-------------------------TIM MURRAY REVIEW ROUND FIVE----------------------

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November 27, 2006

I hate to tell you I told you so, but I told you so. This weekends round of fixtures has confirmed that this division is going to produce the most even competition for many years.
This means that every round of fixtures will throw up games of immense importance for those sides with an eye on promotion to the Premier division.

South Perth (8) def Gosnells (0)

For the second week in a row the “Millers” or as I prefer the “Zoolanders” has taken an 8-0 win against quality opposition. The win was structured around convincing wins from the rinks skippered by Larry Bandy & Scott Walker.

This win combined with other results see South Perth perched on top of the ladder. Good place to be at anytime in the season but much better after Round 18. Time will tell.
It was interesting that neither Bert nor Robbie Cruickshank took their place for Gosnells. We will try and update that later.

Scotty Walker (pictured) A player with a big future in the game

Thornlie (7) def Safety Bay (1)
Thornlie continue to roll on and in the process have captured second place on the table.
The rinks of Paul Pohe, Nick Regan and Greg Regan continue to impress whilst evergreen Matt Massari grabbed a point for the visitors.

Kardinya (7) def Dalkeith/Nedlands (1)
The upset of the season thus far but only proves to demonstrate the evenness of the competition. The rinks of Terry Ball and Ian Hastings were superb in setting up the victory.
Mark Krajancic continues his superb unbeaten run but some question marks are starting to develop over a couple of the Dalkeith rinks.
They have the ability to overcome these problems but will not want to be tardy in doing so.

Victoria Park (7) def Scarborough (1)

Scarborough cannot take a trick. Geoff White and his rink belted the ears off young Thomas Mitchell and his team by a whopping 22 shots but still lost the aggregate by 19.
State skipper Graeme Wishart and rink really turned up the heat with a scintillating display in winning 40-14 against the luckless Brian Axford.(luckless because he drew Graeme).
Underrated skipper Jeff Mitchell also inflicted a heavy defeat on Ron Kuziela 24-10. Steve Withers tidied up his win/loss ratio with 1 shot win over Steve Stokes.

Yokine (7) def Warwick (1)

I ventured out to Yokine on Saturday and was very impressed with what I witnessed. I am fore warning all other clubs that Yokine have the class and ability to win the premiership. They have not done themselves any favors with their slow start but they were just too classy against a very determined Warwick team. The inclusion of Alan Davis as skipper has significantly bolstered the Yokine team.
I concentrated mainly on the Rod “Rocket” Heaton vs. Jeff Sheppard game. Jim Gregory and John Martin (lead & second) were nothing short of brilliant for the “Magpies” but their great work was offset by an outstanding display by Rocket. He was assisted somewhat by Michael Yates but it was Rod who played good bowls consistently.

Mike Yates (pictured) settling in as a three for Rocket Heaton

That having been said Jeff Sheppard probably played the bowl of the day. With kitty in the well, Rocket drove and took out the Warwick bowl to give Yokine a count of 5 or 6. Jeff in typical skipper style, closed his eyes, let it go and it landed three inches from the kitty and ditch for shot.
For the record Jeff won 22-20 and whilst Rocket’s last bowl was unlucky, I, as an unbiased follower believe Warwick deserved to win the rink.

TIM MURRAY

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