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ONE BLUE NORTH REVIEW
January 21, 2008 ROUND TEN REVIEW
----------------------CROOK NEARLY STEALS AGGREGATE
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----------Dave Crook and his rink storm home in a whirlwind finish
Whilst there were no major surprises in Saturday’s fixtures, Bedford’s David Crook and his rink nearly went close to ruining Scarborough’s afternoon by coming from 10-22 (with Scarborough leading by about 30 shots on aggregate) to win 27-22. To be that far behind and then score 17-0 is testimony to how fickle the game can be.
Stirling 90 (7) (4th) def Warwick 66 (1) (6th)
As expected Stirling proved too strong for the Warwick “Magpies” but an interesting sidelight was the continued outstanding form of Brian Friend and rink in defeating Tony Krajancic 18-16.
Having played Tony only the week before I came away from Stirling thinking “This rink will not lose a game this season.”
Stirling main destroyer was Mark Pasalich and his gun rink disposing of his opposition 29-13.
Andy Tucker had a solid win and Alan Erceg remains undefeated from two starts.
Scarborough 83 (6) (5th) def Bedford 79 (2) (9th)
At the 60 end mark of this match Scarborough were in complete control with the only question being whether it would be a 7-1 or 8-0 win as Michael Murray & Mike Browning were in a fierce contest.
Skipper Mike Murray proves his worth to Scarborough with a great game at Bedford in a terrific contest against top line skip, Mike Browning
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However, Bedford skippers David Crook and Dave Scott had other ideas and both launched stunning comebacks to reduce a 30 shot deficit to only four at the end of the day.
The combination of Tim Murray & Ron Kuziela worked very well and whilst the margin was reduced to only 3 at the 16th end they eventually slipped away to record a 21-12 win.
-------------------L/R: Ned Bull, Ron Kuziela and John Carlsen
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Doubleview 88 (6) (2nd) def Sorrento 72 (2) (4th)
At the start of Round 10 the two leading skippers were Doubleview’s Gary Nelson and Sorrento’s John Hammond.
As the bowling gods often do they decided to have some fun with Nelson being thrashed 10-31 and Hammond suffering a similar humiliation 8-29. Last week this author questioned the fairly poor record of Winton Langdon and he responded in the best way possible with the win over John Hammond.
I believe Doubleview are the “real deal” and I think they will certainly be promoted. I am not sure if it will be Wanneroo or Stirling who will join them. Sorrento on the other hand seem to have slipped a little this season and would need to improve considerably if they are looking at moving up.
Osborne Park 85 (7) (8th) def Morley 83 (1) (10th)
Osborne Park picked up 7 valuable points and now barring a minor miracle has condemned Morley to relegation.
“Daicos” Francesconi continues his impressive run with a solid 26-17 win over his opponent. For those wondering why “Daicos” I recall skippering against Ron (he, from memory was playing as a second) and like the Collingwood champion Peter Daicos he could score shot from any angle now matter how oblique even if it took four “rubs” to get to the white. Nothing was too much trouble for him that day.
We had a good laugh about it after the game but I wasn’t always thrilled during the course of that match. Anyway, that is enough reminiscing, I look forward to catching up with you Ron.
Wanneroo 81 (6) (1st) def North Beach 71 (2) (7th)
Wanneroo led by the timeless Doug Watson with a 10 shot win over Mike Vitale were too good for the North Beach “Blues”.
Geoff Devenish is one of the form skippers in the competition and continues to churn out wins for North Beach on this occasion over the well performed Mike Broad rink.
Former North Beach stalwart Derek Bowen put “ The Blues” in a perilous situation with his comprehensive 25-16 win over John Coles.
As mentioned earlier in this article I believe Wanneroo is a genuine promotion chance but I think they may need to finish on top to be promoted. If they do not finish on top I would not select them to beat either Doubleview or Stirling in the play-offs.
I know this is a big call for a side that has lost only once from ten starts but I just have a feeling about them being vulnerable against sides that can match their front ends.
Of course, not many teams in this competition can.
My selections for this week
With a week off teams have a chance to draw breath. On the resumption I am tipping:
Doubleview to defeat Bedford.
Sorrento to crush a demoralised Morley.
North Beach to send Osborne Park into second division.
Stirling to gain ground on Wanneroo.
Scarborough at home against Warwick.
Good luck to all those who have entered the State singles. It is impossible to predict a winner but that has never stopped me before.
Come the final day I expect to see Daniel Trewhella, David Opie, John Goddard, Trystan Smallacombe and the forgotten man of WA bowls Daniel Brown in the mix.