Young talent selected for Australian Schools Super Series
A 15 strong Victorian Team will head to Tweed Heads next month for the Australian Schools Super Series.
Koby Cromie, Tyson Cromie, Jarryd Davies, Ben Fletcher, Blake Keel, Josh Leszczynski, Grant McLaren, Harry Plias, Lachlan Seear, Liam Turner, Olivia Cartwright, Emilee Davies, Akasha Fortune, Sophie Kurzman and Olivia Slade, have all been selected to play, while Mitchell Keel has been listed as an emergency.
Hawthorn Bowling Club’s Matthew Ottobre will guide the team after he was announced as coach earlier this month. He will be supported by Bowls Victoria’s Participation Coordinator, Darci Tierney as Team Manager.
The Series is currently contested between Victoria, New South Wales Combined High Schools and Queensland.
The Australian Schools Super Series will be played at Tweed Heads Bowls Club from September 17-19, 2019.
Congratulations to all players selected to play in the Australian Schools Super Series.
Jarryd Davies / Essendon Bowls Club
It’s been a big 12-months for Jarryd Davies who was recently selected in Australia’s Emerging Jackaroo Squad. Jarryd has the opportunity to defend last year’s National crown in both the Singles and Pairs, alongside Tyson Cromie. Jarryd currently holds the Australian Under-18 Singles and Pairs, Australian Open Under-18 Singles and Junior Gold Nugget titles. He is also the 2018 Victorian Open Pairs Champion and Vic Medal winner. The Essendon young gun has been playing bowls for eight years and took up the sport through a friendly game of Bocce with his family. From there, his Nan took him to bowls clubs and he’s been playing ever since.
Liam Turner / Bundoora RSL Bowls Club
Runner up in the Victorian Under-18 Pairs in 2019, Liam went on to have a crack at the Under-18 Australian Open earlier this year. He won three games in his Section which took him into the Quarter Final, which he went on to win 21-7. Liam lost the Semi-Final to South Australia’s Nathan Black 17-21 which was a great effort. His debut was the Under-18 Test against Tasmania at Dandenong Club, which he played consistently and well. A skipper last season for Kingsbury in their top Division, Liam has already developed great knowledge of reading play and will be an excellent acquisition for the team. Liam will play his first Nationals as Second in Triples and Third in the Fours. He started playing bowls back in 2015 as a bit of fun at Kingsbury Bowls Club with his Grandad and Dad and has been playing competitively ever since
Tyson Cromie / Yarrawonga Bowls Club
The current Australian Under-18 Pairs Champion is a regular in the Victorian Representative side and has been one of the most consistent players in recent times. Last year’s Gold medal with Jarryd Davies was one of the best finishes to an event ever. Together these two boys have produced a record, dominating Under-18 Bowls. Tyson was the Under-18 Victorian Triples winner this year and will lead in the Pairs and play Second in the Fours.
Koby Cromie / Yarrawonga Bowls Club
Younger brother to Tyson, the 12-year-old is excited about putting on a Victoria School Bowls uniform. Koby has been bowling for four years and has had a successful year on the green with wins in club pairs, triples and fours events. He has also performed extremely well at the Victorian squad training days.
Harry Plias / Trentham Bowls Club
A fourth-generation bowler, Harry started playing at Kyneton seven years ago before moving to Trentham where he currently bowls. He won the WL Jones fours at Kyneton (an honour board tournament) with his Mum and two others. Harry has been a member of the Macedon Ranges Junior Development Squad and is also part of the Victorian Under-18 Development Squad
Grant McLaren / Colac Bowls Club
Grant stepped up to be the Skipper of the teams’ events in the Under-18 Test Series against South Australia. He adapted to this role very well, which he then replicated against Tasmania. A Premiership skipper at his club in the top division this year, Grant plays the position with confidence and provides excellent leadership for his players. A semi-finalist in the Victorian Under-18 Singles Championship this year, Grant will play his first National event this year as the Skipper of both the Triples and Fours. Grant became involved with bowls as a three-year-old going to practice with his Dad, before playing competitive bowls as a 9-year-old with local club Cressy and asked to fill in for the Division 5 Pennant team. He moved to Colac for the 2014-2015 season, where he remains. In 2016-17 and 2018-19 he won the Division 1 Premiership a team he also Skipped.
Lachlan Seear / Leopold Bowls Club
Lachlan’s love of bowls started after he participated in lawn bowls during his PE classes at school. His grandfather encouraged him to come along to the local bowls club and have a go. Since then, he’s played Pennant at the Leopold Bowls Club and participated in numerous Bowls Victoria Under-18 events, was included in the Geelong Giants Under-18 Representative Team.
Ben Fletcher / Stanhope Bowls Club
Social bowls bought Ben to the sport after he visited his local club, Stanhope, with his Dad three years ago. He enjoyed it so much that he went back, and some help from the club’s members his game began to get better, and suddenly he was hooked. He started playing a few tournaments and then Pennant for Stanhope Bowls Club. Ben was lucky enough to win a Goulbourn Valley event last year and the Division 5-7 pairs. He was also fortunate enough to play in this event last year as part of the Victorian Team and came away with a bronze medal.
Blake Keel / Berwick Bowls Club
15-year-old Blake is the twin brother of Mitchell Keel who is also a bowler. Blake was introduced to bowls through his grandfather and the Berwick Bowls Club. Blake started playing bowls at the age of 11 and moved onto Pennant the following year. He was then invited to play with the Eastern Eagles Under 18 squad. He plays SIS for his school and his team have won the tournament for the South East two years in a row. Blake has played in various Under-18 events including Strathmerton, Darebin and Churchill Waverley. Blake made it through to the finals group for the Victorian Championships Singles in 2018 and is excited to be selected to represent Victoria at Tweed Heads.
Josh Leszczynski / Keilor Bowls Club
Josh first started bowling at the age of four with carpet bowls in the lounge room at his grandparents’ house, where his up shots did a fair bit of damage to the furniture. He started playing Pennant at the age of seven and has played for Keilor for five seasons, with the last two years in Division 3 and a few games in Division 2. Josh has had success in club games winning club pairs, triples and fours championships with his Dad and Grandparents.
Sophie Kurzman / Sunbury Bowls Club
Sophie started bowling at the age of nine and has played all her Pennant bowls with City Oval Bowling Club. In the upcoming season, she will commence at the Sunbury Bowling Club in their top Division. Now a member of the Victorian Under-18 team, Sophie has shown improvement in the last 12-months to be a dominant player at under-18 level. A member of last year’s Under-18 National Championship team, Sophie played Second in the Fours and Lead in the Pairs. Sophie had a great Test Series against South Australia and backed this up with a terrific performance against Tasmania.
Olivia Cartwright / Kyabram Bowls Club
Olivia is a fantastic up and coming talent with remarkable game knowledge for a fifteen-year-old. A member of last year’s Under-18 National Championships team, Olivia played Second in the Triples and Third in the Fours. A third-place finish at the Junior Nugget this year was a terrific effort. Locally, Olivia took out the Division Champion of Champions title at open age – the youngest ever to do so at 14. Olivia became involved in bowls through her father, David. The 15-year-old has been a member of the Under 18 State Squad for two years. Olivia was a member of the 2018 Victorian Schools Super Series winning team and came third in the 2018 Australian Schools Super Series. This year Olivia was part of the SSV Junior Team winning the State Event. Hailing from Kyabram, Olivia claimed the Ladies Club Championship for the 2018-19 Season. In 2017-18 Olivia claimed the Central Goulburn Murray Under-25 event, while in 2019 she was part of the CGM side for the Ladies Regional Championships. She has also been awarded Joint Junior Sports Star for the town of Kyabram.
Emilee Davies / Essendon Bowls Club
Emilee has been bowling since she was eight. Family influence got her in the end, and she wanted to go head-to-head with her brothers. Emilee has played for Victoria, placed equal third in the Under-18 Australian Open Singles, and runner up in the Victorian Under-18 Mixed Pairs
Olivia Slade / Heathmont Bowls Club
Olivia started bowling at the age of 13, after attending a barefoot bowls evening with her Dad. This was held at Heathmont Bowls Club, the club where her great grandmother had bowled for many years and where Olivia is now a keen member. Only being relatively new to the sport, Olivia has been fortunate to win both sectional grand finals in Pennant in her first two years. After being invited to join the Victorian Under-18 Development Squad, Olivia has enjoyed participating in various tournaments and has made lifelong friendships that she will always cherish. Olivia is inspired by the many people whom she has met within the lawn bowls community.
Akasha Fortune / Sunbury Bowls Club
Akasha started playing for Romsey when she was nine; however she had been around the club for years watching her Dad bowl. She joined the Under-18 Development Squad in her second year and then moved to Sunbury in the 2018=19 season. This year she represented Kyneton Secondary College at the Bowls State Junior Finals. Akasha came runner up in the club pairs and Doug Kneebone Tournament two years running.
