INTERSTATE SIDES SERIES NELSONS BAY ------- NEW SOUTH WALES
April 7, 2011
Western Australia finished 3rd in the Australian Sides Series held at Nelson Bay in N.S.W.
Whilst the at first glance the 3rd place finishing may look like a good effort from our team it does not stand up when under closer scrutiny.
This placing was accomplished by defeating South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and the A.C.T.
The victories over South Australia and Queensland were achieved on the back of an outstanding performance of the rink of John Goddard with Pieter Harris, John Slavich (Alan Eddy/Wishart Medallist) & Clive Adams who must have challenged John for that honour. In both these close games the rinks led by Jon Sharp and Anthony Provost were defeated.
A lot was said about being beaten by Tasmania but what has been glossed over is that if the Goddard rink did not perform so superbly then WA may have won only two games for the tournament.
A scan of the final standings shows this placing was accomplished with 9 rink wins out of a possible 21. The rink led by John Goddard won 5 of the 7 , Jon Sharp returned a 3-4 result whilst the Anthony Provost rink was disappointing in the extreme with a 1-6 record. At the completion of the tournament John Goddard and team ranked 5th of the 24 teams, Jon Sharp ranked 15th and Anthony Provost 22nd.
Bear in mind that when this team was selected it was touted as being the best team to come out of WA for many years.
This was proven wrong with a capital "W".
Last year in Holdfast Bay the W.A side which was not rated very highly by the majority of Bowls followers here in the West finished 6th with 11½ rink wins, the axe was taken to the side with 7 new players playing here at Nelson Bay.
In my view the 3rd place finishing over estimates WA's performance and places them in a false position.
However the positive news to come out of the series was the discovery of Cody Packer, the form of Ross Bresland combined with the brilliant performances of Clive Adams and John Slavich and the solid contribution from Matt Ellul.
The return of skipper Jon Sharp to the side was able to win only 3 games despite the great start provided by new chum Cody Packer.
From where I sat, this WA team drives far too much, no other State side at Nelson Bay drove more often that WA.
Even by the State selectors own admission shot selection was poor on many occasions and weight required to play many shots were far too heavy for what was required.
The back end combination of Anthony Provost and Rooster Wishart simply did not work, their style of play was costly, the clever shot didn't seem to exist in their bag of tricks, and it was drive or draw, even on the occasions when only one down with a catcher or three waiting behind. Of course there were other times that the drive was the only option.
In saying that I have to say AP who has unlimited skill and while it was on display on many occasions he may need to rethink his game plan because the game plan he presented in this series simply did not work. As they say you do not throw out the baby with the bathwater and it will be almost a certainty if he is selected to play for the West next season he will play with new 3rd.
In many ways the combination of Rooster and AP was almost an identical repeat of the State Pairs when he and Rooster were beaten by a side that played a draw or the over the draw game combined with the clever conversion shot when down. Anything close by the opposition for AP and Rooster is to bang it. It seems it is the creed of their game plan.
Jon Sharp was able to win only 3 games despite the great start provided in many games by new chum Cody Packer. Jon, also a highly skilled player who it seems has a game plan that revolves around a draw drive game that generally didn't work in this series if wins and losses are taken into account.
John Goddard had a stable side of mature players who have all the shots and interestingly this rink played the drive far less than the other two rinks, while it is true they had a great front end they also had Pieter Harris who knows how and when to play the right weight for the situation confronting him..
The issue of whether or not W.A should select specialist leaders and seconds was finally buried when the front half of the side, all skippers, did more than their fair share to give the WA side a good start in most games.
What will happen next season is really in the melting pot but I am sure the selectors will look for a skilful team that has the nous to choose to play the right shot for the occasion.
I will not at all be surprised to see Pieter Harris given a rink, he has the runs on the board and has proved to be the best skipper to play for W.A in the last decade he is still young enough to continue on for some years yet at this level.
It was interesting to hear a selector say they had given the team a serve after the first day when we lost to Tasmania & Victoria because of poor shot selection. The team didn't play as instructed to a prior game plan. After a long build up to the start of the Sides Series it was disappointing for the selectors to see the team deviate from what had been discussed
The State selectors and coaching panel put in an extraordinary amount of time
and dedication to the cause of WA bowls are to be congratulated on their efforts this year.
DAY ONE SAT MORNING 2-4-2011 ROUND ONE
TASMANIA 51 (4) def WESTERN AUSTRALIA 50 (1)
T. Douce (sk), McMullin, Tegg, B.Baker-------------------------------17
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams-----------21
M.Strochnetter(sk), C.Minns, Zapororzec ,C. Dudman--------------17
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella------16
Nitz(sk),White, Genford, R. Baker -------------------------------------17
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer----------13
Game one against Tasmania saw W.A lose yet again to the Apple Islanders and once again in another close contest. The only winner for W.A was the rink of John Goddard. Anthony Provost went down in a thriller to the brilliant Mark Strocknetter by one shot
Players to stand out in that game were Ross Bresland who played his maiden game for WA and tho shaded by Chris Dudman Daniel Trewhella still played a handy game. Anthony Provost and Rooster Wishart were below their best for this game
Jon Sharp went down to Mark Nitz but we were not able to see much of the game.
MONDAY SAT AFTERNOON DAY ONE 2-4-2011 ROUND TWO
VICTORIA 68 (5) def WESTERN AUSTRALIA 48 (0)
M. Wilks(sk),McIntyre, A.Galloway, Foley----------------------------21
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams.----..-----12
M. Flapper(sk),B. Dodd, Holland , B.Lester---------------------------23
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer----------20
W.Roberts (sk),L. Schraner, Rodda, Loe-----------------------------24
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella------17
Game Two saw W.A play very poorly against the steady Victorian 12 in windy conditions. This game saw W.A hold the Victorian side till about the halfway mark, In our broadcast game Sharp led Flapper 11-4 but lost their way on the draw, the Vics found their range and drew better while the W.A boys resorted to running at the heads as the game progressed and managed to hit the front on the second last end to lead 20-19.
Sharpy dropped a four on this last end that should not have been dropped when he drove twice at almost nothing to hit and missed when a player of his ability with some room could have easily drawn second shot with his first bowl. Vics picked up 4 and won 23-20 At this stage of the event and 5 more games to play even a ½ point is better than nothing at all.
In the John Goddard game against Michael Wilk was lost 12-21
we didn't see a lot except that John Slavich playing two, played very well to be the standout player in the rink the other players were well below their best in this game and some decisions regarding shot play were dubious to say the least, this was the only poor game that Clive Adams had for the entire series
Anthony Provost lost to Wayne Roberts who had a side that were very good on the draw. In this game AP led 16-8 after picking up a 7. From that point on Wayne Roberts side won the next 8 ends to win 24-17. The Vic were just too good on the draw for W.A
SUN MORNING DAY TWO 3-4-2011 ROUND THREE
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 64 (3) def SOUTH AUSTRALIA 59 (2)
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams----------25
W.Ruediger(sk), Haines, Schapel Stienwedal, , A. Forbes-----------11
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer-------.--15
M.Kleinig (sk), A.Klose, K.Coulls, Dorr----------------------- -----.---22
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella-----24
S.Thulborn(sk),Hill, Evans, Saltmarsh-------------------------------26
Game Three
the WA side played Sth Australia, John Goddard and his rink were the hero's for W.A when they took complete charge to defeat Wayne Ruediger 25 - 11.
The win was set up with a brilliant leaders game by Clive Adams who was backed up by an equally impressive John Slavich.
Pieter Harris played a handy game as the 3rd while John Goddard played a timely skippers game, their effort won the game for W.A
Jon Sharp's rink played in possibly the best game of the event I saw when they drew Max Kleinig's rink, losing 15-22.
Max, a 21 year old played the best skippers game that I had seen in this series. No big crash and smash game from Max, more or less a draw game with occasional over the draw shot game, he did it to great effect.
Anthony Provost remained win less losing narrowly to 24 - 26. AP was down by quite a margin however the rink fought back hard to help secure the aggregate
SUN AFTERNOON DAY TWO 3-4-2011 ROUND FOUR
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 61 ( 5 ) def NORTHERN TERRITORY 49 (0)
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella----------19
J Groenwedge(sk),J.McIlwain Greenlaw, Trattles------------.----.----18
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams--------------21
Derreck(sk), P. Chamberlain, Hamilton, Dienelt -----------------------13
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer--------------21
Freedman(sk),White, Wright, Rodin -------------------------------------18
Game four
WA played the NT. it was a long hard struggle for WA who were in danger of going down when the led by 6 shots with about 6 ends to play however they steadied the ship to hold on and win the game. The win was once again setup by the John Goddard led rink defeating Derrick 21-13
John Sharp just got across the line to win 21-18 against Freedman
Anthony Provost broke thru for his first win in the series defeating Groenwedge 19-18
MONDAY MORNNG DAY THREE 4-4-2011 ROUND FIVE
NEW SOUTH WALES 59 (4) def WESTERN AUSTRALIA 48 (1)
A. Sherif (sk) B.Pitham, D.Ferguson, M. Cronin-----------------------24
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams.-----------16
S.Garvey (sk), W. Turley, T. Antram, M. Baus--------------------------21
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella---------16
M.Sargent (sk)B.Pitham, J.Green, M.Cronin----------------------------14
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer------------16
Game five
This was a huge test for W.A to play the strong NSW side. WA had beaten NSW in the trial game on Friday. Jon Sharp played the strong Mal Sargent led side with crack leader Mike Cronin, Dave Ferguson and the classy Brodie Pitham.
It was an enthralling contest with Cody Packer doing very well against Mike Cronin in the leaders duel. Thomas Mitchell going hard against Dave Ferguson to leave it up to the back end to sort it out.
Jon Sharp became the match winner
for W.A, he played the last three ends down on the crossover to get the shot, converting 4 down to 1 up, 2 down to 1 up a 1 down to 1 up to get across the line. A great win for Sharpy and his team with a score line of 16-14.
Arron Sherif known as Omar to his team mates was in sensational form to beat John Goddards rink 24- 16, he showed why he is in the Australian side by continually converting to keep the WA boys at bay.
Anthony Provost gave Shane Garvey a good run for his money for a long period but were unable to hold the star studded rink down, losing 16 - 21.
MON AFTERNOON DAY THREE 4-4-2011 ROUND SIX
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 59 (1) def QUEENSLAND 57 (2)
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams----------24
M. Casey(sk), A.Kiepe, Wild, M.Breen---------------------........------15
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer-------.--20
Nathan Rice (sk),A.Fantini, A. Murtagh, Anderson..... --------.-----25
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella-------15
B. Wilkie(sk),S.Baker, A. Murtagh, Anderson ------------------------17
Game Six
This was another test for the WA side, had they learnt any thing from the previous games?
That is hard to say but it was great for the new players gaining much needed experience.
Anthony Provost drew Brett Wilkie who had taken over as skip for this game from Sean Baker.
Daniel Trewhella played a terrific game against the brilliant Qld lead Anderson as did Ross Bresland against Alan Murtagh they both would have been pleased with their games, Rooster was off the boil early and fought his way back into the game, AP was playing some good bowls but these days he seems to know only two shots, draw or drive. I felt the WA backend was beaten after the front end players had delivered for the rink the final score was 17 - 15 to Wilkie. the best player was Alan Murtagh in this game and DT for WA.
John Goddard's rink took care of business against Mark Casey to once again set up this win for W.A winning 24 - 14
Jon Sharp's rink were in a monster of a game against Narthan Rice, it was once again a high standard affair.
Nathan Rice had come into this game undefeated and it was very clear to see why. It was nip and tuck all the way but the final score 25-20 for Rice after picking up 3 shots in a fiercely contested last end.
TUESDAY MORNING DAY FOUR 5-4-2011 ROUND SEVEN
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 66 (4) def AUS. CAPITOL TERRITORY 47 (1)
John Goddard (sk), Pieter Harris,John Slavich C.Adams----------31
D.Jeffery(sk),M.McLean, G.Charker, A.Monfries --------------------19
Jon Sharp(sk), Matt Ellul, Thomas Mitchell, Cody Packer----------19
A Howie (sk), Ballard, Wattsm Craven, -------------------------------16
Anthony Provost (sk), Rooster, Ross Bresland. D. Trewhella-------16
R. Chesher(sk), Robertson, Templeton, Whybrow-------------------21
Game seven
WA held tight to overcome the ACT in a very high standard game on a heavy track due to overnight rain.
John Goddard's rink once again led the way for W.A when they defeated Damon Jeffery
31-19.
Hilite of the game was the outstanding leading of Clive Adams, he was sensational against another sensational lead in Alan Monfries. What a duel. John Slavich was in the thick of things also with another great game and the most pleasing thing was that if Clive was beaten to the jack John Slavich would rescue the situation. Peter Harris was up against Mac McLean who was the ACT's best player. Harris was often under notice to tidy things up when most needed. John Goddard played well and carried too many guns for Damon Jeffery
Jon Sharp played Andrew Howie having a great contest to get across the line 19-16
Anthony Provost lost yet again this time to Robert Chesher 16 - 21
| STATE | PLAYED | WIN | LOSS | DRAW | RINK WINS | FOR | AGAINST | PERCENT |
| NSW | 7 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 468 | 330 | 124.92 | |
| VIC | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10½ | 424 | 415 | 139.28 |
| WA | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 397 | 398 | 100.09 | |
| SA | 7 | 3 | 4 | 12½ | 436 | 374 | 100.03 | |
| QLD | 7 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 423 | 378 | 98.00 | |
| ACT | 7 | 3 | 4 | 10½ | 401 | 421 | 93.41 | |
| TAS | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 359 | 438 | 92.43 |
| NT | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4½ | 338 | 492 | 63.54 |
Skippers statistics Sides Series 2011
| Rank | Skipper | State | Played | Win | Loss | Draw | For | Agst | SD | Points |
| 1 | A. Sherif | NSW | 7 | 7 | 0 | 184 | 97 | 87 | 7 | |
| 2 | N.Rice | QLD | 7 | 6 | 1 | 170 | 105 | 65 | 6 | |
| 3 | M.Kleinig | SA | 7 | 5 | 2 | 153 | 111 | 42 | 5 | |
| 4 | M. Sargent | NSW | 7 | 5 | 2 | 155 | 121 | 34 | 5 | |
| 5 | J. Goddard | WA | 7 | 5 | 2 | 150 | 119 | 31 | 5 | |
| 6 | S. Garvey | NSW | 7 | 5 | 2 | 129 | 112 | 17 | 5 | |
| 7 | R.Chesher | ACT | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 136 | 129 | 7 | 4½ |
| 8 | M.Wilks | VIC | 7 | 4 | 3 | 148 | 133 | 15 | 4 | |
| 9 | W.Roberts | VIC | 7 | 4 | 3 | 148 | 133 | 12 | 4 | |
| 10 | W.Ruediger | SA | 7 | 4 | 3 | 144 | 133 | 11 | 4 | |
| 11 | B.Wilkie | QLD | 7 | 4 | 3 | 115 | 133 | - 18 | 4 | |
| 12 | S.Thulborn | SA | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 139 | 130 | 9 | 3½ |
| 13 | M.Strocknetter | TAS | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 121 | 131 | - 10 | 3½ |
| 14 | M.Flapper | VIC | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 121 | 143 | - 18 | 3½ |
| 15 | J. Sharp | WA | 7 | 3 | 4 | 124 | 135 | 11 | 3 | |
| 16 | D.Jeffery | ACT | 7 | 3 | 4 | 135 | 147 | -12 | 3 | |
| 17 | A.Howie | ACT | 7 | 3 | 4 | 130 | 145 | - 15 | 3 | |
| 18 | T.Douce | TAS | 7 | 3 | 4 | 109 | 167 | - 58 | 3 | |
| 19 | J.Groenwedge | NT | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 138 | 134 | 4 | 2½ |
| 20 | M.Casey | Qld | 7 | 2 | 5 | 138 | 140 | -2 | 2 | |
| 21 | M.Nitz | TAS | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 129 | 140 | - 11 | 1½ |
| 22 | A.Provost | WA | 7 | 1 | 6 | 123 | 144 | - 21 | 1 | |
| 23 | Freedman | NT | 7 | 1 | 6 | 101 | 187 | - 86 | 1 | |
| 24 | Derreck | NT | 7 | 0 | 7 | 99 | 171 | - 72 | 0 |
| SKIPPER | PLAYED | WIN | LOSS | DRAW | FOR | AGAINST | MARGIN | % |
| J GODDARD | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 150 | 119 | + 31 | 126% |
| J.SHARP | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 124 | 135 | - 11 | 91.58 |
| A.PROVOST | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 123 | 144 | - 21 | 85 |
