Back to back eightball victories
• The Winnaleah Magpies and the Scottsdale RSL Tigers teams went head to head in the North-East Eightball Championship last Thursday.
By Taylor Clyne
December 11, 2019
The Winnaleah Magpies have been victorious in their bid to claim the North-East Eightball Championship for 2019 winning the title for a second year in a row after going head to head with the Scottsdale RSL Tigers.
The nail-biting final was drawn 3-3 at the end of the singles championships but the Magpies proved they were the most experienced on the day claiming both doubles games to win 5-4.
The decider came down to a doubles match between Lee Shaw and Jarrod Smith versus Peter Fogarty and Jeffrey Kitchin, both trying to pot the black.
“It was won thanks to a little bit of experience and probably some luck too,” Magpies Captain Kevin Wagner said.
The battle between the two sides was held at the Winnaleah Hotel where friendly banter and a beer complemented the grand final event.
The losing Scottsdale RSL Tigers side which consisted of Greg Blackwell, Robert Kerrison, Joel Barns, Grant Lethborg, Justin Wiggins, Peter Fogarty and Jeffrey Kitchin were sitting on top of the ladder heading into the game.
But the Magpies side made up of Lee Shaw, Jarrod and Lyndon Smith, Kevin Wagner, Robert Gough, Greg and Mitchell Taylor and Alan Mountney out potted their opponents to win the event.
Not forgetting the Magpies’ unofficial ‘coach’ Des Bounday who travels from Aminya each week to watch games and have a yarn.
“It’s a good social competition. We finished second on the ladder and won our semi-final so went straight into the grand final,” Mr Wagner said.
“We thought we’d be playing against the Kendall’s side but Dorset beat them in the first week of finals so we went up against the RSL Tigers instead.”
The competition has been running in the North-East for more than 100 years. This year’s rivalry was made up of eight teams spanning Weldbourgh, Winnaleah, Derby, Bridport and Scottsdale.
“We lost a couple of teams this year, Winnaleah’s second team didn’t play due to lack of numbers as well as Branxholm.
“But we did pick up a new team, the RSL Stallions.”
Speaking about the Magpies Mr Wagner said they were a good, average bunch.
“We have no real stand outs; we just look forward to the social side of it each week.
“Thanks to all the other teams for a great season and to the publicans for hosting every Thursday,” Mr Wagner concluded.
The Singles Champion for 2019 was awarded to Greg Taylor runner up was Cliffy Millwood.
The Doubles Champion’s for 2019 was won by Nathan Bennett and Marcus Haywood. Runners up were Alan Mountney and Robert Gough.
Congratulations to all involved. The 2020 season will kick off in early July.