Trophies within reach for QLD and NSW
Queensland and New South Wales each have one hand on a trophy after remaining unbeaten on the penultimate day of the Australian Sides Championships at Broadbeach.
The Maroons are two games clear in the hunt for the men’s Alley Shield, after remaining unscathed on the third day of competition, while their nearest rival, Western Australia relinquished the pole position that they held at the start of the day with consecutive defeats.
The Blues kept their untarnished record intact in their attempt to claim a third successive women’s Marj Morris Trophy, but only have a one-game buffer over their next two nearest opponents, Western Australia and Queensland, heading into tomorrow’s final two contests.
The host-state’s men accounted for the ACT 61-47 in the this morning’s fourth round, and then assured some additional breathing room at the top of the standings with a comprehensive 31-shot triumph over second-placed Western Australia, despite only prevailing in two-rinks.
Queensland will attempt to secure their first men’s Alley Shield since 2014 tomorrow, with second-placed Tasmania and the Northern Territory remaining in their way.
The reigning titleholder Blues women glided past Tasmania, 63-44, and ACT, 69-44, with all six rink wins throughout the day, with Dawn Hayman and Ellen Ryan‘s rinks unbeaten across the five contests staged to date, while remarkably, Victoria‘s Dylan Fisher‘s rink has the same untarnished record, despite the Big V only winning two out of five clashes.
NSW will look to obtain a three-peat of women’s Marj Morris Trophies tomorrow, and their eighth from the last ten contests, with Northern Territory and second-placed Western Australia tasked against them.
As it stands, Queensland is in the box set to secure the coveted Overall Champions Trophy, with a combined nine wins across both genders, followed by NSW one game behind.
Both teams encounter Northern Territory, who are yet to record a victory but did manage to split the result against the South Australian men 61-all this afternoon.
Queensland will face Tasmania, who leap-frogged their way to second-place in the men’s event after toppling Victoria 62-50 this afternoon, while NSW will clash with Western Australia, who is also in second-place in the women’s event, having lost only to Queensland this afternoon.
