Zone 15 Win Senior Inter-Zone Championship
Zone 15 have won the 2023 Senior Inter-Zone Sides Championship, beating Zone 2 in a nail-biting final at Club Maitland City. It was an interesting start to the match, with Zone 15 leading strongly on one rink, Zone 2 leading on another rink and the third rink practically even, meaning there was barely any difference between the two sides on the masterboard.
As the match went on, the overall lead was exchanged multiple times, in no small part to the brilliance of the shots being played, particularly by some of the backend players. Mick Beesley (Zone 2) and John Roberts (Zone 15) were just one of the many notable match-ups, with both skips exchanging shots frequently. As the match came down to the final ends, it was Zone 15 with a narrow lead, edging ahead of Zone 2 by five shots with three ends to play. Zone 2 had chances to produce scores at the death and were close to doing so, but in the end they weren’t able to secure the required shots. The 59-54 scoreline in favour of Zone 15 was reflective of how close the match was, and particular credit must go to Paul Williams’ team who recorded a 29-16 win for Zone 15 to help secure the title.
In the morning semi-finals, Zone 2 came up against Zone 9 and it was a tight affair for most of the match, with barely any shots separating the two sides on the masterboard. Entering into the final third of the match, Zone 2 picked up a gear and started to pick up multiple scores across their three rinks, jumping to a solid lead and running out 65-48 winners. While disappointed with the loss, it was a great campaign for Zone 9 who had topped a tough section featuring Zones 3, 10 and 12.
Zone 15 went head-to-head with Zone 16 in the other semi-final, which was another cracking match. The live streamed match between Robbie Warren (Zone 16) and Paul Williams (Zone 15) made for brilliant viewing, with both sides exchanging blows and picking up shots in a high scoring affair that finished 26-20 in favour of Zone 16. Despite the rink win, it wasn’t enough as Zone 15 secured a 65-55 win, with special mention going to Tony Shoebridge’s team who recorded a solid 23-10 win over former South African international Eric Johannes’ rink.
Congratulations to Zone 15, Zone 2 and all the sides who competed in another successful Senior Inter-Zone Sides Championship. There’s plenty more action to come when the Open Inter-Zone Sides Championship gets underway this Saturday 27th May.
Click here to view the full Senior Inter-Zone Championship Results
Click here to view the Open Inter-Zone Championship Draw
