2023 Nationals: Day five recap
The Australian Senior Sides Championship took centre stage at Joondalup on Tuesday, running as the solo event across the Perth host clubs on the day.
It was moving day for both men’s and women’s competitions, with just one round left to play on Wednesday to decide the John Dobbie AM Men’s Trophy, Betty Collins OAM Women’s Trophy and Glyn Bosisto MBE Overall trophy.
Men’s Senior Sides Championships
Queensland have one hand on the John Dobbie AM Trophy after more success at Joondalup on Tuesday, putting them in the box seat to claim the title with one round to play.
Sitting four points clear of Victoria at the start of the day, the Maroons recorded a strong win over South Australia in their first match of the day.
Tasmania threatened to blow the competition wide open in the sixth round however, giving the Queenslanders a run for their money.
Tasmania won two of three rinks, but the John Finlayson skipped rink did what they had done all week, winning by 10 shots to put the Queenslanders in the box seat with one round remaining.
Finlayson’s rink is yet to lose at this event, with +52 shot difference after six rounds.
Queensland require just one rink win against the NT on Wednesday to secure the title.
Reigning champions Victoria sit six points behind in second place, but could have been closer if not for falling short to South Australia by just two shots in the sixth round.
They remain an outside possibility, needing Queensland to drop all three rinks, while winning all three rinks of their own.
View men’s senior sides championships results here.
Men’s ladder (after six rounds)
Women’s Senior Sides Championships
The race for the Betty Collins OAM Trophy is down to two with one round to play, with New South Wales holding a slight edge over Victoria.
Just half a point clear of the Victorians ahead of rounds five and six on Tuesday, New South Wales extended their narrow lead slightly to 1.5 points after recording two wins.
The Blues dropped just one rink on the day to hold sway ahead of their final round against South Australia on Wednesday.
Victoria will need results to go their way, but are still well in the hunt themselves. A clean sweep win over Tasmania was followed by a hard-fought victory over South Australia, winning just one rink but good enough to hold on for the match win.
Victoria will need to win its final round match over home state Western Australia on Wednesday, and make up the 1.5 point difference through rink wins of their own or NSW losses.
Shot difference favours the Big V at this stage, 40 shots clear of NSW, so a tie on points would have Victoria in prime position.
View women’s senior sides championships results here.
Women’s ladder (after six rounds)
The 2023 Nationals will run from October 6-20, 2023, with live streaming to take place on Bowls Australia’s Facebook and YouTube channels. Please note, there will be no live streaming from Tue, Oct 10 – Thur, Oct 12.
The 2023 Nationals in Perth, Western Australia is proudly supported by Tourism Western Australia, City of Joondalup, and the State government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Lotterywest in Western Australia. Sport and recreation creates vibrant, inclusive and connected WA communities.
