2013 Pennant Wrap - Grades one to four

The district and indeed zone season of Pennants has concluded for another year, with a number of grades going right down to the wire.
In the combined Grade One and Two event Nambucca Heads stormed in to the lead with just a handful of matches remaining, courtesy of a round five defeat of Park Beach, and also seeing Park Beach falter at the hands of Urunga. Due to washouts and deferred matches the round ten clash between the two sides would be Nambucca's second last and Park Beach's third. Leading by just one point a win was vital to Nambucca's hopes, and playing Park Beach at home it certainly seemed like this might be the year for a new champion. Nambucca started brilliantly leading by some fifteen shots at the mid way point of the match, however all three Parky rinks closed the gap, with Jim Swan edging ahead of Ken Rostron. Trailing by four shots with three ends to play the Beach boys showed why they have had so much success in recent years, claiming all three ends to sneak in for a tense one shot victory and move themselves one point ahead of Nambucca on the ladder. Urunga ensured C-Ex would be relegated with a big win, also keeping themselves at the head of the table. However without any matches in hand they would now be reliant on Sawtell and Park Beach two's results. Sawtell's round ten win over the Parky twos had in fact ensured it was a two horse race.
In the following washed out matches, Nambucca posted a 5 - 1 victory over Coffs however as Parky Ones claimed a comfortable 6 - 0 victory over their seconds, the first grade flag was sealed.
Grad two was still in the offing with Sawtell requiring at least a 5 - 1 result against Park Beach ones, being played at Park Beach. Sawty started strongly however it became apparent at the mid way point that at they would drop at least one rink and win one rink, with Sawtell's Graeme Green, well on top of Ric Southam, and Parky's Cory Daley leading Ben Proctor comfortably. In the end it was Jim Swan's come from behind win over Ian Weldon that ensured a Parky win and the flag for Urunga.
The tale was not over yet though with Park Beach stripped of their points in the Sawtell clash due to playing a player who had actually already played in the round that the deferred match was from. In a show of great sportsmanship from Sawtell, they refuse to accept the points and flag remained in Urunga's hands. This was a fair result as Urunga had been the better team through the year and deserved to walk away with the flag.

In Grade Three, Woolgoolga stormed home over the final rounds to clinch the flag from half way leaders Park Beach who lost  two of their final three matches. Woopi will now have the chance to test themselves next season against the best the MNC has to offer when they join the first and second grade division.

Grade Four was sewn up by Nambucca by round seven, the side dominating from start to finish to book themselves a place in the zone final. The side managed a 4 - 2 win over Park beach in round ten, whilst Bellingen lost what would be their final match at their current venue to Sawtell. All bowlers in the district sincerely hope the club will find a new home with a merger with another local sporting club.

A report on Grades five to seven as well as zone final results to come shortly, as well as a district championship update as a number of events will reach their conclusion over the next two weeks.

Til next time...

Chippy

Young gun claims District Fours title

Urunga's Corey Wedlock has become possibly the youngest player ever on the Mid North Coast to skip a team to victory in the Mid North Coast Fours final played today at West Coffs. Still in the junior ranks, he guided his team of Eric Whittaker, Athol Grogan and Glen Wedlock (Corey's father) to a nail biting 15-14 success against the highly credentialed Sawtell side of Noel Stahlut, John Hall, PT Clarke and Greg Cridge.
The win is a first in the open ranks for all four bowlers with Corey a prolific junior winner, who will still be competing in the three district junior events in coming weeks. Whilst juniors winning open district titles isn't anything new on the coast, Corey would be the first to do so from the position of skip in the fours event.
All eyes will now be on the father and son combination as they tackle the district pairs starting next Sunday at Park Beach.

Til Next Time..

Chippy

Round Four Pennants

Park Beach Two's caused the first real upset of the combined first and second grade pennant competition last Saturday when they upstaged Nambucca Heads. Nambucca have proven to be very strong over the opening three rounds, and playing at home were considered red hot favourites against a Park Beach side still finding their feet. However Park Beach took the fight to Nambucca, with the score even with just two ends to play, Park beach claiming both ends to steal an unlikely 5-1 victory. At Urunga, the host club appeared to also be on track to cause an upset, leading Park Beach Ones late into the match, before Jim Swan steered the reigning champions to the lead, claiming the only rink win for the visitors for a 4-2 win. For urunga, young gun Corey Wedlock continued to improve his standing with a solid rink win. Sawtell finally got their campaign under way, with a big win over Coffs Ex Services, whose goal for the season is now simply to not be relegated.
The results see Park Beach ones open a five point lead over Nambucca, the two sides set to have the first encounter for the year in the next round, Park Beach Twos now leading the second grade sides, Urunga a point further back and Sawtell four further adrift. Sawtell will clash with the new second grade leaders and Urunga will look to continue Coffs misery.

In Grade Three, Woolgoolga has managed to maintain their advantage over Park Beach pulling a half point further ahead on the weekend with a 5.5- 0.5 win over Sawtell, and Park Beach defeating Urunga 5-1. West Coffs had the bye. Although they lead, Woolgoolga will have the bye in Round five, allowing Park beach a chance to steal the lead when they face Sawtell.

Nambucca Heads maintained their impressive start to the season in Grade Four, this time defeating Bowraville to move a staggering nine points clear of second place, after their nearest rivals Coffs Ex Services were beaten by Sawtell. Bellingen defeated Park Beach in the other fixture. At the other end of the spectrum, Grade Five has a five way log jam on the leaders board, with Macksville, North Beach and Park Beach all even on 14 points, Woolgoolga and West Coffs one and three points adrift respectively. Scotts Head's first victory of the season also keeps their chances alive in what is shaping as the most exciting grade this season.

Nambucca has taken advantage of Stuarts Point suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of C-Ex. Nambucca recorded a 6-0 success over Sawtell to move into the lead.Urunga recorded a clean sheet against Park Beach in the other encounter.

Both sections in Grade Seven have tightened up with the leading sides in each being beaten. Nambucca have moved to within one point of Bowraville in section one after besting them 5-1. Sawtell were shocked by Woolgoolga 1-5 in section two, Park Beach's 5-1 victory over West Coffs, moving them also just one point behind the leaders with just two rounds remaining.

Pennants will take a spell this week for Easter, with round five to be played the following weekend.

Til next time...

Chippy

Young Guns shine in District Fours

It seems that a mix of youth and experience was the key to surviving the opening rounds of the MNC district fours championships last weekend.
No less than six of the remaining eight teams contain current or ex juniors, which seemed to be the correct balance to battle through tough windy conditions. John Bain and Ric Southam teamed with Marty Wilson and Jim Swan in their mission to defend their title however fell victim to the conditions and a Sawtell side skippered by Ian Weldon who handled the greens just that little bit better in the opening round. Weldon and crew however found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, falling to Aden Pike's side.Pike will play the in form Corey Wedlock and side, who posted two comfortable wins to reach the final eight.
The evergreen John Bradley also posted two solid victories to earn a showdown against Tony Urquhart's Nambucca side, who knocked out another Nambucca team to book their berth.
Ian Poletti and Geoff Beattie bolstered Nambucca's chances of claiming the title when both of their sides advanced as well. Greg Cridge and co ensured Sawtell are represented in the next round whilst flying the flag for the host club is Wayne Holland's team, who will take on Beattie.
Nambucca has three of the final eight sides whilst Urunga has two, Sawtell, Park Beach and West Coffs the other clubs still in contention.
Play continues with the quarter finals this Sunday morning at West Coffs.

Good luck to the last eight!

Chippy

Pennants Round Three

The two first grade sides remain unbeaten in the combine first and second division competition whilst Park Beach twos managed their first win of the season on the weekend. The two's prove too strong for Coffs Ex Services who are fast firming as the wooden spoon favourites after securing just one point from their first three matches. Sawtell didn't fare much better against Park Beach ones, going down 1-5. Graham Green ensured this was the third match in a row that they have lost in this fashion, claiming a point with a win over Jim Swan. Nambucca Heads survived a nail biter against the previously unbeaten Urunga, claiming a narrow 4-2 win to remain a front runner in the grade, trailing Park Beach ones by two points.

In Grade Three, Woolgoolga suffered their first defeat, going down 1-5 to Park Beach who are now in Pole position in this grade. West Coffs have kept themselves in the hunt with a 4-2 victory over Sawtell whilst Urunga had the bye.

Nambucca is the only side unbeaten in Grade Four, after a solid win over Bellingen. Coffs ex Services and Bowraville also recorded victories to stay in contention. Grade Five sees Park Beach and Macksville move into the lead after Parky defeated West Coffs to move into first place, whilst Macksville bested Woolgoolga. North Beach also claimed a win to move into fourth place.

Grade Six saw Stuarts Point move to the lead after a sound defeat of Park Beach.Nambucca Heads and Sawtell also claiming third round victories.

Finally in Grade Seven, Bowraville have remained unbeaten in section one with a tight win over Urunga whilst Nambucca have kept up the pressure with a convincing defeat of Macksville, Section Two also shows one unbeaten side, Sawtell making it three in a row, this time against West Coffs. Park Beach has moved back into second place after defeating Woolgoolga.

Round Four promises to add to what has already been an interesting season. Good luck to all this weekend!

Chippy

Pennants Rounds One and Two

The weather held to finally allow the bowlers of the MNC to get on the green and start the 2013 Pennant competition last weekend.
In the combined grade One/Two competition, the first grade sides have already begun to assert their dominance, with the Park Beach Ones and Nambucca Heads both posting two strong wins. Urunga also managed two wins, the round two victory over Parky Two's courtesy of a last bowl conversion from John Bradley.

In Grade Three Woolgoolga has surged to the lead courtesy of two victories against Urunga and West Coffs. Sawtell and Park Beach are both undefeated but have served the bye in the opening two rounds. Meanwhile in Grade Four Nambucca Heads have remained the only unbeaten side in this grade to claim a five point lead. West Coffs are also the only unbeaten side in Grade Five however at this stage only have a two point buffer over Park Beach in second place.

Grade Six sees Stuarts Point and Park Beach leading the way whilst in section one of Grade Seven Bowraville has moved five points clear courtesy of two wins. Finally Sawtell has finished on top in both of their encounters to lead section two.

Good luck to all who line up this week in round three!

Chippy

Back to Back for Wedlocks

Father and son combination Glenn and Corey Wedlock have proven they will be a force to be reckoned with on the mid north coast after claiming the 2013 Urunga club pairs crown with a victory over Garry Banks and Grahame Horne 20-17. The win backs up the pairs title won by the duo at West Coffs the year before. To cap it off the pair have qualified for the Australian Open held at Darebin this week. They have performed well winning their opening match but succumbing to former Commonwealth Games medallist Mark Jacobsen in a tie break in the second round.

Woolgoolga is also racing through club championships, with Dave Valentine and Shayne Dodd continuing where they left off last year, this time teaming with Wayne Genge to claim the club triples in a nail biter over John Taylor, Laurie Walsh and Peter Chase. The match was in the balance before a count of four on the 22nd end swung the game in Dodd and Co's favour. The win was especially sweet for Wayne, as this was his first major championship success.

The club fours has also been determined with Skipper Tony Greenshields and his side Dave Holland, Shayne Dodd (subbing for Peter Holland) and Billy Boyle getting over Ian Brien's side of Dave Valentine (subbing for Ray Herrick), Barry Carter and Ray Kauffman 28-23. Tony has now claimed three club fours championships in a row, with two of these as a skip.

Finally the Woolgoolga club singles has reached the finals stage, with John Hurrell set to celebrate his return to the club after a year at Park Beach with a place in the decider against Ian Bryant.
Good luck to both players involved.

Til Next Time...

Chippy