#BPL16 Day Three: Pirates make their move
The Moreton Bay Pirates have made a sharp move on day three of #BPL16 and have made a statement with just one loss for the day and a strong win over tournament rivals the Sydney Lions in the night session.
The home franchise sat one win behind the New South Wales squad leading into the fourth match of the evening but came out firing with a dominant display of bowls that saw them run away with a 4-3 16-2 victory.
Only the Adelaide Pioneers would overcome Chris Rosanes, Jo Edwards and Alex Marshall on an eventful day at Club Pine Rivers.
Sydney would still end Wednesday’s play atop the table after three wins for the day but only on shot difference ahead of the Pirates, who share the same net sets across the first 12 rounds so far.
Defending champions, the Melbourne Pulse, enjoyed a solid day with a trio of victories that sees the Dandenong Club franchise join the Lions and Pirates on eight wins in a three-way battle for top spot on the ladder.
The first four of the Victorian team’s matches went to tiebreaks throughout the day as Barrie Lester, Gary Kelly and Ellen Ryan split the ledger evenly before recording a straight sets win over the Gold Coast Hawks under lights to continue the quest for back-to-back trophies.
In fourth place with seven wins heading into the penultimate day of competition are the Pioneers, who strung together a quartet of victories on a magnificent day for the franchise as they aim to bring a first title to South Australia.
One win further back are the Moama Steamers who enjoyed a sensational commencement of the day with three straight wins, including a demolition job of the Lions which was almost a record in terms of overall shots.
However, two defeats to the Tasmania Tridents and Perth Suns in their final two games leave the two-time champions in a precarious position with six rounds left.
Following the Steamers is a logjam, with four franchises on five wins and looking to usurp one of the top five teams with their own place in the finals.
The Gold Coast Hawks enjoyed three wins to resurrect their tournament and jump to sixth, while Cody Packer sent a parochial Suns fan base wild in the final game of the night against Moama to keep the Western Australians in the hunt.
After a Grand Final showing in May, the Melbourne eXtreme endured a lean day in the squad’s quest to challenge for the title again with just one win coming from a tough Wednesday to also sit on five victories.
That solitary salute came in the opening match of the night session when Ali Forsyth played a magnificent tiebreak after Matthew Flapper produced a piece of individual brilliance to force the decider.
Joining the congestion are the Tridents who recorded two wins from the five games.
It was a disastrous day for the Tweed Heads Ospreys who were unable to record a win at all, with three of the matches heading to tiebreakers and falling the other way.
The former winners of the tournament sit with just a trio of wins from the 12 matches so far.
On Thursday the ten teams will contest three rounds with moving day well and truly upon the 16th edition of the Bowls Premier League.
Rinkside Live coverage resumes from 9:30am AEST on Thursday, with night matches broadcast live on Fox Sports, Kayo and Sky Sport NZ from 4pm AEST.
