Bowls wrap-up

Hello everyone I'm back

As you see below my last post on this Diary was way back in January and definitely too long to go without writing something up.

Whilst I can't say too much at the moment there will be some important news on here in a few weeks which will see this little blog become a bit more active - so stay tuned as I will be prattling on about Racing, Bowls and some other stuff in the near future.

As the title subject sugggests I'm gonna do a bit of a bowls wrap-up from my perspective.

Pennants 2010/11

My last post was when Doubleview were sitting 8th on the ladder and the pleasing thing was we managed to make the finals from that position. However like a 17yo visiting the knocker shop for the first time it was over all too quickly. Against Osborne Park we started poorly and despite getting close could not finish off the match.

Full credit must go to the Osborne Park boys for going on to win the Premiership - making it back to back wins. Coming into the finals they had lost there last 2 games 8-blot and no doubt would have been a bit low on confidence. To recover and be able to win through against 3 very strong sides to take the title says a lot for both there bowling ability and mental toughness.

Even though it was a losing season for Doubleview and no doubt a long way below our expectations I can say its still a great place to play bowls. Whilst winning is a big part of our culture the mateship and general good humour and banter between the boys is still at a terrific level. Rest assured the other sides should be on the lookout for a rampaging Doubleview next year as we set our sights on getting back to that no 1 spot.

WA State Side
As a former player and proud West Australian I always follow the state side with great interest.

I tried to listen to some of the LIVE radio coverage of the event and whilst it is without doubt a great idea I found it difficult to listen to for any extended period of time as the commentary lacked a lot of professionalism and entertainment value that you get with a commercial station - however that is probably my problem given it is of course run by volunteers who put in a good deal of time and effort to producing it.

Terry Sheridan aka "Sherro" who was one of the commentators provided a wrap of the series from a WA perspective on his website http://www.osborneparkbc.com.au/ and I think he did a good job in this aspect.

Whilst he was on the money with his comment about WA's 3rd spot being flattering I don't think we are that far away from becoming a force again on the National scene if we can tighten up in a few areas.

As someone who has competed at the top level and also ventured across to the Eastern States for carnivals in the past I believe he is right on the money with his comments regarding the shot play of the WA rinks who didn't far aswell as the largely successful rink which contained the Alley Eddy Medal winner John Slavich, Clive Adams, Pieter Harris and John Goddard.

The draw/drive game which a correspondent to the Osborne Park site D Jardine commented was bought about by the fast greens and blustery conditions in WA is a fair point but I also believe players go into that mode also because of the overall strength of the competitive in WA. Players can get away with these tactics at local level simply because the heads are looser and the opposition is less likely to draw back the winning bowl.

We need to make our local level competition stronger if we are to overcome this problem.

Pennants - Moving Forward
A few years ago Bowls in WA was at the cross-roads. The association had lost direction and was on the verge of ruining the sport in many aspects. Thankgod for Pat Buller and his many helpers who came in and took control and now have us sailing into more fruitful waters.

Whilst Pat and his board have certaintly turned things around at an admin level I believe the next part of bowls development in the state will be to look at the pennant competition.

I have heard there is a big meeting scheduled shortly with Presidents of the premier league clubs being called in to look at several aspects of the game at the highest level.

A reduction in the number of rinks done to 3 is being mooted and for mine this is a must. This will strengthen the competition ernormously and goes back to my State side discussion of the playing style of the bowlers. Stronger competition over the period of a season will improve the way the game is played and bring it closer towards the sort of fierce competition that is needed for our competiting State bowlers in the future.

I believe whilst it may not happen in the immediate future there are suggestions to reduce to 8 sides in the division also. Again another positive to making the top level much tougher and more competitive.

And finally the idea of having the Premier League scheduled games away from the traditional 2pm Saturday start is looking likely. The respective Presidents have been given several different time slots including Friday Night, Sat Night and Sunday evenings to consider. This is just a fantastic idea for many reasons and having played in several Friday Night games in the past they generally always of a much better standard than on a Saturday arvo when strong winds can cause problems. It also allows other bowlers to come down to the club and see what is required to play at that level and get a better understanding of the game.