Victoria & NSW share pairs honours at Aus Champs
An epic day of bowls has taken place at the Dandenong Club in Melbourne’s South East with Victoria and New South Wales emerging victorious in the men’s and women’s tournament’s respectively.
One-time Australian Jackaroo Lee Schraner and teammate Brad Marron sealed the event for the home state following some clutch deliveries in pivotal moments to claim a well deserved gold medal.
The duo endured a lengthy opening encounter against the South Australian pair of Nathan Black and Craig Mills, with both willing to drive frequently creating numerous dead ends throughout the contest.
It was ultimately cut short of the scheduled 15 ends, with the Victorians prevailing 17-10.
Tasmanian pair of Will Coad and Robert O’Neill were next on the agenda for the Victorians, who eased through the matchup with a 19-8 victory, placing one foot in the final.
However, to reach the final they would need to overcome a strong contest against Western Australian’s Cody Packer and Matt Mitchell, who’s target was to win by five shots in order to progress to the decider.
The match seesawed with the Western Australians leading by five or more in nine of the 15 ends, and holding shots to ensure their place in the gold medal playoff with one Schraner bowl to come.
Schraner drove to perfection, eliminating all but one of his opponent’s bowls to surrender the match 14-10, but progress to the final on shot differential.
In the final, Queensland’s pair of Matt Lucas and Chris Le Lievre stood in their way, with a clinical 18-4 win to earn their gold medal.
Schraner complimented the luck from the final bowl against Western Australia but was ecstatic to claim the national title.
“It was lucky, I just had to hit the head, we were struggling badly at 10-2 behind and brad’s last six ends were brilliant, we hit the head in hope and if we missed it was too good to WA, but we were stoked to get through,” he said.
“It’s awesome, we had to take the most of our opportunities to get through the sectional matches and the final was great.
“Rink three at Dandenong was so nice to play on for, I really enjoyed it and I could back myself on the draw.”
New South Wales claimed the bronze with Jeremy Henry and Aaron Teys defeating Packer and Mitchell 20-7.
The women’s tournament began on shaky ground for championship winning pair Natasha Van Eldik and Genevieve Delves, who suffered a first up defeat to Victorian duo Carla Krizanic and Lisa Trewarne.
They clawed their way back from six down to boast a 15-13 lead heading into the final end before the Victorians collected four to take the win.
The New South Wales pairing followed up with a 14-9 victory over Queensland’s eventual bronze medallists Katelyn Inch and Julie Keegan, cementing their place in the final on shot difference, being two ahead of their northern opponents.
Waiting in the final was young Tasmanian pair of Jorja Maughan and Lauren Banks, and following a titanic battle, breaking through for the pair’s second gold medal of the week with a 15-9 victory.
Delves was full of praise for her younger opponents, who showed youthful exuberance and a daring game style that tested the experienced duo.
“Full credit to them, I remember when I first started out I wasn’t around the setup that much and you play without a level of fear, I love it when you see the youngsters coming through,” Delves told Rinkside Live.
“They played well and they made us work for it, but we found some resilience, it was frustrating at times but we had to hang in there.
“I wasn’t giving Tash much dropping them in short which is the biggest sin as a lead but that’s where it’s tough playing those young players with no fear.
“They read the heads a bit differently so it’s always going to be a tricky game.”
The Australian Championships continues at Dandenong Club tomorrow, with the fours disciplines contested across the third day.
2020 Australian Championships – Pairs Results
Men’s Gold Medal Match: Brad Marron & Lee Schraner (VIC) def Chris Le Lievre and Matt Lucas (QLD) 18-4
Men’s Bronze Medal Match: Jeremy Henry & Aaron Teys (NSW) def Matt Mitchell & Cody Packer (WA) 20-7
Women’s section
Women’s Gold Medal Match: Genevieve Delves & Natasha Van Eldik (NSW) def Laura Banks & Jorja Maughan (TAS) 15-9
Bronze Medal Match: Julie Keegan & Katelyn Inch (QLD) def Karen James & Ruth Moore (ACT)
Bowls Australia acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government in the delivery of this event.
