Macquarie Dubbo's Jono Davis and Maula Bay duo Dave Thomas and Jay Breust produced near flawless displays to clinch the State Champion of Champion Singles and Pairs titles at South Tamworth BC.
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Davis, the 2016 Singles champion defeated Mt Lewis' Ben Glasson 31-28 in the final. The triumph comes 10 years after Glasson beat Davis by the same score in the Junior State Singles final in an early instalment of a rivalry between two of NSW's best juniors.
Thomas and Breust beat Engadine's defending NSW Champion Pairs champs Craig Donaldson and Callum Murray 19-17 in a high-quality decider.
Engadine stormed home in their semi-final to edge out Park Beach's David Hall and Kent Price 18-17, while Thomas-Breust outgunned Halekulani's Shane Gibbin and Josh Zephyr 17-12.
Earlier, the Malua Bay combination prevented Zone 16 representatives Mark Kesby and Gordon Young (Figtree Sports) from reaching the semi-finals with a win in their round three sectional decider.
Kesby and Young were the fourth Figgy Falcons representatives to play for a 2021 state title and began the NSW Champion Pairs with a 26-23 win over Mudgee's Steve Shannon and Jay Marskell.
The Figtree duo always had the upper hand in a 18-13 win over Narrandera's Richard Durnan and Peter Durnan in round two, leaving them to beat the also-unbeaten Malua Bay to claim a semi-final spot.
The Figtree combination didn't play their best match, but winning two rounds at the State Champion Pairs is a fine achievement.
Earlier, Illawarra Zone 16's Champion Singles representative Gary Kelly had a frustrating time, beaten in his three sectional games including a hard-fought 31-28 loss to Ben Glasson which sealed the section and semi-final berth for Glasson.
The son of Australian bowls legend Steve Glasson won a very tough section by beating Peter Taylor (Alstonville) 31-20 and Austral's Chris Couchman 31-18; before edging out Forster's Shannon White 31-28 in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Davis beat newly-crowned 2021 State Singles champion Kenta Treacher 31-27 in the semi-finals after sectional wins over newly-minted State Pairs and Fours champion, Merrylands Jack McShane 31-21, plus Matthew Norris 31-14 and David Hall 31-16.
The Dubbo-based Davis held a four to six shot lead for most of the final, but Glasson maintained the pressure with some spectacular draw shots to steal several ends with his final bowl.
Meanwhile, in club news Warilla Bowls have spots available for its $3000 Two Bowl 10 Point Quickfire Triples on this Saturday and Sunday.
Open to men and women the rapid-fire format of five games of just four ends will give every team a shot at the $1200 winner's prize.
Teams will be divided into two sections with the winners to meet on Sunday afternoon. Entry details from Jeremy Henry.
And finally, congratulations to Julie Timpano, Bill Farrell (sub for Luke Cocksedge), Christine Coen and Wolf Coen who won the 2021 Oak Flats Mixed Pairs with a 21-17 victory over Di Knowles, Frank Martino, Jo Irwin and Jim Davis in the final.
The new champions won four games to take the Mixed Pairs title.
Aussie Open titles up for grabs
A massive field including a large contingent from the Illawarra are heading to the Gold Coast for the Australian Open which begins on Saturday. (JUNE 11)
The two-week extravaganza is the world's largest and richest bowls tournament with 15 disciplines including Open, Seniors, Juniors and Multi-Disability events.
With almost 1100 competitors in 274 sections of the Men's Singles alone, it will be a career-defining performance to win the Singles crown.
There are also huge draws in Women's events, including Singles, Pairs and Fours with Jackaroos star Kelsey Cottrell the defending MVP.
Among the nominations from Illawarra are 2015 Men's Australian Open Singles champion Aaron Teys, plus his Warilla clubmate Corey Wedlock and top local players Peter Thelan (Windang), Ray Parkes (Corrimal), Trevor Suckley (Citos), Vikki Wilson (Figtree) and Pam Willetts (Warilla).
Winning an Australian Open title is among the biggest achievements in bowls with Aaron Wilson and Natasha Van Eldik the reigning Men's and Women's Singles champion.
Among the other defending champions are Matt Johnstone and Cody Packer (Men's Pairs) and Lynsey Clarke-Kelsey Cottrell (Women's Pairs), with Cottrell also winning the Women's Fours, while David Ferguson skipped the 2021 champion Men's Fours team.
The Australian Open was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID and while it bounced back well last year, the 2022 edition will be even bigger.
Updated results and draws will be on the Bowls Australia website and BowlsLink.
Wedlock named for Commonwealth Games
Warilla superstar Corey Wedlock has earned a career achievement by being named for the Australian Jackaroos to make his Commonwealth Games debut in England next month.
Wedlock was included in the five-man Men's squad for the Birmingham Games on July 28-August 8, alongside Carl Healey, Ben Twist, Barrie Lester and Aaron Wilson.
Wedlock's clubmate Aaron Teys was unfortunate to miss selection after touring England with the Jackaroos earlier this year to acclimatise to the much slower greens.
Goulburn's Ellen Ryan will make her Commonwealth Games debut in the Women's squad, alongside Kristina Krstic, Rebecca Van Asch, Natasha Van Eldik and Lynsey Clarke.
Fairy Meadow's Dawn Hayman has been a star performer in national events for the past couple of years and must have been close to making the women's team.
Australia is the world No 1 but the slow greens in England will be a huge leveller with Australia never having won a gold medal in lawn bowls in England.
A record 11 gold medals will be up for grabs in Birmingham, with the Aussies to have 11 debutants and the squad to also include a Para Mens and Para Womens team.