Kingborough and Sandy Bay in epic battle
Saturday grand finals preview by Peter Kirby
Kingborough and Sandy Bay in epic battle for pennant honours
Saturday marks the culmination of Bowls South’s Saturday Pennant season when reigning premier, Sandy Bay, takes on minor premier, Kingborough, in the Derwent Eye Specialists Premier Division Grand Final at the Beltana Lindisfarne Community Bowls Club. This is a classic battle between an emerging force, Kingborough, and the indomitable spirit of a side that has won thirteen of the past twenty four Premier Division pennants, Sandy Bay.
Kingborough’s dominance of Sandy Bay this season will be put to the test on Saturday, and it will be relying on the strong front end of each of its rinks to provide good starts to every end, while Sandy Bay will be pushing hard to win its third pennant in succession. An exciting contest is expected, with Kingborough slight favourites to win. The match will be live streamed for those unable to attend in person, accessible through Bowls Tasmania’s Facebook page.
Kingborough and Howrah will meet in the Division 1 Grand Final at the Rosny Park Bowls Club. Results between the two sides this season are 2-1 in Howrah’s favour, but both sides play their home games on indoor artificial surfaces and it will be the side that adapts best to the expected slow, heavy grass green at Rosny, affected by recent wet weather, that will come out on top on the day.
The Division 2 Grand Final, between Orford and Rosny Park, is the other Grand Final to be played at Beltana. The result of this match is difficult to predict, but Orford should not suffer too greatly from its trip from the East Coast, and Rosny Park comes into the match in good form, having won both their Semi Final and Preliminary Final games by 30+ shot margins, so the winner will be the side that copes best with the conditions and pressure on the day.
All other Grand Finals will be held at the Rosny Park Bowls Club. In Division 3, Kingborough will play Sandy Bay, with Kingborough’s all-rinks win over the same opponent in the Qualifying Semi Final installing them as favourites to win. Cygnet and Howrah contest Division 4, with Cygnet’s recent victories against their opponents likely to continue.
Claremont meets Glenorchy City in Division 5, and while there has been little separating them in their meetings this season, Claremont’s superior knowledge of grass greens should bring it success. Glenorchy Rodman plays Franklin in Division 6, with Rodman the likely winner of this contest.