The Q Sevens Finals – Elimination Round is just over 24 hours away. The rain is pelting down right now with the forecast predicting it will be here for the entire weekend. All four teams are playing at Pine Rivers in which they are lucky enough to be undercover with the only weather likely to hinder performance will be the winds.
It means nothing really to our players. Rain, hail or shine, they will make the journey and will be in the prime of their life having waited patiently for two weeks for this specific moment. If anything, the weather will be advantageous to our crew as they have been dealing with it at home for weeks on end now.
No last minute changes to speak of (at this time), besides David Baker coming in to McKenzie Park RED to manage and John Benigno joining GREEN.
We have been given green and rink allocations, so we will cover those and we will take a quick look at their match ups…
DIVISION 7 – SECTION 1 LADIES VS Beenleigh – 9:00AM
3 Bowl Pairs – Green 2, Rink 10
4 Bowl Pairs – Green 2, Rink 11
2 Bowl Triples – Green 2, Rink 12
The McKenzie Park LADIES have their work cut out for them against Beenleigh. The Beenleigh Muddies dominating Section 3, their record of 8 wins and 2 losses. It will be hard fought, but if the LADIES continue their playstyle seen in the latter half of their season they will be a team to watch out for.
No changes to their winning formula, as long as they come out strong and keep Beenleigh to a minimum in the early stages, the LADIES will be able to overcome them. But it will be one hell of a fight and a great showdown. Definitely get up their to support the LADIES, the extra cheers could mean the difference in the game.
DIVISION 7 – SECTION 2 GREEN VS Aspley – 9:00AM
3 Bowl Pairs – Green 1, Rink 5
4 Bowl Pairs – Green 1, Rink 6
2 Bowl Triples – Green 1, Rink 7
Set to face second place out of Section 3 – Aspley, Green also have a big chore in front of them. Aspley coming out of the season with 8 wins and 2 losses, GREEN have to really knuckle down and attend to the job at hand.
This is the team to do it. The Triples are mighty with a great lead & second in Mike Curd & Gary “Pirate” Mackay who feed off each other. Neil Agar anchoring as Skip, their 8 wins 2 losses for the season make them a key component to GREEN. The 3 Bowl Pairs are veterans with exceptional skill, Lorraine Frankland & John Lampard having a glorious 9 win 1 loss record, and the 4 Bowls Pairs changes slightly with John Benigno coming in to compliment Adam Heiler which should be the finishing touch to round off the team.
If you up there for the 9:00AM games, spread yourself between the LADIES and GREEN because green would also love some cheering on!
DIVISION 6 – SECTION 3 BLACK VS Pine Rivers Yellow – 1:00PM
3 Bowl Pairs – Green 2, Rink 10
4 Bowl Pairs – Green 2, Rink 11
2 Bowl Triples – Green 2, Rink 12
Pine Rivers Yellow was second place in Section 2. Ending their season with 6 wins and 4 losses. McKenzie Park BLACK will be out in force looking to continue their undefeated streak into the Finals. The team is heavily stacked and they are definitely ready to rumble.
Being Finals all teams will have added enthusiasm and will be putting their strongest lineups forward. The stats tell a story, but this is Pine Rivers home ground, so I reckon they are going to come out strong. The experience and skill BLACK have should prevail but it won’t be a cake walk.
A very strong BLACK will prevail and by 1:00PM I believe you will see a very large McKenzie Park crowd cheering them on.
DIVISION 6 – SECTION 4 RED VS Macleay Island – 1:00PM
3 Bowl Pairs – Green 1, Rink 2
4 Bowl Pairs – Green 1, Rink 3
2 Bowl Triples – Green 1, Rink 4
Coincidently this is a rematch of last years Q Sevens Semi Final when McKenzie Park RED was named McKenzie Park T. This exact team toppled Macleay Island 66-35 winning all three rinks.
The game changer here will be Macleay Island wanting revenge but with such a heavily skilled RED lineup, they will have a gargantuan task ahead of them. RED proving all season why they are the team to watch out for, their eyes have been on the prize since day one. Macleay might prove to be a little bit troublesome in the first quarter of the game, but RED is notorious for starting slow. Once the war machine get’s a grip and the wheels start turning, RED become extremely focused and start piling on shots.
I think RED will take the win here but wont do it as comfortably as their seasonal games due to Macleay having an industrial fire burning inside them and something to prove.
It is going to be a huge weekend for McKenzie Park at Pine Rivers for the Elimination Final. From all accounts, we are going to have quite a force travelling the distance to not only play, but support our teams. It’s an exciting time for the Club with four teams making the Finals which is already a colossal achievement. Any success we get from this Saturday is just an added bonus! Good luck everyone and have a great day out!
MCKENZIE PARK! READY YOUR BREAKFAST AND EAT HEARTY… FOR TOMORROW WE DINE IN PINE RIVERS!