Senior State side 2010 team

September 26, 2010
The State selectors have named the side and the positions the players will play in. There have been two new inclusions to the side Tony Krajancic and Geoff White, the other members of the team have retained their places in the the side that played in Tasmania in 2009..

It is a very good side that has plenty of clout, there are six members of the side who play in the Premier League, Wings Evans and Tony Krajancic both skip in the in this division while Lindsay Thorn, Geoff Ellis, Bill Galloway and Roger Barns are also Premier League players.

Mike Zusman is no longer playing Premier League due to Cockburn being demoted but would walk into any Premier League side. Henry Slawinski and Colin O`Brien are both Country players while "The Diamond" played in One Blue last season, Geoff White played for 2nd division side Mt Pleasant who won promotion to One Blue for the up coming season.

The team will have some tough opposition particularly from the Qld side who were impressive winners last year and have won two of the three series held to date.

With the home ground advantage and the strength of their side I am selecting W.A to break thru for their first win.


New players in the team


Tony Krajancic making his debut in the State Senior side and steps straight in as a skipper. Tony has a great attacking game and when on song can go with the best of them. He teams up with a former team mate in Geoff Ellis with whom he shared plenty of success when they played as a skip/3rd combo back in the 90's for Scarborough. Recent form in the Mt Lawley Consistency where he banged out three current State State players in succession to make the semi-finals shows he has plenty of passion to do well. Also is the current State Senior Singles title holder


Geoff White Not much to report on here with Geoff White's inclusion in the side but he has played for Sth Perth's Premier League side a couple of years ago, he impressed in the trials that decided who would win selection, so much so he won a berth in the team.

Roger Barns has been a member of first two Senior State sides (on both occasions the side finished equal 1st) was not available for the last series held in Tasmania, Roger played second in the Premier League and was a very good player in the side that was beaten in the preliminary final against Mosman Pk to show he still has what it takes to be in this side



PLAYERS WHO RETAINED THEIR PLACE IN THE SIDE

Cliff Graybrook Had a very good series playing 2nd in Tasmania moves into the 3rd's position for this series and sure to be a success .

Graham "Wings" Evans played very well in Tassie and had a great year in the Premier League last season playing a vital role in to ensure the 2010 Premiership Flag would be hanging on the wall at Osborne Pk. His selection as a skip comes no surprise, he is a great pressure player who has all the shots and skills, he was one of the best performed skips in the Premier League last season.


Mike Zusman Had a terrific series in Tassie, he is still one of the best leads in W.A and wouldn't really be out of place in the main State team and still loves the game and competitiveness as much as he ever has, always gives the side a great start and usually makes both bowls count..

Henry Slawinski another who played very well in Tassie deserves his place and the beauty of his selection is, he can play any position he is required to play and play it as it should be played. Still one of the best Country players in the game today


Colin O`Brien didn't fire as a 3rd in Tassie but has been retained to play lead, we are hearing he trialled extremely well. Over the years Colin O`Brien has shown he has the ability to get the job done and we can expect to see him produce his best in October


Prickles Thorn has been in the side playing skip from it's inception and has proved to be an outstanding player. The stat sheet shows 11 wins 3 losses for the teams he has been in charge of. We have said in the past he is a team man thru and thru and he knows how to get the best out of his team mates. Has a good grasp of the game and knows the benefit of when to play an attacking game but also when to play it safe. The stat sheet says it all for Prickles efforts to date

Geoff "The Mailman" Ellis has stepped aside from skippering duties after playing in this role for the first three series. The "Mailmans" stat sheet showed 7 wins, 2 draws ad 5 losses and it just might the right move at this stage but that doesn't detract from his ability as a position player and the word to come out of the recent trip to Helensvale with the Wanneroo 5 man side was he played exceptionally well for the team as a 3rd.


"Diamond" Jim McKenzie A different position for "The Diamond", last series he played as a 2nd and now slots into the side as a lead, it is such an important position for any side and going on the way he performed in the Champion of Club Champions Singles last April he sure to give the side a great start.

Bill Galloway is a good team man and still up there as one the best seconds playing the game. His game against Doubleview in the second semi of the Premier League back in March was sensational and if he can produce that form then watch out. One thing that stands out with Bill is he makes both bowls count which makes it very difficult for the opposition






August 22, 2010

---------------------------------------------Tony Krajancic selected for his first series


The selectors for the 60's and over Men's State side to play at the Manning Bowling Club in Perth later this year have again chosen a strong side to represent the WA.

There have been some changes to the side that went to Tasmania. One that catches the eye is Stirling's Tony Krajancic in the side for the 1st time, he replaces brother Marko who was not selected for this series. Ted Alden and Glyn Vaughan were the other two players that were not selected from the 2009 side.

Other New players are Geoff White who plays for Mt Pleasant and previously a skipper for Sth Perth Premier League side, and Roger Barns who plays as a Premier League second for Doubleview.

There are some handy players who missed out to secure a place in the final 12, John McIntosh, John Terrell, Eddie Dodd are a couple to mention

The series held in Tasmania saw what I thought was the strongest side to be selected for WA in the three series held to date, unfortunately the side did not go as well as we thought they might, they finished equal second with two losses for the series and in 4th place. The Queensland side went thru unbeaten and one wonders when Queenslands domination of Interstate bowls will end.

There are 4 players who have represented WA in all 4 series, Lindsay Thorn, Jim McKenzie, Bill Galloway and Geoff Ellis.

All in all it is a good side with plenty of clout up front, Mike Zusman is leading as well as ever had a very good series in Tasmania and sure to give the rink a great start. There is no room for Geoff Ellis to play skip and we all know how good he is when he leads while Henry Slawinski is still a terrific player.

The seconds are also top notch with ever reliable Bill Galloway still one of the best players in WA in this position. The Diamond Jim McKenzie was in brilliant touch earlier in the season in the Champ of Champ Singles will provide plenty of backup and Roger Barns returns to the side after being unavailable for the last series is a specialist second.

Thirds are solid and all have good draw power but importantly have good upshots which would be essential to the skippers I think might get the job

Lindsay Thorn has the runs on the board and was the best performed skip last year and the best player winner the year in 2008 before selects himself with the form he he has displayed in the series held so far.

Wings Evans was an outstanding skipper in Premier League pennants this season gone by and was the best player in Tasmania 2009 also selects himself while Tony Krajancic has been a skipper for so long it would be an interesting question to ask when did he not play skip in pennants or major events. His attacking game will be invaluable

The side could line up differently but at first glance and providing all players are fit and ready to go this would be the way the side could line up

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