2021 Australian Championships preview
Following the cancellation of the 2020 event with a day and a half’s play still to come, the excitement at the return of the Australian Championships for the postponed 2021 event is palpable.
The bowling fraternity will descend on Broadbeach Bowls Club on the Gold Coast for an action packed week filled with stars from all corners of the country as they strive for national glory.
New South Wales participants will not be at the event due to COVID-19 postponements of their state championships, but will be back for the Nationals in October.
A plethora of stars will take to the green in singles, with the men’s event boasting Queensland’s Chris Rosanes, who performed in exemplary fashion at BPL14 in Moama at the end of February.
Joining him will be Western Australia’s Blake Nairn, South Australian Senior Sides skip Gary Smith, the Northern Territory’s number one ranked bowler Mark Malogorski and Doug Farr from the ACT.
Rounding out the men’s field will be Victoria’s Nathan Murray, Tasmania’s Jacob Brown.
In the women’s singles, the headline act will be Right at Home Australian Jackaroo Kristina Krstic as she looks to fly the Western Australian flag.
Emerging Jackaroo Kate Argent-Bowden will represent South Australia, as will fellow Emerging squad member Bolivia Millerick.
Rounding out the women’s singles quintet will be fifth ranked national bowler Sarah James from the Northern Territory and Rae Simpson from Tasmania.
In the women’s pairs, Emerging Jackaroo Cassandra Millerick will team up with Jackaroo Kelsey Cottrell for Queensland, with fellow national squad member Rebecca Van Asch pairing with Alison Venn for Tasmania.
For Western Australia, Lisa Featherby and Linda Warburton will strive for their own state glory, while Victoria will be represented by Denise Huenda and Alison Hall.
In the men’s pairs, former Jackaroo Aron Sherriff teams up with Sean Ingham for Queensland, with Pathways Jackaroo Taelyn Male and fellow Tasmania Tridents BPL team member Mark Nitz will join forces for Tasmania.
Male’s fellow Pathways Jackaroo Jarryd Davies is another notable participant in the men’s pairs competition, playing with Cooper Wescombe for Victoria.
The mixed pairs event will be headlined by dual World Champions in Lynsey Clarke and Brett Wilkie for Queensland, while Victorian power couple Kelly McKerihen and Ali Forsyth will look to bring their own title home.
Tasmanian sibling pairing in Jorja and Isaac Maughan will represent the Apple Isle, with strong competition coming from the Northern Territory thanks to Jen Redshaw and state singles representative Malogorski.
In the men’s triples, Queensland will again look to be a front runner, with Nick Cahill, Jackaroo Barrie Lester and Sherriff aiming to bring the crown to the Sunshine State.
Their fiercest challengers will come from the likes of the Mark Nitz skipped Tasmania and Trystan Smallacombe’s Northern Territory squad.
The women’s triples will boast a Van Asch skipped Tasmanian outfit, with Canadian international McKerihen part of the Victorian outfit.
Colleen Orr will skip the Northern Territory’s trio, while Featherby will again front up for Western Australia as the state’s skip.
Orr will represent her state in the fours, with Krstic to do the same for Western Australia.
Kylie Whitehead will skip the Victorian team as she looks to build on a brilliant 2022 where she has been named on the Jackaroos May UK Tour, while Chloe Morrison will look to bring the state title home for the ACT.
Former Jackaroo Matt Flapper will skip the Victorian quartet in the men’s fours, while Tim Douce will skip for Tasmania.
The 2021 Australian Champion of Champions will be held on April 26-29, 2022, at Broadbeach Bowls Club. Follow Rinkside Live on Bowls Australia’s Facebook Page.
