Bowls Premier League: Melbourne Pulse welcome two massive inclusions
Bowls Premier League (BPL) license Melbourne Pulse have made two massive changes to its lineup, welcoming a current and former Australian representative to the team.
Licensee Dandenong Club has announced that Bowls Australia Hall of Fame member Mark Casey will take over from Rob Wilson as coach, while BCiB Australian Jackaroo Ellen Ryan comes in to replace international teammate Natasha Scott.
Casey brings a raft of experience with him as the new coach, boasting more than 290 international caps, Commonwealth Games and World Championships gold medals, as well as BPL success.
Casey was APL03 MVP and helped Brisbane Gold win the first-ever APL title in 2013.
“I am really excited to be on board. It is important we have a team where every player makes an impact when it is their turn and I am confident that the Pulse has a lot to build on from its debut season,” Casey said.
“I really enjoy the BPL event, and I look forward to helping the Pulse have success.”
The Pulse finished fourth in their debut campaign at BPL10 at Club Pine Rivers last November, but were unable to back their efforts up at Moama for BPL11, missing out on finals by net set points.
23-year-old Ryan joins the Pulse on a two-year deal, joining fellow Jackaroo Barrie Lester and international star Gary Kelly.
Ryan is one of the country’s most promising and talented female bowlers, with three Australian Open titles to her name among a string of international achievements, including indoor and outdoor World Under-25 Championships. Ryan has also been selected to represent Australia at next year’s World Bowls Championships on the Gold Coast. The Cabramatta Club bowler competed in previous BPL competitions with the Murray Steamers.
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“We learned a lot about this competition in our debut year and proved to be competitive but to take the next step, we felt we needed to make some adjustments,” Dandenong Club President Charlie Daly said.
“It is fantastic to have Mark on board and we hope this coaching change takes Pulse another step closer to a championship title.
“It was a really tough call to make on Natasha (Scott) when Ellen became available.
“There are some elements about Ellen’s game that we think will help with the tweaks we will make to our game plan for BPL12. This is such a tough competition where every one-percenter makes a difference to the competitiveness of each team. We are really excited to have her on our team.”
BPL12 is planned to take place at Brisbane’s Club Pine Rivers in November this year, with organisers continually assessing the viability of the competition due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
