2023 Nationals: Day six recap
It was a thrilling final day of Senior Sides Championships action at Joondalup on Wednesday, with this year’s champions crowned after a tense final round.
Going into the day reliant on results, Victoria claimed back-to-back women’s titles after a pulsating final few ends to decide the title, winning their own contest and seeing South Australia upset unbeaten NSW.
Queensland had one hand on the men’s title at the start of the day, and stormed away with a comfortable victory over the NT to bring home the John Dobbie AM Trophy for the first time.
After a clean sweep last year, the women’s title and a second-place in the men’s competition helped Victoria retain the Glyn Bosisto MB Overall Trophy.
Victoria finished clear of Queensland in second and South Australia in third overall.
All players will enjoy a day off on Thursday, with play and live streaming returning on Friday with the Australian Sides Championships commencing.
John Dobbie AM Men’s Trophy champions: Queensland
Betty Collins OAM Women’s Trophy champions: Victoria
Glyn Bosisto MBE Overall Trophy champions: Victoria
Women’s Senior Sides Championships
The battle for the Betty Collins OAM Trophy went all the way to the wire on Wednesday, but it was Victoria who was able to stage a title win for the ages.
Victoria went into the final day of play trailing NSW by 1.5 points with just one round to play.
They would need to put in a strong performance against WA in their final match, and hope for results to go there way in the NSW v SA contest.
The Big V held off WA by 13 shots to win the match, but dropped a rink by just three shots and narrowly won another by one to finish with a total of 34.5 points.
South Australia came to play against NSW, putting up a contest from the outset.
A match win and two rink wins would have been enough to guarantee the title for NSW, but SA had different plans.
SA’s Beth Quinlan-skipped rink won 24-13 to collect crucial shots for the Reds.
Betty Herbertson’s rink had a handy win for NSW, winning 23-15.
Sharyn Renshaw (NSW) and Sandy Wallace (SA) went toe-to-toe in a rink battle for the ages, coming down to the final end with scores all square.
It was Wallace and South Australia that were able to take the advantage, win the rink by one shot and secure the match win.
The two rink wins and match win to SA meant Victoria would be crowned champions for a second consecutive year.
South Australia moved to third with the win, handing NSW their first loss of the week in the process.
WA finished ahead of Queensland on rink wins in fourth, with both states collecting four wins.
Quinlan’s South Australia rink was the most successful of the women’s event, winning all seven encounters and finishing with +56 shot difference.
View women’s senior sides championships results here.
Women’s ladder
Men’s Senior Sides Championships
It was all but a formality to confirm Queensland as the 2023 John Dobbie AM Men’s Trophy winners, as the Maroons did what they needed to do in the final round to secure the title.
With one round to play at Joondalup on Wednesday, Queensland needed just one rink win against the NT to secure the men’s senior sides championship.
Despite being tight early, the Queenslanders displayed the class the had all week to break clear.
They would go on to win by 37 shots , sweeping all three rinks in the process.
The finished the event unbeaten, with six wins and a draw from seven matches, and winning 17.5 of 21 rinks.
They were also led by the top two skips of the event, with John Finlayson’s rink going without a loss and Greg Rolls in second with just one loss across seven rounds.
The victory marks Queensland’s first John Dobbie AM Trophy win.
Victoria and South Australia finished off strong tournaments in second and third place respectively, with just two losses each.
WA finished half a point clear of NSW in fourth, with Tasmania also winning three games to finish sixth.
ACT and NT rounded out the competition with one win each.
View men’s senior sides championships results here.
Men’s ladder
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 is no play and will be no live streaming on Thursday, October 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.
