Mainland Fights off Challenge and Takes Trophy

A superb day of triples on day one of the 2012 Challenge Trophy gave the Mainland team the edge they needed to successfully defend their title over two more days of play, in first pairs then singles today.

Despite a stunning final round of singles wins for the Southern men (five matches from six) that helped earn the side second place, the Southern women weren't able to reproduce their male counterparts' victories. The women won just one game from six in their final round on the Burnside Bowling Club greens in Christchurch.

But with Black Jack bowlers spread evenly amongst the teams, every side had a chance at the silverware. Mainland was out of the blocks early, however, winning five games from six in both the men's and women's triples.

“We did especially well in the triples, with three wins from three games,” says 16-year-old Mainland bowler Tayla Bruce, the youngest bowler at the event.

“I got to play with [Black Jack] Jan Khan and I learned a lot, about decision-making especially. It's a great tournament and I took a lot from it.”

Under the experienced leadership of skips Jan Khan, Ali Forsyth, Andrew Kelly and Amy Brenton, the Mainlanders went into the second day of competition at the top of the table.

A patchy showing in the pairs on day two didn't slow the side down, though, and the bowlers won half their matches in singles play today under an overcast Christchurch sky.

“It's really exciting to be in a team that's defended their title, and I was really pleased to step it up today as it was  a bit rough yesterday,” says Bruce about the difficult day the women's side had in the pairs.

Winning just two games from nine, it was up to the men's side to keep the points coming. Which they did by taking six games from nine to build on the already substantial lead the team had gained on day one.

So what's their secret?

In keeping with the aim of the tournament to nurture Talent Development Squad members like Bruce, perhaps veteran skips like Forsyth and Khan are better suited to the task. Bowls NZ National Head Coach Dave Edwards agrees it's a fair comment, and says the side was “a strong team on paper. However, they gelled well and worked hard together”.

And that's the outcome Edwards was hoping for, although there were some surprises for the successful bowls coach.

“It was another outstanding event, but I was amazed by so many comments from the Black Jacks about the Talent Development Squad players in their teams and those that were opponents. They were blown away by the ability of the squad players.

“It really opened their eyes, and it shows that the future is looking good for the Black Jacks, as well as for bowls in NZ,” says Edwards.

Final Overall Results
MAINLAND:    Game Points:      128        Set Points:   67        Net Total of Shots:     +6    FIRST
SOUTHERN:    Game Points:      106        Set Points:   72        Net Total of Shots:    -8    SECOND
CENTRAL:    Game Points:      100        Set Points:   55.5        Net Total of Shots:     +58    THIRD
NORTHERN:    Game Points:      98        Set Points:   51.5        Net Total of Shots:     -38    FOURTH

Northern Team
Women: Lauren Mills, Leanne Curry, Jo Edwards, Hannah Robertson, Jan Shirley, Genevieve Baildon
Men: Josh Thompson, Scott Cottrell, Tony Marinkovich, Monte Pawa, Scott Evans, Dan Delany
Mainland Team
Women: Tayla Bruce, Sheryl Pearce, Jan Khan, Brittany Tyson, Misty Arnold, Amy Brenton
Men: Josh Boyd, James Pugh, Ali Forsyth, Nathan Glasson, Greg Ruaporo, Andrew Kelly
Central Team
Women: Kirsten Griffin, Dale Lang, Mandy Boyd, Kaaren Guilford, Lisa White, Clare McCaul
Men: Tim Toomey, Chris LeLievre, Darren Redway, Euan Wong, Tony Grantham, Blake Signal
Southern Team
Women: Sarah Scott, Abbey Dugdale, Val Smith, Angela Boyd, Rachel McDowall, Serena Matthews
Men: Conor Muir, Mitchell Will, Richard Girvan, Craig Forgie, Matt Gallop, Shaun Scott

Full results from the 2012 Challenge Trophy can be found by CLICKING HERE