Elite players in town for Bowls Premier League

Published 10:01am 23 May 2022

Image above: Coach Michael Breen, Chris Rosanes, Club Pine Rivers President Adrian Holiday, Club Pine Rivers CEO Steve Ratcliffe, Jo Edwards and Alex Marshall.

Pine Rivers champion bowler Chris Rosanes and Commonwealth Games gold medallists Alex Marshall and Jo Edwards are ready to tackle other elite lawn bowlers when the Bowls Premier League tournament kicks off at Club Pine Rivers today.

The Brisbane Pirates are hoping the home crowd will lift them to their first BPL victory in four years.

Dubbed bowls’ answer to 20-20 cricket, BPL pits 10 teams against each other vying for the $100,000 prize pool over the course of a week.

BPL is a made for television event, broadcast live on pay TV channels and sponsored by Moreton Bay Regional Council.

Fast and furious

Club Pine Rivers marketing co-ordinator Rebecca Barker says the excitement and theatrics of the competition attract passionate fans as well as a new audience.

“It’s fast, it’s loud, it attracts the world’s best bowlers and it appeals to non-bowlers who once upon a time may have seen bowls in a different light,” she says.

“The players have embraced the BPL format as they battle it out for the top prize of $25,000 and do a terrific job entertaining the crowds here at the club and also those watching from home by tuning into the live broadcast on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and Sky Sport NZ.

“This event is massive for not just the bowls community and the sport but also for our local community with over 2500 people visiting our club from across Queensland and interstate to watch the event.”

Pirates on a mission

Pirates coach Michael Breen – a Club Pine Rivers local – was at the helm when the team won its last BPL in 2018 will be working to improve on the team’s fourth place finish at the last BPL.

Marshall, who was also part of the winning team in 2018, is Scotland’s most decorated gold medal athlete at Commonwealth Games level, with five gold medals and one silver, as well as 21 world titles across indoor and outdoor bowls.

Edwards has three Commonwealth Games gold medals to her name, along with two gold, two silver and a bronze World Championship medal, six World Cup singles titles and two World Champion of Champion Singles gongs.

Rosanes is also a Club Pine Rivers local, with a Queensland State 4 title from this year and a bronze medal from the 2022 Australian Championships.

He won last year’s State Singles and is a seven-time Club Pine Rivers champion.

Catch the action

Joining the Brisbane Pirates for the tournament are the Adelaide Pioneers, Gold Coast Hawks, Melbourne eXtreme, Melbourne Pulse, Moama Steamers, Perth Suns, Sydney Lions, Tasmania Tridents and the Tweed Heads Ospreys.

The tournament runs until Friday, with day sessions from 9am streamed live via the Bowls Australia Facebook page and night sessions live from 4pm on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports and free entry for spectators.

Each of the 10 BPL teams will play each other twice over 18 rounds during the competition.

At the end of the 18 qualifying rounds, the top five teams will play off in Friday night’s finals series.