Bowls: Late change for champs

Lloyd Fitness and Petar Sain - National Club Singles finalists 2016

Classic Fours
Bowls

CALL Hawke's Bay bowler Lloyd Fitness a master of the understatement and you'll be close to the jack if you'll excuse the pun.

"Ces Bell is still one of the better bowlers around," Fitness said when referring to their Bowls Taradale team's replacement for this weekend's Ross Morgan Property Brokers Bowls Heretaunga Classic in Hastings.

Bell's bowls CV first had entries posted in 1965 and boasts three national titles, multiple centre titles and multiple club titles. Bell's experience was a key ingredient as Taradale reached the semifinals of the national interclub sevens in Auckland last March.

He got the call for this weekend's tournament, which has a first prize of $1000 up for grabs, when Ken "Tracker" Robson was forced to withdraw from the defending champions line up with a hip injury. Fitness and Bell will be joined by Barry "Skinny" Wakely and Brian Godber.

"We weren't one of the favourites last year and won. We will give it our best shot again this weekend. This tournament always has a tough field but it is a chance to get some tough matchplay early in the season," Fitness, 68, explained.

A former Wanganui rugby frontrower, Fitness, played 17 first-class games from 1974-76 including a Ranfurly Shield challenge against Auckland at Eden Park. He is in his seventh season of bowls.

Fitness agreed the host club team of New Zealand Professional Bowls Association No 1 Murray Glassey, father-and-son combo Craig and Dean Drummond and Jim Bentley deserved the favourites' tag.

"Last year we said we would be happy if we finished among the top four or five and that's the goal again this weekend. You have to be versatile for this tournament because by the end of the weekend you will have played fours, triples, pairs and singles," Fitness said.

This summer one of his goals is to repeat his career highlight from last summer, reaching the final of the national club championship singles. In March he was beaten 25-12 by Carlton Cornwall's Petar Sain in his final.

"I exceeded expectations last summer. That's what beat me in the final ... I kept saying to myself I should not be here," Fitness recalled.

"But my main goal is to make the final seven for the Hawke's Bay senior team. I made the last 10 last season but missed out on the last seven," he added.

While the 16-team men's tournament is being played in Hastings an 18-team Cis Winstanley Memorial Classic women's tournament will be played at Bowls Napier. All 18 teams are from Hawke's Bay, probably a reflection of the cancellation of last year's event because of rough weather.

The tournament is named after the late Cis Winstanley who was a member of the Marewa club which merged with Napier, Wairere and Port Ahuriri to form Bowls Napier. Regarded as Hawke's Bay's greatest bowler, Winstanley, was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

Her 150-title bowls CV included two world championship gold medals and 17 national titles.

This weekend's tournament has a mix of experienced and one to five-year players preparing for the Wanganui representative hexagonal tournament the following weekend.