Norm Wolford is Narrabri Sporties’ 2021 Major Singles Champion after he won a thrilling final against defending champion Trinity Kelly on Saturday.
Both men won 18 ends each on the day, however, Wolford got the job done as he won the match by just one shot.
He trailed by as much as 12 shots during the contest but scored the winning shot on the 36th end to claim the decider 31-30.
The club’s Minor Singles and Senior Singles champions were also crowned on Saturday.
Laurie Gilbert is the Senior Singles champion for 2021 after defeating Len Ryan 31-16 across 28 ends, while Steve Daskey became the Minor Singles champion after downing Terry Wilson 32-28 after 38 ends.
In the main event, Kelly got out to a flying start against Wolford as he won the opening six ends to establish a 12-0 lead.
Wolford hit back with four shots across the next two ends, however, Kelly scored a two on the ninth end to extend his lead to 10 shots.
That 14-4 lead was soon cut to 14-13 after Wolford claimed nine unanswered points on ends 10-14.
The two bowlers then went shot for shot for four ends before Wolford tied the game up at 16-all on the 18th.
He then established his first lead of the game when he scored a two on the 19th end, then another two on the 20th put him ahead 20-16.
But determined to defend his 2020 title, Kelly fought back to regain the lead. The defending champ won the next four ends while accumulating six more points to go ahead 22-20.
As he’d already done twice in the match, Wolford won the next four consecutive ends. That saw him establish a 25-23 lead which became 30-25 at the completion of the 33rd.
With Wolford only requiring one more shot to win, Kelly scored a two and a three on ends 24 and 25 to tie the contest up at 30-all.
But it was Wolford who would get the job done, claiming the one required shot on the 36th and final end of the match to be crowned the 2021 champion.
The Minor Singles final eclipsed the length of the Major Singles decider as Daskey downed Wilson 32-28 across 38 ends despite Wilson winning 21 ends to Daskey’s 17.
The two men won four of the first eight ends as Daskey established an 8-6 lead which set the tone of the close contest.
Wilson won six of the next seven ends to establish a 15-10 lead which was his largest of the contest.
Daskey fought back to level the score at 17-all on the 23rd end, which became 21-all after 28 ends.
Daskey then took the lead for the first time since the 12th end when he scored a one on the 29th, but Wilson won five of the following six ends to go ahead 28-23.
An outstanding finish saw Daskey oustcore Wilson nine shots to nothing on ends 36-28 as he claimed a four-shot victory.
In Gilbert’s 31-16 win against Ryan, the champion won 10 of the first 11 ends to establish an unassailable 17-3 lead.
Ryan reduced the deficit to seven when he trailed 20-13 on the 20th end, however, Gilbert won five of the next eight ends a combined 11 shots to three to win the match 31-16 after 28 ends.
There are no club matches set down for this Saturday. Men’s pairs games will begin on Saturday, July 17.
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