A great weekend of bowls action. A very warm Saturday followed by a cooler Sunday to provide bowlers with a little relief. So what conclusions can we draw come the end of Rd 3:
- We now have only one undefeated team in Kalamunda and they remain the clear favourites at this early stage of the season
- Hot on there heals are a group of 3 teams with 2 wins - Vic Park, Warnbro and Kardinya and they remain the testing material
- Every other team now has at least 1 win so this suggests that we have a very competitive season ahead
- Over the weekend only 1 team managed an away victory out of 10 matches and that was Kalamunda away to Forrestfield
- Most home victories were also very comprehensive
- So teams that can pinch an away win here and there and continue to win at home are well placed to make finals action
- And finally we now only have 3 undefeated rinks - Brandsma, Wishart and Mcllveen. Some quality amongst these 3
Forrestfield
Forrestfield pushed Kalamunda all the way on Saturday with just 3 shots in the Agg at the end. All rinks were close affairs with both Jarrad Wepner and Rhys Cummings recording rink wins that gave Forrestfiled 2 points. Rhys Tillemans almost recorded a win over the undefeated Bill Brandsma’s rink which overall was an impressive effort against this season’s favourite. Unfortunately the result on Sunday was another disappointment with no points against the extra strength Vic Park side. Not the weekend that they would have been hoping for but very tough to play 2 away games in consecutive days. There were however some positives from the performance at Kalamunda and they will be a more difficult opponent back at home this Saturday.
Kalamunda
It was Kalamunda 6-2 over Forrestfield on Saturday. Ian Cornthwaite recorded a 9 shot win over Brian Barnfield and this was enough to carry the Agg.
On Sunday another hard fought victory over Rockingham also 6-2 with Brandsma getting the job done again with a comfortable 13 shot victory over Mark Devenny. Kalamunda stamping themselves as the team to beat at this early stage of the season.
Kardinya
A weekend of contrasts for Kardinya. A very strong win at home over Dalkeith securing 7.5 points in a comfortable win. On Saturday the Vinci boys played like a couple of “mafia dons” and were all over the Martin Saunders rink to the tune of 23 shots. Norm Ball was also firing taking down Andrew Foster by 9 shots. On Sunday the tide turned as bowls has the habit of doing. The Vinci boys were run out of town by the good Dr G and his rink to the tune of 21 shots at Warnbro. All rinks were down and the Kats recorded there first defeat of the season. They will be disappointed to walk away from this match with no points but overall the Kats have started the season off well with 2 wins and are still well placed to challenge for a finals position given they will clearly be very hard to topple at home.
Dalkeith
Not the weekend that Dalkeith were looking for after a promising start in week 1. Two defeats although both were away from home. The Kardy Kats never gave Dalkeith a look in with a comfortable victory whilst 2 points at South Perth was some consolation with what was a tough welcome back to One Blue. Best for Dalkeith over the weekend was the Jesse Brown rink which recorded a draw and a win against some quality opposition. Dalkeith will need to re group for this week back on their home deck.
Rockingham
Tremendous win on Saturday by Rockingham to get the full 8 points against Fremantle. Marcus Simpson returned to form with a 33 short win over the Brian McCarthy rink. Another credible performance on Sunday as they played well against Kalamunda away from home and made them really earn the victory. A good start to the season from Rockingham and maybe flying a touch under the radar at this early stage of the season. They now face a crucial fixture at home vs the in form Vic Park side on Saturday and a win would really help set up the season ahead.
Fremantle
Were able to record their first win of the season with a 7 -1 defeat of Thornlie on the Sunday. That was a welcome return to form from the Fremantle boys after a poor result against Rockingham on Saturday where they failed to record any points. It looks like Dinko was back in full flight with a strong win and hopefully this victory can give them some confidence and help get there season underway.
Thornlie
A mixed bag for Thornlie over the weekend. There first win of the season on Saturday vs Warnbro in emphatic style 7 points to 1. However they could not sustain this from on Sunday with a 7 to 1 defeat at the hands of Fremantle. Michael Yates was back in good form with 2 strong wins over the weekend after a shock loss in Round 1. On paper Thornlie look to have a talented team but they will need to tidy up there away performances if they are going to challenge for the finals.
Warnbro
Swings and roundabouts for Warnbro over the weekend. A poor result Saturday vs Thornlie was followed by an 8 point sweep over the previously unbeaten Kardinya. Troy Dellar and his rink with 2 wins over the weekend was excellent and Dr G taking care of business on Sunday with a lazy 21 shot win over the Vinci boys. Overall a pretty good start to the season for Warnbro and they remain well placed to push for a finals spot come season’s end.
Vic Park
A master stroke from the Vic Park club getting Ben Twist to Perth for the weekend. Things went so well that by the mid point of the fixture against South Perth his 3rd for this fixture Leigh "the godfather” Such was seen reaching into his bowls bag to take out a large cigar. It got even better the following day with a comprehensive 8 nil victory over Forrestfield. Wishart in ominous form over the weekend and with the godfather riding shotgun on Sunday they cruised to victory. Let’s see what next Saturday brings as they travel to Rockingham but 14 points over the weekend was a great return.
South Perth
Rumours swept bowls circles late in the week that bowls supremo Ken Pride was looking to use his extensive bowls contacts and make arrangements to fly in Aron Sheriff to help the South Perth team tackle the Vic Park boys post inclusion of Ben Twist. It was not to be however so they unleashed Steve Kelly and his rink of Masterson, Petrich and Anderson instead. And to be fair reports suggest that they took things right up to the Twist/Such combination at the start establishing a nice lead early, only falling away late in a very credible performance.
On Sunday back to familiar surrounds they recorded there first win of the season over Dalkeith. The big winner was the Paul Davies rink with a 28 shot win over Martin Saunders - Paul dropping down from Premier league team due to unavailability on the Friday night. Martin was apparently not that happy to see him.
Warnbro 102 (8) vs Kardinya 65 (0)
(Barry Kalinowsky 27 - Ian Barrie 18) (George Jackson 30 - Conn Vinci 9) (John Radford 24 - Norm Ball 22) (Troy Dellar 21 - John Rochford 16)
South Perth 86 (6) vs Dalkeith Nedlands 64 (2)
(David Mortley 25 - Lindsay Richardson 15) (Michael McRae 12 - Andrew Foster 25) (Paul Davies 33 - Martin Saunders 5) (Steve Kelly 16 - Jesse Brown 19)
Fremantle 87 (7) vs Thornlie 76 (1)
(Brian McCarthy 21 - Daniel Slade 19) (Dinko Golem 26 - Norman Holden 16) (John Smith 15 - Michael Yates 20) (Shaun McCormack 25 - Eddie Gollan 21)
Kalamunda 81 (6) vs Rockingham 64 (2)
(Dwayne Wooltorton 15 - Bruce Edwards 18) (Ian Cornthwaite 17 - Russell McIlveen 19) (Wayne Olive 24 - Marcus Simpson 15) (William Brandsma 25 - Mark Devenny 12)
Victoria Park Carlisle 89 (8) vs Forrestfield 61 (0)
(Ben Twist 22 - Rhys Tillemans 18) (David Florance 24 - Jarad Weppner 11) (Graeme Wishart 20 - Rhys Cummings 19) (Michael Adams 23 - George Tibbles 13)
