FORMER world champion and Commonwealth Games medallist Jeremy Henry continues his pursuit of a state double this weekend.
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Henry will lead Warilla’s charge when they take on hosts Dubbo Railway and Cabramatta in the second round of the NSW Champions League.
It comes two weeks before Henry is part of the Gorillas’ Zone 16 representative triples team at the NSW Championships finals at Ettalong Bowling Club.
Defending their 2014 crown, Warilla came away with a dominant 15-0 win over Sydney club The Hills in the opening round, before beating St Johns Park 12-3.
It put them firmly in contention for the crown after losing their opening fixture 10-5 to 2013 winners Taren Point Power.
Henry said Warilla have welcomed Tamworth talent Chris Herden as a marquee player for this weekend’s action.
“We’re missing a couple of players for the trip to Dubbo, so it’s great to have Chris in the team,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough round, Dubbo will be hard to beat at home, where you expect them to be their best.
“The Cabramatta teams are always pretty strong.
“We’ve made a pretty good start, picking up points against Taren Point even when we lost.”
Henry’s team of Wayne Crane, Ted Clarke and Jamie Mitchell have been the dominant group in Warilla’s Champions League campaign so far.
They secured a 19-15 win in the overall loss to Taren Point to remain unbeaten throughout the opening weekend.
Henry is also the league’s leading skip, with six sets to his name.
Warilla are currently atop the Champions League ladder on 32 points, however, three clubs, Cabramatta, Mt Lewis and Terrigal are yet to play their first games. An impressive performance at Dubbo would set the platform for back-to-back Champions League titles.
Warilla return home to host Terrigal and Women’s Bowls NSW next weekend, then host the Mt Lewis Lions in the final round on November 14. It will then decide the finals rankings, with the top two teams playing off for a place in the grand final on the same day.
In what is effectively the bowls off-season, the state competitions continue a busy schedule for the Australian representative, originally from Northern Ireland. In August, Henry added the latest in a remarkable career of international and major national honours, winning the Australian Open indoor title at Warilla.
Henry will team up with Crane and Mitchell again in the state championships finals, competing for Zone 16.