Squads for 2023 National Development Series announced
The next generation of Australian bowls talent will be on full display at the 2023 National Development Series, with confirmation of the four squads of young stars set to battle it out on the the Gold Coast in July.
Four teams will converge on the Sunshine State, with each consisting of seven players across the Right at Home Emerging, Pathways and Para Jackaroos squads.
The event will simulate international formats in order to give the next generation of bowlers a chance to hone their skills in the same conditions that have seen the greats before them flourish.
Team One boasts an in-form line-up, with Queensland’s Kira Bourke one of the headlines after a magnificent Multi-Nations campaign where she would clinch a bronze medal in the women’s singles event.
Joining Bourke is Victoria’s Sophie Kurzman, who recently claimed the women’s triples title at the Victorian Open with Kate Argent Bowden and Triss Doolan.
Cohen Litfin will line up with the pair, also in ominous form following an exemplary opening three months of 2023 in which he and Nathan Black clinched the division one title at the Burnside Pairs before going on to take a silver and bronze at the Multi-Nations a fortnight ago.
Victoria’s Tyson Cromie and South Australian Tyson Wilson have also been included in the team.
The para contingent in the squad will be Western Australia’s Calvin Rodgers and Victoria’s Lucas Protopapas.
Team Two sees Litfin’s Burnside Pairs partner in Black named in the line-up alongside his fellow South Australian in Grace Moloney, who will also be participating in next month’s World Bowls Indoor Championships in Warilla.
Emerging Jackaroos Jessie Cottell and Beau Prideaux will join the contingent, with Cottell herself no stranger to the national stage having helped the Melbourne eXtreme to the BPL15 final last year as a mid-tournament fill in and reaching the women’s pairs semifinal at the 2022 Australian Open.
Western Australian Jack East is the final member of the open contingent, with the para duo of Victoria’s Alison East and Queensland’s Brett Sellars rounding out the lineup.
Team Three will boast the experience of ACT stalwart Chloe Morrison, who has represented her state at an abundance of tournaments on the national scale.
Morrison will be joined in the squad by Queensland Pathways Jackaroo Kane Nelson, who was another dual medallist at the Multi-Nations with a silver in the men’s triples and a bronze in the fours.
Tasmania’s Lauren Banks has been named in the team, with the 21-year-old bringing some significant national experience to the side having already won a silver medal at the Australian Championships.
In addition, Banks will be taking part in next month’s World Bowls Indoor Championships at Warilla.
New South Wales’ Michael Phillips and Victorian Brendan Gallagher round out the open players, and will be joined by para bowlers Matt Barrie and Cooper Whitestyles.
Whitestyles claimed the men’s para pairs title with Damien Delgado at the 2022 Australian Open and will bring an abundance of confidence to the event.
Team Four consists of a star-studded line-up including an in-form Nick Cahill, who took home a silver medal in the men’s singles at the Multi-Nations, to Aaron Teys in the decider.
Cahill also represented Australia at the World Bowls Under-25 Indoor Championships in December where he claimed a pair of silver medals, and joining him on that tour was Brianna Smith who herself secured the women’s singles title in the UK.
Smith and Cahill will again be teammates on the Gold Coast, and joining them will be Queensland’s Chris Rosanes, who is no stranger to high level events having played in four Bowls Premier Leagues for the Moreton Bay Pirates.
Rosanes, like Nelson and Litfin, was another dual medallist at the Multi-Nations with a silver in the triples and a bronze in the fours.
Former Australian Championships gold medallist Kate Matthews has also been included in the squad, as has Kyle Hansen to round out the open members of the team.
2022 Australian Multi-Disability Championships Clover Lester Encouragement Award recipient Jodie Nikolic has been named within the team, as has Victorian Josh Barry, to make up the para component of the lineup.
National Coach Gary Willis is looking forward to the event and the experience it will give to some of the future Australian stars of the sport.
“This National Pathways Event is something that we have looked forward to for a really long time – we can’t wait to give Australia’s next generation the chance to excel in conditions similar to the sport’s showpiece tournaments,” Willis said.
“The teams are all evenly matched and it will be interesting to see how they all mix and gel together in their pursuit of success.
“When looking at the players selected, it is hard not to get excited for the future of the sport across the nation, with an abundance of talent scattered across the entire field.”
The National Pathways Event runs from July 11-13, 2023, on the the Gold Coast.
Full teams below:
Team One:
Kira Bourke (QLD)
Sophie Kurzman (VIC)
Tyson Cromie (VIC)
Tyson Wilson (SA)
Cohen Litfin (QLD)
Calvin Rodgers (Para WA)
Lucas Protopapas (Para VIC)
Team Two:
Grace Moloney (SA)
Jessie Cottell (NSW)
Jack East (WA)
Beau Prideaux (NSW)
Nathan Black (SA)
Alison East (Para VIC)
Brett Sellars (Para QLD)
Team Three:
Chloe Morrison (ACT)
Lauren Banks (TAS)
Michael Phillips (NSW)
Kane Nelson (QLD)
Brendan Gallagher (VIC)
Matt Barrie (Para ACT)
Cooper Whitestyles (Para QLD)
Team Four:
Kate Matthews (NSW)
Brianna Smith (NSW)
Chris Rosanes (QLD)
Nick Cahill (QLD)
Kyle Hansen (NSW)
Jodie Nikolic (Para WA)
Josh Barry (Para VIC)
