Only one minor surprise in the sixth game of this pennant season, when the unbeaten run of both Safety Bay and their top skipper in Ron Hall came to an end, albeit narrowly.
All other games were predictable, except maybe the massive margin that the Storm lost by to the rampaging Hawks. I guess you could say that the Mariners put up a reasonable performance against the flying Kookaburras though, but they still lost.
SPEARWOOD 80 (6) v SAFETY BAY 78 (2)
Ivan Unkovich 16 v Chris Carruthers 19
Ken Nadilo 21 v Christopher Owen 20
Vled Pesich 17 v Paul Beaumont 20
Ivan Perica 26 v Ron Hall 19
What a magnificent contest was that held at Spearwood on Saturday, when the home side showed what they are capable of with a very narrow two shot win over the previously unbeaten Bay side.
The biggest winning margin was that produced by the four of skip Ivan Perica, Nik Sokol, young Anthony Stojan and very good lead in Tonko Flamengo, who had a handy seven shot win over Ron Hall and his team.
The ever reliable Ken Nadilo carved out a one shot victory over Chris Owen, to gain the other point for the home side.
Carruthers and Beaumont getting the two points for the wounded visitors.
Maybe Spearwood has finally settled their sides down, which has undoubted value.
GOSNELLS 77 (7) v FREMANTLE 69 (1)
Grant Nicol 11 v Shaun McCormack 20
Frank Carbone 22 v Peter Wachmer 17
Maurice Crabb 23 v Wayne Heldt 17
Brett Holland 21 v Mark Gill 15
The Mariners travelled inland to the home of the Kookaburras, and they were just a little out of their depth though, losing by just eight shots at the finish.
Teams skipped by Carbone, Crabb and Brett Holland all winning by five or so shots, which was enough to carry the aggregate, and leave the Kookaburras now equal on points with the Bay at the top of the table.
My friend from Gosnells tells me that they had their nose in front for most of the day, but he stated that Fremantle showed quite a bit of spirit on a foreign surface.
Young Shaun McCormack, with brilliant third Jimmy Stewart, and newcomer Andrew Hocken gave the visitors some hope to win by nine over the General.
HILTON PARK 122 (8) v ARMADALE 52 (0)
Travis Simpson 28 v Blair Griffiths 16
Craig Standley 38 v Brandon Heta 4
Robert Hunter 27 v Chadd Hunt 19
Gary Dodd 29 v Brian Davis 13
The Hawks kicking up a Storm in their huge win over the visitors from Armadale, winning by some seventy shots at the end of eighty four ends.
A massive win to the rink of Craig Standley, skip, ably assisted by Luke Garbutt, Brian Smith and excellent lead in Rod Butler.
They held the opposite four to just four shots, and won by thirty four, a big win.
The only four that put up a fight for Armadale was the rink skipped by Chad Hunt, who lost by eight to the Hunter foursome.
Armadale now in serious trouble to put it mildly, whilst Hilton shoot up the ladder to third spot.
VICTORIA PARK CARLISLE 61 (1.5) v MANNING 80 (6.5)
Robert Johnson 16 v Alan Pryce 16
Michael Simms 22 v Graham O'Brien 15
David Florance 13 v Stephen Hughes 19
John Hiskins 10 v Shane Adams 30
The Eagles carrying on with their winning form, and carving out a comfortable nineteen shot win over the veteran Reds outfit.
The big winner for the Eagles was the rink skipped by newcomer Shane Adams, with his brother Brett as third. Up front for Adams were Andy Lill and veteran Ken Jolly who dominated I believe.
The other winner for the visitors was the Steve Hughes skipped rink who beat the David Florance four by six shots.
Young Michael Simms led his rink well to gain a well earned point for the home side, with Johnson and Pryce having a ding dong battle all day, only to end up with a draw.
Manning report
In their last 3 matches The Reds had won 1 and only lost the other 2 by 4 and 5 shots, so the Eagles knew to forget about ladder positions, as they were heading to an away Team that was in form. The Eagles welcomed back a couple of very seasoned players in Graham O’Brien and Ken Jolly, who both contributed very well throughout the day.
By End 11 the Eagles were up on 3 rinks by 19 points, but The Reds Simms Rink was doing all they could to keep Vic Park in the match by holding a 9 shot lead against O’Brien on their rink. By End 17, these same totals were The Eagles 24 shots up on 3 rinks whilst Simms was up 12 on his rink.
The experience of the O’Brien rink showed here, refusing to panic they stayed focused and won 3 of the last 4 ends – 6 shots to 1, bringing the loss in the end to a very respectable single figure total.
The Manning Adams and Hughes Rinks were in control all day, while the Pryce Rink had a real battle with Johnson for a 16-16 final score. The Eagles went on to a comfortable 19 shot win at the end of the day, but with a little bit of luck the Reds could have been a lot closer – if not winners.
O’Brien, Jeppersen, Ellis, Evans 15
Simms, Staude, McCallum, McKay 22
As mentioned, the experienced Eagles Rink didn’t lose sight of the big picture here and toward the end Jeppersen and O’Brien fought to keep the loss to single figures. These guys will be hungry for a win next week.
Pryce, McILHeney, Rees, Hughes 16
Johnson, Jermalinski, Hogarth, Archell 16
After a slow start the Pryce Rink took control of the game during the middle stages. Only to then have the Reds fight back to take the lead by 1 shot on End 20. Good leading again throughout the day from Hughes and the Eagles took a 1 on the final end to finish the game in a tie.
Adams, Adams, Jolly, Lill 30
Hiskins, O’Leary, Fruend, Eascott 10
A real team effort here from The Eagles boys never really gave the Reds a sniff. Lill continued his excellent form while Jolly slotted in beautifully. Adams brought to an end the 3 game winning streak of this Reds Rink in a very abrupt manner.
Hughes, Hogg, Connell, Lambert 19
Florance, Long, Holland, Robertson 13
The ever reliable Hughes took the lead on End 5 and didn’t look back. Second Bob Connell was again all over it throughout the day and there a now whispers being heard around about maybe having to drug test him! His form this year has been outstanding. Hughes really does have a team that are making his time at the head, and on the mat, very enjoyable.
THORNLIE 95 (7) v LEEMING 77 (1)
Gary Beckwith 26 v Alexander Anderson 21
Norman Holden 17 v Karl Vandersluys 18
Glyn Vaughan 24 v Gary Ford 23
Glenn Sewell 28 v James Newton 15
The Lions continuing to struggle and losing by some eighteen shots to the Ravens, still smarting after last weeks surprise loss.
The big winner for the home side was the foursome of Sewell, Collier, Walker and Mitchell, who had a handsome win over the well performed Newton rink.
Beckwith and Vaughan picking up the other points for the home side, with the ever reliable Karl Vandersluys and his team winning a thriller by one shot to gain the solitary point for the Lions.
The Lions now in unfamiliar territory in the bottom four.
