Blues snare Sides trifecta
New South Wales have capped off a stellar Australian Sides Championships in Bendigo today, finishing the time-honoured tournament in pole position of both genders and claiming the overall honours.
The men’s contingent put the finishing touches on a remarkable Alley Shield campaign, concluding the competition with an unblemished record after reaching an unattainable lead with a round to spare.
Unfazed by having already sewn up proceedings on Wednesday, the Blues outfit seized the chance to claim their 18th title with a slender one shot victory over ACT in the final round, 54-53, despite dropping two of the three rinks on offer.
While reigning International Bowler of the Year Aron Sherriff had his colours lowed by Robert Chesher and Australian Jackaroo Shane Garvey dropped his match to Damon Jeffery, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mark Casey’s win over Andrew Howie proved the catalyst for the perfect series.
NSW may have finished the tournament on a high, but it was current Scottish world champion Graeme Archer who took the rink of the series honours for Victoria ahead of former-Maroon-turned-Blue Casey.
For the sixth time in eight years, Victoria departs the Alley Shield contest with a silver medal after edging out Western Australia 53-51 to earn their fifth victory and finish in second position.
In the women’s competition, NSW is basking in its seventh Mark Morris Trophy win after toppling ACT 85-45 to finish ahead of host state Victoria by one and a half rinks.
With the three states log-jammed at the top of the ladder entering the deciding round, little could separate the three states going into the last round, with a dominant finish to proceedings giving the Blues their second back-to-back victory since the women’s inception in 1979.
Unsurprisingly, Australian Jackaroo Kelsey Cottrell clinched the best-performed skip accolade on a count back, ahead of her state and national teammates Natasha Van Eldik and Karen Murphy.
As a result of the Alley Shield and Marj Morris wins, the Blues also secured a unique three peat of the Overall State Champions Trophy, the first state since 2009 to attain all three sets of Sides silverware in the one year.
The Big V was relegated to second position on the overall rankings, again finishing agonisingly close to the ultimate prize, with two wins across both disciplines separating the two states.
Click here for full results from the 2013 Australian Sides Championships.
Alley Shield final results:
1. NSW (7 wins, 12.5 rinks), 2. Victoria (5, 15), 3. Queensland (5, 12), 4. South Australia (4, 11.5), 5. Western Australia (2, 11), 6. Tasmania (2, 9), 7. Northern Territory (2, 8), 8. ACT (1, 5)
Marj Morris Trophy final results:
1. NSW (6 wins, 17.5 rinks), 2. Victoria (6, 14), 3. ACT (5, 13), 4. Queensland (4, 8.5), 5. Tasmania (3, 7), 6. Western Australia (2, 12), 7. South Australia (2, 10), 8. Northern Territory (0, 2)
Overall Australian Sides Championships results:
1. NSW (26 points), 2. Victoria (22), 3. Queensland (18), 4. South Australia (12), 5. ACT (12), 6. Tasmania (10), 7. Western Australia (8) 8. Northern Territory (4)
