Bowls action returns after festive season break
A report for THE MERCURY by Peter Kirby
Bowls South’s pennant competitions recommence next Thursday with play in Women’s Division 1. Any one of the leading 6 sides have claims to a top 4 finish with current leaders, Sandy Bay, 10 points ahead of 6th placed Brighton.
While the race for a place in the final four is intriguing, the battle to avoid relegation to Division 2 will be a desperate struggle between the bottom four sides. 7th placed Glenorchy City, on 48 points, is seemingly safe, 25 points ahead of last placed Sorell, and the quirks of their synthetic green likely to aid their survival in the top division.
Buckingham, in 8th spot on 45 points, also has a clear buffer over Sorell which should ensure them another season in the top Thursday division, leaving 9th placed Rosny Park and Sorell in the fight to avoid relegation.
At present Rosny has a seven-point advantage over Sorell and would be confident of holding off any challenge, but the result of their Round 15 clash at Rosny Park may be the deciding factor that determines which of the two sides finish in 10th spot at the conclusion of the roster season.
Results from action in Round 11 next Thursday will be a good indicator of the strength of claims for participation in finals, with second placed Howrah hosting Kingborough, equal on points but third by percentage. Kingborough won their Round 2 encounter by 27 shots, and Howrah will be keen to extract revenge on their indoor surface.
This is the match of the round, and is a challenge for the Kingborough side, with a bad loss to their hosts having the potential to drop them out of the top four.
In a danger game for top side, Sandy Bay, 5th placed Claremont will be eager to make it two wins for the season against their hosts, with a good winning margin enough to advance them as far as second on the ladder.
Glenorchy City will welcome Glenorchy Rodman to their Berriedale facility, with the quality of Rodman’s players likely to guarantee the visitors a hard-fought win, while Sorell will be hopeful that their synthetic surface will give them a winning advantage over visitors, Buckingham.
Brighton travel to Rosny Park, hoping to do better than their early season 15 shot win over their hosts, while Rosny will be pressing to gain valuable rink wins to bolster their chances of keeping their place in Division 1.