An extra special fourth fours win

Winning the Taranaki Open fours men's bowls title for a fourth time was extra special for Dan Delany.

For sharing in the spoils after the week-long tournament was his 68-year-old father John.

Joining the Delanys were Mike Nasey and Joe Whitelaw, with the team from Onehunga winning the final at the Vogeltown greens in New Plymouth.

"That was pretty special," Delany Jr said after their 22-12 win over Les Dempster-Rivett and his team from Hamilton City in the 25-end final of the TSB Bank-sponsored event.

"Dad had a stroke in February, has had both knees done and a dislocated shoulder. And Mike [No2 Mike Nasey] had a triple bypass in August. We came down here just to compete in the tournament ... we had no aspirations of winning," Delany said.

"To be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle all week. We didn't know whether dad or Mike would play every game. It's been a funny tournament for us.

"Just when the old guys were struggling they'd come good."

Then in chips Whitelaw, who played three for the side.

"To be honest, they [Nasey and Delany] came to the party and beat up their opponents all the time – even playing with their sticks," he said.

"This tournament, outside of the nationals, is the most prestigious tournament in the country. It's one that any good skip wants to win ... and it's not easy to win, either."

Delany's other wins were in 1999 (with Nasey and Whitelaw), in 2007, with Nasey, and last year as a member of Gary Lawson's champion side from Onehunga.

In yesterday's final, the Onehunga four always had the edge over their rivals – Dempster-Rivett, Tony Hart (three), Barry Wilcox (two) and Mike Gray (lead).

They led 14-7 after 13 ends and 18-8 after 17 ends. Delany won the 21st end to lead 22-8, and although Dempster-Rivett and his team won the next four ends, they hardly made a dent in the score, losing 22-12.

In semifinal play, Delany beat Mort Jones from Hillcrest in the Waikato 25-16, while Dempster-Rivett was equally impressive against Hinuera's Stu Settle, winning 27-17.

Delany got off to a slow start against Jones, scoring only on two ends over the opening eight, but trailed by only two at 7-5. A short burst gave Delany and his team a 17-8 lead. After 17 ends, it was 20-10 to Delany and the Waikato four couldn't peg back the margin.

Two fours in the first six ends gave Dempster-Rivett the edge and a 12-2 lead over Settle. A four on the 23rd end to Settle gave the side a glimmer of hope, but that faded on the next end, when Dempster-Rivett picked up a single.

On Saturday, Delany had a close call before beating Wanganui East's Ian Porteous 20-18 in the morning round and then beat Heretaunga's Paul Selby 24-12.

Dempster-Rivett ended Warren Hausman's Bulls team's run with a 29-11 victory, and then beat Wanganui's Ray Park 27-16.

- © Fairfax NZ News