Results 1-5 Year Interclub – April 2024
Yet again Helensville has boxed above its weight to land another Bowls North Harbour championship title, winning the 1-5 Year Interclub competition, to repeat last season’s success. In Sunday’s final at Hobsonville Helensville beat Birkenhead 2-1, its winning team being Geert Donkers (singles), Jeni Hart and Brendon McPhail (pairs) and Chris O’Sullivan, Maggie Kay and Fred Peretti (triples).
Helensville will now go on to the regional play-offs against teams from Auckland, Counties, Northland and Far North to defend the Mercedes Cup which it won last year. Of that team Hart, O’Sullivan and Peretti have remained.
The Birkenhead team which finished runners-up at the weekend was Willie Tonga (singles), Nick Cape and Kieran Jones (pairs) and Zakk Johnson, Craig Moverley and Dennis English (triples). Birkenhead perhaps went into the final as favourites, as in the semi-finals it had a 3-0 whitewash of Orewa Sea Eagles. Indeed, it was probably a surprise to many that Helensville and Birkenhead were the finalists as on paper most might have expected either Orewa, Manly or Hobsonville, with their known depth in 1-5 year bowlers, to have come through.
But Helensville had a 2-1 win over Manly Lions in the quarter-finals, and the Hobsonville Hercules went down 2-1 to Browns Bay White, with Birkenhead winning the other last eight matches 2-1 over Milford and Orewa also winning 2-1 over Takapuna.
Helensville was the other semi-final winner, 2-1 over Browns Bay.
