Narrabri Sporties and Wee Waa Bowling Club were in action at the weekend when the 2021 Zone 3 Bowls pennants season got underway.
Both sides were defeated in their respective round one matches and will look to bounce back this weekend in round three after sitting out on Sunday with round two byes.
Narrabri is competing in section one of grade three this year alongside Gunnedah and Inverell Sporties.
Narrabri played away from home against Gunnedah on Saturday and lost 74-51. The visitors went down on all three rinks, losing 24 ends to 39.
The team of Trinity Kelly, Dave Dewar, Steve Daskey, Ian Macmillan were leading 22-21 with one end to play but Gunnedah scored two on the last end to make the final score 23-22.
Paul Crutcher, Preston Clark, Justin Green, Scott Dewar were defeated 27-11, while Kevin Baguley, Norm Walford, Len Ryan and Tony Redman went down 24-18.
Gunnedah secured 10 points for that victory which included the seven points for the overall win and three rink points.
It then went on to earn 10 more points the following day to take a commanding league on the sectional ladder, beating Inverell Sporties across all three rinks by a combined 20 shots. Gunnedah now boasts 20 competition points with a for and against difference of 23.
Narrabri and Inverell Sporties meet one another in Inverell in round three, determined to win and move within striking distance of the ladder leaders.
Wee Waa Bowling Club is competing in section one of grade four in the 2021 season alongside Inverell RSM and Moree.
Wee Waa travelled to Inverell on Saturday where it was downed on two of the three rinks by a combined 60 shots to 47.
Cody Booby, Chris Crutcher, Todd Cowan and Justin Knight won their tie 23-16, but Clancy Hamilton, Phil Lawford, Wayne Booby and Steve Berger went down 23-14 and Kevin Baker, Toby Reynolds, Ray Dixon and Bruce Cowan were beaten 21-10.
Wee Waa secured one competition point for winning a rink and Inverell RSM picked up nine.
The section’s round two fixture was contested by Inverell RSM and Moree on Sunday.
A favourable result for the Wee Waa men saw Moree win two of three rinks and the match by a combined 17 points.
That means that Wee Waa can finish in top spot on the ladder if it wins its round three away match against Moree on Sunday.
If Wee Waa secures 10 points in that fixture it would claim the outright first position. If it wins nine points to one, all three sides would finish on 10 points at the halfway point of the competition.
Both Narrabri and Wee Waa will play their final two matches at their respective home clubs.
Narrabri’s round four match is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, at Narrabri Sporties against Inverell Sporties, then it will play against Gunnedah at the same venue in round five on Saturday, March 20, before sitting out of round six the following day with the bye.
Wee Waa Bowling Club will host Moree in a round four match on Sunday, March 14, then Inverell RSM in round five on Saturday, March 20.
Wee Waa also has the round six bye on Sunday, March 21.
To qualify the two grades’ finals, both Narrabri and Wee Waa must finish on top of their respective sectional ladders.
In Narrabri’s grade three, South Tamworth, West Tamworth and Kootingal are playing off in section two.
The two sectional winners will meet in a match on Saturday, March 27, to determine which team wins grade three for Zone 3 Bowls and progresses to the state finals later in the year.
In Wee Waa’s grade four competition, Manilla, South Tamworth and West Tamworth are competing in section two, and North Tamworth, Guyra and Armidale Ex-Services make up section three.
The three sectional winners will go on to face off in a round robin on Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28, to determine which team wins grade four for Zone 3 Bowls and progresses to the state finals later in the year.
Narrabri has named an unchanged team for this Saturday’s round three match against Inverell Sporties. It is as follows:
Trinity Kelly, Dave Dewar, Steve Daskey, Ian Macmillan; Paul Crutcher, Preston Clark, Justin Green, Scott Dewar; Kevin Baguley, Norm Walford, Len Ryan, Tony Redman. Reserves are L Scott, W Rosewarn, S Coleman and L Gilbert and manager/reserve is R Wolters.
Wee Waa’s team for this Sunday’s round three match against Moree is as follows:
Jay Hall, Phil Lawford, Todd Cowan, Justin Knight; Peter Hennessy, Chris Crutcher, Kevin Baker, Steve Berger, Clancy Hamilton, Ray Dixon, Toby Reynolds, Bruce Cowan. Manager is Brett Pillar.
