Last week the finals of the State Champion of Champion Pairs and Singles was played at Ballina in near perfect conditions.
This event brings the final 16 in the State together from all the club champions throughout NSW.
Kevin Robinson from Tuncurry Beach qualified in both events and acquitted himself very well in both of them, reaching the final of the pairs with Matt Sargeant, and also getting as far as the semi-final of the singles.
In the pairs, with a walkover in the first game the duo came up against our near neighbours, Greg Brims and Peter Stockham from Westport in the quarter final, who they accounted for 18-13.
In the semi it was Phil Power and Michael Anderson from Austral who provided the opposition.
It started out as a close game, with the score going shot for shot, with Kevin and Matt holding a slender 8-7 lead.
It was then that they powered away to record a 26-8 win.
The final was against Ben Morethorpe and Australian rep Aaron Wilson from the powerful Cabramatta club.
This game began in a similar way to the semi, with the scores were close in the beginning, but after leading 7-6, the wheels fell off, and they dropped seven ends straight..
From this deficit they could not recover, eventually going down 10-24.
In thw singles, Kevin began with a 31-14 win over Shane Starkey from Umina Beach.
In the quarter final he accounted for Terry Warder from Harbord 31-18.
Things got a bit tougher in the semi against former Australian rep Michael Cronin from East Cessnock.
Again this started as a close match, but Michael kept applying the pressure and although Kevin was not playing badly, Michael just seemed to find a way to get the shot and defeated Kevin 31-11.
This was a commendable effort from Kevin, over four tough days of bowls, against quality opposition.
Together with his results from earlier in the year, this may have him in consideration when Bowls NSW announces its senior bowler of the year at their annual presentation and awards night.
The Zone rookie singles event was played at Buladelah on Sunday, after play was washed out on Saturday.
Players were divided into four sections, with the section winners being Tom Williams from Forster, Terry Daniel from Taree Leagues, Col Lewis from Pacific Palms and Steve Barnard from Taree West.
In the semi’s, Tom Williams defeated Terry Daniel 17-9, and Col Lewis defeated Steve Barnard 17-8.
In the final, both Tom and Col were playing good bowls, matching each other shot for shot, the scores tied three times during the game.
It was anyone’s game at 15-15, but it was Tom who jumped to the fore, scoring two singles to run out a 17-15 win.
Congratulations to Tom on his win, and good luck in the State finals at Raymond Terrace.
