Dapto Citizens Rob Clayton, Max Donovan and Buster Connell won back-to-back tight matches to clinch the Zone 16 Senior Triples crown at Warilla Bowls.
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Skipper Connell and partners edged out Corrimal's Robbie Fahey, Paul Sweeny and Ken Hunt 20-19 in their semi-final with Hunt part of a Corrimal rink which won the inaugural Zone Senior Triples in 2019.
Following a last end thriller in their semi-final, Dapto Citizens again showed poise in the big moments of the final to beat Oak Flats' Geoff Turner, Mal Pearson and Peter Mead (skip) 23-21.
The Dapto Citz rink won four matches to take the title and began impressively with a 25-5 win over Andy Hamilton's Warilla side in round two.
Dapto Citizens then won their next three games by just a combined eight points beginning with a 19-14 quarter-final victory over a Kiama rink skipped by Terry Boniface.
In the other quarter-finals, Ken Hunt beat Towradgi's Dave Roberts 29-21; Peter Mead held off Figgy Bowlo's Steve Breasley 23-21, and Ray Parkes (Wiseman Park) defeated Warilla's Geoff McGillivray in a final end thriller 24-23. Mead then booked a spot in the final with a 24-16 victory over Parkes in their semi-final.
The Zone 16 Senior Triples and President's Reserve (Grade 5-7) Triples were only added as a Zone and NSW Championship event in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Open and Reserve Triples are down to the finals.
Oak Flats have backed up reaching the Senior Triples final with Luke Cocksedge, Steve Sprod and Grant Burbidge (skip) reaching the Open Triples final against the all-internationals Warilla rink of Brendan Aquilina, Corey Wedlock and Gary Kelly. Maltese international Aquilina, Jackaroos star Wedlock and Irish champion Kelly will all feature for at the World Championships on the Gold Coast in May.
But Burbidge and partners have already proved more than a match for anyone, with four victories last weekend to make the final including a convincing 23-14 victory over Warilla's Eric Haynes in the semi-finals and 26-24 win over Luke West (Bomaderry) in the quarter-finals.
Kelly beat Corey Thompson (Albion Park) 27-11 to make the final, and a 26-6 win over Steve Wills' Kiama rink in the quarters. With an overall differential of 112-46 Warilla will go into the final on March 22 at Windang BC as favourites.
Finally, Warilla's Dave Booth, Vince Gasparrini and Glenn Beveridge (skip) take on Bomaderry's Bruce McDonald, Geoff Tracey and Tony Collin in the final of the President's Reserve Triples on March 15 at Windang.
Warilla beat Wiseman Park's Darren Wood, Scott Davidson and Greg Falconer 28-21 in their semi-final with Bomaderry overcoming Citos' Mark Sunderland, Mick Dick-McGuigan and Wayne Ford 24-15 in the other semi.
Zone 16 final four spots on the line
A hectic Zone 16 championship season continues this weekend with the three Pairs events - Open, Seniors and President's Reserve Pairs.
All formats will be down to the semi-final stage after Sunday's play, with the Open Pairs semis scheduled for Windang BC on March 22. The Reserve Pairs semis are set down for Windang on March 15 with the same date for the Senior Pairs at Oak Flats BC.
Defending Senior Pairs champions, Figgy Bowlo's Harry Johnston and Mark Sunderland will try to make it back-to-back titles and take on Albion Park's Eddie Weston and Brian Godfrey in round two at Towradgi on Saturday.
Father and son Ken and Noel Stopher will also defend their Reserve Pairs crown and take on Bomaderry's Dale Woods and Gerry Webster in the opening round at Kiama.
Among a host of interesting first round match-ups in the Open Pairs is Kiama's Adam Rodgers and Steve Wills taking on Wiseman Park's Mick Thorne and Scott Bateup at Corrimal BC.
The powerhouse pairing of Warilla's Jeremy Henry and Aaron Teys have a tough match against Towradgi's Adam Martin and Anthony Jones.
At Windang BC, Trent McMillan and Rick Murphy take on Wiseman Park's Shane Pascoe and Shane Garvey.
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