2021 Open State Championships – Day 9 Wrap

The penultimate day of the Open State Championships has finished and the semi-finalists across the Open State, Senior and Reserve Fours events have been confirmed.

Open State Fours

Charlestown and Warilla have gone through their sections undefeated, beating quality opposition along the way. Warilla’s Round 3 match against Mt Lewis was a classic, going down to the wire. Had Mt Lewis won that match they would have progressed, but it wasn’t to be as the Gorillas held on for a tight 19-17 win. It’s been an impressive week for Warilla, who have now had three Open teams and one Reserve team make it to the semi-finals.

Warilla’s semi-final opponents are Kurri Kurri, who overcame a Round 1 loss to Engadine to scrape through their section. The Cannons accounted for Sawtell 22-14 in Round 3 and needed Mudgee to beat an unbeaten Engadine team. In a topsy turvy match, Mudgee managed to win 28-24 and in the process grant Kurri Kurri a semi-final place.

Charlestown will face Merrylands after a frantic finish to Section 2. Belrose played Pottsville in Round 3 needing to win by 12 to qualify. With two ends to play they led by 18, but counts of 5 and 3 to Pottsville saw Belrose win by 10 and Merrylands jump to the top of the table by a single shot.

Open Senior Fours

The Hills and Austral both went through sectional play undefeated to qualify for the semi-finals. The Hills will play Bateau Bay, who won their Round 3 match against Figtree Sports by 6 to steal the section by just 5 shots over Howlong. The section was destined for a tight finish when all teams were sitting on one win and one loss after two rounds.

Austral will come up against Westport who are fresh from having won the Open Senior Triples Championship earlier this week. The Peter Taylor skipped team did lose their final sectional round but kept the score close enough to qualify through and set up what will be a great match.

Open Reserve Fours

Cabra Vale Diggers, Gilgandra and Wenty Leagues all dominated their sections, winning three matches from three with total margins of +39, +43 and +54 respectively. In Section 2, Gunnedah lost their Round 3 match to Moorefield in what was an entertaining affair, but Gunnedah’s superior shot margin saw them top the section.

They will face Wenty Leagues while Gilgandra go up against Cabra Vale Diggers. For the Diggers, they have the chance to double their State title collection after they won the Open Reserve Triples earlier this week.