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 Levi Descallar |
Round 1 Meeting in the first round the Knights and Rooks played a peaceful 2-2 draw. Altogether, four teams scored 2 points which allowed Wollongong to take the narrowest of leads with 2.5.
Round 2 The Rooks scored 2.5 against St. George and the Knights 1.5 against North Sydney. Norths and Manly were well back after first round byes but were soon to become a force in the competition.
 Mark Simpkin |
Round 3 The Rooks beat Mount Pritchard and Manly beat Norths, each winning 3-1. Liverpool scored 2.5 against Wollongong and the Knights managed 1.5 against St. George. Leading scores: Rooks and Wollongong 7.5, Knights 5, Manly 4.5 and Norths 3.5.
Round 4 The Rooks clung to their lead in spite of a bye but Norths picked up 2.5 points from Liverpool. The Knights held Mount Pritchard 2-2 to move into second place, and St. George drew with Manly. Leading scores were: Rooks and Wollongong 7.5, Knights 7, Manly 6.5, Norths 6.
Round 5 The Knights went down 3-1 to Wollongong while the Rooks got a precarious draw after Norths’ secret weapon, 12-year-old Angela Song, won in 20 moves on board 3 (Click to view the game A.Song - D.Evans). Leaders: Rooks and Wollongong 9.5, Knights 8, Manly 8, Norths 8.
 David Evans |
Round 6 The changes came quickly in this round. The Knights and Rooks both had a bye, so the Rooks said “Bye-Bye!” to the lead. Manly walloped Mount Pritchard 3.5-.5 and Norths beat Wollongong by the same margin. Manly and Norths now led with 11.5. Wollongong had 10 points, the Rooks were still on 9.5 and the Knights 8.
Round 7 After a narrow escape from a homicidal motorist on the M2 the Rooks thrashed co-leaders, Manly, 3.5-.5. A piece down, Robert Ambalong pulled off the fight-back of the year to force stalemate; his opponent had been looking very comfortable until then. (Click this to view the game) The other co-leaders, North Sydney, took 2.5 points from St. George to remain a point and a half in front. Leading scores: Norths 14.5, Wollongong and the Rooks 13, Manly 12 and the Knights (after two byes) 8.
Round 8 The Rooks annihilated Liverpool 4-0 while the Knights held Manly to a 2-2 draw. To stay in contention, Norths had to score well against bottom-placed Mt. Pritchard but it wasn’t to be; the Mounties won 3-1. Norths and Manly would have the last-round bye so only Wollongong could still catch the Rooks, and only by beating them 4-0. Scores: Rooks 17, North Sydney 15.5, Manly 14, Wollongong 13, Liverpool and Mt. Pritchard 10.5, Knights 10, St. George 9.5.
 Joe Ymalay |
Round 9 The Knights saved their best till last and demolished the hapless Liverpool 3-1 for their biggest win of the season. The main interest in the round, though, was whether Wollongong could defeat the Rooks 4-0. It didn’t happen. With both teams in grand final mood it was the Rooks who prevailed with two wins and two draws. They won the competition by a clear 4.5 points. They conceded only 3 draws from their last three matches.
Final Scores Rooty Hill Rooks 20, North Sydney 15.5, Wollongong and Manly 14, Rooty Hill Knights 13, Liverpool 11.5, Mount Pritchard 10.5, St. George 9.5. (The battle for the wooden spoon between St. George and Mt. Pritchard in Round 9 is not known at this time.)
Performance Award: Wollongong’s Wolfgang Brodesser scored 6 points (5 wins, 2 draws) just ahead of Rooty Hill’s Levi Descaller on 5.5.
- Report by David Evans
(Click on the link below to view the game) |
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