A preview of the Singles being played today
I’m sorry that the singles once again gets the shorter of the previews but it took a long time to get through all of the Pairs action from today.
Tomorrow the Open Singles for both Men & women will continue with selections below. The Singles for the Juniors, Bowlers with a disability & bowlers with a bowling arm will also start today.
Unbelievably our record (Sims & Genford) sits at 39 each from 78, despite picking a lot of different results in the Pairs, Sims taking the advantage in the Men’s, whilst I caught some ground in the Women’s. Let’s see what we think will happen in the Singles. We both can’t possibly finish on 50% can we?
Women’s Quarter Finals
Lyn Triffitt vs Kim Saunders. Triffitt is the defending champion and I’d be tempted to go with Saunders except she allowed Hodgetts to skip the Fours and not herself. To me that means she doesn’t quite have the confidence to step up and take control, so I’ll go with Triffitt. The Victorian Says – Lyn Triffitt
Peri Buckley & Bree Godfrey should be a cracker of a game. Buckley is sometimes in the shadow of her sister, but I’m a fan of the way Buckley plays. Godfrey is a quality player but my gut says to pick Buckley, so I will. The Victorian Says – Bree Godfrey
Nadine Seabourne has done well this week, especially in the Pairs and Singles. She comes up against Amity Booth, who is arguably the best bowler in her family. I think Booth will be too strong for Seabourne in this one but she has flown under the radar all week so why not expect another upset! The Victorian Says – Amity Booth
The last game could be the best of them! Annie Lewis vs Alison Venn. Venn was the State Champion the last time the State Champs were held in Hobart but Lewis is a vastly improved player over the last few years. I’ll have to go with Venn but would not be surprised if Lewis gets over the line. The Victorian Says – Alison Venn
My finalists are Trifitt vs Booth. The Victorian Says – Godfrey vs Booth
The Men’s competition has three games to be played with 16 players remaining.
Josh Appleyard eliminated the defending champion and a previous champion in Schraner & Genford and will be keen to do well against good mate Luke Richardson. The key will be Appleyard’s first bowl. In the singles his first bowl has been amazing, in pairs it was lacking. I’m going to back Appleyard to produce again and cause another upset against Richardson. The Victorian Says – Luke Richardson
Michael Rankin vs Steve Graf is a spectator’s dream, if they love to see draw bowls all day. Graf has been such a strong player for so many years but I have this nagging feeling that Rankin could get the win here. I’ll trust my gut and go with Rankin. The Victorian Says – Steve Graf
The next match sees a previous runner up in Sam Springer take on a previous champion in Taelyn Male. Springer has performed above expectations this week by surviving two of the three first days but I don’t think he will be able to get past Male who has been a fly in fly out player for Essendon this year. The Victorian Says – Taelyn Male
The Mick Sweney vs Shane Baker will be closer than some expect. Baker will continue to get bowls in the head whilst Sweeney will be tempted to use weight when the opportunity presents. Although tempted to take Baker, I’m going to select Sweeney as he is my current selector and I’d like to continue playing in the Premier League. The Victorian Says – Michael Sweeney
Gene Ayton is through to the Pairs Final and was runner up in this event last year, I see no reason as to why he shouldn’t account for Robert Pyke. Pyke from Burnie should consider himself a red hot chance, but I think Ayton will hang on. The Victorian Says – Gene Ayton
The next match sees Brad Sculthorpe play against Scott Summers. Summers is another previous winner, leaving Sculthorpe with an uphill battle to advance from this match up. Having said that, when you have no pressure on you, you can play with no worries or risk, so Summers will need to be careful. I’ll take Summers. The Victorian Says – Scott Summers
The next match could be the match of the round. Robert McMullen & Tim Douce have both won this title before and are both in good form. McMullen was unlucky to get knocked out of the Pairs and has already won the Fours but Douce is never far away from the jack. I think I’ll go with Douce but only just! The Victorian Says – Robert McMullen
The last game is Grant Chamberlain vs Peter Bannister. On paper, Bannister should be too strong. He has been in good form and has some home ground advantage. However, Chamberlain is always capable of an upset and will enjoy the chance to add another notch to his belt. I’m tipping Bannister but will keep my eye on this rink! The Victorian Says – Peter Bannister
By David Genford
