By Ian McKnight
TWEED Coast clubs Kingscliff Beach and Cudgen Leagues Bowling Clubs were given the honour by Bowls NSW of hosting the grade four state pennant finals last weekend and both clubs with the pivotal assistance of their staff and their many volunteers certainly did a magnificent job in playing the perfect hosts.
After experiencing another bout of rain which has plagued the Tweed for much of the year our winter weather was on its best behaviour over the four days which permitted the greens to be produced in an immaculate condition.
The 16 finalist sides which had travelled from all parts of NSW began to arrive on Thursday and by Friday all had arrived and took the opportunity to gain some valuable practice and familiarise themselves with the greens. The contesting sides represented clubs both large and very small but all were determined to do well and hopefully be able to claim the ultimate prize by the completion of competition.
The sectional play began on Saturday and a number of sides including Harbord, St John’s Park, Scone, Bathurst Majellan, Grafton, Nelson Bay, Bulli and Francis Drake all began well but a number of upsets were forthcoming as St John’s Park was held to a draw by North Ryde RSL then beaten by Harbord who had been beaten by Cootamundra Ex-Services. Scone retained its good form by knocking both Inverell East and Majellan out of contention while The Entrance had found the going tough.
Nelson Bay had stamped itself as one of the favoured combinations but was upset by Grafton which had suffered an earlier setback at the hands of Merimbula which had made a late run for the semi-finals but Maroubra RSL found the opposition a little too hot. Bulli also established itself as a favourite despite being held to a third round draw by Baradine which also made a late tilt at being a section winner, while Francis Drake had its chances severely dented by Bulli and Nambucca Heads did not have much luck with three narrow losses.
The eventual section winners were: Section 1 Harbord 4 points + 29 margin; Section 2 Scone 6 points + 50; Section 3 Grafton 4 points + 31 and Section 4 Bulli 5 points + 41.
The semi-finals provided excellent spectator entertainment as Scone took on Harbord and the scores were close early before Scone began to get the better of the duel to open up a handy lead and appeared destined for victory. Despite a fight back by Harbord towards the end of the match Scone held on to score a 60/49 victory and a place in the final.
The remaining semi-final between Grafton and Bulli eventuated in to a real cliff hanger after Grafton led early but were overtaken and Bulli then built up a seven or eight shot lead which it maintained for much of the match. As the match entered its final stages, the lights had been switched on as ends were killed and darkness began to fall and suddenly Grafton hit the front after it had grabbed a vital seven shots. Both sides traded shots as they strove for victory with the ends running out, but finally Grafton held on to claim a 61-57 win and the remaining place in the final.
The final commenced in brilliant weather and it was Scone that had the flying start and led 20-6 before Grafton hit its straps and began to make inroads into the deficit and finally hit the front and led 27-26. Scone appeared somewhat shellshocked as Grafton built on its lead and on entering the final ends held a 14-shot lead. Scone battled valiantly and more than halved the leeway but finally time ran out and Grafton grafted out a 63-58 victory to claim the much sought after winner’s flag while Scone had to settle for the runner-up flag. The players and side managers of both sides also received their respective state pennant badges in recognition of their fine achievement.
The players and supporters from all of the visiting sides were extremely high in their praise for the clubs and their facilities as well as the hospitality afforded to them with many vowing that they would certainly make return visit to the Tweed in the future.
