2021 Aus champs: Triples recap
It was a successful day for Queensland and Tasmania on the opening day of action at the 2021 Australian Championships at Broadbeach Bowls Club, with the two states winning gold in the men’s and women’s triples respectively.
After falling agonisingly short of the Champion of Champions crown over the weekend, Right at Home Jackaroo Rebecca Van Asch was able to salute with another national title with her Tasmanian mother-daughter teammate combination of Debra Lee and Jess McMullen.
The trio was able to finish undefeated in the sectional play, with victory over Queensland’s Serena Matthews, Cheryl Heaps and Amanda Haevecker and the South Australian grouping of Kate Argent-Bowden, Bailey Rafferty and Laini McGorman.
Awaiting in the final was the Western Australian outfit of Linda Warburton, Laura Merz and Lisa Featherby, who entered the decider off the back of a 41-2 victory over the Northern Territory in the final sectional match.
However, the Tasmanians proved too strong, with a 17-12 win to be crowned the 2021 champions.
Victoria’s Tara Ferrier, Kelly McErihen and Lisa Phillips took bronze with a nail biting 17-16 win over Queensland.
Van Asch was thrilled to display such an all round team performance, labelling the contribution of each member in the team was a key for victory, while touching on a special moment between Lee and McMullen.
“I thought in particular that Deb was our best on ground out there tonight, she was solid from start to finish, and Jess has led well for us the whole way through,” she said.
“I really enjoy playing with both of those girls, Deb and I in particular have played together a lot over the years as state and club teammates and I’ve played a lot with Jess in recent years as well.
“For me it’s great to play with them but to see a mother-daughter combination win it is really exciting.”
On the men’s side, it was the star studded lineup of Nick Cahill, Barrie Lester and Aron Sherriff who enjoyed a sensational day in their home state to claim the title.
The trio went undefeated with early sectional wins over the ACT and the Northern Territory, before facing the Tasmanian squad of Will Coad, Rob McMullen and Mark Nitz for the gold.
After jumping out of the blocks early, the Queenslanders never looked back, posting a 19-12 win and winning a national title in their own backyard.
Western Australia’s trio of Tom Mitchell, Warren Holt and Daniel Trwehella claimed bronze with a 22-13 win over the Northern Territory.
