BPL about to get eXtreme
The sport’s showpiece television event, the Bowls Premier League, is poised to welcome an exciting new team to the biannual competition, with the Melbourne eXtreme set to join the fray in BPL14.
The Club Sunbury-owned Melbourne eXtreme team has quickly set about securing a star-studded contingent of personnel to fill their roster, with dual world champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Carla Krizanic headlining her home club’s maiden journey in the made-for-television product.
Former International Bowler of the Year Matthew Flapper has also come across to the eXtreme team, while New Zealand Blackjack Ali Forsyth returns to event for the first time since BPL08 to round out the all-Victorian line-up, with the Coach still to be appointed.
Bowls Australia CEO Neil Dalrymple said that the Club Sunbury-owned Melbourne eXtreme team would make an exceptional addition to the coveted competition.
“It’s fantastic to see a really invested, progressive and professional organisation in Club Sunbury secure a position in the Bowls Premier League and on behalf of the other teams and all the spectators that enjoy the action, we welcome them to the sport’s biggest stage,” Dalrymple said.
“I’d also like to personally acknowledge the significant work and effort of Club Sunbury’s Board Directors, General Manager Andrew Breeden-Walton and Bowls Coordinator Lloyd Iaccarino in preparing for this exciting opportunity.”
Club Sunbury’s General Manager Andrew Breeden-Walton was equally enthusiastic about his club’s first foray into the BPL and the opportunity it provided them to promote their club’s offering.
“Over many years, Club Sunbury has watched from afar and have been impressed with the spectacle that is the BPL,” Breeden-Walton said.
“We are thrilled and eXcited, to be the newest franchise in the BPL competition, particularly with our Club turning 60 years old in the week after BPL14.
“Melbourne eXtreme will boast an all-Victorian player line-up and we have no doubt our members, local community in Sunbury and all of Melbourne will get behind their team and embrace this new chapter in our story.”
Melbourne eXtreme will fill the eighth team spot in the BPL competition, replacing the Fitzroy Victoria Bowls and Sports Club-owned Melbourne Roys, who are taking a sabbatical after joining as an inaugural team in 2013.
BPL14 will the third event held this calendar year and is scheduled to be staged from November 9-12 at Queensland’s Club Pine Rivers.
