Another enthralling weekend of bowls and we are now down to the final round of the season. Let’s have quick look at the weekend results and what it all means for promotions and relegations as we head into the final round of the season.
- Kalamunda are officially now the Blue South champions and will be promoted to one white next season. Congratulations to them on a fantastic season and they are worthy champions. Despite a 5 points to 3 defeat at the hands of Willetton on the weekend, Kardinya's loss to Rockingham has ensured that they cannot be caught whatever the results are in Round 18.
- Next week Kalamunda play Cockburn at home and whilst not critical in terms of their finishing position the match will be critical to Cockburn who now sit in 3rd place on the ladder and will be desperate for a win to retain 3rd place.
- Kardinya with a surprise loss at home vs Rockingham are now under some pressure to retain the all important 2nd place on the ladder (and a home final) although they cannot finish any lower than 3rd place. They face a tough fixture at Rossmoyne next week and would like a win to keep Cockburn at bay.
- A great win from Willetton over Kalamunda largely thanks to the strong win from the Girvan rink. Willetton still in with a real sniff for 3rd place given they are sitting 3.5 points adrift of Cockburn although they do face a difficult finish to the season where they must travel to Warnbro.
- Cockburn strong at home agin this week with 7.5points against Rossmoyne. They would love a win next week over the premiers away from home to help seal 3rd place. A loss would mean that they would need Warnbro to defeat Willetton and Rockingham to drop points against Thornlie to avoid any risk of dropping out of the top 3.
- Rockingham are now the smokey in final 3 betting. A surprise win away at Kardinya has kept them in touch with the top 3. They are now just one point behind Willetton and 4.5 points adrift from Cockburn. Next week they are back on home soil against bottom of the ladder Thornlie and they will be eyeing a big collect in this one. Should that happen and both Cockburn and Willetton are defeated they could easily find themselves in 3rd place on the ladder come next Saturday evening.
- Dalkeith recorded a great win away at Thornlie to pretty much consign the Thornlie side to relegation to 2nd division next season and vault themselves into 6th place on the ladder. The man of the moment was ex Thornlie start Michael Yates who rumour has it was given a nice ovation as he entered the Thornlie clubhouse post match.
- The good news for Dalkeith is that a win at home over Forrestfield next week will pretty much guarantee them 6th place on the ladder and safety for next season. The bad news is that a loss and wins from Rossmoyne and Warnbro could easily see them slip back to 9th place and the 2nd relegation spot.
- The same applies to Forrestfield in that a win over Dalkeith could see them grab 6th place however a loss and wins to Rossmoyne and Warnbro may see them drop to 9th. Should be a huge match next week at Dalkeith.
- Rossmoyne now sitting in 8th place but not all is lost. Mayor Lang would have been working on his spreadsheets into the early hours of Saturday night and what this would have told him is that an 8-0 win at home over the stumbling Kardinya could easily see them vault over both Forrestfield and Dalkeith in the event of a 6-2 win to Forrestfield over Dalkeith. Rossmoyne with a strong record at home so this scenario not out of the question.
- Warnbro need to win and win big to get out of 9th place on the ladder. A two point collect on the weekend has helped their chances but they come up against the consistent Willetton side that will also be keen for a win and a shot at 3rd place. Can they recapture the magic at home one last time and get themselves to safety and a chance in the play offs.
- Mathematically Thornlie could get out of the bottom two with an 8 nil win at Rockingham and some other results going there way but this seems very very unlikely. They face a rampant Rockingham team who themselves will want 8 points and a chance at 3rd place on the ladder.
Ok looking forward to next week and all of the permutations that could result. Should be a tough preview to write but with a great end to the season coming up with pretty much every team having a lot to play for.
Kardinya 78 (2) vs Rockingham 90 (6)
(Darryl Flintoff 11 - Mark Devenny 30) (John Rochford 17 - Marcus Simpson 15) (Norm Ball 27 - Bruce Edwards 16) (Ross Knapp 23 - Victor Arriagada 29)
Thornlie 79 (2) vs Dalkeith Nedlands 85 (6)
(Daniel Slade 23 - Andrew Foster 19) (Jim Stean 14 - Martin Saunders 19) (Michael McGann 27 - Darren Redeckis 17) (Terence McCormack 15 - Michael Yates 30)
