Expect Erik Chilton to provide an enthusiasm rush for Hawke's Bay in this weekend's Paterson Trophy indoor bowls fixture in Napier.
Pirimai's Chilton is on a roll and last weekend won the Hawke's Bay champion of champions singles title to qualify for the national final in Hamilton on September 13. Chilton is also no stranger to Paterson Trophy play which involves regional playoffs to determine the six regional champions to play in the Welch Trophy inter-district final in Pukekohe from September 5-7.
A Downers designer who has been in Hawke's Bay for eight years, Chilton has played in five Paterson Trophy fixtures with Hawke's Bay and nine with North Wellington. He was a member of two Paterson Trophy-winning teams with North Wellington but has yet to taste Welch Trophy glory.
Chilton, 55, will have a simple message if any of the less experienced players in the Bay team ask him for some advice before they take on zone two defending champions Tauranga, favourites Waikato, Poverty Bay and Bay of Plenty this weekend. "You can't win the Paterson Trophy on the first day but you can lose it. You've got to keep in touch with the leaders and that's where the top two inches come in," Chilton emphasised before the Bay team trained at the Napier Indoor Bowls Hall in Onekawa last night, the venue for this weekend's event. "Obviously we'll have the home hall advantage and that's a plus for us. I don't expect the mat positions to change before the start of play on Saturday. Poverty Bay were the hosts last year and they finished a close third." Each player in each team this weekend will play a singles, pairs and fours match against each of the other four teams which means they will finish with 12 games each. While last weekend's form suggests Chilton's singles play is sharp, he pointed out he is equally at home with pairs and fours.
"My draw game is going pretty well but I'm versatile which is why Bruce has got me at three in our four," Chilton said, referring to his fours skip and clubmate Bruce Dalton. Chilton, who took up bowls as a youngster and then had a spell while playing rugby in the winter before returning to the code when his rugby days ended, will play with Waipawa's Michael Brown in the pairs. He played premier rugby in Wellington as a right winger for Poneke and marked former All Black Bernie Fraser on several occasions. A member of a staunch indoor bowls family as a youngster and now married to an indoor bowler (Chilton's wife Chris plays), Chilton is unsure how much longer he will stick with indoor bowls. "You get to a point when you've had enough. But in saying that, I'm playing some of the best bowls I've played since I've been up here in the Bay."