Bowlers from Tuncurry Beach Bowling Club have contested the finals of all three divisions at the zone 11 pairs championships at Forster Bowling Club, coming away with two wins and a runner-up finish.
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Noel James and Rex Johnston took out the senior Pairs, Dave Debono and Steve Holohan won the president's reserve, while Kris Murtagh and Jason Aurich went down in the open pairs despite a valiant effort against Club West pairing, Tony Hinton and Dominic Riley.
For James and Johnston, the win in the senior pairs was their second in as many years, with the Tuncurry duo overcoming Taree Leagues Club's Robert Austin and Bob Hagan in a competitive affair.
Tight early in the game, an unfortunate error from Hagan on the 11th end saw Johnston capitalise on a 10-6 lead to push ahead 12-6.
The Taree pairing then clawed back to give themselves a shot with four ends remaining, before James and Johnston scored 2, 3 and 2 to close out the game 20-10.
In the president's reserve, Debono and Holohan prevailed in a seesawing battle against Taree Railway's Robert Reeves and Greg Stanford.
An early lead to Tuncurry was soon reeled in by their opponents when Stanford got on a roll to tie things up at 9-9, before a six-shot spree from Holohan pushed Tuncurry out to 15-12.
Another flurry from Stanford saw the scores tied up again at 15-15, with just two ends remaining.
From here, Debono and Holohan combined beautifully to close out the game, finishing up 21-15 winners.
In the open pairs, Club West's Tony Hinton and Dominic Riley proved too strong for Tuncurry's Kris Murtagh and Jason Aurich, despite the Tuncurry duo getting out to an early 3-0 lead.
This was quickly surpassed by their opponents, who won the next six ends to lead comfortably at 10-3.
Both teams kept pace with each other over the following five ends, scoring four points apiece.
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Tuncurry then rallied, scoring a 3, 2 and 2 to tie things up at 14-14 with five ends to go.
However, it seemed the Club West pair had saved their best for last as they combined to win all of the remaining ends, finishing up 22-14 winners.
All winners from the pairs championships have now qualified for the State finals, but it is unknown if the competition will proceed because of COVID-19.
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