Women’s State Championships – Day 8 Wrap

by Billy Johnson

Engadine Cougars Claw their way to Open Pairs Title

Engadine pair Sam Ferguson and Anne Johns have won the Bowls NSW Women’s State Pairs title with a solid performance against Port City, winning 21 – 11. After dropping a six on the first end of the match, Engadine won the next five ends straight to lead 9 – 6. From there, they kept the pressure on Port City, giving away just five shots in 11 ends. All four players found their line and weight early, peppering the jack and playing weighted shots with beautiful weight control. A pivotal moment came towards the end of the match with Engadine ahead 14 – 9.

Johns was two down at the head with one bowl to play, and despite having a clear shot at the jack knew there was danger in playing the shot as Port City had the back covered. Undeterred, Johns nominated to pot the jack and did exactly that, leaving Port City skip Carole White a near impossible draw shot with her last. Engadine picked up 1 to lead 15 – 9 and leave Port City chasing multiples to keep pace.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for the Port City duo, but they can hold their heads high knowing they had a great tournament, highlighted by their 19 – 14 semi-final win over a strong Cabramatta outfit. For Ferguson and Johns, this win signifies the first Women’s State Championship for their club Engadine. It is also the first Women’s Open State title for Ferguson, after she finished runner-up in this event with her sister Natalie in 2017.

Congratulations to Engadine, Port City and all teams on their performances over the last couple of days!

Charlestown too good in Senior Pairs Final

Rhonda Littlewood and Halina Wuro are the Bowls NSW Women’s State Senior Pairs champions, storming to a 24 – 7 victory in the final. The experienced duo are no strangers to success in State events, with Wuro a five-time State Open Champion (three singles titles and two pairs titles) and Littlewood runner-up with Wuro in the 2014 State Triples Championship as well as the recent Women’s Grade 1 State Pennant Final. This big match experience undoubtedly helped them in their final against Rhonda Hutton and Mauryeen Kennedy from Inverell Sporties.

While they were unable to win the final, the Inverell pair have surprised many with their performance in these State Championships – none more than themselves. At the start of the event, Rhonda Hutton received some advice from her son prior to their first game, “Mum, just pretend you’re having a roll up at Sporties.” That advice proved to be incredibly useful as Hutton and Kennedy won 22 – 13 against Double Bay, 18 – 14 against Forster and 17 – 16 against Yamba to reach the final. Despite the loss, both players were happy with their performance and glad that they could gain the experience of playing in a State Championship final.

For Littlewood, Wuro and Charlestown, the win is another addition to the Newcastle-based clubs already successful season.

Click here to view the event results.