May 2, 2008

ONE BLUE SOUTH SEASON REVIEW 2008

To round of the season the popular Overall Bowls Evaluation (OBE) is back again; the teachers will appreciate this review; the purpose of the OBE is to praise the victors, consol the vanquished and encourage the ones that will no longer be among us.

To the victors go the spoils well done Hilton Park and Osborne Park to the vanquished there is always next year and to the ones that are no longer with us good luck and hope to see you soon.

Hilton Park: 12 Wins 4 Loss 2 Draw

Hilton Park certainly knew when to grab top spot on the table, they were in that position for the last game of the season which was round 17 (remember the wash out for round 18), they hovered around the top four for most of the season, they won the tight games against Osborne Park, Rockingham and Spearwood had exiting draws with Vic Park and Manning and when you come down to it, it is all about consistency.

They will be on the look out for some recruits to bolster their side for their tilt at White; with the bottom four demoted from White, Hilton will have to hit the ground running. They will be buoyed by their overall performance but could be judged as “worked hard through out the season showed a lot of flair when challenged”.

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Osborne Park: 11 Wins 6 Losses 1 Draw

Osborne Park never higher than third through out the home and away season timed their run also to perfection. They won crucial matches when they countered to always give themselves a chance.

The club banked on an easier entry into One White in Blue South by playing their stronger side and it paid of handsomely. For the next season they will have considerable player strength with the demotion of the One Blue North side, it could make for interesting reading as they juggle the talent pool.

their overall performance could be judged as “worked consistently throughout the year showed significant improvement when it counted”.

Manning Eagles: 13 Wins 3 Losses 2 Draw

Manning’s performance is special; they were top of the table for no fewer than nine of the seventeen rounds they were never lower than third and can consider themselves extremely unlucky to not have gained promotion.

To add to their cause they needed to cover the loss of James Jarworski and Peter Kerr at the start of the season which they did extremely well. They will regroup to take on a much tougher One Blue South in 2008/9, with three One White sides coming into this section Manning will be tested again.

Their performance for this season can be best described as “worked tirelessly through out the year however needed more application for the last important test”.

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Spearwood: 11 Wins 6 Losses 1 Draw

Spearwood finished the home and away rounds having occupied top of the table for four rounds, when it came to the crucial last few weeks Spearwood slipped to fourth place from that position it was always going to be a challenge to go the distance.

Spearwood have hovered around the top in this section for a number of years but still doesn’t have the get up and go to take the next step. In the previous two seasons Spearwood has finished second, now a fourth placing, once again one has to question club recruitment policy, or more to the point the lack of a policy.

Their overall performance could be judged, as “working to capacity will need to improve or be left behind”.

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Rockingham: 9 Wins 8 Losses 1 Draw

Rockingham by their own standards were again this season well below what they would expect, their mid season performance was stunning; they won six straight to rocket to the top of the table and hold that position for three rounds.

Their key signing was Norm Pascoe who teamed up with Tony Tuckerman to be the Rocky boys’ most consistent performers. Their home synthetic was always a big advantage however key loses to Hilton Park and Osborne Park at home didn’t help their cause.

The Rocky boys’ performance can be judged as “worked hard in mid year, however tapered off to an average performance by the end of the season”.

Vic Park: 9 Wins 8 Losses 1 Draw

The Park hovered around the middle of the table for most of the year, they would be pleased to have held the division, they have their regular contributors with a number of very good players among them.

They will be building on this years performance, their overall performance could be judged as” solid work all year could do better”.

Midland Morrison: 8 Wins 9 Losses 1 Draw

Midland were promoted two seasons ago, they went through a amalgamation, opened a new club with unfamiliar surroundings, they struggled to come to terms with this colour all year, however they did have some stellar performances namely beating Rockingham on their patch.

They will take heart from the fact they saved themselves from the dreaded drop zone the previous season and prevented the all too common up one year out the next, they are to be congratulated on persevering and Martin Wattleworth will be encouraged by that.

He will have to marshal his troops for another tilt next season in second division, their performance could be judged as “tried to please but must work harder”.

Melville: 5 Wins 11 Losses 2 Draw

Melville were the biggest under achievers all season they promised so much but were unable to deliver; their talent pool is abundant and the possibilities are endless, other clubs dream of having the facilities Melville are blessed with and to not exploit them is a shame.

Melville’s biggest scalp through the home and away was Manning at home, they now will have to battle in second division to see if they can regroup, their overall performance could be only judged as” disappointing performance capable of much more improvement”.

Byford: 2 Wins 14 Losses 2 Draw

A disappointing result for the Byford club, they were unsettled from the start and couldn’t get the drive they desperately needed to prevent the inevitable.

This was their first attempt at One Blue they will be better second time around, their overall performance could be judged as”did not work hard enough must try harder”.

Safety Bay: 3 Wins 14 Losses 1 Draw

Safety Bay have had annus-horribilus season, they did not play well even with the advantage of their home surface and the sea breeze, they suffered the worst case of up one year out the next, and their performance can be judged as “poor effort can do better”.