BOWLS: Local players reach for the stars

Hamish Bidwell
Even a day on, Tony Terry still felt like a kid in a candy store.
As if it wasn't enough that he'd been able to attract a stellar field to the inaugural Heretaunga $12,000, he and fellow organisers Mike Isaacson and Denis Biggs were looking in real danger of knocking out the top seeds.
Never mind that they were sharing the mat with Rowan Brassey, Jamie Hill and Justin Goodwin, Terry's mob were a set up in the semifinal and on their way to a massive upset.
"It was the first time any of us had played Brassey and it was a wonderful experience," enthused Terry this morning.
"He's obviously a great player, but such a gentleman too and very gracious. We won the first set and then he won the second, before we won the first set of the tiebreaker and he won the second again. It all came down to one bowl in the final tiebreaker and, unfortunately for us, he did it.
"It was the first time we'd played players like these and it was just amazing. I mean, you might play a Brassey in a singles match, but to play Brassey, Hill and Goodwin in one go is out of this world. And when you've got the likes of Gary Lawson and Adam and Lou Newman in another team ... well, what can you say.
"Getting regular exposure against these types of guys can't help but improve us and the rest of the Hawke's Bay players."
That's if they can get a start in the future. Because given the comments made by the visiting players, it looks like there will be plenty of competition for spots in the next year's 24-team field.
"Brassey won the final two sets to nil over Bruce Winterburn and his team and said this had been one of the best tournaments he'd ever been to," said Terry.
"He said we didn't know how lucky we were to have this facility and that it was the best there is in New Zealand. People are queuing up to play in the tournament now and, for us, that's just so satisfying."
As was the support from the Hawke's Bay public. Terry said they had hundreds of fans through during the three days, which is virtually unheard of in these parts.
"We're really, really rapt. It really was a very successful tournament and we're already thinking of ways to improve it and things that we can do better next year."