Our first Friday night game for the season and what a humdinger it produced and showing that if their is a PL game in your area during the year, why not go out and watch some high quality bowls in play. It has been widely discussed but going in to the last end it was close, about 6 shots with the final ends to play. Mark Douthie with the tough game over Justin Opie but he did very well and probably held his measure all game, but Opie doesn't give up easily and 6 down going in to the last end, he was holding 5 shots, but Douthie as cool as you like, steps up and draws the shot cold. He wins 24-17. A similar story was unfolding on the Walker v Griffin rink, Walker 8 up going into the last end but Griffin holding a nice 5 before in a similar storyline, Walker steps up and draws the shot with the last bowl of the rink. Walker wins by 9.
The Scott Walker game playing Joe McGinlay was a dominant display by Walker and he showed his class all game. He wins by 16 and keeps his Millers in the hunt. In the final match we saw Ron Kuziela playing Glenn Pauling and again the North Beach skipper always seemed to have his nose in front all game. But come the last end, Pauling and his rink were holding 3 shots. And like his teammates around him, Kuziela able to draw shot cold with the last bowl on the rink. Across those 3 rinks is a combined 16 shot turnaround, a huge night for North Beach and I bet they celebrated hard watching their Blue North comrades on the Saturday. It's a bitter pill for South Perth, such a fortress last year and been breached twice hits year by sides on the lower end of the spectrum last year. We saw last week what they can do but they need to produce it at home now.

Cambridge did look to have the better changes for the round prompting my tip of Cambridge and it looked to be that way during the game as the Knights proved to be that little bit too good on the day.
It was really driven on the back of Pieter Harris who won by 20 over Dinko Golem and remains undefeated, the only non-Bassendean skipper with that honour and he tops the skippers table in a triumphant return to the Premier League this year. Sam Perica also tasting success with his 7 shot win over Kevin McKay. This win was offset really by the 7 shot win by Steve Novak with his first win for the Kats as skipper and remarkably already one of only Kats to have skippered all 3 games this year. Kevin McKay the other. The remaining winning Kardinya rink though was not able to bridge the gap created by the big Harris win. it was the big clash of the heavyweights, Dave Rankin saluting on this occasion over Clive Adams by a sole shot.
Huge win to Cambridge as they remain undefeated and sit secoon the ladder, already 4.5 clear of third placed Doubleview. Kardinya have been beset by early season tragedies and hopefully they are now behind the club and they can select a settled 16 and forge ahead with the season.

Upset of the year so far, Doubleview travelling to Mosman Park in a game that was expected to be tough but one we all thought they would win but Mosman Park having none of that, a big 18 shot win mainly at the hands of their gun skipper Dale Marsland over the Doubleview jet John Slavich. It is Slavichs biggest loss in 4 years, November 2015 was when he suffered a bigger loss and shows how significant the win was for the home side. The remaining rinks were quite close, also highlighting the importance of this win. Louie Beurteaux also completing a horror day for the Slavich brothers as Beurteuax won by 4 over him. It is Beurteuax's 2nd win on the trot and he is having a good year.
Doubleview did not leave empty handed and despite an expectant will gladly take the 2 points they could grad as winning at mosman Park may be a tough gig for the remaining teams to play there. Ryan Moyel a tight 1 shot win and Kyle mcilroy also continuing his good start to the year his 2nd win in a row as well.
Yes doubleview will be hurting but the result probably more important for mosman Park as it was vital they grabbed some points from there first 3 outings against the favourite opposition, especially after the win by their anticipated closest rival in North Beach. Maybe those 2 sides may avoid demotion? still a long way to go.

A win as expected to Osborne Park at home over the Warnbro Wizards by a massive 44 shots. Most of that came in one rink, that of Gary Caffell holding Bill Baker to only 4 shots and getting 30 of his own in the 26 shot win. It was a huge thump back to earth for Baker who had a good win in his debut skippers game in the Premier League last week by 9 but also a good return for Caffell who did have a narrow loss last week so this is his first win for the year.
It wasn't all the Gary Caffell show though, Cody Packer getting in to form for his Perth suns foray with his 12 shot win over Barry Kalinowsky and Neville Stevens a likewise good win by 14 over Kieran Cousens. The loss by those 2 Warnbro skippers see them fall to the bottom of the skippers table as they search for their first win this year.
Warnbro did go home with a vital away point, that of Lindsay Strange who won by 8 over Kevin Pickering. It's going to be a long year for Warnbro and any success away from home will be celebrated as they will be relying on home wins to see them safely retain the PL. It was the first win for the season for OSborne Park and saw them climb off the bottom of the ladder and now sit 7th, still plenty of time to string some wins together and keep climbing the ladder.

Our final game and it saw the continued early success for Bassendean as they travelled to Manning and came away with with all 8 points, a similar story to their away game at South Perth 2 weeks ago. Again it wasn't one rink that was particularly big winners, my rink over Tom Mitchell picked up a 5 on the last end to inflate the score where we probably had control most of the day anyway, but across the board it was just a solid effort by all Lions. Mitchell was awesome against me, his driving clinical as he killed 4 ends but just as deadly were his draw shots, 3 ends when 3 down he was able to draw show saving what I anticipated to be 15 shots over the course of the day. Unfortunately for Mitchell though, it was a lone hand. Stein Davies here probbly our most influential player albeit with some good fortune at time but his weight was perfect most times.
In other rinks. Dan Nicholls always seemed to have his nose in front, and when his lead was big, Anthony Williams would lift and bridge the gap, before Nicholls again pulled away. and so it was at the end when he won by 7. Beau Manton and Shane Knott in a very smiliar scoreline, Manton out early but Knott with a 5 on about the 10th end closed it up, and like Nicholls, Manton pulled away again and looked to get the rink when on the last end at 4 down, Knott holding 3 and then drew shot for 4 and a draw looked imminent. Manton with ice in his veins stepped up to the mat and drew to the ditch for 1 and winning the rink by 5
The Rhodes/Such game was a doozy with plenty of exceptional bowls being played across the rink. I'm not surew if the score was ever more than 2 or 3 to either skipper as they both were in front at various stages and going into the 21st end they were locked at 16 all. As the skippers crossed over, it was a Manning bowl holding shot and about 2 inches immediately behind the kitty with bassendean holding the next 2. Lee Such places a blocked and Rhodes has a running shot and sure enough, hits the blocker. Could Such find his way to his first win for the year? The call went out for another blocker but this time it was too big and Rhodes had a clear shot at the bowl, albeit only half the bowl to hit without moving the kitty. But hit it he did, clean as a whistle, getting the 2 shots and securing the 8-0 win for the visitors.