2023-24 Multi-Disability State Championships Pairs Report
Desmond Cross and James Reynolds were crowned Multi-disability Pairs State Champions on Friday, 15th March at North Dubbo RSL Sporties as they overcame tough competition from local legend Anthony Brown and his partner Michael Vassallo.
Players battled through scorching heat conditions on the opening three days of competition, where many players had multiple matches throughout the day across pairs, open singles and reserve singles categories.
In the Pairs semi-finals, which took place on Thursday afternoon, both victorious teams secured commanding wins. Vassallo and Brown faced off against the strong duo of Aaron Kelly (West Tamworth) & Brad Gilbert (Casino RSM). Vassallo and Brown had a powerful start, taking a 7-0 lead after just two ends. Despite a comeback attempt by Kelly and Gilbert, narrowing the gap to 7-3 over the next two ends, Vassallo and Brown surged ahead again, scoring consistently over the next six ends. In a final push to close the gap, Kelly and Gilbert managed to secure three shots, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in contention for the win. The game concluded with a final score of 18-6.
Meanwhile in the adjacent rink, Cross and Reynolds took on the Raymond Terrace duo of Peter Jackson and Mick Kedwell. The match began evenly, both teams scoring four shots over the opening four ends. However, Cross and Reynolds gradually pulled ahead, reaching 10 shots by the 10th end compared to the Raymond Terrace duo’s five shots. With the match still wide open, Cross and Reynolds delivered an astonishing performance on end nine, scoring an impressive six shots and extending their lead to 16-5. Despite Raymond Terrace’s efforts, the match concluded with a final score of 18-8 in favour of Cross and Reynolds.
Conditions today changed drastically as players had to come to terms with strong winds across the day.
In a gripping final Cross and Reynolds clinched the victory by a slim margin of 15-13. Reynolds and Cross made an impressive start, scoring five shots in one end early in the match. However, Vassallo and Brown responded with a three, narrowing the gap to trail by two. The tension peaked as the match was tied with just two ends remaining. In a crucial move, Cross and Reynolds secured a shot in the penultimate end to edge ahead. Despite a valiant effort by Vassallo and Brown in the final end, it wasn’t meant to be.
Speaking after their win, Reynolds said:
“It obviously was a cliffhanger. Anytime we thought we were getting away, they got another one or two and brought the game right back to even the field. In fact they levelled the game with two ends to play and the game was on the line, we made them play some tough bowls and to get the final outcome, it was pretty heavy going.”
Cross added:
“The battle up front against myself and Vassallo, we definitely see-sawed. I think I started stronger and he definitely finished stronger. I think we were just lucky to sneak away with a good early lead before they came back on us.”
In the bronze medal play-off, a close encounter went the way of Kelly and Gilbert, beating Jackson and Kedwell 13-11. The teams were neck and neck in the opening rounds, with just one shot separating them after five ends. The eventual winners opened up a small margin which they held until the end. Despite a determined effort in the end by Jackson and Kedwell, they were denied a chance to level the match by Gilbert with his last bowl.
The Multi-Disability State Championships concludes tomorrow at North Dubbo RSL Sporties with the finals of the Reserve Singles and Open Singles finals at 8:45am.
The Multi-Disability Open Singles final between Geoffrey Seton (Leichhardt) and Aaron Kelly (West Tamworth) will be live streamed on the Bowls NSW Facebook and Youtube channel from 8:45am.
Peter Jackson and Michael Kedwell (Raymond Terrace) will compete in the bronze medal play-off.
Paul Redden (Raymond Terrace) and Wayne Sullivan (New Lambton) will compete in the gold medal final of the Multi-Disability Reserve Singles Championship while Keith Roberts (South Tamworth) and Cheryl Benbow (Raymond Terrace) will face off for bronze.
Attention then switches to the Mixed Pairs where the opening round takes place at Club Dubbo at 3.30pm.
S Smith & N Dawson (Maitland City) v S Powell & H Bjkowski (Raymond Terrace/ East Maitland) will be livestreamed on the Bowls NSW Facebook and Youtube channel from 3.30pm.
Click here to view the full event results
