State Pennant Finals close the 2022-23 season
A report for The Mercury by Peter Kirby
Bowls Tasmania’s annual Saturday State Pennant Finals will be played this year on the North-West Coast with the Burnie and South Burnie Bowls Clubs hosting the events. Premier Division, and Divisions 1 and 3 will be held at the Burnie Bowls Club, while South Burnie will be host to the other five Divisions. Bowls Tasmania has invited the Saturday Pennant winners from each of the three regions to participate.
Bowls South will be represented by sides from Kingborough (Premier Division and Division 3), Howrah (Division 1), Rosny Park (Division 2), Cygnet (Division 4), Claremont (Division 5), and Franklin (Division 6). In Premier Division, Kingborough will be pitted against Longford, representing Bowls North, and Devonport, from Bowls North-West.
In Division 1, Howrah will compete against Ridgley (North-West), and Trevallyn (North). The third contest at Burnie Bowls Club, Division 3, will include the premier side from the East Coast, Scamander, as well as Kingborough (South), Georgetown (North), and Sheffield (North-West).
At South Burnie Bowls Club, Division 2 will involve Rosny Park (South), Exeter (North) and Penguin (North-West). Division 4 will be a contest between Cygnet (South), Kings Meadows (North, and Latrobe (North- West). Claremont (South), Westbury (North) and Penguin (North-West) will compete for the Division 5 State Pennant, while just two sides, Franklin (South) and Lilydale (North) will vie for the Division 6 pennant.
Play in the State Pennant Finals in most divisions will commence with matches between sides from the North and North-West at 9am Saturday morning. In Division 3, the opening round will have Kingborough playing Scamander, and Sheffield playing Georgetown. In all other divisions, sides from the South will play their first game Saturday afternoon, commencing at 1pm, with their opponent being the loser of the opening round. The final round in all divisions, except Division 6, will be played Sunday morning, commencing at 9am.
Kingborough can be expected to make a strong challenge for the Premier Division State Pennant, having won their maiden state title in this division when last contested on the North-West Coast, at Penguin in 2019. Competition is expected to be fierce in the top division, with all sides containing aspirants for selection in Bowls Tasmania’s Men’s Open State side, with the winning side too hard to predict.
The southern bowls community has high expectations for good performances from all sides representing Bowls South and looks forward to celebrating with them the success of their State Pennant campaigns.