Blues crowned bowls champions
New South Wales has regained the number one ranking in Australian men’s bowls, securing the Alley Shield with one round remaining at the Bendigo Bowls Club, as the Bendigo Advertiser reports.
After losing the Australian Sides Championship title to arch-rival Queensland last year, the Blues set out to prove they’re the premier state in men’s bowls and they achieved their goal last night in emphatic style.
With this morning’s final round to be played, the Blues are in impregnable position after extending their unbeaten streak to six, edging out Victoria in yesterday morning’s encounter 60-53, before finishing strongly to defeat Queensland in the penultimate rubber 52-47 to seal their sixth Shield in 11 years.
“Having to play Victoria and Queensland today was always going to be tough, but the team did a great job,’’ New South Wales coach Bryce Stewart said.
“We always seem to have trouble with Victoria… they’ve got a very good team this year.
“It was a very close match. We didn’t get in front of Queensland until about three-quarters of the way through the match, so it was very tight.
“We’re very happy to have won the trophy, but we still have one game to go and we want to go through undefeated.”
South Australia remained in contention up until the sixth round, but failed to overcome host state Victoria.
While dropping the match on overall points, Victoria’s two rink wins assured it of a second place finish, ahead of South Australia and Queensland, who will encounter Tasmania and Northern Territory respectively in the deciding round today.
Former Bendigo bowler Peter Loe is the lead for the best-performed rink in the men’s section.
Loe, Brett Foley, Todd Simmons and skipper Graeme Archer have a 5-1 record for the week and lead Victorian team-mates Dylan Fisher, Aaron Wilson, Barrie Lester and Matt Flapper by 11 shots.
The seventh and final round of the Australian Sides Championships will start at Bendigo Bowls Club from 9am this morning.
