District Mixed Pairs – State Final
GOLD Dee Robertson & Sean Ingham, SILVER Kay Cook & Nick Cahill, BRONZE Nicole & Anthony Williams Main Photo: 2017 District Mixed Pairs State Finalists with BQ officials, from left, Ron Somerville (BQ Match), Ray Bax and Kelly Gauntlett (Windsor/Brisbane District/Group 2), Nicole and Anthony Williams (Maryborough Services Memorial/Fraser Coast DBA/Wide Bay Gympie DLBA/Group 5), Kay Cook and Nick Cahill (Bargara/Bundaberg District/Group 6), Dee Robertson and Sean Ingham (Broadbeach/Gold Coast Tweed District/Group 1), Dareyle Hester and Tyler Pettigrew (Edmonton/Edge Hill/TFNQ District/Group 8), Bek and Greg Pullen (Emerald/Leichhardt/Group 7), Tracy Foster and Nathan Appleton (West Toowoomba/North Toowoomba/Downs District/Group 3), BQ deputy president Kerry Green and BQ president Peter Williamson. Withdrawal: Noela Gray and Alan Thorp (Bribe Island/Caboolture District/Group 4)
It’s no surprise the favourites won the 2017 District Mixed Pairs state title, the GOLD MEDAL going to the most experienced team in the competition, Dee Robertson and Sean Ingham from Broadbeach, both used to playing top level competition day in and day out at the Gold Coast powerhouse club at the centre of world bowls for the next few years.
Giving them a good fight in the gold medal playoff was Kay Cook and Nick Cahill from Bargara.
The underdogs starting off slowly, lagging behind 3-12 after six ends, however by the half way mark, they had staged a remarkable comeback to position themselves within striking distance, only three shots behind the leaders, 12-15 after 13 ends …and the spectators dared to wonder, “Could they pull it off…??”
But the drive and skill of the Broadbeach duo never wavered under pressure, brilliant and constant from the outset, they powered away to a convincing finish, 28-14, with a couple of ends still in hand if they’d needed them.
Nevertheless, the Bargara duo were more than happy with their performance against the acclaimed Broadbeach warriors, winning themselves a state SILVER MEDAL.
In the BRONZE MEDAL playoff, the 2016 champions, siblings Nicole and Anthony Williams from Maryborough Services Memorial were up against Emerald daughter and father combo Bek and Greg Pullen.
Again the underdogs were slower to fire, the Pullens down 1-13 after five ends, and while they fought back to 8-21 by the half way mark, the Williams siblings had the runs on the board at state final level, finishing hard 23-13, also with a couple of ends in hand.
The consolation prize for the 4th-placed Pullens was that they beat some big names to earn their place in the final four, including a fierce opening round win 20-9 over Downs’ Tracy Foster and Nathan Appleton (Round 1) and a 19-14 win over the silver medalists Cook & Cahill in the rounds (Round 3).
South Suburban Mackay was a superb host of this weekend’s 2017 District Mixed Pairs State Final, a beautiful annual state championship event hotly contested each year by eight teams who win through from district and group level (and sometimes from club level) to earn a crack at a state title.
THE EIGHT STATE FINALISTS:
Group 1: Dee-Anne Robertson & Sean Ingham (Broadbeach), Gold Coast Tweed District
Group 2: Kelly Gauntlett & Raymond Bax (Windsor), Brisbane District
Group 3: Tracy Foster & Nathan Appleton (North Toowoomba), Downs District
Group 4: Noela Gray & Alan Thorp (Bribie Island), Caboolture District (Withdrawn)
Group 5: Nicole Williams & Anthony Williams (Maryborough Services), Fraser Coast District **2016 WINNERS (defending champs)
Group 6: Kay Cook & Nick Cahill (Bargara), Bundaberg District
Group 7: Bek Pullen & Greg Pullen (Emerald), Leichhardt District
Group 8: Dareyle Hester (Edmonton) & Tyler Pettigrew (Edge Hill), Tropical Far Nth QLD District
RESULTS – DISTRICT MIXED PAIRS – STATE FINAL
Saturday 14 October 2017
Round 1 at 8.30am
Section 1
(Group 7 – Leichhardt) Bek Pullen & Greg Pullen 20 DEF (Group 3 – Downs) Tracy Foster & Nathan Appleton 9
(Group 6 – Bundaberg) Kay Cook & Nick Cahill 24 DEF (Group 8 – Tropical Far Nth QLD) Dareyle Hester & Tyler Pettigrew 21
Section 2
(Group 1 – Gold Coast Tweed) Dee-Anne Robertson & Sean Ingham 27 DEF (Group 2 – Brisbane) Kelly Gauntlett & Raymond Bax 15
Round 2 at 1.00pm
Section 1
(Group 6 – Bundaberg) Kay Cook & Nick Cahill 32 DEF (Group 3 – Downs) Tracy Foster & Nathan Appleton 9
(Group 8 – Tropical Far Nth QLD) Dareyle Hester & Tyler Pettigrew 24 DEF (Group 7 – Leichhardt) Bek Pullen & Greg Pullen 10
Section 2
(Group 5 – Fraser Coast ) Nicole Williams & Anthony Williams 16 DEF (Group 2 – Brisbane) Kelly Gauntlett & Raymond Bax 15
Sunday 15 October 2017
Round 3 at 8.30am
Section 1
(Group 3 – Downs) Tracy Foster & Nathan Appleton 25 DEF (Group 8 – Tropical Far Nth QLD) Dareyle Hester & Tyler Pettigrew 18
(Group 7 – Leichhardt) Bek Pullen & Greg Pullen 19 DEF (Group 6 – Bundaberg) Kay Cook & Nick Cahill 14
Section 2
(Group 1 – Gold Coast Tweed) Dee-Anne Robertson & Sean Ingham 21 DEF (Group 5 – Fraser Coast) Nicole Williams & Anthony Williams 18
FINALS
GOLD MEDAL: Dee-Anne Robertson & Sean Ingham (Group 1 – Gold Coast Tweed) 28 def 14 Kay Cook & Nick Cahill (Group 6 – Bundaberg)
BRONZE MEDAL: Nicole Williams & Anthony Williams (Group 5 – Fraser Coast ) 23 def 13 Bek Pullen & Greg Pullen (Group 7 – Leichhardt)
