Tough trial for Hinuera champs

Stu Settle's Hinuera triples team have been together for a while but the defending champions have no guarantees that experience will count for much this weekend when the first Waikato open bowls titles of the season are decided.

It's been a wintry start to the season with wet weather disrupting progress in the centre open championships.

That has made it difficult for any bowlers to acquire some consistent early form, but Settle's combination of himself, lead Kevin Smith and Bruce Milne are also up against some quality opposition as the men's event enters the last 16 at Hamilton City greens today.

Looming large are the talented Putaruru team of Kevin Robinson, a member of this year's national title-winning fours team and a former national pairs champion, while Wayne Stewart's Frankton Railway combination and Pat Bennett's Frankton Junction triple also look like strong contenders.

Hinuera farmer Settle has won 13 centre titles and is just two titles away from a second bar to his gold star, while Smith has a gold star and Milne a gold star and bar.

"We play a lot of club stuff together and a lot of other stuff as well – we play well together," Settle said yesterday.

"But it's been a shocking start to the season.

"We haven't completed a competition (in Waikato) right through yet, although the weather is looking better for tomorrow."

He is expecting slower than usual greens today, because of the recent wet weather, and said that would open up the competition a bit.

"Weight becomes a problem and you're playing more weight through the heads than touch bowls where you are always trying to draw the shot."

The Hinuera triple, who form the core of a four that target the Taranaki Open every January as their big event of the year, played in the Tauranga triples this week as a warm-up for the Waikato event.

Robinson, with 15 Waikato centre titles to go with his nine Northland ones, forms an interesting mix of youth and experience with 17-year-old Ryan Khan, whom Robinson has taken under his wing, and 30-plus title winner Nev Risbridge.

"We lost one game in qualifying but did what we had to do to get here and tomorrow is another day," Robinson said yesterday.

While the men's event may spill into tomorrow, the women's open triples will be completed today as they are down to the final four – dominated by teams from the Hillcrest club.

There are three of them plus Val Mathews' Putaruru triple.

Among the Hillcrest sides, Dorreen Schumacher skips the defending champions but they won't have the services of national representative Genevieve Baildon this time as she was unavailable for the qualifying rounds.

She has been replaced by Angela Coolum with Kathleen Morrison again in the line-up.

The men's (down to the semifinals) and women's (qualifying) open pairs have now been postponed until late January.