GRAND FINAL

 

Division I

Preliminary Final

 

Panthers 11(41) defeated Croppos 10(39)

Panthers snuck through to the 2010 grand final for a rematch against Lions in a tight and tense affair with Croppos. Nothing could separate the teams for the majority of the night, with just a couple of five set matches making all the difference. The first round was shared at three apiece, with Croppos Riki Popovic scoring a fine win over Peter Jones in four sets. Scores remained level after the second round of singles and it appeared increasingly likely that the night would be decided by the doubles. Panthers have been strong in this area all year and this was no exception as they made the important break to lead by just one with six singles to play. The lead changed hands several times down the stretch, but in the end wins to Peter Jones and Barry Hancock over Vic Ellul and Geoff Nottle respectively sent Panthers through to the grand final.

Best for Panthers were Daniel Challinger and Tai Wheadon. Best for Croppos was Mario Piantedosi.

 

Grand Final

 

Panthers 11 defeated Lions 10 

Panthers caused an upset of sorts to defeat Lions in one of the closest grand finals for years. Lions were without their much improved number six Liam Kurovec, but still held the psychological advantage after their semi final win over the same opponent. The respective number ones led from the front early as Daniel Challinger overcame nerves to defeat Lions’ Sally Kunze, while Jason Regan withstood a fierce challenge from Tai Wheadon to win in five. Panthers made the all important break through the second round of singles and then consolidated the advantage with an impressive doubles display to have one hand on the title. Lions weren’t done with yet though and their bottom three dragged them back into the contest to level the scores. With the season coming down the to the final three matches of the night Panthers Tai Wheadon and the veteran Barry Hancock stood up when it counted most and Panthers were the 2010 premiers!

Best for Panthers were Daniel Challinger and Tai Wheadon. Best for Lions was Jason Regan.

 

Division II

Preliminary Final

 

Dominoes 12(41) defeated Tigers 9(39)

After losing to Dodgers in the semi-finals Dominoes were given a second chance and grabbed it with both hands. Games were evenly spread in the first round as Bob Gibbes lead the way defeating Lyndon Giles in four sets, with Helen Proude taking Dean Polkinghorne in straight sets and Sylvia Parker winning in four sets over Judy Myers. Tigers scored with Ben Vanderkop, Lance Barnett over David Hall in five sets and Anthony Vanderkop a straight sets winner over Sam Tiller. Neither team could break away in the second round but Tigers began well by taking the first three singles through Lance Barnett, Lyndon Giles and Ben Vanderkop, while Dominoes claimed the following three important clashes with Helen Proude over Judy Myers, Sam Tiller over Dean Polkinghorne in five tough sets and Sylvia Parker playing a brilliant game to defeat Anthony Vanderkop in five sets. With scores locked together the all important doubles were up for grabs but Tigers combined the better to take two and the lead. Dominoes needed to find something special and unexpectedly they reeled off five wins in a row thanks to Sylvia Parker, Sam Tiller, Helen Proude and then David Hall over Lyndon Giles, with Bev Atkins putting the icing on the cake by defeating Lance Barnett. It was all over bar the shouting as Ben Vanderkop won the last match of the night over Bob Gibbes.

Best for Dominoes were Helen Proude and Sylvia Parker. Best for Tigers were Ben Vanderkop and Lance Barnett.

 

Grand Final

 

Dodgers 14(46) defeated Dominoes 7(29) 

Dodgers got away to a great start in the opening round putting four wins on the board for a narrow lead through Kye Barber over David Hall, Tyler Ebert in a tight game over Bev Atkins and Brian Broome over Sylvia Parker, while Bob Gibbes defeated Malcolm Algie in four and Helen Proude in straight sets over Megan Atkins. Dominoes held Dodgers from a complete break away in the second round as they shared the wins at three each with David Hall, Sylvia Parker and Helen Proude scoring, while Dodgers’ wins came from Kye Barber, Tyler Ebert and Brian Broome. Dodgers combined the better in the doubles claiming two to extend their lead out to three and with the last round of singles to play Dodge's women stepped up with two important wins as Rebecca Barber claimed Sylvia Parker in four and Megan Atkins came from behind to win over Sam Tiller in five tight sets to give their team the 2010 premiership, but they were not finished there as all three top Dodgers players wanted to finish on a winning note, while for Dominoes sadly they were not up to it as Helen Proude was the sole winner in the last round.

Best for Dodgers were Kye Barber and Tyler Ebert. Best for Dominoes was Helen Proude.