West Lakes storms into the state’s lawn bowls history books after winning its third Premier League title in a row
West Lakes entered the state’s lawn bowls history books after winning a third consecutive Premier League title, while Lockleys and Morphett Vale triumphed in the second and third-tier deciders. Here is a recap of all three grand finals.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Summer is officially over, signalling the end of the 2018/19 state lawn bowls competitions.
The grand finals for each division were hosted on Saturday and all were nailbiters.
West Lakes created history, winning its third consecutive Premier League title, Lockleys took home the Division One premiership and Morphett Vale was crowned third-tier champion.
PREMIER LEAGUE – WEST LAKES 93 d ADELAIDE 86
West Lakes claimed its third consecutive Premier League bowls premiership after defeating Adelaide in this season’s grand final at Grange on Saturday.
The Lakers produced a gutsy performance to prevail 93-86.
Coincidentally, Adelaide was the last club to achieve a three-peat.
West Lakes won three out of the four rinks.
James Gregory’s four triumphed 27-18 over Scott Thulborn, while Mark Haines was impressive in a 27-16 defeat of Andrew Feijen.
Kane Coulls triumphed 24-17 over Adrian Green to round off the day.
“We were confident as a group going in,” Coulls said.
“We had won away from home often over the season and we had put a lot of hard work in during the lead up.
“Three (premierships) in row is an excellent result for a group of committed players.”
Adelaide’s Alan Hurst was proud of his players and what they had achieved this summer.
“We were in it (the grand final) for most of the day but lost too many ends late,” Hurst said.
“West Lakes are a hard side to beat and we gave it everything we had but couldn’t quite get close enough.
“Overall we have had a great season as a club.”
DIVISION ONE – LOCKLEYS 76 d ASCOT PARK 69
Lockleys took home the Division One title when it beat minor premier Ascot Park 76-69 on Saturday.
The Eagles have earned promotion to the top tier for next summer.
In the grand final, Ashley Halls beat Jack Hateley 23-13, while Fred Kovaleff defeated Jeff Aworth 23-19.
“It was one of our best wins of the year,” Halls said.
“We started well and kicked on to build a good lead.
“(It was) a great win for the club.”
DIVISION TWO – MORPHETT VALE 87 d HENLEY 73
Morphett Vale is the Division Two bowls champion after beating Henley 87-73 in the grand final at Grange on Saturday.
It capped a solid two seasons for the club, which earnt promotion to Division One next summer after being promoted to the third tier at the end of last season.
In the grand final against the Sharks, the Emus started well and never looked back.
Bob Webster’s rink defeated an in-form Neil Miller 27-11 in a game defining
performance.
David Bell’s four worked hard to beat Andrew Westbury 23-16, while John Munro skipped his side to a 24-17 triumph over Craig Green.
“The greens were nice and our side handled the quick pace well,” Morphett Vale’s Lynton Modra said.
“It was another good team effort with some of our players who were struggling a bit playing out of their skins.”
Adelaide Footy League club lands superstar signing for 2025
A local SA footy star and former SANFL captain and premiership player has joined an Adelaide Footy League club on the rise for season 2025.
Bartel’s best: Saints legend lists top teammates, opponents in stellar career
A Goodwood Saints legend has looked back on his career and picked his top opponents and teammates after being named as the top Adelaide Footy League player of the 21st Century.