On the mats — indoor bowls news

ROBIESON FOURS WINNERS: With the Robieson Shield are winners (from left) Sian Williams, Hina Preddey, Akuhata Keelan and Bryan Pulley. Pictures supplied

Bryan Pulley, Akuhata Keelan, Sian Williams and Hina Preddey won the biggest fours event on the Poverty Bay-East Coast Bowls calendar — the Robieson Fours — in a cliff-hanger of a final.

A deciding end was needed to find the champions, who beat Whakatane’s Simon Hatcher, Lance Hansen, Kay Ritchie and Jim Ritchie 10-9.

After three ends of the nine-end final, Hatcher’s team led 3-0, but then Pulley’s team picked up two points on each of ends 4 and 5 and one point on End 6 to go ahead 5-3.

Hatcher’s team then picked up four points on End 7 to be 7-5 ahead, only for Pulley and his three 15-year-olds to snatch four points on End 8 to lead 9-7 going into the last end.

On the last end, Hatcher held one shot. Pulley had a lot of options to shut Hatcher out, and decided to push into Hatcher’s back bowls.

Hatcher, needing two to draw the game, played his bowl, wicking off an outside bowl and then an inside bowl to finish right by the jack for the two shots.

With the scores level at 9-9, a deciding end was required and Hatcher’s team held the shot until Keelan played a weighted shot on to the shot bowl to push the kitty to the very corner of the mat.

Hatcher then had a good metre to draw the shot, which he did. Pulley got down and played a brilliant bowl to be holding shot about half a metre away from the kitty.

Hatcher then played an upshot, pushing Pulley’s shot bowl off the mat, to hold the shot again.

Pulley played his very last bowl, and it looked a little overweight, but a small wrinkle in the mat slowed the bowl down slightly so that it stopped half a metre away from the kitty for the win.

This was Preddey’s first centre title towards her silver star — a great win. Williams recorded her fourth centre title, Keelan his second and Pulley his 65th.

Matthew and Dylan youngest to win Clarke Schollum PairsBrothers Matthew and Dylan Foster made history by being the youngest team to win Poverty Bay-East Coast’s biggest pairs event, the Clarke Schollum Pairs.

Matthew, 15, and Dylan, 13, have been turning heads over the past few seasons, and their talent showed again in their 8-6 win against John Harvey and Kevin Lee in the final.

Harvey and Lee were 4-1 up after three ends, but then the Fosters picked up three points on End 4 and two points on End 5 to go 6-4 ahead.

One point to Harvey on End 6 , then one to Foster on End 7 took the score to 7-5. Harvey picked up another point on End 8 to be 7-6 down, but the Fosters turned it on in the last end, picking up another point for the win.

This earned Matthew Foster his silver star for five centre titles. He won the Robieson Fours in 2017, the Gents Pairs in 2018 and 2019, the Friday night singles this year and now the Clarke Schollum Pairs.

Dylan Foster has won two centre titles.

Nine teams from the Bay of Plenty Centre and one team from Waikato were among the 22 teams who took part in the event.