Merrylands Wins State Open Fours in Ettalong
The boys from Merrylands have done it again!
The fours team of Jack McShane, Michael Clarke, Peter Harry and Shawn Thompson have defeated Andrew Rees, Aaron Appleby, Jacob McMurray and Nathan Dawson from Kurri Kurri in an exciting final.
A Tale of Two Halves in Open State Fours Final
Merrylands have overcome a slow start to claim the Open State Fours Championship in another tense and tight finish. Kurri Kurri led 10-1 through some brilliant play, putting Shawn Thompson and his Merrylands team under considerable pressure. Unphased, the Magic worked their way back into the match, levelling the scores 11-11 after 12 ends.
It wasn’t until the 15-end mark that Merrylands hit the lead for the first time, up 14-12. Shots were hard to come by for both teams, with eight ends killed across the match. Once again Shawn Thompson’s forehand drive was in form, with the Merrylands skip rarely off target.
Kurri Kurri refused to lie down and only trailed by two shots heading into the final end. Michael Clarke was peppering the jack in the second-half of the match from the second position and did the same on end 21. It left Nathan Dawson match-down, and with one bowl to go he killed the end, keeping Kurri Kurri’s hopes alive. On the replayed end though he could not emulate that feat, missing narrowly with his last two, leaving Merrylands to claim the win and the 2021 Open State Fours Championship.
For young Jack McShane (who is still a junior) and Shawn Thompson, they have finished their week with two Open state titles – the Pairs and the Fours. Congratulations must go to them, their Merrylands team and all the competitors who made the Open State Fours Championship so successful.
Read the full summary on bowlsnsw.com.au