Promising South West Rocks’ bowler Ben Atterton won five matches last Sunday to claim the Singles crown with a 17-3 victory over Moorefield’s Jay Bornstein.

Wangi’s Brae Dare had a great tournament and made the Singles semi-finals plus partnered his Wangi clubmate Jarred Fiddes to win the Pairs title, following an 18-3 victory over Moree Services’ Ryan Towns and Brodie Towns.

The Zone 2-based Dare could have been excused for tiring in his Singles semi-final after eight victories in Pairs and Singles over two days.

Illawarra Rookies Pairs champions Richard Dowse (Dapto Citizens) and Mark Lowry (Towradgi Park) won their final sectional game 13-7 against Culburra duo Ken France and Brett Gilligan, but missed out on the semi-finals.

Figgy Bowlo’s Garry Webster also tried his best in the Rookies Singles, winning his round two sectional match 17-12 against Picnic Point’s Sam Costa but also missed out on claiming his section and advancing to the semi-finals.

Despite not featuring in the semi-finals, the Illawarra representatives were very competitive, with Dowse-Lowry beaten by the eventual runners-up Moree Services in their section.

Raymond Terrace BC marked its 10th year as the foundation hosts of the State Rookies Finals which featured the Singles and Pairs champions from all 16 zones.

The club’s covered green and iconic ‘The Hangar’ facility again won high praise from the competitors.

Camden’s Ashley Beadle (Singles) and Gulgong’s Neville Buckley and Tim Buckley (Pairs) claimed the Mick Bell Encouragement Award for their terrific attitude and sportsmanship.

The award is named in honour of Mick Bell who led the way in recognising the value of having a club and zone-based Rookies program with the zone winners then to play for a state title.

Among the interested spectators at last Sunday’s Singles Finals was Newcastle Jets A-League midfielder Nick Cowburn, who was supporting Brae Dare.

Cowburn came on as a substitute and scored a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Sydney FC last Saturday night – his first A League goal.

Cowburn is a more than handy bowler and partnered Fiddes and Dare to recently win the Newcastle District Under 25s Triples.

In the 10 years of the State Rookies Singles event, 10 different clubs have won the crown, while Nelson Bay won the opening two State Pairs titles, with a different winning club each year since 2011. Zone 16 has won the State Rookies Pairs once with the Berkeley-Warilla duo of Neal Teasdale and Andrew Ransom the 2014 champions. Last year Corrimal’s Aydan Murphy and Tim Cavanough reached the final.

No Zone 16 Rookies Singles champion has made the decider.

The NSW Rookies events, for bowlers with less than 30 months experience, have grown in popularity since being launched in 2009