A hit out like no other
The NSW/ACT NTC team will enjoy partaking in a tough hit out with three quality sides at the end of this month Cabramatta Bowls Club, the Centre of Excellence, will host a never seen before test series between four exciting NSW-based teams at the end of this month.
The NSW/ACT National Training Centre Squad will take on a powerhouse NSW Zone 10 team, the best of the best Australian Defence Force bowlers from around the country and a team with a wealth of experience, the NSW Senior Men’s State Side (over-60s).
NSW/ACT NTC Coach Gary Willis is thrilled his squad is getting the opportunity to play a quality test series against in form players and legends of the game.
“The NSW/ACT NTC Squad has several competition based training events on our yearly calendar; four years ago we established an annual fixture against the Australian Defence Force Team and this has now grown into a round robin series incorporating the NSW Senior State Side, along with the NSW Zone 10 representative team,” said the Australian Assistant Coach.
“We are very excited about the prospect of playing against so many quality players with current and former NSW and Australian representatives and some absolute legends of our sport; the competition will be fierce and an extremely beneficial hit out for all involved.
Cabramatta Bowling Club continues to be a great supporter of the NSW/ACT NTC Squad and is the perfect venue to hold a competitive series like this one.
“Cabramatta Bowling Club is our NSW National Centre of Excellence and they will host the event allowing us to play rain, hail or shine under their state of the art under cover green or on one of their fantastic grass surfaces,” said Willis.
“The NTC squad regularly train at the Centre of Excellence when we meet for our group sessions, so we have become quite familiar with the wonderful greens at Cabramatta.
“I have selected our team to represent NTC based on both their recent results and training performances and I look forward to seeing them reap the benefits of this hard fought competition.”
Youth and experience will be on show; one of Australia’s greatest to don the green and gold, Rex Johnston will skip a rink for the NSW Senior State Side, Tom Ellen, cap number 114 represented Australia against Wales back in 2002 and will be charged with guiding the NSW Zone 10 Side, Northern Territories NTC Squad Member CPL Lucas Baker has been selected to represent the Australian Defence Force and Australian Jackaroo’s newest recruit Ben Twist will skip for the NTC Team.
Under-18 Australian Open Singles Champion Jono Davis will be the youngest player competing over the weekend and continues to take his game from strength to strength.
If you missed his match on SBS last Sunday here is the link to SBS on Demand where you can watch all previous episodes of The Bowls Show.
This round robin event is open to men and women and we will see four girls in action for the NTC Team, Molly Wilton, Samantha Shannahan, Jamie-Lee Worsnop and the 2016 Junior Golden Nugget Singles Winner Kate Matthews, while AB Kaitlin Shaw is the sole female representative in the Australian Defence Force Team.
12 players have been selected in each team and will divided into three rinks of fours, a traditional format fours match played over 21 ends.
Each team will play three games with the master board (63 ends) to determine winners of each match.
Game 1: August 27 12.15pm trial ends for a 12.30pm start
Game 2: August 27 5.15pm trial ends for a 5.30pm start
Game 3: August 28 8.30am trial ends for an 8.45am start
Game 1: ADF vs NTC, Zone 10 vs NSW Over-60s Game
Game 2: Zone 10 vs ADF, NSW Over-60s vs NTC Game
Game 3: NSW Over-60s vs ADF, NTC vs Zone 10
Catch all the action at Cabramatta Bowls Club on August 27 & 28 and don’t forget it’s a later start on Saturday to incorporate a night fixture into the round robin.
Australian Defence Force Team-
AB Jamie Turner
AB Kaitlin Shaw
WO2 Dale Reeves
CPO Phil Black
AB Jason Wilson
LAC Daniel Aisbett
SGT Gerard Harkins
SGT Jason Wholohan
WO1 Mick Carley
SQNLDR Russ Wise
CPL Wayne Jones
CPL Lucas Baker
Zone 10 Team-
C Couchman
B Hughes
C Maythers
T Ellem
G Lewis
M Clarke
B Edwards
S Thompson
M O’Loughlin
M Phillips
P Webb
Z Trabra
NSW Senior Men’s Team-
G Jamieson
R Emerson
C Linton
W Lambourne
T Imer
G McGillivary
J Roberts
R Johnston
K Paulsen
P Hughes
T White
M Beesley
ACT/NSW NTC Team-
Billy Johnson
Molly Wilton
Mac McLean (ACT)
Ben Twist
Jamie-Lee Worsnop
Sam Shannahan
Ben Glasson
Corey Wedlock
Kate Matthews
Mason Lewis
Jono Davis
Jesse Noronha
Caption- Ben Twist will line up for the NSW/ACT NTC team against Zone 10, Australian Defence Force and NSW Men’s Senior State Side
