a contest between the top two sides, where ten shots separated them at the completion of the match, Kingborough overcame Sandy Bay in a great game in the Kingborough Indoor Bowls Centre to put an end to the visitor’s recent dominance of the minor premiers on their home green, winning for the first time in their last four encounters, 86-76, to qualify for the Premier Division Grand Final.
Sandy Bay started strongly, with Andrew Norris causing concern for the hosts with his brilliant play against Jason Fowler, getting out to a 14 shot lead by the seventeenth end. The margin would have been greater except for Fowler’s excellent efforts on most ends to reduce the shot count against him. A late flurry by Fowler enabled him to gain seven shots over the final three ends to reduce the deficit to nine shots, 24-15.
Newly crowned Bowls South Open Men’s Singles Champion of Champions, Will Coad, did most to secure the win for Kingborough, defeating Bryce Guy by eight shots, 26-18. The match between Kingborough’s Ryan Guy and Keghan Booth was close until Guy gained a two shot lead on the seventeenth end, giving him the momentum to pick up another six shots over the last four ends, allowing Booth just one more shot to finish seven shots up, 20-13. Nic Courto held off the Bay’s Justin Plumber’s late surge to win their match, 25-21.
In the Premier Division Elimination Semi Final, on their home green, Glenorchy Rodman had a morale boosting victory over Cremorne to progress to next week’s Preliminary Final against Sandy Bay. Jack Ellis and Luke Turner, with great support from their teams, set the standard with comprehensive twenty six shot wins against their respective opponents, Brad Knight and Tex Marshall, contributing to a commanding 62 shot victory overall, 112-50.
Turner picked up an eight on the nineteenth end against an unlucky Marshall, who played weight into the head but removed Cremorne’s closest bowl, conceding the maximum count to Turner. Jack Ellis was dominant against Cremorne’s top skip, Brad Knight, restricting him to single figures, 34-8.
Cam Tegg had a tighter tussle against Pat Hoffman being one shot up after fourteen ends but picked up eleven shots to one over the last seven ends to win by eleven shots, 23-12. Leigh Munnings salvaged some pride for the visitors with a hard fought one shot win over Tony Vince, 21-20.
In other divisions, Howrah (Division 1), Orford (Division 2), Kingborough (Division 3), Cygnet (Division 4), and Claremont (Division 5) have qualified for their respective Grand Finals, while next week’s Preliminary Finals will be played between Kingborough and Rosny Park (Division 1), Sandy Bay and Rosny Park (Division 2), Sandy Bay and Bruny (Division 3), Howrah and Rosny Park (Division 4), and Glenorchy City and Howrah (Division 5). In Division 6, Sandy Bay won the Elimination Semi Final against Brighton, 73-47, to advance to their Preliminary Final, and in the Qualifying Semi Final between Franklin lost to Glenorchy Rodman, 52-63, and will be Sandy Bay’s opponent next Saturday.