Determination, resilience and fighting spirit were on display as four of Sturt's six Saturday pennant teams played at home on 7 November, including a keenly anticipated local derby between Sturt II and III.
The results were mixed, but there was no shortage of spirited performances. Sturt I maintained its unbeaten record with a hard-fought victory over a formidable Hawthorn side, despite challenging conditions, reports Club Coach and Team Leader Izzy Trenorden.
Sturt II recorded its fifth consecutive victory, defeating Sturt III by 23 shots to retain top spot on the ladder. But Sturt III provided stiff resistance, winning one rink convincingly and narrowly losing another by just two shots.
Team Leaders Paul Teesdale and Wyatt Groth both praised the quality of the opposition and took considerable encouragement from their teams' performances.
Meanwhile, Sturt V came agonisingly close to defeating Toorak Burnside V, going down by just seven shots in a contest decided on the final end.
Team Leader Bruce Williams highlighted his players' determination and their spirited fightback after the tea break.
Sturt I report by Club Coach and Team Leader, Izzy Trenorden
The Sturt I train continues, still undefeated!
Swirling winds made for tricky conditions at Sturt against a formidable Hawthorn side.
They were very strong draw bowlers, could play all the shots and nullified any opportunity to play for numbers.
Jack Trenorden’s rink had Kim Keane leading well, Rachele Krebbekx converting well and Richard Weeks adding to the count.
Dan Flanagan's rink played out a strong fight to get over the line.
Alex Smith’s rink was around the mark all day and gave themselves a good chance to take some points, but couldn't quite get over the line.
A hard-fought win.
We move on to Kensington Marryatville this week who are also undefeated.
So, a big week of practice will be worthwhile for all those trying to make our side.
Sturt II report by Team Leader Paul Teesdale
Sturt II held off a strong challenge from Sturt III to record a 23-shot victory.
This makes it five in a row for the Magoos, now sitting on top of the ladder and taking on undefeated Hawthorn V at Hawthorn this Saturday.
The windy conditions were tricky, so the pre-match chatter was about getting the basics right and not getting ahead of ourselves. Find the grass, be beyond, play smart, stay positive, and support each other.
It was also agreed that Sturt III would be the best opposition Sturt II had faced this year, so they deserved respect. Sturt III were, Sturt II did and Sturt II got a result.
The rink of Bob Rutten, Stew Allen, Peter Drabsch and Steve Young had a big day. Alan Catterall, Andy Hardy, Dave Howard and Peter Welsh also impressed.
Sturt III sit seventh with a 2–3 record. With a bit of luck, that record could be better, and Saturday's performance showed that Sturt III can be right in the thick of things come March.
Vicki Kavanagh, Margie Haines, Cheryl Saunders and Ralph Hounslow played very well while John Blue, Richard Bolton, Deane Pye and Mocha Dunstan finished strongly.
A home match against Prospect Broadview II is an opportunity for Sturt III to work their way back into top-four calculations.
Stay focused – two words for both sides to take into the coming weeks.
Sturt III report by Team Leader Wyatt Groth
When the fixture was released at the start of the season, the first thing I did was to see when Sturt II and Sturt III sides would be facing off.
The answer was Round 5, which was perfect, as it would give us four rounds to settle our rink combinations before testing ourselves against the more fancied Sturt II.
On paper, Sturt II is stacked with quality bowlers, many of whom are pushing hard for top-side selection. But our Sturt III side is hardly lacking in skill, and while an overall win would be a challenge, a few rink wins and a competitive performance would show we could mix it with the undefeated ladder leaders.
In many of the early rounds, the wind has proven to be a real pain, and today was no exception. Combined with some slick greens, it made drawing the perfect shot a challenge for everyone.
From a Sturt III perspective, the rink of Ralph Hounslow and his angels, Vicki Kavanagh, Margie Haines and Cheryl Saunders were the best performers with a dominant 22–11 win over the Teesdale-led rink. They won 15 of the 21 ends and after the break only dropped one end. Well done!
Our next best was Mocha Dunstan’s rink of Blue, Bolton and Pye, who had a narrow 21–23 loss to Russell Moore’s rink.
Russell’s rink had not lost a game this season, so the fact that they were able to get so close is a real credit to Mocha and his crew of misfits.
In truth they perhaps should have won, as they won 12 of the 21 ends, but when you give a quality player like Russell a sniff of victory, he is going to make you pay, more often than not.
On my rink, we went down 11–24. Marrollo, Sinkinson, Hughes and I kept within striking distance for the first two-thirds of the game. But just when we thought we were a chance to take the lead, a brilliant shot by Welsh turned a two down into a three up. From that moment, we couldn't regain the ascendancy, and the Catterall, Hardy, Howard and Welsh combination pulled away for a sizeable win.
The rink of Badenoch, Trenerry, Esdale and Lymn had a day that they would probably rather forget, and were never really in the contest, as they were beaten by Youngy’s side of Rutten, Allen and Drabsch 29–10.
The result was a 64–87 loss with one rink out of four winning.
While it was disappointing not to win, as I said earlier, victory was always going to be a challenge. What we were, though, was competitive.
Winning one rink and coming very close to winning a second was a great effort, and we should go into the rest of the season knowing that we have the quality in our team to challenge anyone.
Next week we face off at home against Prospect Broadview’s second side, which sits in the same place on the ladder as we do, with a 2–3 win–loss record.
Sturt V report by Team Leader Bruce Williams
Resuming after last week's disappointing forfeit, Sturt V players were eager to take on friendly rivals Toorak Burnside V. Both teams had won twice.
Undeterred by a fast green and challenging winds, Sturt V had high hopes of victory but Toorak Burnside prevailed by seven shots with the result only decided on the last end.
Great excitement for our army of supporters!
The rink of Libby Lock, Bron Perry, Ned Kelly and skipper Frank Sabatino led from start to finish, with all making strong contributions throughout.
However, the other two rinks needed to come from behind, requiring big turnarounds after the tea break.
For Nick Manglaras, Wayne Berryman, Lesley Dunstall and Joanne Kirby, despite their best efforts, it proved to be a bridge too far.
Brian Dunstall with Matthew Jeffrey, John French and Bruce Williams had a much more consistent second half, resulting in a four-shot win.
The local derby match in a couple of weeks will be much anticipated with Sturt VI now one position above Sturt V on the table.
Bring it on!