Surprises pop up in last round

The last round of pool last week resulted in a few surprises, with teams vying for maximum points to position themselves in a more favourable spot on the ladder. Top 6 Teams Premiership of the FNPA, bottom 5 Teams Division 2.

One such match was the Herekino teams Razorbacks and Hunters banging heads with “a draw” (4-4) singles, not helping the Hunters much. That means they must travel tonight to Houhora to face the Marlins.

The Hunters didn’t do themselves justice as the pressure of the night got to some of them, with outside advice not warranted as well.

The Razorbacks were up for the challenge and brought their A game to claim the draw but, in some ways, it was an opportunity lost as they could have won.

Awanui Raiders 9-3 (7-1) win v Awaz Tigers was expected by me and positioned the Raiders third on the ladder. The Marlins 9-3 (7-1) singles win v Rack Em Up was a great result for them.

The sole singles winner for Rack Em Up was Quinton who beat Christine.

K&A Bolt was 7-5 winners as well v Awanui 8 Ball (6-2) singles.

The last match saw the Titans exact a wee bit of revenge in beating Awanui Solid 8 8-4 (5-3) singles.

With the round-robin now finished, the Awanui Titans claim the top spot and the 2022 Minor Premiership.

Now all bets are off, and all bodes well for the playoffs tonight.

Tonight’s draw (home teams first): Titans, bye; K A 8 Ball, bye; Awanui Raiders v Awanui Solid 8; Houhora Marlins v Herekino Hunters; K A Rack Em Up, bye; Herekino Razorbacks v Awanui 8 Ball; K&A Bolt v Awanui Tigers.

Final Points: Awanui Titans 147, K A 8 Ball 141, Awanui Raiders 129, Houhora Marlins 129, Herekino Hunters 128, Awanui Solid 8 126, K A Rack Em Up 113, Herekino Razorbacks 107, Awanui 8 Ball 103, K & A Bolt 100, Awanui Tigers 92.