Forbury Park quartet Daniel French, Daniel Sinclair, Neil Birch and Nic Boereboom pulled off the great houdini, clawing back a nine point deficit to claim the Taieri 6000 Fours title in Dunedin over the long weekend.

With the sun block caked on, water bottles drained and the sun beaming down, play got underway on Saturday with 32 top quality sides taking to the Taieri greens in a bid to be crowned the 2018 champions.

With last year’s winning skip Marty Kreft out of the mix this time round, the field remained wide open and with teams from Christchurch to Invercargill in attendance, it was anyone’s for the taking.

Following seven rounds of qualifying and a quarter-final clash, the semi-finalists were soon found, with a blend of youth and experience providing some interesting match-ups in the later stages of the competition.

French, a top indoor bowler and multiple national indoor champion, returned to the outdoor circuit to skip fellow indoor star Sinclair, long-time Forbury member Birch and promising development player Boereboom in a performance that deservedly saw them edge the final win and take home the trophy and $2400 winners’ cheque.

The first of the semi-finals saw French and Co defeat a spirited effort from Balclutha’s Neville Thomson, while regular Dunedin high performers Joko Susilo and Duane White fought for a place in the open final – on this occasion Susilo coming out trumps in an entertaining semi-final fixture.

In the final, a dream start saw Susilo’s men march out to an early lead, with things beginning to look ominous for the Forbury young guns at 9-0 down and seemingly with no answers to the prowess of the vastly experienced Anderson’s Bay four.

However, the turning point of the match was marked with a pin-point runner from French, removing the opposition’s shot bowl and sitting for three, putting them on the board and triggering a streak of momentum going forward.

Clawing their way back into contention, the scoreboard was equally locked going into the final end of the tournament and with all to play for, the next shot would ultimately prove the difference.

Remaining cool under pressure, Sinclair drew the shot, dragging the jack to within inches of the ditch to sit for game, and with two failed attempts from Susilo to remove the bowl, the Forbury boys were ecstatic in victory, as Susilo, Paul King, Graeme Cocks and Grant Simpson had little choice, but to settle for second place.

In other results, Taieri’s Ali Waugh and team edged Fairfield’s Kris Newall in a closely fought Plate Final – Waugh’s side taking the victory by three points and rounding out the action on the Taieri for another year.

-END

Sam Morton

Results at a Glance
Taieri Invitational Men’s Fours 6000, Dunedin

Main Event

Champion: Daniel French, Daniel Sinclair, Neil Birch, Nic Boereboom (Forbury Park)

Runner-up: Joko Susilo, Paul King, Graeme Cocks, Grant Simpson (Andersons Bay)

Plate Event: (skips name only)

Champion: Ali Waugh (Taieri)

Runner-up: Kris Newall (Fairfield)