Aust Sides next goal for QLD
Women celebrate QLD V NSW test victory, men look to Perth for redemption. The Queensland men’s team will be looking to the upcoming Australian Sides Championships in Perth in April for redemption following their failure to take the prized “Wal Currey Shield” from New South Wales for the third year in a row.
Although they played three consistent and skilful tests over two days, they could not stop the Blues’ irresistible drive forward, with the southerner’s taking the final test, 61-49 (12 shots being a reasonably close result over three rinks).
The Maroon men drew one rink 17-17 and lost the other two, 15-17, and 17-27.
After the game, they said they were looking forward to defending their title at the Australian Sides 2015 championships in Perth.
The women also had a loss in the final test, though it mattered little to them after securing “The Ashes” shield on the opening day, by winning the first two tests.
They tried desperately for a three-game clean sweep of the series, but fell at the last hurdle, winning two rinks, 20-17 and 18-14, but going down in a big way in the third, 6-31, the final aggregate score going the Blues’ way, 62-44.
(See Bowls Queensland EVENTS pages, February, for rinks scores and test teams.)
The Queensland men’s and women’s teams will contest the Australian Sides Championships in the Perth suburb of Yokine from April 9 to 12, where the revered “Alley Shield” will be awarded to the victorious men’s team and the coveted “Marj Morris Trophy” won by the best state women’s team.
QLD men are the defending champions, the women were runners up to NSW last year in Burnie, Tasmania.
The selectors met after the QLD V NSW test series with a heavy job on their hands.
Do they keep the winning women’s team intact?
And what to do about the men’s team, if anything?
(The QLD men’s team has been incredibly consistent and successful until this test series, when the combinations still played exceptional bowls, but were out-gunned on the scoreboard, especially in the second test, by a crackerjack NSW men’s outfit.)