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Grand Final Preview – 3/4/09

Written by Leon Retallick
After 18 Rounds and two fiercely contested weeks of finals action, the Bendigo Tennis Associations Sportspower backed Saturday Pennants will reach their conclusion this weekend with the Grand Finals in Premier League, Section 2 and Section 3.  In the main match of the afternoon, red hot premiership favorites Bendigo Lawn will be looking to keep up their good form to take out their maiden Premier League title.

Premier League

Bendigo Lawn vs Spring Gully Mozzies 
@ CCC 1, 6 & 7

Whilst their first semi final was all one way traffic, the Grand Final between Bendigo Lawn and Spring Gully Mozzies will be one of the most anticipated matches in recent memory for the BTA.  Both teams have had stella years, finishing in the no one and two spots on the premier league ladder.  The Lawn will take the advantage of a big win in the first semi over Mozzies , which saw them progress to the decider, however, the Mozzies should also be confident after their nail biting win over Strath Storm last weekend.  

This Season:
Rd 4: Bendigo Lawn 8 sets 85 Games def Spring Gully Mozzies 4 sets 50
Rd 9: Mozzies 7 sets 73 Games def Lawn 5 Sets 65 Games
Rd 14: Match abandoned due to heat
Semi Final 1: Bendigo Lawn 8 sets 66 def Spring Gully Mozzies 1 set 30

Bendigo Lawn:
Curt Garwood - The no 1 ranked player in the competition and one of the key contributing reasons that the Lawn are widely tipped to take out the final.  Curt's rock solid ground strokes and never say die attitude draw comparisons with Australia's great Davis Cup champion Lleyton Hewitt.  He is almost a certainty to win his 3 sets for the day and will look to crush his unfortunate opponent in the singles.

Ward Garwood - Ward has a completely different game to his younger brother and relies on his powerful serve and ground strokes to get the job done.  His win over Mozzies captain Jamie Brown in the Semi Final was his best for the season and demonstrates he will be a major weapon for his team in this years final.

Stefan Butson - The unassuming Butson is the rock of the Lawn team and has owned the no 3 position in the competition all year.  He is a tough competitor who is happy both rallying from the base line or up the net polishing off the vollies.  He combines well in the doubles with all partners and is an integral part of the Lawn camp.

Michael Nihill - How desperate "Tiger" will be to play in another grand final for his team.  A legend of Bendigo tennis, Nihill leaves no stone unturned to get the job done.  He has again had a wonderful season, only going down once in his singles matches and combining well with his partners in the doubles

Nick Bath - The grand final hero of last year, Bath will again be hoping for selection in the four man team to replicate his heroics of last year when he took all 3 sets from Mozzie Pete Valentine to give his side the win.  The crafty left hander is a real doubles specialist and will combine well with all his partners should he get his chance

Mandy Connors-Butson - Mandy has reserected herself in the second half of the season to lay claim to the thrown as the no 1 female player in Central Victoria.  After a slow start, Connors-Butson recoreded stunning wins over all opponents in the second half of the year, and carries the confidence of an 8-4 victory over mozzie Jess Hartland in the first Semi Final.  Having not tasted premiership success for sometime in the Saturday afternoon pennant, she will be keen to play well and guide the lawn to victory.

Tamara Wright - Wright has been a real bonus for the Lawn this year.  She combines extremely well with Connors-Butson in the doubles, but her real class generally shows in the singles.  Wright brut power is often too much for her opponents, as was also seen in the Semi against here likely opponent Bronwyn Osborne.

Courtney Jarman - Jarman has had a good learning year with the strongest team in the competition.  Having two strong women to help her through the year will no doubt make her a better player next year.  She is unlikely to feature in the Grand Final, but having impressed with good performances in the doubles throughout the year should get more opportunities next season.

Spring Gully Mozzies:

Jamie Brown - Brown is a surpurb leader and captain to his team, guiding the Mozzies to their fourth successive Grand Final apperance.  He will need to be smart with is match-ups this week though, as their plan in Semi Final 1 simply didn't work.  Perhaps expect a reversal of the order with Brown and Toner playing at 3 & 4 to shake things up this week and give their team some chance.

Travis Toner - Toner has been a very solid contributor for his team this year, especially in doubles were he combines well with Brown in the opening mens match.  Their come from behind 9-7 win in last weeks opening doubles would be their season highlight and set their team on a path to the Grand Final.  Although outclassed by Curt Garwood the last time these teams play, expect Toner to step up for the final and show his best form.

Steven Rogers - Steven is a classy looking left hander who's big serve and crushing forehand are the keys to his arsenal.  The right/left hander combination with Valentine works well in the opening doubles, as he does in the mixed with Bronwyn Osborne.   He may be asked to step up to no 1 this week to be the "sacrificial lamb" against Curt Garwood at the no 1 spot, but that shouldn't deter Rogers as he looks to stake his claim as a premier league victor.

Peter Valentine - Entering his fourth successive premiership assault, Valentine has been a stalwart of the Mozzies for a number of years now.  He is an underrated player and will hope to again slip under the raider against the Lawn.  His doubles play is generally the strength of his game were his solid serve and blanket vollies make his a tough competitor.

Jessica Hartland - The heart and soul of the team, Jessica Hartland will again be looking to step up and dominate another Grand Final.  Due to recent results however, Hartland has luxury of going into this match as the underdog following a string of losses to the Lawn's no 1Mandy Connors-Butson.  The title may sit well with Jess who plays at her best when her back is against the wall.

Bronwyn Osborne - Bronwyn has had a stella season, with a string of excellent singles and doubles victories. In fact in 38 outings she was only defeated 3 times.  Her intimate knowledge of sisters Jessica and Danielle's games make them almost unbeatable in doubles and she leaves nothing on the court in singles.  She will need to step it up again this week though, as she was given a hiding by Tamara Wright in the Semi Finals in the singles.

Danielle Bowles - It is unlikely that Bowles will take her place in the Mozzies line up this week, having only played 3 matches this year.  If she does though, it will be in a desperate bid to curb the form of young teen Tamara Wright in the singles.  Danielle is a teriffic player who's solid all round game make her extremely tough to beat.
Strath Park Storm:  Terry Smith, Michael Smyth, Andrew Lethlean, Michael Hogan, Danny Watson, James McArthur, Michelle Rodwell and Tova Smith

Why Lawn will win! 
Bendigo Lawn have been the most consistent team for the year, finishing with the most wins following the home and away matches.  With captain Curt Garwood and Mandy Connors-Butson at the forefront of the team, they will always be a challenge for any side.  Their form in the Semi final was superb and it is unlikely that the Mozzies have improved that much since these teams last met.

Why Mozzies will win!
The Mozzies have been the team to beat over the past three years, winning two of the past three finals and narrowly going down to Strath Storm in last years nail bitter by 1 solitary game.  The Mozzies will remember that it was the Garwood brothers of Ward and Curt which denied them of victory in that match and will be keen to extract revenge.  Their will be plenty of mind games early with the Mozzies and what order they play their team.  If they can get their match ups right, they might be a show with their solid mixed combinations.

Leon's Verdict:
For this match to be close, the Mozzies must get their match-ups right at the start of the day.  If they both play straight down the order, the Lawn will have the match done and dusted at the mixed.  However, if the Mozzies can outwit their opponents in who plays where, then they could be a chance to secure a huge upset.

Bendigo Lawn though to win 7 sets to 5.

Section 2

Spring Gully New China vs Spring Gully Sensation 
@ CCC 8 & 9

Spring Gully New China: Steve Merriman, Rob Condcliff, Ron Frost, Bruce Carpenter, Hally Wild, Deb Simmonds, Katrina Williamson, Raquel Blabey and Carolyn Baker

Spring Gully Sensation: Paul Henshall, Jim Long, John McMillian, Mark Perdon, Jane St. Clair, Jennifer Jacobs, Grace Tait and Georgie Henshall


This Season
Rd 3: Spring Gully New China 4 sets 61 games lost to Spring Gully Sensation 6 sets 73 games
Rd 8: Spring Gully New China 4 sets 60 games lost to Spring Gully Sensation 6 sets 65 games
Rd 13: Match abandoned
Semi Final 1: Spring Gully Sensation 3 sets 57 games lost to Spring Gully New China 7 sets 62 games

In Brief:
The Spring Gully teams of Sensation and New China will deservedly meet in this weeks section 2 grand final.  They clearly been the two best sides all year and should have a close match again this week.  Their has been little separating the sides all year, with Sensation leading 2-1 in the head to head.

New China will also have the confidence of their semi final win two weeks ago, where they upstaged their more fancied rivals to progress through to the final 7 sets to 3.  Sensation then had to regroup to face a strong Epsom team last week, whom they narrowly defeated by 5 games.

Leons Verdict:
This will again be a very entertaining battle between two evenly matched sides.  Expect Sensation to have the better of the womens matches with the experience of Jane St. Clair, Grace Tait and Jenny Jacobs.  The New China men of Steve Merriman, Ron Frost, Bruce Carpenter and Rob Condcliff will again be hoping to have the better of their sets with Paul Henshall, Mark Perdon, Jim Long and John McMillian.

Expect the match to go down to the mixed this week with Sensations strong record likely to see them take victory

Sensation to win 6 sets to 4.

Section 3

BLTC Red v BLTC Federer
@ CCC 16 & 17

BLTC Red: Jiokey Ogbuokiri, Patty McMahon, Travis Johnston, Renae Blencowe, Alana Conway, Fiona Webster and Rochelle Blencowe.

BLTC Federer: Zoltan Smyth, Zach Storer, Jack Hando, Mitchell Tanner, Ashlea Jenkin, Tara Beattie, Morgan Beattie and Tori Adamson

Leon's Verdict:
BLTC Red have been the best team all year and will go into this match as deserved favourites.  Their strong mens combination of Ogbuokiri, McMahon and Johnston should be enough to get them the victory on the day.

BLTC Red to win 7 sets to 3