I think we can confidently say that barring a severe form loss we now have our champions in Blue South. The Rockingham victory over Kalamunda has left Vic Park 15.5 points clear at the top and in a seemingly unassailable position. But there remains a log jam in the middle of the table and still so much to play for. As it was for the previous season final placings will likely come down to the final game of the season and every point earned in between will be very valuable. A quick summary of yesterday’s results as follows:
Kardinya 93 (7) vs Warnbro 69 (1)
(Conn Vinci 26 - Lindsay Strange 18) (Geoffrey White 17 - Kieran Cousens 19) (Ian Barrie 27 - Barry Kalinowsky 10) (Norm Ball 23 - George Jackson 22)
Kardinya with a comfortable 7-1 win at home over Warnbro. Ian Barrie with a 17 shot win over Barry Kalinowski plus the Vinci boys back in harness with an 8 shot win over Lindsay Strange did all of the damage. Kardinya seem to be back in the form they displayed earlier in the season and are now back in 4th place. Warnbro with work to do down in 8th place and they are now well and truly in the danger zone.
Dalkeith Nedlands 93 (6.5) vs South Perth 73 (1.5)
(Andrew Foster 21 - David Mortley 21) (Jesse Brown 35 - Peter Holmes 14) (Lindsay Richardson 19 - Steve Kelly 21) (Martin Saunders 18 - Max Petrich 17)
Dalkeith remain unbeaten at home and Michael Yates doing a great job with the grass green each week. Jesse Brown continued his strong form this season with a 21 shot win over Peter Holmes to help secure the aggregate for Dalkeith. All other rinks were very close but 6.5 points to Dalkeith keeps them mid table. South Perth remain in the danger zone themselves sitting in 9th place and will need to dig deep in the final 6 games if they are to survive.
Thornlie won at home as expected but Fremantle did secure 2 points. Daniel Slade continued his good form with an 18 shot win over Shaun McCormack whilst Michael Yates was also back in the winners list with a 17 shot win over Peter Wachmer. Thornlie get to 7th place but Fremantle remain anchored to the bottom and in desperate need of some wins over the next couple of weeks.
Rockingham 97 (7) vs Kalamunda 74 (1)
(Bruce Edwards 26 - Wayne Olive 19) (Lindsay Atkins 14 - William Brandsma 34) (Marcus Simpson 35 - Ian Cornthwaite 8) (Russell McIlveen 22 - Dwayne Wooltorton 13)
The upset of the day was the 23 shot victory by Rockingham over Kalamunda. I did think Rocky were a chance in this one but the scope of the win did surprise and they might even be eyeing off 2nd place now. Marcus Simpson continued his brilliant form with a 27 shot win over Ian Cornthwaite and incredibly Bill Brandsma returned serve with a 20 shot win to remain undefeated. We may have to put a bounty on the head of Brandsma but it will be a difficult scalp to get given the form that the rink is displaying. Never the less Kalamunda would be disappointed with this weeks result.
Forrestfield 69 (1) vs Victoria Park Carlisle 72 (7)
(Brad Wicks 15 - David Florance 17) (Jarad Weppner 14 - Gary Beckwith 26) (Rhys Cummings 14 - Graeme Wishart 22) (Rhys Tillemans 26 - Lee Such 7)
And now the close one for the day. Bowls can be cruel at times and Forrestfield put up a huge fight against our leaders Vic Park but walked away with just 1 point post a 3 shot defeat. Rhys Tillemans continued his strong form with a 19 shot win over Lee Such but it was not quite enough in the end. Graeme Wishart was a comfortable winner to continue his good form plus Gary Beckwith by 12 over Jarad Weppner was enough for a Vic Park win and a 15.5 point lead at the top.
