2023/24 champions: Neville Palmer and Mitch Brown
IN one of the most dramatic finals of recent years, old masters Neville Palmer, in his first season at Merriwa, and the quietly spoken assassin Mitch Brown beat 'youngters' Len Paterson and Graeme Winter 23-22.
Needing three shots to take the game to an extra end, Len and Graeme rose to the challenge in drawing two close to the jack, but could Len add a third - Len and Graeme spent several minutes duscussing their options, while some spectators offered their opinions as to what Len should do. In the end he tried to replicate his previous forehand draw but this time the precision wasn't there and Neville was able to 'put his last bowl in his pocket'.
Mitch and Neville won nine of the first 13 ends and at 19-11 looked set for a comfortable success. Graeme, in what could be his last season at Merriwa before heading for the Perth hills, and Len, again displaying the class that has made him a key player in Merriwa's recent pennant success, needed some inspiration to revive their hopes and it came on the 17th end with four shots that brought them just two behind, 20-18.
A single followed and the game was now very much in the balance. Mitch never buckles under pressure but at 91 and in sweltering heat was stamina to become a factor? If it did it was not apparent. Mitch and his younger partner, 86-year-old Neville, continued to bowl well and deservedly took the title.
Mitch was one of the prime movers in persuading Neville, a fellow Cambrai resident, to leave Wanneroo and join Merriwa and suggested they played together in the pairs even before he had signed on the dotted line. This was after Len had declined Mitch's invitation because he had a long-standing relationship in the competition with Barry Whinfield.
When Barry took a break from bowls, Len teamed up with Graeme and they formed a powerful combination. At 73 (Len) and 75, they were collectively 39 years the junior pairing.
Even at 86, Neville is a major acquisition for the club and is certain to collect more titles in the coming years. At Wanneroo, the selectors questioned his abiity to skip at the highest level when he switched to using an arm. Without them Merriwa would barely have a club!
And the final proved - with three of the four players using an arm - they take nothing away from the game for either players or spectators.
MITCH BROWN, who won his first pairs title in the previous century, attempts to win it for a third time, after he and Neville Palmer had a runaway semi final win over past champion Lindsay Marsh and Steve Phillips.
In the third year of the competition, 1998/99, Mitch and Eric Sydenham were the champions and two years later he teamed up with Jack Brown (no relation) to win it again. The two Browns are pictured in the clubhouse for winning the Division Three and Below state championship.
He displayed some of that form again, leading for Neville, both former Wanneroo players, against Steve, who climbed out of his sick bed to fulfill his partnership with Lindsay even though he has dropped out of pennants.
The players shook hands with three of the 18 ends remaining at 23-7 - mathematically possiible to win, realistically impossible.
Mitch and Neville will come up against Graeme Winter, part of the all-conquering Gavan Ebsworth pennant rink and a winner in 2019/20 with John O'Brien, and Len Paterson, a pots winner with two different rinks in the past two weeks.
They put out the defending champions, Eddie Eaton and Les Mikowiec, 18-10, again acceptng that the deficit was too big to make up even though there was still two ends left.
At 91 (Mitch) and 86 (Neville) that makes it a combined age of 177, and they will be playing against two younger - if not young - opponents in Graeme and Len. It almost feels like the masters versus the apprentices - we shall see.
DEFENDING champions Eddie Eaton and Les Mikowiec encountered stubborn resistance from Merv Davies and Ivor Thomas before progressing to the semi finals with a 19-14 win.
With three ends remaining, Merv and Ivor had a glimmer of hope at 12-16 but by the last they needed a full house to take the game into an extra end and there was never the remotest of possibilities of that happening.
Graeme Winter and Len Paterson are looking a powerful combination but they had a tough time accounting for the champions od two seasons ago, Bill Nicoll and Clive de Ridder, 20-16.
Now virtually part-time bowlers, Bill and Clive, got off to a shaky start, dropping five shots on the opening two ends, but by the 16th end it was finely poised at 15-17 before a count of three left them with too much to do on the last end.
Steve Appleton retained his form from the previous week's win over Colin Tremlett and Bill Kell but it was not enough for him and below-par Brian Barron losing 16-9 to another strong pairing in Mitch Brown and Neville Palmer.
The only one-sided scoreline saw president Steve Phillips and evergreen Lindsay Marsh beat Brian Binney and Steve Szonyi 24-17. The losers were not helped by dropping counts of five on the opening end and on eight with the score then standing at 9-9.
CLUB secretary Steve Appleton, perhaps with a point to prove to the selectors, put on a masterclass as he and Brian Barron had a surprisingly clearcut 20-7 win over current singles champion Colin Tremlett and Bill Kell, part of the all-conquering Gavan Ebsworth pennant rink.
Steve, a first team regular last season that won Merriwa a men's flag for the first time, has taken his demotion without a murmur of discontent and in this alignment round game, he was the dominant player.
Colin and Bill won just five of the 17 ends played as their opponents took an 11-4 lead on eight before a mini revival saw the gap narrow to 11-7. That was the last of the resistance as Steve and Brian surged ahead with a series of minumum length ends.
The powerful combo of Mitch Brown and Neville Palmer, arguably the pre-tournament favourites, had to contend with some early pressure from Fred Emmerton and Mike Batka, who led 7-5 on seven. After that it was one-way traffic with Mitch and Neville winning 26-12 with an end to spare.
The other tie was also one-sided as Graeme Winter and Len Paterson were much too strong for Chris Beaney and Ian Edgar. Graeme and Len surged into a 15-3 lead on 12 and shook hands after 17 ends at 17-8.