2023 Nationals: day nine recap
Just one round remains at the 2023 Australian Sides Championships and it is shaping up as one to remember.
After rounds five and six at Sorrento on Sunday, Queensland and NSW will go head-to-head in a winner-takes-all clash for the Alley Shield after both states kept their unbeaten record alive.
Three states remain in the mix for the Marj Morris Trophy, with Queensland, NSW and Victoria all potential champions ahead of Monday’s final round.
Marj Morris Trophy (women’s)
The hunt for the Marj Morris Trophy is down to three after two more fascinating rounds of action on Sunday.
Queensland, NSW and Victoria enjoyed unbeaten fifth and sixth rounds to keep title aspirations alive with one round to play.
Queensland sit narrowly clear of the Big V, one rink point clear after six rounds.
They started the third day of the sides series with a dominant win over the NT, before edging out Western Australia by just three shots to hold on to top spot with a 5-1 record.
WA will be lamenting what could have been, losing to Victoria by just one-shot in their first game of the day before falling to the Maroons. Two wins to the home state would have put them atop the table after six rounds.
After the Vics narrowly held on against WA, they managed a strong win over the NT to move level on match points with Queensland and give themselves the best chance possible come Monday.
After a slow start to the event, two big wins over ACT and SA on Sunday kept hopes of defending their title alive for NSW.
They sit one win behind both Queensland and Victoria, but a final round contest against the Maroons makes things interesting.
ACT have had an excellent event with four wins from six matches, but are all but out of the running for the title, with Queensland and NSW playing each other hurting their chances.
Victoria face winless Tasmania in their final round.
Queensland’s Kelsey Cottrell-skipped rink remains the only one with a perfect record, winning six from six contests so far.
TITLE RACE
Ahead of Monday’s final round, here is the title picture for each of the three remaining contenders.
QUEENSLAND
A match win and three rink wins would guarantee Queensland their first Marj Morris Trophy since 2017, putting them too far clear of Victoria. A match win over NSW and a loss for Victoria would also guarantee them victory.
Should Queensland and Victoria both win and finish level on rink points, the Maroons would likely hold the edge with shot difference, with Victoria needing to make up 48 shots plus whatever margin Queensland would have over NSW.
VICTORIA
Victoria will be cheering for their bordermates in NSW to get the job done against Queensland.
Should Victoria get the win over Tasmania and Queensland lose their match to NSW, Victoria would win their first Marj Morris Trophy since 2004.
If Queensland were to win, Victoria would need the Maroons to collect just one rink point, while winning all three of theirs against Tasmania. Alternatively, they would have to amass plenty of shots to improve their shot difference if rink points finished level.
A Victorian loss to Tasmania would rule them out of the equation, regardless of the NSW-Queensland result.
NSW
The equation is relatively straight forward for NSW – they must win and Victoria must lose.
Not only must NSW win, but they have to win at least 1.5 rink points to jump clear of Queensland. 1.5 rink points would put them half a rink point clear of the Maroons, while just one rink win would see them half a point behind.
View women’s senior sides championships results here.
Women’s ladder (after six rounds)
Alley Shield (men’s)
Despite round robin format played to decide the Alley Shield, Monday’s final round will effectively be a grand final as the winner of Queensland and NSW will raise the coveted shield as 2023 champions.
Both teams were unbeaten after four rounds going into rounds five and six on Sunday, and just as they had done throughout the entirety of the event, both sides dominated to head into the final round with 6-0 records.
Queensland dropped one rink to the Northern Territory as Trystan Smallacombe’s team managed to edge out recent two-time world champion Aron Sherriff by two shots, but the Maroons won well clear by 21 shots overall.
Home state Western Australia kept their faint title hopes alive after a crucial fifth round win over Victoria, but ran into rampant Queensland in round six to see the race for the Alley Shield cut down to two.
NSW sits atop the table after six rounds, accounting for ACT by 49 shots in their first match of the day before a 27-shot win over South Australia in the second session to setup a final round blockbuster with Queensland.
NSW has been clinical throughout the competition, dropping their first rink of the week to South Australia, and only by one shot, on Sunday.
They have scored 449 shots across six matches and have a shot difference of 189, 95 better than Queensland in second place.
The situation for the final round is simple – the winner takes home the 2023 Alley Shield. NSW will be favoured in the event of a tie, with rink points keeping them clear.
WA and ACT will battle for third place in the final round, with the winner to take out the bronze position.
Three rinks remain unbeaten after six rounds, with NSW’s Lee Schraner-skipped rink leading the way with +78 shot difference.
View men’s sides championships results here.
Men’s ladder (after six rounds)
The 2023 Nationals will run from October 6-20, 2023, with live streaming to take place on Bowls Australia’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
The 2023 Nationals in Perth, Western Australia is proudly supported by Tourism Western Australia, City of Joondalup, and the State government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Lotterywest in Western Australia. Sport and recreation creates vibrant, inclusive and connected WA communities.
