Finally, the big dance

After four months’ of competition we finally reach the climax of the S.D.D.A. Summer Competition, with both divisions’ grand finals being played at the Royals Cricket Club in Seymour. In Division 1 we have the R.C.C. 26ers lining up in their second consecutive grand final, with the hope of going back to back, but to do so they must get over the top of the Lions, who after three straight sets exits, have finally won through to the big dance. The previous games between these two teams have always been close knit affairs and with the ledger sitting at one apiece this season, it was anybody’s game for the taking. The Lions took an early hit with one of their better players being a ‘no show’ but regardless they have the cattle to get the job done. With a toss of the coin, the Lions were up for the bull first in the Quads game. With the Lions’ Gary Power slotting a classy ton they were off to a good start. But the 26ers’ Andrew ‘‘Misso’’ Meiselbach took control of the match, pounding in a ton and a 140 before nailing a peg of 48 to get the reigning premiers on the board early. The first double game of the night paired the 26ers’ Andrew Meiselbach and Ben ‘‘Beard 2B Feared’’ MacPherson together; they went up against the Lions’ Raymond ‘‘Rayzor’’ Maloney and Rick Wylie in a juicy matchup. Both pairs were on the money as they burned through the 601, Rayzor snagging a 125 but then Misso went one better to hit the first 180 of the night, before calmly slotting a peg of 50 to move the 26ers 2-0 in a dream start. The second doubles match had Rob Welsh and captain Steve Ash lock horns with the Lions’ high scoring duo of Gary Power and Adam ‘‘Lynchy’’ Lynch. Both sides had no trouble finding the treble with Rob hammering in a ton, but Gary Power answered quickly with a ton and Lynchy followed suit with a 120 and a 140 to reach a peg first. But the Lions’ pair left the door ajar as they struggled to hit the finish before Rob slipped in a peg of 38 to complete the perfect start for the 26ers. Moving onto the best of three singles games now and with the Lions sitting at 3-0 they had to stop the bleeding, so they put forward Gary Power to try and get the game back on track; he went against the 26ers’ Rob Welsh. Gaz started with a bang, steered in three tons in a row, before working his way down to a peg of 4 in the first leg. The second leg started in a similar fashion with Gaz slipping in a ton and a 140 but struggled to finish, which Rob took advantage of by slamming in a peg of 58 to force a deciding leg. Both players chipped away at their remaining score until Gary nailed another 140 and then followed it up quickly with a peg of 47 to get the first ‘W’ on the board for the Lions. Adam Lynch was the next Lion to step up to the line and he had the unenviable task of trying to topple arguably one of the league’s best players, Andrew Meiselbach. The first leg of the match started with a flurry of high scores with Misso hammering in three straight tons, Lynchy hit back with a ton of his own but couldn’t sustain the level and Misso took the first point with a peg of 32. With his confidence high Misso was in the zone as he continued to destroy the treble 20, nailing a ton, 102 and a 140 before finishing with a peg of 48 to take the game and stretch their lead to 4-1. Ben MacPherson stepped up to the plate next for the 26ers; in his first ever singles match in a final, he was tasked with trying to defeat the Lions’ Rick Wylie who has a long list of finals’ experience and called on all of it, as he snuck in a ton and with pegs of 40 and 10, snatched the win to claw the overall score back within striking distance, 4-2. Steve Ash was the next 26ers soldier up in the final singles match before the reverse singles; his opponent, Ray Maloney — who has been in sensational form this final series. Steve, who has entrenched himself in the top four for tons thrown this year, continued to hit the high scores as he snagged another ton, but Ray returned serve with a ton and a 125 of his own and then hit a peg of eight to get on the front foot early. The 26ers’ captain started to find his groove in the second leg, hammering in a ton and a 121 followed by a double 10 finish, to set up another nail-biting finish. Ray opened his account early in the third leg, throwing a ton, but it wasn’t enough to get him across the line as Steve steered in a 125 and a peg of eight to put the 26ers one win away from back to back flags. The first match up of the reverse singles paired a couple of old team mates up against one another, with Rob Welsh throwing down the gauntlet against Rick Wylie in an all or nothing clash between family members. Rick was on the board early, snagging a ton, but as the banter hit top gear, so did Rob Welsh, as he pounded in a ton before a classy peg of 55 to go 1-0; just one more win away from glory. The next leg Rob started like he finished, hammering in a couple of tons to get off to a handy lead, but Rick fought back with a ton of his own to keep the pressure on his opponent. But despite the pressure Rob coolly slotted a peg of 32 to see the R.C.C. 26ers crowned the 2019 Div 1 Summer Competition Champions. Well done to Steve Ash and the 26ers on going back to back; commiserations to Lizz Henzell and the Lions; for the past three seasons you guys have set the standard and continue to improve. We hope next season you can go one better.

Moving onto the Division 2 Grand Final, now we found ourselves in a historical matchup, with the two Broadford teams facing off in the classic old town rivalry of Bottom Pub vs Top Pub, husband vs wife and family vs family, as they battled to be crowned the champions. With Bottom Pub Pirates yet to suffer defeat in 2019, they went in as the heavy favourite to take out the title, but with the Top Guns being the only team to get close to the Pirates throughout the season, nothing should be considered impossible. After winning through to the grand final in the first week, thanks to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, the Pirates hadn’t played a competitive game in almost three weeks, so understandably they were slightly rusty in the quads game as the Top Guns shot out to a handy lead thanks to a 123 from Greg Holcombe. But the Pirates dug deep and kept chipping away until Steve Kilroy got the ‘home’ team on the board with a peg of eight. Steve Kilroy teamed up with Andrew ‘‘Harry’’ Harrison in the first doubles match; they went toe to toe with the big Guns in Alan Sharp and Greg Holcombe. Both teams went blow for blow as they worked their way down, but a timely ton to Steve saw the Pirates reach a peg first, a finish of 32 which Harry easily slotted to give his team a two to nil lead. The Pirates’ captain Dan ‘‘Killer’’ Kilroy joined forces with Jamie Dow-Rowan to take on the Top Guns’ mother and son duo, captain Tammy Kilroy and young Gun Seth Kilroy. With the nerves evident in the Top Guns’ players, the Pirates built a handy lead to take the pressure off themselves as they worked down to a peg of 36, which Jamie reliably sailed home, to complete the perfect start. The first singles matchup saw Dan Kilroy go head to head with the Top Guns’ Alan ‘‘Shooter’’ Sharp. Neither player dominated the first leg as they slowly worked their way down, but Dan won the race to a finish after sneaking in a peg of four to gain some breathing room. The second leg started better for Kilroy as he snagged a ton before streaking away from his opponent before stretching his team’s lead to 4-0 with a peg of eight. With the pressure building on the Top Guns, youngster Seth Kilroy went up against the Pirates’ own gun, Steve Kilroy, in what was tipped as a high scoring clash. Both players threw inconsistently in the first leg, failing to register a ton despite numerous high scores, before Steve calmly slipped in a peg of five to take the first win. With renewed determination, Seth opened the second leg with a ton and a 140 to get a handy lead on his uncle. But as the pressure built, Seth struggled to find the double — which provided Steve with a sniff of an upset, which was all he needed as he pounded in a ton before quickly slotting a peg of 58 to move the Pirates to 5-0, just one more win away from raising the trophy. Jamie Dow-Rowan was the next cab off the rank for the Pirates; he was pitted against the Top Guns captain Tammy Kilroy, whose rise in form has coincided with her teams’ rise up the ladder. The fiery Kilroy cannoned out of the blocks, spearing in a ton and a 125, Jamie returned fire with a 121 of his own but it wasn’t enough with Tammy not wasting any time hitting the double, finishing with a peg of 18. The second leg was a much closer game as they went shot for shot, but it was Jamie who was forced to walk the plank as Tammy completed the highest finish of the evening, a peg of 68, to deliver her team their first victory of the night. The next match up saw the hero from last week, Greg Holcombe, go into bat against the Pirates’ Andrew Harrison. The first leg was neck and neck the whole way as the players traded blows, until Harry nailed a peg of eight to put the Pirates just one leg away from the ultimate success. With the Top Guns’ season slipping through his fingers, it was going to take something extraordinary to come back from here, but Greg dug deep in the second leg and willed himself to victory, sneaking in a peg of double one to force a tie break to keep his team’s season alive for at least one more leg. With the crowd gathered around the players they worked their way down to a finish and everyone in the room held their breath as Harry sailed home the last dart for the Summer Competition, checking out with a peg of 30 to deliver the Premiership to the Bottom Pub Pirates with a 6-1 victory. Congratulations to the Pirates on completing a perfect season and commiserations to the Top Guns, who sported the underdog badge this whole finals series, yet made it further than anyone expected. Well done.

The team nominations meeting for the 2019 Winter Competition will be held at 7pm on Monday July 1 at the Prince of Wales Hotel; anyone wishing to enter a team must attend this meeting, which will be followed by a doubles knockout comp at 8pm. See you all there.

Check out the latest S.D.D.A news, results and ladder at seymourdistrictdarts.wixsite.com/home