Tasmania appears in the box seat to take out the men’s Test series against the ACT.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the state’s women are having a tougher time of the contest after they were forced to split rubbers on Sunday.
Hot conditions and fast greens had greeted the teams at North Launceston Bowls Club for the opening two Tests of the five-game series.
That seem to suit the home side early, who were looking to retain the shield from the last time they beat the ACT.
Tasmania went some way on day one to replicate the men’s continual dominance, pulling away a 2-0 lead.
“I feel we held sway most of the first Test, but the second one was really hard fought to get back in the finish,” Tasmanian manager Trevor Docking said after play.
Australian men’s single champion Lee Schraner led his side brilliantly after winning its two rinks very easily.
That included a 27-14 win over Robert Craven’s players.
Mark Nitz’s rink sealed the first Test for Tasmania, dominating Mark Ebsworth’s Canberrans 23-12. But Tasmania did suffer a hiccup after Luke Richardson went down 23-20 to Sean Robertson.
Schraner led the way again in a 26-14 win of Robertson.
Richardson turned around his fortunes after being down early in the contest for a 20-16 victory over Ebsworth. Craven’s men did pull one back on the last bowl for the ACT 23-21 over Nitz’s side.
The fight though pleased Docking after being 15 shots down in the middle stages.
Up 67-52 and 67-53 in the openers, Tasmania will look to stretch their series lead.
“There’s always room for improvement, but they did a good job under the conditions and it’s going to get hotter, so it will be trying for the players,” Docking said.
Not even Commonwealth Games gold medalist Rebecca Van Asch could drive the Tassie women to a day’s lead.
Van Asch’s team lost twice in each Test by 10 and four shots. But other Launceston skips had better success.
Courtney Hobbs drew back from six shots down to extract a 21-21 draw against Ruth Moore’s rink.
The victory by a brilliant Candice Hodgetts, Lyn Triffet, Kim Saunders and Kelly Mundy-Furley sealed a 31-13 over Margaret Bacchetto to carry Tasmania over the line.
But ACT fired back in Sunday afternoon’s second Test.
Hobbs skipped the state to a 19-15 victory over Sharon Harmer’s Canberra side.
But Van Asch’s side lost to Bacchetto 20-16 and Hodgett’s rink lost momentum 20-13 against Moore.
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
