BNH 1 – 5 Rep Report – Head to Head vs. Waikato
The very first representative event of the 2022 2023 season was the 1 to 5 head-to-head against Waikato on Sunday 28 August. Bowls North Harbour were the hosts club and Remuera, to help with travel time from the South, was the venue.
Greg Yelavich and Warren Sequee have been coaching and training both the Men’s and the Women’s squads. Trish Croot and Judy McSweeney are the women’s squad selectors and motivators, and Ian McKenzie and Garth Partridge are the team managers.
It was an impressive sight to see all the Bowls North Harbour 1 to 5 Representative players under the roof on a brilliant springtime day. Anticipation was running high, and there were some nerves as some of the players had not been involved in centre rep games previously.
The format for the day was three rounds of Pairs, Triples and Fours for each of the squads. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and no points for a loss. If game points were equal, is would come down to differential.
After round 1 North Harbour had 6 game points to Waikato’s 12 points and Waikato had a positive differential of 34. Round 2 saw the make-up of teams shuffle around and, because of the shuffle and of the fact that nerves had settled a little, North Harbour managed to win 15 game points. With the round 2 differential of zero, Waikato still held the differential of 34. Game points total, North Harbour 21, Waikato 15.
Break for lunch, another shuffle of players between the disciplines and a pep talk from the coaches. It’s all on for game 3, with North Harbour needing to win more games as they are behind on the differential, so do not want it to be decided on differential. Pressure!!
Game 3 saw all three of the Men’s teams take out wins. Impressive! And the Women’s teams take a win and a draw. So, 13 game point to North Harbour: the 2022 / 2023 Waikato Head-to-Head Champions.
Congratulations.
Team Captains Laurie Kean and Sharon Parker, with Trish Croot (Women’s Team Co-Coach & Selector), received the trophy for the North Harbour vs. Waikato Head to Head.
Special thanks to all the supporters who came along to support and encourage. Also, thanks to the behind the scenes support from Michelle Kean and to the Manly Bowling Club Caterers who provided the healthy and yummy lunches.
The games, while tense, were played out in good spirit and Waikato were generous in their praise of the North Harbour squads.
So, on to the Quadrangular Challenge on the 1st October against Northland, Auckland and Bay of Plenty. There will be full squad training dates announced shortly as some squad members who were not selected for this head-to-head clash will be joining the squad as their skills, experience and knowledge will be vital in helping the North Harbour teams. Always good to start the season with a win and we look forward to maintaining the momentum.
Congratulations to the players, the supporters and the team coaches and managers. 2022 / 2023 is off to a great start
Report by Garth Partridge
BNH Board Member