Unbeaten fours face certain defeat today

Press, 7 January 1987, Page 48

Unbeaten fours face certain defeat today

PA Wellington The rich got richer and the poor got poorer in the bowling sense in the second day of section play at the Rothmans national men’s bowls championships in Wellington yesterday. Key games this morning will ensure some of the leaders will have their first losses, with lan Dickison’s match at the Wellington club against Hillsboro’s Ivan Kostanich one of the first in that category.

Oratia’s Ken Gash meets Johnsonville’s Paul Sellers at Silverstream, while in the same section, Peter Beiliss (Aramoho) meets George Shaw’s well performed Buckland’s Beach team. There are 47 teams unbeaten after four rounds, but two days of section play still remain. Only teams with six wins from eight games, or section winners, will be drawn for post-section. Already out of contention is Monday’s giant-

killing four, skipped by Bob Barr (Khandallah), which earlier upset the favoured Fairfield four skipped by the singles winner, Ken Walker. Still well in contention, however, are last year’s pairs winners, Clinton’s Les Morrison and Wynston McLachlan, who also have four wins. The Okahu Bay four now skipped by Rowan Brassey had two convincing wins yesterday, beating a Johnsonville team, 37-8, and a Woburn combination, skipped by John Mather, 39-7, to also be unbeaten after four rounds. The contrast in strength in some sections is beginning to become obvious, with Rawhiti’s Nick Unkovich having two strong wins yesterday. Shooting for his tenth national title and second gold star, Unkovich won his first game, 39-11, in only 21 ends, and his second, 35-11, after taking six shots, then five, from the last two ends of their 23-end match. Commanding wins were

also recorded by Hawera Park’s Maurice Symes, with teams from Richmond and Pbrirua City going down, 12-33, and, 337, respectively. With his team • mate, Geoff Hawken, Symes won the 1985 pairs title at Auckland.

This year’s pairs runners-up, Tony Marinkovich and George Fabling, are well placed with four wins so far, as is the steady Hillsboro team skipped by Nick Grgicevich. Spreydon’s Bruce McNish, the 1983 fours winner, and Carlton’s Ross Haresnape are also shaping as title contenders.

Peter Clark and Don McKillop, who won the pairs title last Sunday, recovered some lost ground yesterday when they added two wins, as did Waikanae’s lan Mahoney. North East Valley’s Terry Scott also made up for a first day loss with two wins yesterday, while the steady Hutt four skipped by Eddie Irving lost its last game

yesterday to still be well placed.

The new WairarapaBush rugby coach, Roger' Dee, has only dropped one game, as has a former New Zealand shearing champion Godfrey . Bowen (Waikanae Beach).

Northern’s Phil Skoglund added to his strong charge with another two wins, as did Khandallah’s Wellington open fours runner-up, Harry Purcell. With them are Northern’s Vic Sellars, a past national singles title winner; Palmerston North’s Kevin Wing, a national selector, Kerry Clark (Johnsonville); Paritutu’s Brian Baldwin and Bill MacArthur, and Marewa’s Bruce Ballinger.

Wellington teams did extremely well in yesterday’s scorching conditions. Upper Hutt’s John Leitch, Naenae’s George Benvenuti, Hutt’s Stan Ashman and Wainuiomata’s Tom Barney have all been relatively untroubled so far.