Holt with more Singles glory!

Warren Holt is recognized as one of the most formidable singles players in WA –two titles under his belt at State level being the State Singles and the Champion of Champion Singles, and regular business end finishes in many of those events over the years.

That pedigree alone made him one of the favourites heading into this year’s AFGRI Country Week Singles event – he lived up to that favouritism.

In the semi-finals Holt faced Moodiarrup’s Richard Schinzig, a player on the rise and recently announced as a member of the Men’s State Squad. Schinzig however was always under pressure from an in form Holt, and as the score initially drifted away slowly, Holt then put the foot down with a run of multiples to closeout a 21-7 victory.

Pinjarra prevails in Pairs

In season 2011-12, Brad Ball and Dominic Milbourne combined with Daniel Wood to win the Bowls WA State Triples.

Some decade later, Ball and Milbourne once again came together, this time for the Country Week Pairs title and with a very solid display, they took the title back to Pinjarra.

The semi-finals saw Ball and Milbourne home in comfortable fashion 19-10 over Gingin’s Tom Cabassi and Guilderton’s Jeremy Thomas, while Shackleton’s Trevor Cosgrove and Phil Bradley it was a closer call getting home 14-11 over Albany’s Johnathon Davidson and Craig Hitchcock.

Cosgrove finals appearance was his first in over 30 years of competing in Country Week events, so in some sense he was a winner already being there.

The Pinjarra combo scored first in the final, extending to a 4-0 lead, and then in a high standard match pushing out to 11-3. Ball’s aggressive game then came to the fore, preventing Shackleton from scoring on a couple of ends where they perhaps deserved to, and it was Ball and Milbourne home 11-8 in a low scoring, tight affair.

The other semi-final saw Ongerup’s Maurice O’Neill against Gingin’s Shaun Donohoe.

Donohoe, still a young man, but with plenty of experience in the sport, started well leading 6-2, however O’Neill closed quickly and after being very strong though the middle part of the match, closed out a 21-16 win, booking a place in the final. Perhaps expectedly, the final saw Holt, with a significant experience advantage over his opponent get the scoring going first, leading 4-0, however O’Neill was able to steady and close that gap quite quickly.

Holt again extended, with a four end run, to lead 11-4 and despite a challenge from O’Neill that was enough to stave off any late challenge – the final score 21-13.

Dynamite Denison wins family feud

The final of the Country Week fours event was something to see. A father and son combination on either team showing just what can be accomplished in the great sport of bowls, particularly in a showcase event such as Country Week.

Denison’s Joel Leeson (son), Peter Leeson (father), Ian Payne and Paul Hitchcock took on the Narembeen quartet of Michael Currie (son), John Currie (father), Robert Hayter and Brendon Parsons in the final.

Hitchcock, who was the last remaining player in all three disciplines in Country Week this year, showed that class as the match wore on, frequently nailing the jack, especially through the crucial middle stages.

On the back of Hitchcock’s great work, the Denison crew were all playing to a high standard, and despite a hint of a chance with three ends to go, it was the Leeson combination taking the win 21-12.

The semi-finals featured Corrigin’s Mark Szczecinski, Stephen Sloan, Clifton Crombie and Dave Dutton as they went down to Leeson’s crew 23-15, and Emu Point’s Alan Spence, Andy McFarlane, John Stone and Kelvin Crosby who were eliminated by Narembeen 14-13 in a last bowl finish.