June 2001 Volume 82 Number 6 "serving the protectors"
BOWLS
By Peter Baehnk

Closing day

Twenty-six rinks nominated for the last official event on the season calendar. But before the day’s proceedings got under way at the Elizabeth Bowling Club in mid-March, four SAPBC bowlers played off for the club singles trophy and singles plate.

Finalists for the singles - Danny Dahlitz and Cos Cavaiuolo - fought out a close game. Dahlitz won (25/21) while, at the same time, the finalists of the singles plate played their game - Ivan Doering defeated Nick Zuvich (21/13).

Zuvich made no excuses for his loss but, a natural right-hander, he had recently undergone an operation on his right shoulder. This forced him to play left-handed, but sources say he had practised furiously at his home club, Somerton.

The day was conducive to good bowls: a mild temperature and 14-second greens. By day’s end, the home club rinks had proved too strong and won both the winner-of-the-losers (one-game winners) and winner-of-the-winners (two-game winners).

Trophies were presented to the winner of the club singles (Dahlitz), singles plate (Doering) and club associate, Ron Crossley. Crossley had, with Danny Fitzgerald, won the club pairs competition at Holdfast Bay on February 4.

Annual carnival

The same names were highlighted again this year in the competition for the singles championship.

Candidates Danny Dahlitz, John McKnight, Lindsay Yeo and Trevor Gregory acquitted themselves well in elite company. Dahlitz was eliminated to the singles plate competition, from which Queensland’s Kevin Kunst eliminated him in a hard-fought game (21/18). Three other SAPBC candidates qualified for the quarter-finals of the singles championship.

McKnight had a relatively easy passage to the last eight by beating Queensland’s Brian Roots (25/12). Yeo was also untroubled in his win over Queensland’s Greg Glase. Gregory, however, was pitched against strong competitor, Craig Gardiner, from NSW.

Gardiner had come to prominence during the 39th carnival at Warwick, Queensland in 1997, when he defeated John O’Connell (also from NSW) for the singles trophy. Gregory managed to beat Gardiner in a close game (25/17). Gardiner later won the singles plate trophy.

Yeo then defeated Doug Grant from WA (25/12) to qualify for the semi-finals.

Gregory beat Victoria’s Noel Blake by 17 shots (25/8) in a one-sided affair. Blake won the singles trophy in 1999 in Perth. He had eliminated Gregory at the quarter-final stage in a very close game (25/24). This time, Gregory was able to answer any shot that Blake managed to pull out of his bag of tricks.

McKnight was drawn against John O’Connell, got the early break and appeared to be “cruising”. His draw shots were magnificent and, after a number of ends, he had consolidated with a reasonable lead. O’Connell - eight-time winner of the competition since 1970 - should never be taken lightly. He chipped away at McKnight’s lead and drew away at the “business end” of the game to win by six shots (25/19).

These games left two of SAPBC candidates in the semi-finals alongside O’Connell and Victoria’s Ian Miles. Yeo played Miles in a match that highlighted their talent. Whenever one player created a lead, his opponent would quickly make up the deficit.

In the end, Miles’ consistency won out over Yeo (25/23). O’Connell got the jump on Gregory early in their encounter, but Gregory continued to claw away at O’Connell’s lead. Gregory’s draw bowling was brilliant, and acknowledged as such by O’Connell. Gregory eventually won by five shots (25/20), although the game could have gone either way.

The final between Miles and Gregory was something of an anti-climax. Although Gregory showed his talent at times, Miles played like a well-oiled machine - and won (25/12).

PASAweb   Index & Search   Top of Page   Comments   Email to Editor

The Police Journal Online is an official publication of the Police Association of South Australia and is published monthly. Editors of kindred publications can seek permission from the Editor to re-publish any Police Journal Online article. Copyright 2001  The Police Association of South Australia sustance