DIVISION 1 FINALISTS DECIDED and HUGE UPSET IN DIVISION 2 FINALS
Despite a big final night, the Sparrows were just 2 or 3 matches away from making the finals. The Plovers had a big night also to overtake the Kookaburras who have been out in front for much of the season. The program for next week’s finals are:-
Semi Finals – December 12
Team 1 v Team 4
Plovers (Martin Tribe + Russell Treloar) v Crows (Seng Joo Keng + Joel Carpenter)
Team 2 v Team 3
Magpies (Michael Wilson + Dale Parkes) v Kookaburras (Adam Woods + Colin Rule)
Grand Final – December 12 (after semis)
Winning semi-finalists play off
In Division 2 there was a major upset when Bananas (Denis Orr, Brendan Cole + John Bongertman) (with only one loss all season - way back on October 10 against the Cherries) were beaten by Oranges (Jim Kyle, Greg Williams and Daniel Highland). Bananas feature Brendan Cole who had a sensational season finishing in 2nd spot on the rankings, Denis Orr who is a very experienced player with plenty of A grade experience, and John Bongertman who also had a great season and finished as easily the top no 3 player.
The hero on the night was the unorthodox Greg Williams who finished with 4 out of 4 on the night (3 singles and 1 doubles).
It is a bit sad to see a great season for the Bananas finish so dramatically, but one must also credit a very determined effort by the Oranges. Finals are always a different affair.
The opposition in the grand final will be the Cherries (Gordon Holden, Adam Fitzsimmons subbing for Ian Thomas, and Jenny Wyatt) who had a reasonably comfortable win over the Apples (Gordon Falkingham, Desley Payne and Brian Cavanagh). The Cherries demonstrated that the doubles are a much underestimated factor in the outcome. Needless to say, they won both.
Don’t forget to register for next season by December 16.