The second day of team events occurred on day five of the national championships with the men playing rounds five to seven and the ladies rounds four and five.
Men’s Division
Round 5
Northern Territory v ACT
The Northern Territory team of Ashley Hughes, Colley Craig and Dylan Salmon won their trios set comfortably without dropping a leg but the ACT hit back with a 1-0 win of their own thanks to the efforts of Mick Mullaney, Ciaran Holmes, and Corrie Slusser. Adrian McAdam and Brendan Taylor-McInnes then put the Northern Territory back in front with a 2-0 doubles win although Holmes had chances to check out both legs himself for the ACT. Hughes and Salmon won their doubles set for NT 2-0 but Judd Hoyle and Darren Carson avoided a clean sweep against the ACT in the doubles sets by winning their set 2-1 (they did drop their throw at the first attempt but took out the next two legs comfortably.) Mullaney won his singles set 3-0 for the ACT whilst Matthew Vickers only dropped a leg in taking out his set. The ACT run continued as Darren Carson also won his set 3-1. Hughes gave the Northern Territory another set by winning the deciding leg of his set against Judd Hoyle. Hughes held his throw in the second leg with a 15-dart leg to draw level in the set before falling behind once more a leg later. He then comfortably held throw before three consecutive tons helped him set up a shot at 120. His progress slowed at this point and chasing 87 it was actually Hoyle who had a shot at the bull for the set but missed and then did not clean up on his next visit. Hughes took this second opportunity presented to him to take the set. Salmon and Holmes then exchanged hold of throws for the first three legs of the set before Salmon broke his opponent’s throw in fourth leg to secure a 3-1 win for the set. Brendan Taylor-McInnes finished off the match in some style with a 17-dart leg highlighted by a maximum on his penultimate visit leaving him needing 40 for a 3-0 win. Those final three singles wins secured the Northern Territory a come from behind victory 6-5 over the ACT.
Northern Territory 6 ACT 5 (2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 1-2, 0-3, 1-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
In other matches from Round 5:
Queensland v New South Wales
Raymond Smith, Anthony Shreeve and Stewart Smith own their opening trios set comfortably 2-0 and then Rob Modra, Ky Smith and Tyson Hillcoat was just as comprehensive in their 2-0 win. Queensland were soon four sets up as Raymond Smith / Rob Modra and Laurie Loch / Ky Smith won their doubles sets 2-0, Smith and Modra winning in 30 darts. Stewart Smith and Brendan Masters then made it straight legs across all three doubles sets by breaking the throw of Luke Wilson and Desean Allen and then holding their own. Raymond Smith won his singles set 3-1 and then Modra won by the same scoreline. Shreeve did not even drop a leg in his singles win, including completing the set with a 14-dart leg. Tony Brown pushed his Queensland opponent Loch into a deciding leg but he missed the bull and then busted an opportunity to take out 25 giving Loch a second visit at 36 which he got with his next dart in hand. Ky Smith won his singles set 3-0 before Luke Wilson gave NSW their only set, winning the second and third leg before holding his throw in the last leg with a 15-dart leg including a 111 check out.
Queensland 10 NSW 1 (2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0, 3-2, 3-0, 2-3)
Victoria v Western Australia
Victoria started their clash with Western Australia well by nudging past Western Australia in the opening trio’s clash. Michael Cassar, Dean Gibbs, and Barry Ledington took out the opening leg with Howard Jones, Blake Hatchett and Gary Stevens only needing 16 points more. Then the WA team won the second leg with their opponents needing 12. The final leg was clear for Victoria. The second trios set was much clearer with a 2-0 win to Brandon Weening, Brody Klinge and Jamie Liddy although the first leg was tight with Lindsay Haji Ali, Wayne Egan and Dylan Dunster needing eight points when the Victorians checked out. Cassar and Gibbs then dropped the first leg of their doubles set with Egan and Dunster before winning the next two (only just) to take the set 2-1. Blake Hatchett and Gary Stevens then took out their set for WA by the same scoreline, dropping the second leg before winning the third but coming within 20 points of having that taken from them. Brandon Weening and Brody Klinge closed out the doubles with a win for Victoria by two legs to nil. Klinge then backed up by winning a tight singles tussle over Hatchett the two only separated at the end of the deciding leg by 14 points. Egan (NT) and Cassar (Vic) both won their sets 3-0. Both Stevens and Dunster gained Western Australia points but dropped a leg in the set whilst Weening dropped the first leg in his singles set before winning three consecutive legs for the set, completing a good overall win for Victoria.
Victoria 7 Western Australia 4 (2-1, 2-0, 2-1, 1-2, 2-0, 3-2, 0-3, 3-0, 1-3, 1-3, 3-1)
South Australia v Tasmania
Chris Riley, Matt Woodberry, and Braydon Abell dropped their opening leg but stunned their South Australian opponents by taking the next two legs and winning the first set of their match. Aaron Morrison, Danny Porter, and Scott Pallett soon had South Australia on even terms after a 2-0 win in their trios set. Porter and Brayden Sperling then opened the doubles sets with a 2-0 win for South Australia. Colby Doge and Chris Riley then survived a couple of tense legs to win a doubles leg for Tasmania. Aaron Morrison and Karl Schaefer dominated their doubles set to provide South Australia a good foundation for the singles sets. Hayden Scott dropped his first singles leg but then won three close legs in succession to register a 3-1 win for Tasmania. Aaron Morrison won his set by the same scoreline whilst South Australian teammates Karl Schaefer and Kevin Young both won their singles sets 3-0, Schaefer breaking Colby Dodge’s throw in the second leg of his set with a 15 darter. Danny Porter (first leg when Matt Woodberry checked out 112) and Scott Pallett (second leg) both dropped legs but still came away with singles wins to help South Australia complete an 8-3 match scoreline.
South Australia 8 Tasmania 3 (1-2, 2-0, 2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 1-3, 3-1, 3-0, 3-0, 3-1, 3-1)
Round 6
South Australia v ACT
South Australia took out the first trios set when Aaron Morrison, Danny Porter and Scott Hallett defeated the ACT’s Matthew Vickers, Mick Mullaney and Joe Stockl, although Stockl did have a dart at the leg but missed out on it and Hallett was able to clean up the 25 Porter had left him. The second leg saw South Australia completely dominate although a 135 from Mullaney did get the ACT a bit closer in the 300s. The next trios set was even more dominate as Karl Schaefer, Brayden Sperling and Mark Carter did not give their opponent (Darren Carson, Judd Hoyle, and Perry Butler) an opportunity for a double, the closest they came was ending on 165 in the first leg. In their doubles set Aaron Morrison and Karl Schaefer won their opening doubles leg in 14 darts and broke the throw of their ACT opponents to win the set 2-0. Butler and Ciaran Holmes then won their first doubles leg in 16 darts. They were unable to break the throw of opponents Hallett and Mark Carter in the next leg but then pounced on Hallett’s three misses at a check out of 32 for Butler to throw double 5 with his next dart and win the ACT’s first set of the match. Porter and Sperling put South Australia back on the winning side of the ledger with a 2-0 set. The singles started strongly for Schaefer as he won 3-0 for South Australia, the highlight being the second leg. It started innocuously enough with a 60 but it was then followed by visits of 180 and 140 and a check out of 121. Morrison added to the win column of South Australia by winning his singles set 3-0, including a 14-dart final leg. Hoyle put up a good fight for the ACT and led 1-0 and 2-1 (thanks to a 13 darter in the third leg) before Kevin Young returned the set to parity in 15 darts and then broke the Hoyle throw in 17 (the man from the ACT having missed out on double 16 for the set on what would be his final visit to the oche in the match.) Vickers then demonstrated his class by defeating Porter 3-1 to gain another set for the ACT. Carver returned South Australia to winning ways by securing a 3-1 leg win over Stockl before Mullaney won his set for the ACT, despite dropping the first leg to Dwayne Wilson.
South Australia 8 ACT 3 (2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 1-2, 2-0, 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 1-3, 3-1, 1-3)
In other matches from Round 6:
Western Australia v Northern Territory
Lindsay Haji Ali, Wayne Egan and Dylan Dunster took out their first trios set comfortably 2-0 whilst Howard Jones, Blake Hatchett and Gary Stevens were just as comfortable in their win of a similar calibre. Hatchett and Stevens then carried on that form in the doubles to win 2-0 although Mark Webster missed a chance to check out 40 in the opening leg (they were not close the next leg though as the WA pair threw a 15-dart leg.) That 2-0 scoreline was matched in the wins of WA teammates Egan/ Dunster and Jones/Haji Ali. Dylan Salmon did miss out on a double 16 for the second leg against Haji Ali and Jones. Despite some difficulty early on with his check outs Hatchett won his singles set 3-0 whilst Jones was taken to a deciding leg in overcoming Colly Craig. Egan and Haji Ali both won by three legs to one although Adrian McAdam had the chance to take Haji Ali into a deciding leg only to miss out on 16 as a checkout. Dylan Salmon gave the Northern Territory team reason to celebrate as he won his leg after being 1-0 and 2-1 down. He broke the throw of Gary Stevens in the last leg with a 128 visit only eight shy of checking out 136. He was far enough in front to get back to the oche where he cleaned up the remaining score with his last dart in hand. Dylan Dunster then turned Western Australia back to winning ways by taking the final set 3-1.
Western Australia 10 Northern Territory 1 (2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1)
Queensland v Victoria
Queensland’s Rob Modra, Laurie Loch and Ky Smith suffered a trio’s loss to the Victorian team of Brandon Weening, Brody Klinge and Jamie Liddy in the opening set of the two sides match. Raymond Smith, Anthony Shreeve and Tyson Hillcoat soon made amends though with a 2-0 win, the final leg being completed in 22 darts (from 801 not 501!) Raymond Smith, Modra, Barry Leddington and Sam Ballinger then played out an excellent doubles set with Smith and Modra holding throw in 16 darts, the Victorian holding throw and then the Queenslanders winning the third leg in another 16 darts. Anthony Shreeve and Laurie Loch gave their opponents small chances in each leg but ended up winning them in 17 and 18 darts respectively. Dean Gibbs and Michael Cassar then came from a leg down to win their set 2-1. Raymond Smith and Dean Gibbs then rolled back the years in their singles clash as Gibbs held throw in 18 darts, Smith did the same in 15, Gibbs then held a second time in 17 darts before Smith held once again in 15. Smith would break the Gibbs throw in the fifth leg, completing the leg in 16 darts to win the set of the tournament. Brody Klinge checked out 107 to win the first leg of his clash against Rob Modra but then failed to hold another leg to lose 3-1. Loch held throw against Weening in 16 darts only for the Victorian to hold in 14 darts. He then won the next two legs, including the fourth in 17 darts. Anthony Shreeve kept the pattern going by dropping the first leg to Michael Cassar before winning the next three legs straight for Queensland. Ky Smith won his set 3-1, dropping the third leg and then struggling a little to check out the set in the fourth leg. Tyson Hillcoat did not have as many issues in this regard as he defeated Barry Ledington 3-0, including a 14 dart second leg.
Queensland 8 South Australia 3 (1-2, 2-0, 2-1, 2-0, 1-2, 3-2, 3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0)
New South Wales v Tasmania
Troy Papworth, Royce Faulkner, and Tony Brown won the first set in a trios set 2-0 before Hayden Scott, Kasey Anderson, and Colby Dodge returned serve for Tasmania with a similar scoreline in the second trio’s set. Daniel Meyer and Luke Wilson then won their doubles set 2-1 (taking the last leg in 15 darts) with Faulkner and Brown as well as Papworth and David Clegg doing the same for NSW (Faulkner and Brown without dropping a leg.) Hayden Scott went to a 2-0 lead against Desean Allen before he was pegged back by a leg only to hold throw in the fourth leg to gain the set for Tasmania. Wilson and Anderson exchanged breaks of throw for four legs (Anderson first breaking 17 darts and Wilson backing that up with a 16 darter the following leg.) Wilson held his throw (and his nerve after busting 20 once) to win the set 3-2. Tony Brown dropped the second leg of his set with Colby Dodge but came out and held throw in 13 darts before breaking the Dodge throw after the Tasmanian failed to put 58 away on the previous visit to the oche. Royce Faulkner then did a professional job on John Rowbottom to win 3-1 but Chris Riley reaped some revenge by winning his set 3-0. Finally, Papworth overcame a loss in the first leg of his set against Ben Dawkins to win the next three and secure an eighth leg for New South Wales.
New South Wales 8 Tasmania 3 (2-0, 0-2, 2-1, 2-0, 2-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-1, 0-3, 3-1)
Round 7
Victoria v Northern Territory
Ashley Hughes, Derek Whittaker, and Dylan Salmon held their throw in their opening trios set against Victoria. Michael Cassar, Dean Gibbs, and Barry Ledington then also held throw to move the set into a tie breaker. They may have had the throw but the Northern Territory men could not keep it and Victoria collected the first set 2-1. Brandon Weening, Brody Kling, and Jamie Liddy then broke the throw of their opponents at the first time of asking and despite some heavy hitting by Brendan Taylor-McInnes and Adrian McAdam at the end of the leg, Victoria were home with another set when Klinge checked out 72. Ledington and Liam McDonnell then comfortably won their doubles set 2-1 over a total of 34 darts whilst Brandon Weening and Brody Klinge did it in five darts less with a 15 darter against the throw (including Weening checking out 71) and a 14 darter on throw (Weening beginning the leg with a maximum.) The final doubles set saw Cassar and Gibbs break the Ashley Hughes and Dylan Salmon throw in 16 darts before the Territorians responded by doing the same, in 17 darts. The deciding leg went the way of Cassar and Gibbs in 18 darts. Despite being in every leg Barry Ledington fell to Colley Craig 3-0, Craig throwing big scores throughout the set including two 140s in the third leg. Weening then had quite the battle with McAdam. Having missed the bull Weening had to stand back and watch as McAdam checked out fifty. He then got some revenge by breaking straight back before holding his throw after McAdam left 20 chasing a 60 check out. The Territorian was not done though and when Weening missed several chances at a check out for the set McAdam pounced with a 66 check out to force a decider. Weening comfortably held throw in 18 darts, his opponent well out of sight throughout the leg. Gibbs then wiped the floor with Brendan Taylor-McInnes 3-0 without giving his opponent even a possible check out. Brody Klinge almost gave up the first leg of his set with Ashley Hughes only to take it with his 20th dart before firing off 13 and 17 dart legs to take the set 3-0. Dylan Salmon and Liam McDonnell would exchange breaks of throw before exchanging holds of throw and forcing their set into a tiebreaking leg. Victorian McDonnell would have the throw in the leg and visits of 123 and 131 left him needing just 32 and when Salmon left eight when trying to check out 102 McDonell pounced, albeit with his last dart in hand taking the set for Victoria. Michael Cassar closed out the match with a 3-0 win over Derek Whittaker, including a 15-dart leg in the middle of the set (starting the leg with visits of 180 and 140.)
Victoria 10 Northern Territory 1 (2-1, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-1, 0-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 3-0)
In other Round 7 matches:
South Australia v Western Australia
South Australia’s Danny Porter, Scott Hallett and Aaron Morrison secured two clear legs in the trios set they opened with. Karl Shaefer, Brayden Sperling, and Kevin Young also won for South Australia but their set was not as clear as they dropped the second leg and the final leg saw them check out with Western Australia only 24 points from winning the set themselves. Porter and Sperling then combined to easily win their doubles set 2-0 before Morrison and Schaefer won their doubles set 2-1, having dropped the opening leg of the set. Hallett and Young completed the clean sweep of multiplayer events with a 2-1 doubles win, comprehensively winning the first and third legs of that set. Blake Hatchett would win the first set for Western Australia with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Kevin Young not even giving his opponent one dart at a check out. He would be joined in the WA winners circle by Gary Stevens who dropped one leg to Scott Hallett but in the other three make sure his opponent did not come near a finish. Aaron Morrison and Karl Schaefer both won their singles sets 3-1 whilst Danny Porter and Braydon Sperling finished the matchups with strong 3-0 wins that gave South Australia their final tally of nine sets whilst Western Australia ended up with two.
South Australia 9 Western Australia 2 (2-1, 2-0, 2-0,2 2-1, 2-1, 0-3, 3-1, 3-1, 1-3, 3-0, 3-0)
New South Wales v ACT
Darren Carson, Matthew Vickers, and Corrie Slusser came out strong against the NSW team and won the opening set two legs to nil. NSW had their chances in the second leg to tie things up but failed to pounce. Troy Papworth, Royce Faulkner, and Tony Brown then equalised the set tally straight away with a strong trio’s performance. Faulkner and Wilson then teamed up to put NSW ahead for the first time in the match with a 2-0 doubles in before Carson and Judd Hoyle combined to win 2-1 and tie the overall match score up again. Mick Mullaney and Perry Butler then put the ACT team ahead with a 2-0 win of their own. Tony Brown would soon equalise for NSW as he won his singles set 3-2 over Hoyle. Papworth backed it up with a 3-1 win and when Desean Allen came from 1-2 behind to defeat Matthew Vickers NSW was on a role. Faulkner also came from a leg down to win the last two and take his set from Corrie Slusser. Michael Harrison then survived a last set decider against Cairan Holmes before Darren Carson stopped a singles whitewash by defeating NSW’s Daniel Meyer 3-1.
New South Wales 7 ACT 4 (0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 1-2, 0-2, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 1-3)
Queensland v Tasmania
Raymond Smith, Laurie Loch, and Brendan Masters were dominate in the opening set, the first 801 trios set, and won 2-0. Rob Modra, Stewart Smith, and Anthony Shreeve were almost as dominant in their trios win. Raymond Smith and Modra then had 16 and 19 dart legs to win their doubles set. Chris Riley and Colby Dodge got the first leg a Tasmanian team had won against Queensland when the won the opening leg of their doubles set against Loch and Ky Smith but a 16-dart break of throw had the Queenslanders soon level and when they held throw at the next time of asking they had secured the set 2-1. Brendan Masters and Tyson Hillcoat also dropped a leg, the second one but managed to secure the set 2-1. Laurie Loch was dominant in his 3-0 win over Hayden Scott. Kasey Anderson started well when he checked out 116 against Anthony Shreeve but his opponent would break straight back and win the two legs after that to take the set 3-1. Brendan Masters would win the first leg of his set only for Chris Riley to come back and win the next two legs. Masters then switched back on and took the next two legs to win the set, despite a 120 from Riley to leave him needing double 18 for the set – an opportunity Masters denied him by checking out with double 16. Given a chance in the opening leg of his set, Ky Smith grabbed it and then took the next two legs fairly comfortably to secure his set 3-0. Tyson Hillcoat would join him as a Queensland singles winner in the match despite dropping the third leg of his game to Tasmania’s Brayden Abell. Stewart Smith demonstrated the dominance of Queensland when he broke the throw of Matt Woodberry with a 15-dart leg including the last four visits of 100, 100, 140 and 116. He then held throw before eventually taking the third leg and 11th set of the match for Queensland.
Queensland 11 Tasmania 0 (2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1, 3-0)
That left Tasmania in eighth place with the ACT seventh and the Northern Territory in sixth place. NSW were fifth with Western Australia fourth, South Australia third and Victoria second behind Queensland.
Ladies Division
Round 4
New South Wales v Victoria
Jo Hadley, Dedrie Williams, and Kayleigh Picket started events with victory in the trio’s event. It was a close tie and had they not checked out NSW were standing behind them requiring 40 for their own check out after Sarah Harrison threw 120 chasing a 160 check out that was set up by Emily Austin’s 100 visit at NSW’s last time at the oche. Prior to that Victoria had looked comfortable in the leg, but Pickett was able to clean up the check out for her side. The next set saw Janine Cassar, Sheryll Beasy and Karen Richardson also survived a little scare to take their trios leg for Victoria. Cassar secured the eight required for the leg but not before NSW’s Amanda Palka and Andrea Handley both had visits of 100 to leave NSW needing 108 for the set. Cassar then teamed up with Pickett but gave Melissa Harrison and Hendley too many opportunities in their first leg and dropped their throw. The Victorians then comfortably broke straight back before Cassar checked out 56 in the deciding leg after Hendley was unable to give NSW the set by checking out eight. Austin and Sarah Harrison then broke the throw of Jo Hadley and Karen Richardson twice (which they had to do for the leg after they dropped their own throw in the leg between.) Michelle Hall and Gemma Spence closed out the doubles with a straight legs win. Janine Cassar won her singles set 3-0 whilst Jo Hadley dropped the third leg of her set with Emily Austin (the NSW player throwing a 19-dart leg to hold her throw) but won the next to win the set 3-1. Pickett then held her throw against Melissa Harrison before Harrison won two legs in succession. Pickett then broke the throw of her opponent only to miss multiple opportunities to take the set in the deciding leg and let Harrison check out 32 for the set. Karen Richardson then slowed the revival of NSW by securing a 3-0 win with an 84 check out being her last visit to the oche. Hendley then secured a 3-0 win for NSW, including a final check out of 80. Sarah Harrison held throw against Beasly before her Victorian opponent held her throw and then broke the Harrison throw. The next leg saw both players throw away chance after chance until Harrison got double 3 to move the set to a final deciding leg. Harrison was able to hold throw, checking out 76 to secure another set for NSW but leave them one behind their Victorian opponents.
Victoria 6 New South Wales 5 (1-0, 1-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-2, 3-0, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0, 0-3, 2-3)
In other matches from Round 4:
Western Australia v Queensland
Western Australia secured a tight win in the opening trios set with Angela Clarke checking out 40 for her side as Jackie Martin stood behind her needing just 16 for their own set win. Martekea Wilson then checked out 56 to help WA to a 2-0 lead after the trios sets. The doubles started better for Queensland as Jaimie Loeber and Jackie Marks teamed up to win their set 2-1 (all three legs going against throw.) Natalie Clarke and Angela Clarke then won their set 2-0 but Amanda Loch and Melina Van den Kieboom both busted opportunities to take each of those two legs for Queensland. Teammates Maureen Homer and Seini Vakanofiti did have success at their check outs and won their set 2-0. The singles started with Van den Kieboom breaking the throw of Angela Clarke only to drop her own (despite a valiant attempt at checking out 144 that left her just eight short) before winning the last two legs to take the set 3-1 for Queensland. Amanda Loch then dropped the first leg before checking out 80 to hold her own throw, then check out 110 to take a break of throw (Martekea Wilson standing behind needing only 32 having thrown 109 on her previous visit), before a check out of 86 gave Loch and Queensland the set 3-1. Jackie Marks and Tamara Brown then held throw throughout their clash before Brown won the throw for the deciding leg. Marks then broke the sequence and took the break for a 3-2 win. Natalie Carter steadied the WA ship once more with a 3-1 win as teammate Evelyn Cockie dropped the first leg of her set against Homer only to throw 17 and 19 dart legs to move 2-1 in front. She held on to win the next leg and secure the set 3-1. Jacinta Dann then completed a three-set run for WA with a 3-0 scoreline, although Vakanofiti missed darts to check out each of those legs. This run of results meant Western Australia came from behind to defeat the Queensland Ladies 6-5.
Western Australia 6 Queensland 5 (1-0, 1-0, 1-2, 2-0, 0-2, 1-3, 1-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0)
South Australia v Tasmania
Courtney Slater, Lee-Anne Faulkner, and Michelle Ellis took out a very close first set to set Tasmania on a firm footing. South Australia hit back with a comfortable trios win to Abbey Morrison, Lyn Morrison, and Jules Taylor. Ellis and Slater then kept up their good form by winning their doubles set 2-1. Tammy Wilson and Emma Watkins then dropped their opening leg but won the next two to secure Tasmania their second doubles win. South Australia won the last contest thanks to Abbey Morrison and Gemma Leonard (all three legs could have gone either way.) Courtney Slater won her singles set for Tasmania as did Darlene Carver, who had to hold throw in a deciding leg to take her set. Lyn Morrison, Alecia Ritchie, Hayley Davis, and Jules Taylor all won their singles sets for South Australia, with Davis and Taylor having to come through deciding legs for their win. This difference in singles sets was the main reason South Australia edged out Tasmania in the overall match result.
South Australia 6 Tasmania 5 (0-1, 1-0, 1-2, 1-2, 2-1, 2-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Round 5
Tasmania v Western Australia
Western Australia suffered a final round defeat at the hands of Tasmania. Natalie Carter, Angela Clarke, and Evelyn Cockie had started well by taking out the first trios set comfortably. Tasmania responded through Darlene Carver, Sammy Smith, and Tammy Wilson by winning the next trios set, despite busting 6 at the first attempt. Carter and Clarke continued their strong run in the competition by winning their doubles set 2-0, including a 14 dart second leg where Carter opened with a maximum and two-ton visits followed from each, capped off by an 81 from Clarke and 40 checkout by Carter. Emma Watkins and Tammy Wilson survived the first leg of their doubles set but then dropped the second leg to Martekea Wilson and Evelyn Cockie in 18 darts with the latter being the real hero of the leg with a 128 checkout. She could not repeat the heroics in the next leg though, busting 76, and Tammy Wilson cleaned up the 25 left for her by her teammate Watkins. The final doubles set also went to three legs with Carver and Smith holding throw for Tasmania at first, Tamara Brown and Jucinta Dann then holding their own throw and the Tasmanians then coming back and taking the deciding leg (having spurned set darts in the previous leg.) Lee-Ann Faulkner took down Cockie in the first of the singles sets, 3-1. Meanwhile, fellow Tasmanian Watkins fell to Carter by the same scoreline. Courtney Slater won her set in straight legs for Tasmania so it was up to Clarke to get Western Australia off the canvas with a 3-1 win over Carver. Sandra Smith defeated WA’s Jucinta Dann 3-1 and despite Tammy Wilson’s 3-2 loss to WA’s Dot Mcleod Tasmania had won the match by six sets to five.
Western Australia 6 Tasmania 5 (0-1, 1-0, 0-2, 2-1, 2-1, 3-1, 1-3, 3-0, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3)
In other matches from Round 5:
Victoria v South Australia
Jo Hadley, Dedrie Williams, and Kayleigh Pickett won the opening trios set and Janine Cassar, Sheryll Beasey, and Karen Richardson powered home at the end of their set (visits of 100, 95, 95 and a checkout of 99) to steal their set from South Australia (when South Australia were at 56 Queensland was at 289.) Pickett and Richardson then won their doubles set 2-1, only dropping the first leg by busting an attempt to check out a total of seven. Lyn and Abbey Morrison then combined to take down Cassar and Hadley 2-1 to secure South Australia’s first success of the match. Alecia Ritchie and Hayley Davis continued the success for South Australia by winning their doubles set 2-0. Janine Cassar whitewashed Kym Mitchell without giving her opponent a dart at a checkout. The Hadley v Lyn Morrison set was much closer with Hadley winning the first, Morrison the next two and Hadley holding throw in the fourth. Morrison then busted a shot at 16 for the set and Hadley stepped up and converted 40 across her three darts to take the set. Pickett then went two legs up against Abbey Morrison before the South Australian took a third leg that both players threw away multiple opportunities to close out. Morrison then broke the Pickett throw before Pickett held throw to take the set 3-2. Richardson v Ritchie also went to a decider after the Victorian went 1-0 and then 2-1 down. Ritchie threw away multiple set darts and lost the fourth to Richardson and the Victorian capitalised by breaking Ritchie’s throw in the final leg to win 3-2. Davis won her singles set 3-1 for South Australia but that was balanced out by Sheryll Beasy’s terrific 3-0 win over Gemma Leonard.
Victoria 8 South Australia 3 (1-0, 1-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-2, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 1-3, 3-0)
Queensland v New South Wales
Queensland got off to a good start with wins in both their trios sets. Sarah Harrison and Emily Austin got things started for NSW by winning their doubles set 2-0. Michelle McGarry/Seini Vakanofiti and Jaimie Loeber/Jackie Marks won both their doubles sets 2-0 to help Queensland build a great lead before the singles. Amanda Loch won her singles set 3-0, Jackie Marks 3-1, Jaimie Loeber the same score as Loch and Michelle McGarry won 3-1. Sarah Harrison defeated Melina Van den Kieboom in comprehensive fashion, including a final check whilst Andrea Hendley also registered a win (against Maureen Homer.) The strong start had been hard to overcome and in the end the South Australians registered an 8-3 match win.
Queensland 8 New South Wales 3 (1-0, 1-0, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 3-0, 0-3, 3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 3-1)
This left NSW in sixth place overall with South Australia just ahead of them. In equal third were Victoria and Tasmania with Queensland just a point behind the overall winners Western Australia (adding to their success at the Peter McMenamin Cup.)
