The 10th and final round of the 2022 Super League took place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Whilst the top and bottom places in the league were already decided, their were a number of scenarios, as set out in the Round 9 report, for the three teams in the middle leaving it uncertain who would finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th.
Tuesday saw a fine but very chilly evening when Monarchs took on Minotaurs who, realistically needed a minimum of a draw to remain in 2nd place and a win to definitely take 2nd spot. When the match started at 6:30pm no one could imagine the titanic struggle that was about to unfold. Monarchs were represented by Sean Smith & Keith Nott and Roger Griffin & Mike Wigg whilst Minotaurs fielded John Barnes & Pete Kensett and Vickie & Bernard Adshead.
In the first round, Roger & Mike took on Barney & Pete. Monarchs started strongly and opened up a sizeable lead but Minotaurs got back in the game with a 5. Roger & Mike pulled ahead again but Barney & Pete stuck at it to level the scores at 12-12. Minotaurs, however, couldn’t quite sustain the recovery and went down 12-13 after an exciting match. That was nothing, however, to what was developing on the other piste. Vickie & Bernard opened the scoring with a 1 and so they continued, when, with the score at 9-9 they had actually won 9 ends out of the 15 ends played and the game had lasted 90 minutes up to that point! The game continued with Minotaurs finally breaking their run of 1’s by taking a 2 but this was followed immediately by Sean & Keith taking 2 for 11-11. Vickie & Bernard managed to continue the new sequence of taking 2 to close out the game at 13-11 after 2hrs 5mins play in what was possibly the longest game ever seen at Monkstone. The players from the other game had been sat in the cold for over 1 hour but, at 1-1, it was all to play for!
So on to the second round to see if the match could be completed by midnight! Sean & Keith started well against Barney & Pete who rallied briefly but were unable to hold Monarchs who ran out 13-7 winners. The other game was a lot closer and when Roger & Mike won the first end it was the first time in the evening that Vickie and Bernard had found themselves behind. The scores went back and forth until 6-6 was reached when Minotaurs took 3 for their highest points in an end all night. This gave them some impetus and they closed out the game 13-6 to earn a hard fought draw 2-2. A glance at the clock showed 9:45pm – 3hrs 15mins after the start!
Wednesday saw another cold evening with Meteors taking on Marauders in what, after Tuesday night’s results, would decide 3rd place in the final league table unless Marauders could win by at least 25 points to overtake Minotaurs and finish 2nd. There was understandable tension in the air as the teams took to the pistes.
On the infamous Piste 1, Meteors Steve Hawkey & Ash Seath were up against Keith Thomas & John Chichester. Meteors were pointing well and quickly opened up a commanding lead. Although Marauders tried to come back at them, it was too late and Ash & Steve won 13 – 5. Meanwhile on Piste 3, almost in a repeat of Tuesday night, there was another gargantuan struggle between Meteors Ian Campbell & Katrina and Marauders Phil Roberts & Gill Clark which lasted well over an hour and a half. Both teams were pointing well and aided by some good shooting. It went down to the wire and either team might have won but a final end of 2 points saw Marauders close it out at 13-12. So 1- 1 at the halfway and all change and all to play for.
Once again on Piste 1, Steve & Ash were pointing well and went into an early lead. Steve also made some stunning shots every time Marauders Phil & Gill came back at them and Meteors went on to win 13-4 thanks largely to a 5 point end. Over on Piste 3 Meteors Katrina & Ian were getting into their stride with Katrina pointing and Ian shooting. Marauders Keith & Chich fought hard to contain them but eventually went down 6-13. The final score was 3-1 to Meteors which put them into a 3rd position in the final table. Well done to both teams for making such a good climax to the Super League season.
Congratulations to Monarchs who retained the Super League title they won last year without losing a match. Well done also to the scratch team Meteors who finished in 3rd place ahead of the Marauders. and won more games than Minotaurs who finished above them. The other scratch team, Mystics, many of whom had not played competitively in a league before, took the wooden spoon but they made a great contribution to an excellent competition and didn’t always get the results they deserved. They will come back much stronger next year.
A big thank you to all who took part and here’s to Super League 2023!
2022 SUPER LEAGUE -FINAL TABLE
