After what feels like a lifetime, the Seymour District Darts Association returned to the oche for a brand-new summer competition.
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With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a pause on nearly all local sports, it was a relief to see the SDDA come out the other side with 14 of its 17 teams returning to the competition.
After a long off-season and fair turnover of teams and players, SDDA members decided on a single division with each team playing one another once before splitting into groups for finals.
The first match-up for 2021 saw the R.C.C. Mighty Ducks host the Lions at the Royals Cricket Club.
After a 12-month hiatus there was plenty of rusty dart players on both sides, but the Lions proved too strong for the Ducks, winning 10-1.
The Mighty Ducks’ captain Davis Stokes broke in the new season with style, landing high scores of 100 and 120, while Anna Hammond notched a win in her singles to get the only win for the home side.
Lion Rob Welsh had the most tons for the visitors, pounding in three, along with a 140 and a high peg of 66. Rick Wylie proved he has lost none of his touch, spearing in a ton, a 135, 140 and high pegs of 58 and 84. Gary Power snagged two tons and a 135, Lions’ captain Lizz Henzell slipped in a 115 and new recruit John Crockett chipped in with 138.
The next game of the night saw the Pirates host to the Cobras at the Commercial Hotel in Broadford.
With the Cobras’ team shirts arriving the week after the pandemic claimed last year’s competition, the team had to wait patiently to show off its new threads.
But despite their new tops, the Cobras struggled to get out of second gear as the Pirates came out on top 7-4, thanks in large part to Pirates’ star Seth “Killa” Kilroy who finished the night with six pegs to his name, along with six tons, a 120, 123, 125, 140 and two 180s. Well done, Seth!
His uncle, Steve Kilroy, has kept his eye in with the online darts competition and finished with five tons and a 121, Pirates’ captain Dan Kilroy nailed two tons and a 118, Jamie Dow-Rowan navigated a 132 and Andrew “Harry” Harrison speared in a Shanghai, 120.
Robert Parkinson was the shining light for the Cobras, hitting the highest finish of the night, a peg of 70. He also threw high scores of 115, 121 and 140, while Nick Monaghan landed two tons and a 140. Liam Monaghan chimed in with a 140 in a tough night for the youngster, while Brett Fowkes rounded out the highlights with a 125.
The newly-relocated R.C.C. Kings locked horns with Badass in the third match of the night. In what turned out to be arguably the game of the round, the result went down to the wire. Badass got the jump early, skipping out to a 4-1 lead before the Kings could fight back. But it was too little, too late as Badass took home the four points with a 6-5 victory.
Kings’ captain Terran Crispin banked five pegs for the night as well as throwing six tons, a 127 and a 140, while Adam Lynch steered in two tons, a 106 and a 160.
Anthony Bohlmann was in good touch, snagging a ton, a 110 and a 134 with Ben MacPherson chiming in with a 105 and a 117.
Badass’ Raymond Maloney threatened all night to blow the game wide open, hammering in two tons, a 121 and four 140s, while his captain Peter Myles was back to his best with five tons, a 126 and a 140. New recruit Wayne Cartner made a more than handy debut, throwing five pegs to go with a ton, 133 and 135.
The Royal Rascals were the next cab off the rank, taking on the Golf Club Aces at the Royal Hotel.
The home side got off the mark early with a double one peg to Allan Solomon sealing the team game, but it was all one-way traffic after that, with the Aces relentlessly racking up the four points with a 10-1 victory.
Rascals’ Stuart Crockett battled hard, smashing in three straight tons, Mandy Solomon started the season well with a 127 and a 124 and Noel Whitling slotted a single ton in his Rascals debut.
The Aces welcomed Mark Jones back to the deck, as he smashed in three tons, a 105 and a 140 in his return, while Dan Raynor wasn’t far off the mark either, nailing four tons and a 105. Captain Steve Raynor hit a 103 and a 125, Dave Ring snared a 140 and Frank Roberts chipped in with a 120.
Next up, the POW Renegades traded blows with the Pyalong Tigers at the newly-renovated Prince of Wales Hotel.
Both sides struggled with form early, but it was the Tigers who found a groove earlier than the home side, powering to an 8-3 win.
Roger McCallum had a solid night of scoring for the Renegades, closing his account with two tons, a 119 and a 132. Rosco Penny snagged victory in both singles matches as well as throwing a 120, while Leigh Turnbull was very quiet by his standards, sneaking in just the single ton.
Tigers’ captain Jack Stephens landed five pegs for the night as well as throwing a ton, a 119 and a 121. Dan Sporle slammed in three straight tons, Justin Brady guided in a 120 and a 121 and Craig Stephens nailed a 140 and hit the highest peg of the night, a 67 finish.
The sixth game of the round took place at Pyalong Recreation Reserve, with the Buccaneers going head-to-head with the POW Rebels.
The Buccaneers proved too strong on the night, winning 10-1, but with nearly half the singles matches going to a third and deciding leg, the final result failed to show how closely fought the match was.
The Buccaneers welcomed back Jayde Pearson, who wasted no time putting her name up there after snagging three tons, a 118 and a 140. Graham Ward was next in line with a ton and a 125 and Mick Doyle sailed home a 121 to round out the highlights for the home side.
Marg Francis hit the highest score for the Rebels, as she slipped in a 116 and notched up her team's solitary win. Helen Roscoe pumped in a 108 and Jose Mason chipped in with a ton.
The final game of the round saw the R.C.C. Snipers take aim at the Top Guns at the Royals Cricket Club.
Both teams started slowly, but as they warmed to the match the Snipers rose to the top with relentless pressure from high scoring to take home the chocolates with an 8-3 win.
This was despite the best efforts of Top Guns’ young gun Zane Kilroy, who cannoned in three tons, a high peg of 60 and two 180s. Congrats Zane-O! Alan ‘Shooter’ Sharp gave Kilroy plenty of support with a ton, a 101 and a 118.
Meanwhile, Snipers’ captain Mark ‘Robbo’ Robinson continues to power through his opponents, pounding in five pegs, nine tons and two 140s, while Darren Withoos finished the night with five pegs, a ton, 120 and 125 to his name. Dave Cooper was rock solid for the home side, firing in two tons, a 139 and two 140s, with Steve Ritchie putting the full stop on the highlights for round one, slipping in two tons of his own.
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