North vs South Challenge (Nov, 3-4)
The inaugural North versus South Challenge thrilled bowls fans at Suburban Bowls Club with two gripping days of quality bowls action. (Pictured left: The victorious South Women’s team who completed a clean sweep across the three tests of the inaugural North versus South Challenge at Suburban Bowls Club.)
The inaugural North versus South Challenge showed off the depth of talent both sides of the North-South divide, the skill of the South prevailed in the end with the both of the southern teams returning from their incursion on Suburban Bowls Club as victors.
Day one of the event saw the South Women claim the first two test series in one fell swoop to secure the first ever North v South title in their favour and go down in the history books as the first winners of the event.
Meanwhile, the North Men scored a five on the last end of the first test to claim a 57-57 draw thanks to a sublime conversion by former Australian rep Colin Kelly.
The North then jumped out to an early lead in the second test until the South staged an enthralling comeback to draw level with two ends left to play.
Kurt Brown’s rink claimed a four for the North on the second last end and then hung on to win by three and finish 58-55 over the South, which gave the North the upper hand in the third and final test.
Day two gave the South Men a chance to come back fresh after their narrow defeat at the end of day one.
Determined not to let there be a repeat of the second test, the South staged a remarkable comeback to claim after a slow start.
The North had picked up 15 shots across their three rinks, all within minutes to take a commanding lead in the third and final test.
The South Men bounced back to take the test and force a one end shootout to decide the title.
The North held game until a drive from Nathan Rice with the last bowl of the match snatched victory in an amazing series.
The South Women found themselves under far less pressure in their final game with the knowledge that they had already secured their series after wins in the first two tests.
The North Women put up stiff resistance, however, the talent of the South shone through and allowed them to sneak in with a smaller margin to win 58-51.
Results:
Test 1: Women South 74 def North 41: Keegan 24 d Ryan 16, White 18 d Brady 13, Fantini 30 d Usher 12; Men South 57 drew with North 57: Baker 15 lost to Kelly 19, Rice 17 lost to Williams 24, Wilkie 25 d Brown 14.
Test 2: Women South 72 def North 49: White 20 def Ryan 12, Fantini 25 def Brady 13, Keegan 27 def Usher 24; Men North 58 def South 55: Kelly 21 def Rice 16, Williams 13 lost to Wilkie 23, Brown 24 def Baker 16.
Test 3: Women South 58 def North 51: Fantini 18 def Ryan 15, Keegan 16 lost to Brady 19, White 24 def Usher 17; Men South 77 def North 70: Wilkie 29 def Kelly 16, Baker 23 lost to Williams 28, Rice 25 lost to Brown 26. Men’s drawn series shootout: South 2 def North 1.
To view the full results and draw click here.
