After the enforced lay off of just on eight weeks, Tuross Head Bowling Club was able to resume their mixed pairs Championship on Saturday! Unfortunately, the weather gods did not come to the party with the players participating in the quarter finals required to put up with some cool, windy conditions. Luckily, we were able to dodge the rain though the green was affected by the run of wet weather in the days before.
The highlight of the day was a nail biting clash between Pat and John Wagstaff and Sue and John Fahey. In a very close game the two sides were neck and neck throughout. The Faheys held a slight advantage early in the game but by the 10th end the scores were locked at 7 all. The Wagstaffs had a couple of good ends and after 14 ends they had moved to the lead at 14 – 9. It was then the turn of the Faheys who won the next four ends to take the lead at 16 – 14.
The Wagstaffs struck back as the tension increased and with just one end to play the scores were again even at 16 all. The Faheys seemed to have the advantage as the end unfolded. The skips then played some great bowls! With his second last bowl John Wagstaff moved the jack to give his side the lead only to see John Fahey do exactly the same thing with his second last bowl. Not to be outdone, with his last bowl, Wagstaff repeated the dose with another wonderful bowl moving the jack to his advantage. Unfortunately for Fahey the positioning of the head gave him very few options with his last bowl and the Wagstaffs continued their winning return to the Club with an excellent 19 – 16 win!
Defending Champions, Doreen and John Monks, had the daunting task of playing Bruce and Denise Lidbury who have dominated this event over the years. Right from the start the Lidburys dominated the game with Bruce playing magnificent lead bowls to give his team the advantage. They quickly took control of the game as the Monks’ struggled to find their form with the constant pressure they were under. The Lidburys moved into the semi-finals with a comfortable 30 – 6 victory.
They will meet Di Challice and Allan Etheredge in the semi-finals who survived a spirited fightback from Lou Kozlik and Chris Roxby. Challice and Etheredge seemed to have the game won when they led 24 – 12 after 15 ends. But they did not expect the fight in their opponents. Kozlik and Roxby picked up 6 shots on the 17th end to put life back into the game. By the 20th end they had reduced the deficit to just 3 shots! Although they won the last end, they could only manage 2 shots that meant Challice and Etheredge scrapped home 25 -24!
Carol and Doug Williams round out the semi-finalists after they recovered form a mid-game slump to finish strongly to defeat Rose Farrington and Marcel Kors. The Williams’ had a dream starting picking up four shots on each of the first 3 ends to race to a 12 – 0 advantage. Farrington and Kors gradually played their way into the game and by the 14th end they had managed to draw level at 15 all. Just as it looked like they had all of the momentum, the Williams’ struck back! With Carol leading the way they won the next five ends to take control of the match and set up a clash with the Wagstaffs with a hard fought 26 – 18 victory!
L to R: John and Pat Wagstaff and John and Sue Fahey
