Geraldton and Wonthella in prime position for finals glory in bowls

Geraldton and Wonthella have claimed all finals positions for this weekend’s first division finals series at the Denison Bowling Club following last Saturday’s end to the home and away season.

Geraldton Blue ended their top-class season with a dominant 6/0 victory over Wonthella Maroon to easily claim the minor premiership and the coveted double chance second semifinal appearance.

Their opposition will be club mates Geraldton Red, who after an indifferent end to the season finished with a morale-building 5/1 win over Mullewa to retain second position and the right to press for direct access to the season decider.

Wonthella Gold ended the season in outright third and will now attempt premiership glory from the first semifinal after falling to Denison Blue in Denison. The Golds did, however, win two rinks on the surface that the finals will be played on which should bring confidence to the finals.

Wonthella Green, as predicted, leapfrogged sister side Maroon to claim fourth position at the final opportunity with the Machine far too good on home soil for the Northampton Rams. The result sets up a mouth-watering first semi derby with both sides requiring three wins to lift the premiership flag from their city cousins Geraldton.

The season premier rink went to the Jon Trotter, Brian Wright, Trevor Smythe and Peter Batten combination from Geraldton Red, with the quartet finishing above all participants in the positional categories for the 18-match home-and-away season.

The second division saw no change from the pre-round top four with Wonthella Green and Mullewa securing their positions with victories against Northampton and Geraldton Red, respectively.

Wonthella Maroon who lost 4/0 to Geraldton Blue end the season with the minor premiership by half a point from Geraldton Red, who fell to the Saints 3/1. The two now look to rebound this weekend with the victor gaining direct access to the big show.

Wonthella Green play Mullewa in the first semifinal with both looking strong premiership chances despite requiring three wins on end to make it a reality. The Saints enter the final series for just the second time in their history while the Machine will look for their first flag from a third-placed finish.

The best skipper for the season has gone to Gary Smith from Geraldton Red, Mullewa’s Colin Johnson the best record as third with the Northampton duo of Eric Simkin and Graeme Reynolds taking out the second and leads positions, respectively.

Top four finishers: 1st Division: Geraldton Blue 73, Geraldton Red 64.5, Wonthella Gold 60.5, Wonthella Green 58. 2nd Division: Wonthella Maroon 46.5, Geraldton Red 46, Wonthella Green 42, Mullewa 37.