Winter League season brought to a close as the teams collect their prizes

It had been an arduous journey through the cold, wind and rain but it all finished on a happy note.

Team FOUR, marshalled brilliantly by Gerry Blevins, deserved to win the title. They had eight players who never missed a round.

In Malcolm Russell, Peter Hillen and Ashton Clydesdale they had three of the top players in the winter league.

The scores from these three men counted in every round. Every player on the team played his part in what was an overwhelming victory.

The battle for second place could not have been any closer. Philip Strong’s Team Three out-scored Dougie Stevenson’s Team Seven by one point in the final round (223-222) and that was enough to make all the difference.

Philip, along with Kenny Arlow, Michael Robinson and Sam Wilkinson were the star players. They played in every round and their scores counted every time.

Dougie’s Team Seven finished in third place but they let it slip.

Key players were absent for the last two rounds and that cost them dearly. Bobby Geddis, Aidy McEvoy, Verdun Bond and BJ McAnarney could not have done any better. They played and counted every week.

Despite the weather, it was a most enjoyable Winter League and plans are already under way to make next year’s even better.

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

LOW SECTION

FIRSTS: John McDowell, Tom Mulholland (x2), Bill McCandless, Gary McCormick, Cathal O’Neill.

SECONDS: Kerry McCluskey, Neil Clydesdale, Cathal O’Neill, Peter Hillen (x2), Jeffrey Brown.

MIDDLE SECTION

FIRSTS: Philip McCourt, Vaughan Lamont, Michael Robinson, Joe Glass, Seamus McGrath and Kenny Arlow.

SECONDS: Danny O’Boyle, Aidy McEvoy, Mel Hamill, Cameron Morton, Norman Doak and Colin McDonald.

HIGH SECTION

FIRSTS: Philip Strong, Ashton Clydesdale, Johnny McKinstry, Gerry Blevins, Albert Morrison and Colin McKinney.

SECONDS: Sam Wilkinson, Robin Jardine, Brian Knox (x2), Kieran McGreevey and Graham Shannon.

THE CHAMPIONS – TEAM FOUR

Gerry Blevins (captain), Peter Hillen, Malcolm Russell, Ashton Clydesdale, Colin McDonald, Norman Doak, Eamon Galloway, Merton McDowell, Eamon McAnarney, Alan McGowan, Kyle Buchanan, Brendan Magee, Cathal McNiff and Gary Hazley.

RUNNERS-UP – TEAM THREE

Philip Strong (captain), Kenny Arlow, Michael Robinson, Sam Wilkinson, Robert Haire, Bill McCandless, Neville Kerr, John Convery, Danny O’Boyle, Niall Parfitt, Colin Kennedy, Graham Shannon, Dermot Dawson and Andrew Hanlon.

THIRD PLACE – TEAM SEVEN

Dougie Stevenson (captain), Bobby Geddis, Verdun Bond, B.J.McAnarney, Aidy McEvoy, John Hanna, Tom Mulholland, Philip Mallon, Mel Hamill, Darren Barker, John Crothers, Joe Whiteside and Will Dickson.