Medals for our Queenslanders at the 2018 Australian Championships
The 2018 Australian Championships got off to a flying start at Club Sapphire on the Sapphire Coast with Queensland and New South Wales claiming gold in the first event of the four day long program. The 2018 Australian Championships got off to a flying start at Club Sapphire on the Sapphire Coast with Queensland and New South Wales claiming gold in the first event of the four day long program.
Australian Triples
The Queensland triples combination, covering all corners of the sunshine state from Brisbane to Mackay. Alan Howard, Peter Balderson and Mitchell Mears completed their fairy tale year winning a maiden Australian title in a classy performance on day one.
The trio went through these championships undefeated, keeping their record intact, whilst also claiming the honours of best post-match celebration after their emphatic victory over the Victorians in the final courtesy of the enthusiasm shown by Peter Balderson.
An unfortunate incident occurred in the match with a rebounding jack hitting a players leg; the end had to be replayed however the drive which was delivered by Queensland skip Mitchell Mears ended up being a turning point for the Queenslanders, saving six shots at a crucial point in the match and consequently spurring the maroons to deliver in the closing ends.
The Victorian side of Jonny Sanders, Troy Stafford and Josh Sanders were thrilled with their silver medal performance, still wearing their medals proudly the next day.
In the women’s final it was the New South Wales Blues against Western Australia with NSW taking the gold and Queenslanders Jessica Srisamruaybai, Claire Turley and Chloe Stewart missed out on the bronze to Victoria.
Medals Triples
Women’s Gold Medal Match-
Louise Cronin, Kate Walker and Katrina Wright (Taren Point, NSW) defeated Robyn O’Brien, Laura Merz and Kristina Krstic (Manning Memorial, WA) 14-13
Men’s Gold Medal Match-
Alan Howard, Peter Balderson and Mitchell Mears (Composite, QLD) defeated Jonny Sanders, Troy Stafford and Josh Sanders (Lilydale, VIC) 20-11
Women’s Bronze Medal Match-
Shelley Allen, Brooke Edwards and Gayle Edwards (Altona, VIC) defeated Jessica Srisamruaybai, Claire Turley and Chloe Stewart (Tweed Heads, QLD) 15-12
Men’s Bronze Medal Match-
Dan Carter, Gary Thompson and Gary Meekcoms (Modbury, SA) defeated Garry Chalker, Hemi Palmer and James Reynolds (Weston Creek, ACT) 24-6
Australian Pairs
On night two of the Australian Championships at Club Sapphire, there were four entertaining medal playoffs in the pairs competition and again it was Queensland and New South Wales dominating the podium.
The Queensland men Jade Groenewege and Sean Baker combined brilliantly to win their final against the gallant Victorian side of Adrian Marchioli and Nathan Murray in a quality encounter.
Baker, no stranger to this kind of competition, added another Australian title to his resume, alongside his partner Groenewege who couldn’t take the smile off his face winning the biggest event of his career.
South Australia defeated Tasmania in their playoff match and proudly claimed the bronze.
In the women’s competition a spanner was thrown into the works earlier in the day when Anne Johns and Queensland resident Kelsey Cottrell were defeated in their opening round against Alex Reynolds and Chris Keller from Hawthorn in South Australia; the past and present Australian representatives had to claw back the deficit in the final sectional match against a strong Queensland side skipped by Chloe Stewart, teamed up with club mate Jessica Srisamruaybai.
The Blues posted a strong win in that third round match and took that momentum into the final against Victorian representative Rebecca McMahon and partner Leeanne Fitzgerald from country Victoria.
New South Wales led the final from start to finish; Anne Johns may have been carrying an injury but you couldn’t tell by the performance she was putting on whilst Cottrell played some important shots at crucial times in the match to insure the Victorian’s didn’t sniff an upset.
Meanwhile in the women’s bronze medal playoff, Queensland narrowly hung on to victory with a one shot win over Tasmania.
Medals Pairs
Women’s Gold Medal Match-
Anne Johns and Kelsey Cottrell (St Johns Park, NSW) defeated Leeanne Fitzgerald and Rebecca McMahon (City of Colac, VIC) 24-7
Men’s Gold Medal Match-
Jade Groenewege and Sean Baker (Victoria Point, QLD) defeated Adrian Marchioli and Nathan Murray (Bundoora, VIC) 15-9
Women’s Bronze Medal Match-
Jessica Srisamruaybai and Chloe Stewart (Tweed Heads, QLD) defeated Amelia Bruggy and Lyn Triffitt (Composite, TAS) 11-10
Men’s Bronze Medal Match-
Stuart Forbes and Joshua Studham (Holdfast Bay, SA) defeated Ricky Richardson and Luke Richardson (South Burnie, TAS) 23-11
Australian Fours
The fours combination of Jordan Yates, Darren Burgess, Jay Bye-Norris and Anthony Flapper flew the flag high for Victorians at the Australian Championships giving their supporters plenty to cheer about when they defeated a strong New South Wales line-up in a cracking men’s fours. The women’s fours final was happening on the rink next door and whilst the game was played with less aggression, it certainly wasn’t lacking in quality with WA defeating SA. Playing shot for shot in the early stages of the game, SA inched ahead and looked to be the likely champions, but WA’s Helen Morss was solid under pressure and played some telling shots in the middle stages of the match to keep a grasp on the gold.
In the bronze medal playoffs, the Australian Capital Territory won their first medal of the championships defeating Val Dunn, Cheryl Hutchinson, Heather Hodgson and Wendy Usher from Queensland, whilst in the men’s playoff, Queensland’s Darren Christie, Reed Burgess, Sam White and Sean Ingham snatched victory from the Northern Territory on the final end, scoring four shots to win by one.
Medals Fours
Men’s Gold Medal Match-
Jordan Yates, Darren Burgess, Jay Bye-Norris and Anthony Flapper (Essendon, VIC) defeated Josh Berry, Mat Pietersen, Nathan Wise and Ben Twist (St Johns Park, NSW) 16-12
Women’s Gold Medal Match-
Laura Merz, Robyn O’Brien, Therese Hastings and Helen Morss (Manning Memorial, WA) defeated Barbara Maiden, Chris Keller, Anne Onto and Fiona McGregor (Hawthorn, SA) 16-7
Men’s Bronze Medal Match-
Darren Christie, Reed Burgess, Sam White and Sean Ingham (Composite, QLD) defeated Mark Malogorski, Ian Smith, Graeme Kitto and Tristan Smallacombe (Darwin, NT) 15-14
Women’s Bronze Medal Match-
Kristen Steele, Sharon Steele, Margaret Banchetto and Sharon Harmer (Weston Creek, ACT) defeated Val Dunn, Cheryl Hutchinson, Heather Hodgson and Wendy Usher (Composite, QLD) 21-11
Australian Singles
In the women’s final BCiB Australian Jackaroo Carla Krizanic took on and defeated Lynn Triffett from Tasmania, while Lee Schraner (Tasmania) and Ray Pearse (NSW) fought it out with Pearse taking the gold.
In the playoffs for bronze, ACT’s Robert Craven played against Joshua Studham (South Australia) with the young gun defeating Craven to claim the bronze; whilst in the women’s match Australian Open singles runner-up Kristina Krstic (Western Australia) defeated New South Wales’ Judy Monks and took out the bronze.
Medals Singles
Men’s Gold Medal Match-
Ray Pearse (NSW) defeated Lee Schraner (Tasmania)
Women’s Gold Medal Match-
Carla Krizanic defeated Lynn Triffett (Tasmania)
Men’s Bronze Medal Match-
Joshua Studham (South Australia) defeated Robert Craven (ACT)
Women’s Bronze Medal Match-
Kristina Krstic (Western Australia) defeated Judy Monks(WA)
