Five Sturt teams took part in trials at Walkerville Bowling Club on Wednesday 23 September 2026, giving selectors another valuable opportunity to assess players and combinations as the pennant season draws closer.
Chair of Selectors Graham Wood said the full-length matches were helping players lift both their concentration and fitness, while also giving selectors the chance to experiment with combinations across the sides.
And with another trial at Kensington Marryatville next week, Graham identified three factors selectors will be watching closely: bowlers who adapt to the conditions, combinations that build good heads, and sides that remain competitive.
Graham Wood’s report:
The SBC Wednesday pennant players had the opportunity to bowl at Walkerville on Wednesday 23 September.
Organising preseason fixtures is problematic as clubs are unsure of how many players they have available and they sometimes change rinks from 16 a side to 12 a side and vice versa.
After some initial confusion, Sturt Bowling Club decided to take all available players to Walkerville.
Sixteen of our players ended up playing an internal trial with the benefit of playing on an unfamiliar green.
The Walkerville green was running fast, which was a challenging proposition for players of all grades.
Walkerville with the home ground advantage won more matches than Sturt across the two greens.
All players are adjusting to playing full length matches and the trial was of great benefit to us all.
The Sturt I side played the 5-rink format for the first time this preseason.
It is critical for the success of the side that we develop successful pairs and triples combinations and selectors were able to test some groupings.
Changes will occur next week as we seek to find the combinations that will provide success when the pennant competition begins.
Sturt II and Sturt III sides were competitive, and selectors will look to tweak combinations in the coming weeks to ensure that we are putting strong sides on the green.
The effort and energy of players across the afternoon were commendable.
Preseason matches require a lift in concentration levels and fitness levels and players are benefitting from full length competition.
We are getting closer to being fully prepared for the beginning of the season.
Next week we are playing at Kensington Marryatville on a slower green. This will be another good test.
Bowlers who adapt to the conditions, combinations who build good heads, and sides that are competitive will be noticed.