2016 Under 18 Nationals
There’s no saying that applies better to bowls – every end is a new beginning.
And so it will be for some of Victoria’s most talented bowlers, for whom the Under 18 National Championships at Holdfast Bay in South Australia from September 30 to October 3 will be their last, and in some cases, their first.
Five of the 10-player team will graduate from the Under 18 ranks after the tournament.
Curtis Hanley, Tayla Morison, Amelia Bruggy, Brody Harker and Riley Hodgson will take part in the final Under 18 Nationals, and are hoping to finish their underage careers off with a team victory to cap off a changing of the guard at Victorian junior level.
Combined with a new breed of youngsters – Under 18 Victorian boys champion Jarryd Davies, Under 18 Victorian girls runner-up Kira Bourke and rising talent Lachie Morison – and experienced duo Natasha Russell and Mikayla Long – the Victorian team is hopeful of performing well at the Nationals.
Among their soon-to-be graduates, Hanley is coming off a sensational performance at the recent Australian Indoor Championships, where he beat Aron Sherriff and made the final to qualify for next year’s World Cup as Australia’s representative.
Predictably the Melbourne BC player from Katamatite in northern Victoria has been named to play boys’ singles at the Under 18 Nationals.
Long (Sunbury) will play the girls’ singles. She was part of the 2016 senior State champion women’s fours team.
In other news, entry forms for the Victorian Under 18 Championships are now available on the Bowls Victoria website here
Victorian teams:
Girls
Singles: Mikayla Long
Pairs: Kira Bourke, Tayla Morison (s)
Triples: Amelia Bruggy, Mikayla Long, Natasha Russell (s)
Fours: Kira Bourke, Amelia Bruggy, Natasha Russell, Tayla Morison (s)
Boys
Singles: Curtis Hanley
Pairs: Jarryd Davies, Curtis Hanley (s)
Triples: Riley Hodgson, Lachlan Morison, Brody Harker (s)
Fours: Jarryd Davies, Riley Hodgson, Lachlan Morison, Brody Harker (s)
